Philadelphia mourns, remembers Jackson

Tweeting and texting, phoning and yelling it in the street, Philadelphia area residents shared the news tonight of the death of Michael Jackson, the oddity and icon who perplexed and entertained America for decades.

Not so much a person as a once-in-a-lifetime event, Jackson was part car wreck, part comet, and the 50-year-old's passing on a warm summer night galvanized people in Philadelphia and its environs.

"I was devastated," said Neil Shore, 39, a disc jockey at the Camden Community College radio station, WDBK-FM (91.5) Shore was at a Riversharks game at Campbell's Field for a station promotion.

Shore, who teaches broadcasting at Lumberton Middle School, said a friend texted him the news and he broke down crying.

The first person he called was his former wife, Elyse. They had slow-danced to the Jacksons' "I'll Be There" in high school, then married 11 years later.

Shore remembers attending the Jacksons' September 1984 concert at the old JFK Stadium, a show that people around here still talk about.

Struggling to downplay the bizarre aspects of Jackson's life - accusations of inappropriate behavior with children, the peculiarities in dress and the numerous attempts to alter his very face and aspect - Shore wanted the world to remember the man's music most of all.

"He was the Beatles of my generation," Shore continued. "Kids today only think of Michael Jackson as some wacky guy."

Shore was accompanied by fellow station DJ Nate Govan, 26, who apparently wasn't able to see past the strangeness of a pop star who was famous even as a child.

"I think he [Jackson] is somebody that child psychologists can study to see the effects of fame and fortune on kids," he said.

Summer Freeman, yet another DJ at the Riversharks game, said Jackson is so much a part of Americana, he became a "public possession."

Recently laid off from WUSL, 98.9 FM ("Power 99"), Freeman, 31, said her mother bought her leather pants like Jackson used to wear, which her male cousins fought to try on. For Freeman, it was an enduring memory on a sad night.

Remembrances were robust and loud at Woodard's Barber Shop in Wynnefield tonight, where Jackson famously had his hair cut before a Spectrum show in 1980.

Apparently much of Philadelphia remembers the haircut, because when Jackson died, owner Robert Woodard's phone began ringing incessantly tonight.

Telling the tale, Woodard said he'd gotten a call from famous Philly DJ Georgie Woods that Jackson, then around 20, needed a haircut, and his brother Randy needed a shape up.

"I'm bringing them up," Woods told Woodard.

Sitting in Woodard's chair, Jackson spied Woodard's burgundy 1947 Cadillac parked outside the shop and asked him to let him rev it around the block.

"No!" Woodard sputtered quickly. He told Jackson it wasn't possible because the car had no engine.

Tonight, Woodard slyly recalled, that Cadillac certainly did have a motor under the hood. He just didn't want Jackson driving his car.

So, Jackson settled for a chance to sit in the driver's seat, with Woodard in the back. Someone took a photo, and it has hung in a place of honor in Woodard's shop ever since, along with shots of Charles Barkley and Jesse Jackson.

Woodard smiled as he spoke, and it was almost as if he could see Jackson in his chair, the two bantering about that old car.

"He was a very special person," Woodard said. "You only get that once in a lifetime. I would pray that people remember him as the greatest performer of all time."

Also tonight, customers at the Cut It Out hair salon in Old City rushed to their cell phones to confirm initial rumors about Jackson's death.

"Michael Jackson's funeral will be bigger than Princess Diana's and Elvis's combined," salon owner Frank Mitchell predicted.

Meanwhile, David Cassidy, also known as DJ Dee Jay, a Center City entertainer who plays the songs of Jackson, Madonna and Prince at clubs and parties, said that Jackson's music appeals even to young people.

"It's a shame he's gone, but he leaves behind such wonderful music," said Cassidy, 29.

On Hector Street in Conshohocken, Lydia Simon, 45, was adjusting to the shock.

"It's devastating," said Simon, who works at the Hampton Inn. Referencing the death of Farrah Fawcett earlier in the day, Simon said, "Two stars in one day. It really makes you appreciate life."