Philly remembers Jackson

Philadelphia found itself stuck in the '80s yesterday - and that's not just a reference to the rising summer temperatures.

Even as shock waves over Thursday's news of the sudden death of pop culture icon Michael Jackson still reverberated around the globe, many Philadelphians grew more reflective about the passage of time and the fading of youth - the singer's, and their own.

For many like Benita Bell, 48, of Norristown, Jackson's death in Los Angeles brought back memories of a faraway time and place.

"I was 19 and living in Texas. It was during the Reagan era. The oil crisis was going on. The country was in turmoil. I had lost my job. I was destitute and depressed," Bell recalled. "I went out dancing with my friends and a guy asked me to dance. The song 'Lady of My Life' came on. I was just sucked into that song. It just pulled me up. It made me feel like a lady. Every time I hear that song, I go back to that one night in Texas."

City residents could be forgiven yesterday for thinking they were living in a "Back the Future" sequel, as the King of Pop peered out in sequined glory from newsstands and honor boxes while "Billie Jean" or "I Want You Back," the 1969 breakout song of the Jackson 5, blasted from rolled-down car windows.

The sweeping 40-year arc of Jackson's journey from child star to King of Pop to tragic eccentric only occasionally blew through Philly as it wound from the smokestacks of Gary, Ind., to a lonely mansion near Sunset Boulevard. But Jackson still managed to touch many Philadelphians' lives.

Steven Anderson, 45, of Southwest Philly, remembered seeing Jackson and his brothers roll through town in a black Cadillac Fleetwood Limousine with bucket seats at the height of the singer's popularity in the '80s. Fans lined Washington Avenue to get a glimpse. Anderson said he was 5 years old and star-struck.

"I wore the red leather jacket with the zippers, you know, the Thriller jacket," Anderson said. "I wore the glove," he added. "I'd put on the jacket now if I still had it. I would. I would. I would wear it for him."

City Councilman W. Wilson Goode Jr., whose father was mayor from 1984 to 1991, was one of a few locals who got to meet the King of Pop in person.