Jackson fans and radio hosts react to singer's death

• Michael Jackson "King of Pop" dead

• Michael Jackson's health woes took center stage

• Sign Michael Jackson's guest book

• VIDEO: Richmond residents remember Michael Jackson

SLIDESHOW: Michael Jackson

• Michael Jackson fan site

Even as a teen, Michael Jackson was a reclusive superstar.

After a Jackson 5 performance at the Richmond Coliseum in 1974, Ben Miles, then a DJ at WANT, was invited to a nearby hotel to spend some time with the brothers.

"We were just sitting around, all of us shooting the breeze, but Michael never showed up," he said last night with a chuckle. "They kept saying he was coming, but he never did."

Miles, a retired veteran radio presence in Richmond -- first as a DJ, program director and general manager of WANT and then as vice president and general manager of Sinclair Broadcasting -- said he was in a state of disbelief over Jackson's untimely death.

"Someone who danced as much as he did and seemed to be in as great of shape as he was in? It's kind of shocking he would die so young from a heart attack," Miles said.

That 1974 Coliseum concert was one of at least four appearances Jackson and his brothers made at the venue during the'70s.

During the'80s -- a landmark decade for Jackson thanks to his "Thriller" and "Bad" albums -- the singer embarked on the "Victory" tour with his brothers. The tour stopped at RFK Stadium in Washington.

JJ Walker, evening host of the "'70s on 7" channel on Sirius XM satellite radio, saw the singer on that tour in Detroit and recalled how even then, Jackson's music spanned generational appeal.

"I went to see him with my folks, who were in their 60s, and they were standing on their seats. Michael started moonwalking, and my mom burst into tears. He had an amazing impact on everybody," Walker said. "He was a cult of personality. He wasn't just a pop singer. The heavens opened up when Michael came on stage."

Within hours of his death, Jackson's music flew off local record store shelves.

By 8:30 last night, Plan 9 in Carytown had sold its entire Jackson inventory.

Dana Warren was downstairs hunting for anything Jackson-related among stacks of original used albums. She found five Jackson 5 LPs.

"It's a surprise, a shock," Warren said of his death. "I mean, nobody thought he was sick, he was just getting back on tour. I am definitely a Michael Jackson fan. I don't think anybody does not like something of Michael Jackson's."

Last night, fans inundated local radio stations with comments about Jackson.

"Listeners are heartbroken," said Sean Anthony, the night DJ at WCDX ("Power" 92.1-FM). "He touched so many people's lives . . . he brought the world together."

TT Torrez, Power's midday host, had just arrived in Los Angeles last night for this weekend's BET Awards and said the sense of sorrow in the city was palpable.

"The energy in the air, you can't describe it. It's a sense of loss, it's just unreal, like, the King of Pop is gone? Words can't describe it," she said.

Melissa Chase at WRVQ (94.5-FM) said the station will keep Jackson's music in heavy rotation through at least today.

"We've had teens call who want to hear 'Thriller' and 'Billie Jean' and some of the older generation wants to hear The Jackson 5. We're playing all of it," she said.

At WBTJ ("The Beat" 106.5-FM), Mike Street was gathering celebrity interviews about Jackson to air between the Jackson songs being played through today.

In Shockoe Bottom, Vishwa Bhargava strolled with his wife, Indu, and his sister, and said he likes Jackson's music but wouldn't call himself a fan.

"[His dances] are very innovative, very energetic. He was a great artist. His dance, the moonwalk, was very much copied in Bollywood [the Indian equivalent of Hollywood]," said Bhargava. "He was very big in India, especially the young folks copied his dress and mannerisms, the white glove and some of his moves, which could be very controversial."

More than perhaps any other entertainment figure in history, Jackson's reach was truly a global one.

"The variety he achieved is astounding," said Miles. "If you say the name Michael Jackson, nobody says, 'Who?'"

Contact Melissa Ruggieri at (804) 6496120 or mruggieri@timesdispatch.com.

Staff writers Mark Bowes and Juan Lizama contributed to this report.