Buffalo fans remember Michael Jackson

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - It was late August, 1984, when the King of Pop played to a packed house at Rich Stadium.

Nearly 25 years has passed since that concert, but Michael Jackson's influence remains strong in western New York.

WBLK radio threw away the play list and let listeners request their favorite Michael Jackson songs.

WBLK afternoon drive host Magic says Jackson influenced everything from rock to hip hop, "James Brown influenced back in the day when he was a kid and just growing up, and then him becoming the influence for everybody from Usher to whoever you want to talk about."

Leslie Springer of Buffalo said, "I thought people were kidding about it. And I called my friend and she was devastated. He's going to be missed."

The Jackson's "Victory" Tour came to Rich Stadium on August 25, 1984.

Mark Taylor of buffalo says he saw Michael Jackson perform with the Jacksons twice, in Rochester and at Memorial Auditorium, "Real sad day, you know, great entertainer. He touched us all."

When fans learned of Michael Jackson's death, many of them came down to the three Record Theatre locations and bought everything Michael Jackson off the shelves.

Record Theatre owner Lenny Silver said, "We expect to have more things in tomorrow. As soon as we found out we called the factory and they're swamped with orders, and we told them 'whatever you've got just ship to Buffalo.'"

Toni Benjamin of Buffalo got the last Jackson Five CD. She remembers seeing the Jacksons at the Aud as a girl. There is no doubt in her mind, the music will live on, "It's made careers. It has inspired careers and it's the soundtrack of your life; sounds really corny but Michael Jackson really is."

In later years, there would be controversy and scandals. Fans News 4 talked to say they hope Jackson's positive contributions to music outweigh the negatives.