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9/4/2009 3:34 AM

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Jim Reeves kept the Beatles' "Yellow Submarine" out of the No. 1 spot on the British singles chart in 1966, which was no small feat in and of itself.

But it was even more notable for the fact that Reeves had been dead for two years at that point.

The country singer enjoyed a run of success from the mid-1950s until he died in an airplane crash in 1964. And the success continued well after Reeves died, as songs that were in the can, along with assorted demos and rough sketches, were carefully doled out over the years, some with instrumentation added. Even into the 1980s, new Reeves material was surfacing.

Amid all the hoopla that's surrounded Michael Jackson after his death, from the murky circumstances of his demise to his protracted funeral services (as of this writing, he was due to be buried yesterday. Why did that take so long?), there's been relatively little focus on what Jackson's posthumous life will be like. Rolling Stone magazine explored what might be in the archives in its issue after his death, and it sounded like there could be a decent amount of material for Jackson's heirs to exploit in the years ahead.

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And there's not going to be much of a wait for the first posthumous release. At the end of next month, the kinda-sorta concert documentary, "Michael Jackson: This Is It," will be reaching theaters. It will feature some of the footage that was shot at the Staples Center in Los Angeles while Jackson was rehearsing for the series of concerts in London that was due to start in July.

We can safely assume that the primary rationale for this movie right now, aside from striking while the iron is hot, is for concert promoters AEG Live to recoup some of the losses they've sustained as a result of Jackson's concerts not coming off. Sony Pictures reportedly paid $60 million for the footage, which will apparently be featured along with a grab bag of interviews and archival footage.

At this point, we'll have to wait another seven weeks or so and see how it is. It could be revelatory, or it could be an unsettling freak show, like the "Elvis in Concert" TV special built around one of Elvis Presley's last concerts. It aired on CBS-TV a couple of times and spawned a live album, but, interestingly enough, it's never surfaced on home video (bootlegs can be found if you look hard enough, though).

In any event, it seems likely that Jackson's posthumous life will be a long one. There's barely been a major performer, from Frank Sinatra to John Lennon to Jimi Hendrix, who hasn't had his tape cabinet well and thoroughly cleaned out after he left the mortal coil.

If it's done properly, there's nothing wrong with it - as long as there's an audience that wants to hear it and study it, there's not a lot of sense in letting unheard music gather dust. Heck, if they ever wanted to release the entirety of Lennon's master tapes online, I'd be all ears.

I suppose Michael Jackson can teach a couple of lessons to musicians hoping to reach legend status: First, be careful about the doctors you employ and the prescription drugs you take; and second, put some thought into those rough drafts. Chances are, they're going to be heard someday.

Staff writer Brad Hundt can be reached at bhundt @observer-reporter.com.

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1 comments

Michael Jackson : 9/4/2009
Michael Jackson will fade away when the media decides to let him. He is not in the same league as Elvis Presley who has proved his Legacy is forever. Two things will dent the Jackson legacy - the paedophile allegations and his lack of ability to sing in more than one or two musical genres thus making his appeal mainly to teenagers.

Brian Quinn

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