Wednesday, August 29th is Michael Jackson's 49th birthday. I find it hard to believe that he is almost 50! It's easy to poke fun at all of his eccentricities and how he's disfigured himself. I have been guilty of taking my jabs at him as well. Because of the sordid details of his personal life, Michael's status as one of the greatest entertainers of all time sometimes gets overlooked. As a result, I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about the magic of the man formerly known as "The Gloved One".When I was a kid, The Jackson Five were it... with little Michael leading the way. Although I liked them all, Michael was always my favorite. Even then I thought it was amazing that someone Michael's age possessed such raw talent. Along with two of my older siblings, I used to watch The Jackson Five's animated cartoon show every Saturday morning in the early 70s. We also had one of their "cereal box records" (remember those?) from the back of a box of Alpha Bits. Songs like "The Love You Save", "Sugar Daddy", and "I'll Be There" were a big part of the soundtrack of my childhood.
One of my favorite TV memories is the "Motown 25" special. Although the telecast had many highlights (The Temptations/Four Tops showdown, Marvin Gaye's performance, etc.), the reunion of Michael and his brothers was what I was anticipating. Little did I know that Michael was going to top that before the night was over. When he did the "Moonwalk" during his solo performance of "Billie Jean" (check out the You Tube clip below), I couldn't believe what I saw! I'll bet that millions of other viewers felt the same way.
After "Motown 25", Michael Jackson went from being a star to a megastar. He dominated the Billboard charts and his electrifying music videos helped to put MTV on the map. His hand in MTV's success and vice versa is ironic given the fact that the music channel initially did not play videos by black artists. It wasn't until Michael's record label threatened to pull all of their videos from MTV that the music channel waved the white flag (no pun intended) and played "Billie Jean". Before "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Thriller", a majority of music videos were primitve and mediocre at best. Michael helped to transform the music video from a mere marketing tool into a form of artistic expression.
For a few years in the mid 80s, Michael Jackson was everywhere. On the game show "Press Your Luck", he even had his own "Whammy". However, as his fame grew, he naturally pulled back on his TV appearances. Outside of his music videos, there were times when you didn't see him all that much. As a result, this made his TV appearances even more special. One of the most memorable ones was when he made a surprise appearance on "The Arsenio Hall Show" to present Eddie Murphy with an MTV award.
I believe that the worst thing to happen to Michael professionally was the success of "Thriller". His previous album "Off the Wall" (which, by the way, I think is the better of the two) was big... but "Thriller" was gigantic! Because of the unprecedented success of "Thriller", I think that Michael felt that he had to top himself with each subsequent release. As a result, the time span between albums increased. Since "Thriller", Michael has only released three albums which consisted entirely of new material (HIStory, was sold with some of his greatest hits included as an extra CD).
To date, one of Michael's last professional triumphs was his 30th Anniversary concert at Madison Square Garden in 2001. Once again, the highlight for me was Michael's reunion with his brothers. It's something about seeing them perform songs from the Jackson Five/Jacksons eras that does it for me every time.
Although Michael will never reach the heights of the "Thriller" era again, I have a feeling that there is still some magic left in him. I always thought that Michael should put together a special along the lines of the acoustic series "Unplugged". To me, it would be cool as hell to see him on an intimate stage with a small band performing stripped down versions of classics like "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin".
Even with all of Michael's personal troubles, one thing you could always say was that he never failed to dazzle the audience with his vocal and dancing skills. Ice-T said it best when he remarked that Michael Jackson could make the hardest gangbanger squeal "Ooh, it's Michael Jackson!" My only hope is that Michael goes into the studio or takes the stage once again so that those gangbangers (along with anybody else who wants to) get the opportunity to squeal once again.
10 comments:
I'm about six months younger than Michael Jackson, so I grew up with him and the Jackson 5, too. Isn't it sad that his ... um ... predilections have erased much of that brilliance from our memories?
Just noticed Dusty in Memphis on your nav bar. Is that a perfect album or what!
Beth: It is sad indeed how Michael's personal troubles have obscured his brilliance to some. On a smaller scale, George Michael has suffered a similar fate.
You can't go wrong with "Dusty In Memphis". When I read your comments, I started playing one of the album tracks ("In the Land of Make Believe") in my head. I am still surprised that with the exception of "Son Of A Preacher Man", all of the singles released from the album barely dented the charts.
Great post....I love Michael's talent and I care about the man inside him that has some obvious issues.
In my opinion he's one of the greatest performers of our time. I recently wrote about him on my blog posted a video of him dancing when he was young.
Happy Birthday Michael! This man is without a doubt the "Greatest Entertainer" of all time, with James Brown in his prime and Prince rounding out my top three. "Elvis was a hero to most but..." I had the privilege of attending concerts during all phases of Michael's career.
Concert #1: It's 1971 and I attend the Jackson Five concert at the IMA Auditorium in Flint, Michigan. At the time the group had five albums, the first four and the Christmas album. The opening acts were Tata Vega (The Color Purple) and The Commodores with Lionel Ritchie before their big hits which were to come later. The place was packed to the rafters and Michael was in great form at thirteen.
Concert #2: Fast forward to the late 70's. Michael has released "Off The Wall" and The Jacksons without Jermaine have an album called "Destiny" on the charts. The concert is at the old Cobo Arena in Detroit and again the show is awesome. Michael demostrates his dancing genius on songs like "Don't Stop" and "Rock With You". The opening act was LTD with Jeffrey Osborne.
Concert #3 was in at the Pontiac Silverdome with Michael being reunited with all of his brothers for "The Victory Tour". His performance was unparelled, but I left the building less than satisfied (possibly because I paid way too much for seats in the nose bleed section).
While his legal woes and poor personal choices may have tainted his image for many, it has done nothing to destroy his legacy in my mind. When twenty-two year old Elvis was dating fourteen year old Priscilla I don't recall him being dragged into court. I also wonder what type of parents allow their children to go on play dates with a forty year old man (I am just saying). When does parental responsibility become a part of the equation?
I agree with you Malcolm, "Off The Wall" was a better album than "Thriller"; however MTV caused the "Thriller" album to blow up because it was during the beginning of the "slickly produced video" age. His videos told stories a new and fresh concept. I saw Michael in a videotaped concert during the early 90's in some foreign country (where escapes me now). Anyhow I not only saw girls and young women crying, I actually saw grown men crying. I too believe there is still more magic. Thanks for the wonderful post and the memories.
I used to love Michael Jackson. He's just too nutty for me now.
I loved the Jackson Five and watched the animated cartoon on Saturdays, I remember those cereal boxes too!
When he moonwalked...it gave me CHILLS!
And oh, how I miss the Arsenio show!
I was such a big MJ fan. My brother and I danced to his music in my room....my friends and I made up little dance routines to Beat It and many others. I even loved his later albums. My brother is a little younger, and he was into the Bad MJ. Smooth Criminal, Black or White....great songs. I especially liked the song that was in Free Willy in the 90s. (I only know b/c the single tape I bought had the picture on the cover) I know that someone like you probably knows what I'm talking about...
I looked it up. "Will You Be There?" What a great MJ song.
Barbara: Thank you! I'll be checking out your post of MJ in a few minutes.
Pjazzy: and people have said they are jealous of me because of some of the concerts I've seen. I haven't thought of the name Tata Vega in years! Although I can't remember much about her, I do recall that she appeared on Soul Train when I was really young. I remember that the tickets for the Victory tour were about $30 and many people complained that the price was too high. I hear that the acoustics at the Pontiac Silverdome were not all that great. It's a good thing that they finally built the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Good call on the Elvis/Priscilla connection. I've have felt for years that Elvis got a free pass on that. Great point as well about the parents who allowed their kids to stay with Michael Jackson.
Beckeye: I agree that he hasn't made it easy for us fans. I don't know how, but when I am listening to his music I can usually tune out all of the other stuff about him.
Janet: the early 70s was part of the Golden Age of Saturday morning TV for me. Along with The Jackson Five cartoon, I also used to watch The Osmonds animated series right after.
Although Arsenio wasn't my favorite comedian, his show was like a party every night. Another thing that I liked about his talk show was that he gave airtime to performers that never would have gotten on Carson or Letterman.
Mama PJ: Ah, the memories of dancing in your room to your favorite tunes as a kid. I did too! Good times indeed.
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