Every word.
They knew every word of every song, from the bass-heavy “Billie Jean” to the chart-topping “Off the Wall.”
Song by song, they sang along, like groupies at a sold-out concert. There were lights on stage and videos on a giant screen. The only thing missing was the star.
“It feels good to be here,” said Linda Marshae Johnson, 41, who took the train from St. Albans, Queens, to Harlem yesterday to celebrate Michael Jackson’s life at the famed Apollo Theater.
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With Michael Jackson buttons on her Michael Jackson T-shirt, and waving a Michael Jackson flag, Johnson recalled a glorious childhood filled with Michael Jackson posters on her bedroom wall and Jackson 5 records on her stereo.
“I’m getting through the grief,” she said. “It feels like a member of my family died.”
When the sad news spread last week that the world’s greatest entertainer had died, music lovers instinctively made their way to the Apollo.
They knew that it was here where it all started for Michael and his brothers.
This time, there were no critics in the audience, just thousands of heartbroken fans trying to dance away the grief.
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“Mike to me was a phenomenon,” said Lavanda Gilbert, 29, of Jamaica, Queens, as he stood in the hot sun.
“There will never be anyone like him in this lifetime. I did my mourning. Now I’m ready to celebrate.”
Once inside, Gilbert saw a stage with a DJ and two turntables. Above him, Michael Jackson videos played on a giant video screen. On one edge of the stage, a spotlight circled a microphone and a stool.
On the stool sat a black fedora, a pair of black aviator sunglasses and a white, sequined glove.
Several feet away, a group of fans in wheelchairs sang along with “Black or White.” In their minds, they were moonwalking with Michael, soaking in every song.
Back outside, Maxine Lewis joined in on a chorus of “I Want You Back.” There was no DJ out there, just a bunch of people who knew every note.
“I’m 65,” Lewis confessed. “But me, my children and my grandchildren grew up on Michael’s music. I’m sad, but I’m glad, too, because he left us so much music.”