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Rochester D&C - Stephanie Veale - Staff writer
The last time Ronnie White put on this costume was 1983.
Monday night, he donned his sequined shirt, glove and ankle bands for the last time. He put on a pair of sunglasses, tied his hair in a ponytail and moon-walked to "Billy Jean" in front of an audience of more than 1,000.
White, 45, of Henrietta, was part of Water Street Music Hall's Michael Jackson tribute, a free event that brought the hall to capacity within the first hour. At least 200 people were left standing in line on the street.
"This is Michael's night," said White, who used to impersonate Jackson at New York City venues in the 1980s, at the height of the pop icon's fame.
The Water Street tribute came four days after Jackson died suddenly at the age of 50. An official cause of death has not been named.
Aside from White's dance moves, the tribute featured more than three hours of live concert and video footage, which was projected onto a screen at the front of the music hall.
The turnout exceeded the expectations of producer Edward Strickland. He and the owners of the music hall, along with radio station WDKX, were hoping for 500 to 1,000 people. But since the event was put together and advertised all in 48 hours, it was hard to know how many people would come out.
Strickland said he and the other organizers chose a concert-style tribute instead of a vigil, because it let people celebrate and relive Jackson's best moments.
Many people remember where they were when they first heard songs like "Beat It," Strickland said.
"This music will be forever," he said.
Joan Lane of Rochester made it to the front row of the music hall, where she danced, sang and sweat along with the rest of the MJ enthusiasts.
Lane, 50, remembers seeing the Jackson 5 in concert at the Community War Memorial when she was 7 or 8 years old.
Now, she's lead vocalist in the local R&B band "On Q." Jackson and James Brown are two of her idols. "I love Michael," Lane said. "I watched him when the innocence was there, when he first got started."
