Ron Weisner on Michael Jackson The Wiz

After several decades in the business, manager Ron Weisner has experienced it all: tears, tantrums, fireworks, egos and the usual trimmings of life in Hollywood’s fast lane. It’s made for a compelling tell-all memoir, entitled ‘Listen Out Loud: Music Managing McCartney, Madonna and Michael Jackson’.

….In a career littered with big names, Weisner will most likely be remembered as the man who propelled Michael Jackson to greatness in the early 80s. Unlike those hard yards with Madonna, Weisner’s working relationship with Michael was much more fulfilling, with the manager going so far as to consider him as “almost like a son to me”.

It was also Weisner’s idea to create ‘mini-movies’ for Michael’s singles, effectively making him the first African-American artist to break the MTV barrier and changing the face of pop to boot.

“He was not one of us,” Weisner says of Michael. “He was like an alien. He was the greatest entertainer of our generation and I don’t think anyone will top him.”

Michael was a dream client during the peak of his fame in the 1980s; if a little attention-seeking. Weisner accompanied him on trips to Disneyland and was even dragged out of bed by Michael to go watch Liberace perform.

Weisner acted on Michael’s many whims as his manager and even though their working relationship foundered, he maintained a protective eye over the star.

A Place With No Name

MICHAEL JACKSON’S “A PLACE WITH NO NAME” MUSIC VIDEO TO PREMIERE WORLDWIDE EXCLUSIVELY ON TWITTER @MICHAELJACKSON AUGUST 13

FIRST LOOK TO AIR DURING A SPECIAL MICHAEL JACKSON THEMED EPISODE OF FOX’S SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE

Epic Records and The Estate of Michael Jackson, announced today that “A Place With No Name,” the next single from this year’s critically acclaimed, chart-topping Michael Jackson albumXSCAPE [MJJ Music/Epic Records], will make history when it premieres on Twitter (twitter.com). At 10:00 p.m. on Wednesday August 13, 2014 the short film will be tweeted through@MichaelJackson allowing the Twitter universe to be able to view the video within a tweet. And for those fans in New York City, “A Place With No Name” will be shown on the massive Sony screen in Times Square at the very same moment.

Throughout his entire career, Michael has always stood on the cutting edge of groundbreaking technological advancements. With “A Place With No Name” launching exclusively through Twitter, he continues to set the pace of pop culture and music yet again. Follow @MichaelJackson to watch the historical moment from the “King of Pop” unfold.

Increasing anticipation, a preview of the video is set to make its network television debut on the special Michael Jackson themed episode of FOX’s So You Think You Can Dance broadcast that same evening beginning at 8PM ET. The show will open with a Top Eight group performance featuring “A Place With No Name” choreographed by the Emmy award-winning Travis Payne, who worked as both back-up dancer and choreographer for Michael Jackson. During the program, all of the Top Eight remaining contestants will compete with new all-star partners and each performance will feature a different Michael Jackson song, including songs from XSCAPE.

Michael re-envisioned America’s 1972 classic “A Horse With No Name” to convey a narrative following a man whose car breaks down and is led by a mysterious woman to a utopian place where “no one is in fear” and “no people have pain”. It was a collaboration with Elliott Straite [Dr. Freeze] done in 1998 at Record Plant Recording Studio.

The beautifully shot short film, directed by iconic award-winning director Samuel Bayer, whose credits include seminal videos from Nirvana and The Rolling Stones, has been created by following Michael’s overall vision for short films which tell the song’s story, in this case, of a man enticed into a magical “place” by a mysterious woman. The short film also includes outtakes and behind-the-scenes footage of Michael shot during the production for “In The Closet” short film, which have been kept in the vault since 1992.

Upon its May release, XSCAPE reached #1 in 52 countries and went Top 5 in 87 more territories. Stateside, it debuted at #2 on the Billboard Top 200, simultaneously landing at #1 on Amazon and Spotify. The album’s first single, “Love Never Felt So Good,” a duet by Michael Jackson and Justin Timberlake soared to the Top in the U.S. and achieved 17 #1 and 67 Top 5 positions around the world. The single also made for Michael’s highest Billboard chart debut since 1995 and fourth highest ever at #20 as his 49th smash hit. The album also generated his 50th top 10 Billboard chart with “Slave To The Rhythm” making Michael the first artist to ever have a Top Ten hit in each of six consecutive decades.

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Remembering Michael Jackson 1958-2009