It’s been a busy start to the year for Michael Jackson fans – both on the giving and receiving end of great new projects honoring The King of Pop’s legacy.
Back in mid-January we saw the explosion of Unity: The Latin Tribute to Michael Jackson with the release of “Smooth Criminal” from their forthcoming album (see above).
Unity: The Latin Tribute To Michael Jackson is a testament to the power of music and one man’s indomitable spirit. The passion project of Peruvian-born, Miami-raised producer/multi-instrumentalist/arranger (and huge Michael Jackson fan) Tony Succar, Unity features more than one hundred musicians, such Latin superstars as Tito Nieves, Jon Secada, and Obie Bermúdez, and the mixing magic of Michael Jackson’s legendary engineer Bruce Swedien in the first ever Latin album salute to The King of Pop.
Unity made such a big impact on the music scene around the globe that Billboard even featured a story on the project, which spawns from a successfully funded 2011 Kickstarter campaign that initially had the project penned as A Tropical Tribute to The King of Pop.
Tony Succar’s Unity: A Latin Tribute to The King of Pop comes out on April 14, 2015. Click here to pre-order via Amazon, or visit unitylatintribute.com for more information.
Chris Cadman is another fan who has blessed the Michael Jackson community with a new project in honor of the King of Pop’s legacy.
Cadman, a dedicated Jackson historian who has been writing about the pop icon since the late 80s and is the author of previous books For The Record and Michael Jackson The Maestro – The Definitive A-Z, Volume I: A-J, comes with the second volume of the latter: Michael Jackson The Maestro – The Definitive A-Z Volume II: K-Z – an impressive encyclopedia-like collection of information, facts and tidbits covering Jackson’s artistry from beginning to end.
“Carrying on from the first volume Michael Jackson The Maestro continues looking at [Jackson’s] extraordinary life and times,” says the book’s Amazon listing, which draws on archival information about Jackson’s discography, television performances, tours, and videos sampled from documentaries, radio shows, films, interviews, articles, speeches, and quotes from his directors, producers and friends.
The Maestro Vol II, in all its 784 pages of glory, was released on February 5, 2015. Click here to grab a copy via Amazon, or visit michaeljacksonthemaestro.com for more information.
Another writer who has dedicated decades of his life to serving Michael Jackson’s fans is author of the newly released The First Book of Michael, Syl Mortilla.
Mortilla has been a Jackson fan for thirty years, and has written about the superstar in a number of capacities over the years – most recently on his sylmortilla.com blog.
Following the digital release of The First Book of Michael, available via Smashwords and Kindle since January this year, comes the paperback version.
“Syl Mortilla has a remarkable and uncanny understanding of Michael Jackson that I do not see in any other. His writing is the blood pulsing from Michael’s heart to all of his fans… Michael’s life spoke, and Syl Mortilla was listening,” says Jackson’s longtime hair and makeup artist Karen Faye, who also contributed the book’s foreword, while renowned UK journalist and Jackson activist Charles Thomson calls Mortilla “a fantastic wordsmith with an encyclopaedic knowledge of Michael Jackson… a sensitive and sympathetic writer with a truly unique voice.”
Click here to order a paperback copy of The First Book of Michael, released on February 6, 2015 via Amazon’s independent publishing platform Create Space. The digital copy can be purchased here on Kindle via Amazon, or here via Smashwords. Follow Syl Mortilla on Twitter at Twitter.com/SylMortilla
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Damien Shields is the author of the book Xscape Origins: The Songs & Stories Michael Jackson Left Behind about The King of Pop’s artistry, genius, and creative process in the recording studio. Click here to order your copy today - also available via Amazon, Kindle, iBooks, and Google Play. Follow Damien on Facebook and Twitter to stay up-to-date with Michael Jackson-related news.