MUSIC STORIES | REMEMBER THE TIME: PROTECTING MICHAEL JACKSON IN HIS FINAL DAYS BY BILL WHITFIELD AND JAVON BEARD, WITH TANNER COLBY

REMEMBER THE TIME

A compellingly candid memoir that details Jackson's life in seclusion, by the bodyguards who were with him in his final days - with a new introduction to commemorate the tenth anniversary of Michael Jackson's death .

Hounded by the tabloid media, driven from his self-made sanctuary, Neverland, Michael Jackson spent his final years moving from city to city, living with his three children in virtual seclusion - a futile attempt to escape a world that wouldn't leave him alone. During that time, two men served as the singer's personal security team: Bill Whitfield, a former cop and veteran of the security profession, and Javon Beard, a brash, untested rookie, both single fathers themselves. Stationed at his side nearly 24/7, their job was to see and hear everything that transpired, and to keep everyone else out, making them the only two men who know what 60 million fans around the world still want to know: What really happened to the King of Pop? Driven by a desire to show the world who Michael Jackson truly was, Whitfield and Beard have produced the only definitive, first-person account of Michael Jackson's last years: the extreme measures necessary to protect Jackson and his family, the financial struggles that led their pay to be suspended for weeks at a time, the simple moments of happiness they managed to share in a time of great stress, the special relationship Jackson shared with his fans, and the tragic events that culminated in the singer's ill-fated comeback, This Is It. The truth is far more captivating than anything you've yet heard.

An indispensable piece of pop-culture history, Remember the Time is the story of a man struggling to live a normal life under extraordinary circumstances, of a father fighting to protect and provide for his children. Remember the Time is the book that dismantles the tabloid myths once and for all to give Michael Jackson back his humanity.

★★★☆☆

This was a DT find I picked up, just merely curious what these guys had to say about the BTS of working for one of the biggest names in music. And the title is a nod to one of my favorite songs of his.

"Remember The Time"

The writing is direct, largely written in a conversational tone... a little TOO casual for me at times, but still interesting. It gets into some of the things I remember watching on tv and what happened right before or after those moments aired.

It was interesting to read how connected so many people were in MJ's final years --- like Beard and Whitfield being cousins and then the infamous Dr. Murray being a family friend and the doctor of another of Javon's cousins. Murray and Jackson were introduced after MJ tried to take a sick Paris to a doctor's office after hours and the receptionist leaked the information to the media. Thereafter, to avoid another media / tabloid storm, Michael had to arrange for medical staff to come to his house.

Re: the story around Elizabeth Taylor's 70th birthday party, the same day one of Michael's brothers rolled up into the driveway demanding money --- I had to wonder, why didn't they just bring in extra bodyguards to detain him until Michael got back from the party? Or request extra law enforcement assistance for the situation in general, rather than let it escalate the way it did? It's a shame the evening had to be ruined for Jackson and Taylor simply because Randy wanted money right then and there.

These guys give perfectly reasonable explanations for things like why the kids were kept in disguises and it definitely makes you feel empathy for Michael Jackson as a father, all the normalcy he had to give up that most parents take for granted --- he couldn't linger or lounge in places like hotel lobbies but instead had to use service entrances everywhere, couldn't watch his kids play on a playground or a Chuck E. Cheese, couldn't shop online in his own name, couldn't take in historical sites with friends or family, or even easily visit friends' homes. Anytime he tried it just seemed to cause a madhouse mob scene that would potentially endanger not only his kids but others in the crowds. So he often had to live life either in disguises or viewing things from a tinted car window. A sad life for sure.

Reading that Michael had plans for doing a cover of "My Perogative" but sadly never got around to it before his death --- OMG I can just hear how amazing that cover likely would have been!