I know that this was just posted but I thought that I would give my perspective. Billie Jean really sums up Michael Jackson the king of pop.
Michael Jackson has died at the age of 50.
When Michael Jackson's Off the Wall album (yep, it was an album back then, 1979) came out, I bought it the first week it was out. I was in college. MTV was just starting. Off the Wall's first hit was Don't Stop Until You Get Enough. This was a hit. A huge hit. This begins Michael's best time as a creative performer. He does the voice track for ET. He wins a Grammy for that.
MTV was getting big. Billie Jean was released. As I recall, the song was just doing okay. Nothing big. Nothing huge. Then MTV played the video. No Black artist that I know of was on MTV before Michael. The video was slick. It was more than some guy with big hair sticking his touch out at the camera for 3 minutes. Was the video nuclear physics? NO. It was a huge breakthrough.
There was just a hint of BET (Black Entertainment Television) at this time. Most houses couldn't get BET. There was no satellite. Cable was still really young. WGN and TNT were the main channels on cable. HBO and Showtime were the only movie channels that I can remember at that time.
So, it is May of 1983. Motown is going to have their 25th anniversary show. I'm running around with graduation from college duties. I miss the special. Everyone who saw it was amazed at Michael's performance. This performance, if I'm not mistaken, wins Michael an Emmy. The combination of the video and the live performance caused Michael Jackson to blow up. He was HUGE.
Michael and Quincy Jones, the producer who really was responsible for the sound, cleaned up at the Grammy's. They won 8.
Just a few words about this performance. There are 2 new dance moves that Michael breaks out for this performance that floors the crowd and become legendary Michael Jackson moves. He does the moonwalk for the first time. He also does the thing where he goes up on his toes. I have no idea what that's called. But he was so fluid, and moved so well that the audience just stares at one point.
No one was as big as Michael Jackson, in my opinion. No performer. Not The Beatles? Maybe. Not The Stones? Maybe. Elvis? Nope. Here's why I say this. Michael Jackson was popular all over the world. With TV and truly world tours, he had the ability to be worldwide like no other performer. Thriller which was the zenith of his popularity sold over 104 million copies.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
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4 comments:
Ed McMahon, Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson…all gone. My childhood and youth.
I think of being little, and the only way you saw Ed McMahon was if you snuck out of bed, and was standing in the doorway, trying to hide from your parents as they watched Carson in the living room (no such thing as a tv in every room). Sometimes they scolded you, other times, they told you to come on and sit with them.
Farrah – Charlie’s Angels was revolutionary for its time, as odd as that might seem now. That poster was everywhere, and we wanted that hair.
Michael – wow…for my sisters, who actually went to see The Jackson Five routinely when they were growing up, to me being fully aware of Michael with Off The Wall first, then Thriller, and him MAKING MTV, and all that meant.
Before him, it was still Black Music and Top 40 (i.e., White) Music.
After him, began the ascension of Black Music AS Top 40 music.
MTV should build a statue to him.
Every popular Black artist today owes something to Michael Jackson. He did so many different things, refusing to be pigeonholed, that the multi-hyphenated artist is now commonplace. But, Michael was the one who blew open those doors.
well stated. Very well stated, indeed.
I just cant belive he died..what a loss! he was the greatest performer of all times and he was only 50!
I wasn't alive when the Beatles went on Ed Sullivan.
But, I have to believe that Michael Jackson's performance on the Motown 25th Anniversary program IS another one of those moments.
It was like, you KNEW you were watching him go somewhere that had never been done before..it was that amazing.
I'm so glad that clip is embeddable, because I think it should spread around...that was 25 years ago, and it's still timeless. There's nothing 'old' about it.
THAT is how good he was.
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