Due to the fact that this weekend is Michael Jackson’s birthday, here is a re-post of an earlier write-up I did on the gloved one:
Even in death, Michael Jackson is still bigger than life. With his recent documentary “This Is It” breaking world records and with his recent resurgence in the music charts, MJ is still making history! We all know the story: poor family from Indiana. We all know about the hard work and the abuse by Joe Jackson. We also know about MJ’s lack of having a childhood and never being able to play outside like “normal” kids did, all because of having to record music. Unfortunately, he sacrificed his own life in order to provide us with a soundtrack to our own lives.
Our official MJ correspondent “Aunt Berta” says that she has been a huge fan of MJ since she was 10. She was immediately struck by his music and was equally impressed by his dance moves. She can recall seeing the Jacksons on their “Victory Tour” in 1984. Like many of his fans, Aunt Berta cried when she heard the passing of her musical Idol.
As a youngster, MJ was signed to the Motown record label and quickly became a superstar at a very young age. Making hit records like: “ABC,” “I Want You Back,” and “I’ll Be There.” The Jackson 5 were all the rage and MJ was at the forefront of all this success. Radio stations loved him and kids wanted to be just like him. The Jackson 5 made hit album after hit album. As the Jackson 5 got older many things changed; their music, style and physical appearance. Michael stated in an Interview with Oprah Winfrey that his father, Joe Jackson, often times made fun of his nose. That’s probably why he had so many nose jobs. In general, you can’t tell someone something negative their whole lives and expect them not to be affected by it; MJ was.
I’m sure there was more to it, but Michael wanted to get out on his own to create music that he wanted to do. So in 1979, he released his solo debut “Off The Wall.” This album was highly successful, but not to the degree that his sophomore album would reach. I remember watching music videos on TV on Saturday nights as a kid. Michael would come on TV and everyone would try to imitate his dance moves! The album has sold 20 million copies world-wide, due to its commercial appeal. “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” won MJ a Grammy for Best R&B Vocal Performance – Male in 1980.
Then it happened: in 1982 he released the highest selling album of all-time: “Thriller.” “Thriller” impacted MJ’s career and pop culture like no other album had ever done. The album made MJ a household name. Michael was one of the pioneers of music video and he was one of the first black artists to be played on MTV. Not only was that monumental, but Michael did it right! He made his videos into pieces of cinematic art. When Motown asked Michael to perform on their anniversary show, MJ did the “Moon-Walk” for the first time and baffled audiences world-wide. He was a performer! During this period in his life he was larger than life! This was at the height of his career, but like Newton’s Law, what goes up, must come down!
Five years would pass before Michael released another album, and in 1987 he released “Bad.” This was the first piece of music that I had ever purchased and I played that cassette over and over again! It was the greatest thing I had ever heard, but then again I was 9 at the time, so cut me some slack! The album sold well over 35 million copies world-wide, but it failed to live up to the record numbers of “Thriller.” By this point in time, Michael’s life began to change for the worse. He was losing pigmentation in his skin, he bought a monkey, he reportedly wanted to buy the Elephant Man’s bones and then a picture surfaced of MJ sleeping in an air chamber. All the personal things aside, Michael’s music still remained top-notch.
With the completion of the “Bad” album, things really started to decline for Michael musically and personally. Michael was accused for the first time of molestation and he began to have financial problems. When “Dangerous” was released in 1991, his musical style dramatically changed. He shifted from Pop/Funk to a more “New Jack” sound. He called on Teddy Riley of Guy/Blackstreet to produce the record. The album still sold more than 15 million albums world-wide, but it was the second consecutive album where sales decreased. It would be more than 10 years until his newest release.
His last record, “Invincible” was released in 2001 but the sales were extremely poor. Maybe it was Michael straying from a more Pop sound to a more R&B style. Maybe it was due to another molestation accusation. Whatever the reason, album sales were down. I say that his album sales were down, yet he still sold more albums world-wide than most artists did that year. This was his last official album. All in all Michael only released five albums since his 1979 album “Off The Wall,” which is not a lot considering his mass appeal.
I know that much has been written and you are probably tired of reading about MJ, but truth be told, he is probably one of the greatest entertainers who ever lived! Come to think of it, who else could you consider to be a better entertainer? His life was filled with intrigue, scandal, controversy and magic. Say what you want, but Michael gave his life to entertain us all. People may say what they want, but it must have been hard living in his shoes! Although he has left us, he left behind a legacy of music that will inspire the next generations of entertainers, which is why MJ will forever be one of the greatest of all-time!
My Top 5
Aunt Berta’s Top 5
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