Black Music Month wouldn’t be complete without honoring the influence of the King of Pop, Michael Jackson. From helping Motown become an international sensation to becoming the greatest entertainer of all time, the black boy from Gary, Indiana, forever changed the way the world heard and saw music.
Source: Kevin Mazur/Wireimage
Michael Jackson burst onto the scene in 1969 with his brothers Jermaine, Jackie, Tito and Marlon when their debut single ‘I Want You Back’ became an international sensation.
Five black boys rocking afros and the popular fashion of the late 1960s and early 1970s quickly redefined what it meant to combine exceptional talent with superstar charisma and charm. While all the brothers were musical protégés, it was eleven-year-old Michael whose unique singing, precision in choreography and immense ability to express the themes of love, longing and loss at such a young age catapulted their attraction to lightning heights.
When asked what he saw in young Michael before signing him, Motown founder Berry Gordy told NPR:
“Everything. That’s the simple answer. When he auditioned for me that morning, he was forced on me by my assistant (unintelligible) because I didn’t want a kids’ group, because I had been with Stevie Wonder with his entourage and teachers, and tutors and stuff, and when she brought them to me, I didn’t want to see them. But once I saw them, I ran out with my video camera to record them, because I knew they were something so special, especially because of the lead singer, the nine-year-old Michael Jackson. And it was so clear to me that he was a star.
The Jackson 5 would become the first group of all time to have their first four singles reach number 1 on the charts. Cartoons, merchandise and sold-out tours would soon follow their musical successes, and Michael’s talent would continue to amaze audiences as he drew comparisons to greats like James Brown, Jackie Wilson and others.
The magic Michael created with his brothers under the tutelage of the magicians of Motown seemed insurmountable until 1979, when the 21-year-old teamed up with sound architect Quincy Jones and released his first solo album Off The Wall. Michael combined his soul roots with the influence of disco to create a sound that felt authentic and timeless. The record produced two No. 1 hits in “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” and “Rock With You,” the former earning him the Best R&B Vocal Performance Grammy in 1980. Jackson became the first solo artist to have four singles from the same album become top 10 hits in the same year.
From the wall visuals for the most popular songs would also provide the framework for what would become known as Michael’s signature style. On the album cover, the fashion icon wore a custom black suit with white sequined socks and black shoes, a look that would later be copied by everyone from his younger sister and pop icon Janet Jackson to Janelle Monae, Chris Brown and The Weeknd. The rhinestone outfit Michael wore in the “Rock With You” video, designed by Bill Whitten, would also become a cultural moment with millions of recreations sold worldwide. But it was Jackson’s vocal arrangements and genre-bending tracks From the wall that would make it the blueprint for artists born generations after its release.
“I found my falsetto, because From the wall (and) “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,” The Weeknd said of the album’s influence on his sound. “I always use Michael (Jackson) primarily as a vocal inspiration From the wall was definitely the one that made me feel like I could sing.
If From the wall fanning the flames of Jackson’s solo fire, his second album Thriller blew the roof off. Released in 1982, Thriller, backed by the groundbreaking 14-minute video film created by Michael and director John Landis, became the singer’s first Billboard No. 1 album, a spot it held for 37 consecutive weeks. It produced seven Top 10 singles, a record still held by Jackson decades later, and would win eight Grammy Awards on its way to being crowned the best-selling album of all time, selling 70 million albums and counting.
“I believe we are powerful, but we don’t use our minds to their full potential,” Michael said of redefining the music industry with the release of Thriller. “Your mind is powerful enough to help you achieve whatever you want. I knew what we could do with that record. We had a great team there, a lot of talent and good ideas, and I knew we could do anything. The success of ‘Thriller’ has made many of my dreams come true.”
Although the album’s title track and accompanying visuals were a juggernaut; it was the album’s second single, “Beat It,” a plea from Jackson to put an end to escalating gang violence, which would change the history of music videos forever. MTV’s refusal to play videos by black artists ended in January 1983 when the network debuted the “Beat It” footage as a “short film,” under threat from then-CBS president Walter Yetnikoff, according to Billboard. Michael’s videos would help the network become the cultural imprint it would later become.
“We grew well for the first few years, but Michael Jackson put MTV on the map,” MTV co-founder John Sykes said of Michael’s influence and power. “There were very few VCRs back then, and we heard people setting their alarms in the middle of the day to turn on MTV and watch the ‘Thriller’ video. We saw our ratings for the channel shoot through the roof. Every time we played it, we saw the ratings double or triple.”
It wasn’t just Michael’s talent that turned his music videos into their own canon events, it was also his vision to use the latest technological advances to help tell stories. He would use everything from the light-up tiles in the ‘Billie Jean’ video to the hyper-realistic face-morphing from 1991. Black or whiteJackson led the way in innovation, inspiring artists and record labels to invest in music videos to boost the success of singles.
In the 1990s, Michael Jackson’s mania reached a fever pitch, with MJ’s style, sound and personal image becoming the biggest brand in the world. His level of celebrity would be on full display if he teamed up with other major stars of the era and eclipsed them in the shadow of his popularity. Celebrities like Michael Jordan, Naomi Campbell, Iman, Magic Johnson and even Princess Diana would attend his concerts, participate in his music videos and publicly wow the pop idol. He had also proven that he had what it took to move seamlessly through any era of music; he brings his own style to genres like New Jack Swing and hip hop without missing a beat.
Despite an endless cycle of media attention – sometimes more negative than positive – the mystery surrounding Michael Jackson helped increase demand for more of him, both musically and visually. Whenever he showed up anywhere in the world, fans would come out in droves just to catch a glimpse of him. Musically, he created an entire ecosystem of artists including Beyoncé, Usher, Ne-Yo, Ciara and the aforementioned Chris Brown. His imagery and dance movements still provide the blueprint for modern choreography, copying and pasting genres like K-pop for new audiences. Nevertheless, as time goes on, Michael Jackson’s influence has stood the test of time as his fan base now includes people who were never alive to witness his greatness firsthand, but can revisit at any time thanks to the Internet.
“When I first started, my first producer had me listen to Michael Jackson’s live performance of “Who’s Loving You.”Beyoncé wrote about Michael on the fifth anniversary of his death.What he wanted me to learn was his soul. You could hear his soul. And he was a little child who had not experienced love, but he was a vessel. For whatever reason, he could evoke more emotions than an adult. It was so raw and so pure. It was these little things he did that were just swag. It is something given by God.
Michael taught me that sometimes you have to forget the technique, forget what you’re wearing. If you feel crazy, you have to go from your feeling and just let it go.
Michael Jackson changed me and helped me become the artist I am, thank you Michael.“
Today, Jackson remains the best-selling artist of all time, with more than 500 million albums sold worldwide… and counting. The biopic about his life, Michaelhas crossed the billion dollar mark after a month in theaters; which once again proves that there are many stars, but there is only one Michael Jackson.
Leave a Reply