Memories of the late Michael Jackson continued to flow on Friday, as area residents remembered their personal encounters with the King of Pop.

JERALD SILVA, 73, artist, Sacramento:

"It was a gift for Michael," says Silva of a portrait of Jackson, his mother and sisters Janet and La Toya that was commissioned in 1986 by music producer Quincy Jones. "I met him at Quincy's office at Quest Records. Lou Rawls was there. I spent a lot of time with them, and I made a painting and delivered it to Michael's house in Encino. He asked the sweetest question: 'Does this make you feel godlike?' I told him the easiest paintings are those that tend to do themselves, they conduct it, and he said it was the same with his music. He was quite spiritual. I found him to be very nice. He seemed innocent, and when all the scandals came out, I think I believed him. I didn't believe the accusers."

CALVIN B. JEFFERSON, 48, operations coordinator, Department of Motor Vehicles, Sacramento:

"When I was 13, Mother arranged for us to get backstage passes when the Jackson 5 came to Hughes Stadium. I took a picture of my mom, aunt and sister. My sister is crying, sitting between Jermaine and Tito (Jackson.) Michael was so meek and humble. He almost glowed. I was a boy and didn't get as excited as my mom, aunt and sister, but I had the privilege of meeting him, and my heart was pumping. I remember kids breaking through the security gate and chasing Michael's little brother Randy, and he ran across the stage and jumped in the open window of a limousine."

STEVE MADRIGAL, 46, accountant, Folsom:

"Back in the early '80s, when I was at the University of California, Irvine, I had the opportunity to be an extra in the infamous Pepsi commercial when Michael Jackson's hair caught on fire. He was coming down the risers, and fireworks were going off, and a spark landed on his hair and, I think, with all the hair product he had, it started smoldering. There was all sorts of smoke with the effects, and I was right there on the front row, and I wasn't aware what had happened. But everything screeched to a halt, and they told us (extras) all to go home. I didn't know what happened until we came out of Shrine Auditorium, and there were all sorts of reporters waiting with questions."

ADRIAN WOODFORK, 61, information officer, California Department of Food and Agriculture, Sacramento:

"I interviewed Michael Jackson twice, about 10 years apart, for KCRA-TV. The first was at Oakland Coliseum in the early 1970s and the second was at Lake Tahoe. Michael was a study in contrasts. Here he was, bigger than life. On both occasions, he was very shy. He was very polite. The second time, I asked him who had influenced him, and he said James Brown and Jackie Wilson. When I interviewed Little Richard, he said he thought Michael Jackson would be a good person to portray him, if a movie was ever done of his life."

Recordings fly off the shelves

Almost as soon as news got out that Michael Jackson had died, phones started ringing at The Beat, a popular new and used music store in midtown Sacramento.

"Oh my goodness, oh my goodness," said manager-buyer Jason Brandes. "Every other phone call was about Michael Jackson vinyls and CDs, (people saying), 'Put it on hold for me. I don't care what it is.' The frenzy lasted into the evening. One lady came in and bought the majority of our vinyl. She walked out with her arms full. By nighttime, we were just about cleaned out.

"Whenever a music celebrity passes away, we see a rise in interest, but this was the most acute spike we've seen in quite some time. The response was instantaneous," he said.

– Dixie Reid

by The Bee's Dixie Reid, (916) 321-1134.