“It’s really been something,” said Pete Povich, the morning personality and program director at WJPA. “I’m surprised. That’s kind of different.”
The requests for Jackson tunes began immediately after he arrived at the microphone at 5:05 a.m., and continued about once every ten minutes.
Povich said Jackson’s life and death struck him as having many similarities to that of Elvis Presley, who died in 1977.
“Both were trying to spark their careers with comeback tours,” he said. “Both seemed to have drug issues.”
Elvis and Jackson also were surrounded by relatives and others who apparently didn’t get them the help they needed, Povich said.
He said there is no denying Jackson’s musical styling, despite the controversies and odd behavior that marked his career.
“You cannot take away how gifted he was,” Povich said.
Meanwhile, the clerk at f.y.e. in Washington Crown Center mall in North Franklin Township said he expected sales to be brisk today for the late pop star’s music.