The Legacy of Michael Jackson, King of Pop
From the Jackson Five to MTV, Jackson's creative and troubled legacy
Jun 26, 2009
When Michael Jackson passed away at the age of 50 on June 25th, 2009, people all around the world were shocked and began mourning the man who came to be known as "The King of Pop". Pop star, humanitarian, troubled individual, creative and musical icon. These are all hats worn by this intriguing artist throughout his remarkable and fascinating career.
The Early Years: Jackson Five
Michael began his career singing with brothers Marlon, Jackie, Jermaine, and Tito. Representing the legendary record label Motown in the seventies, the Jacksons cemented themselves as one of the biggest artists of the decade with their first four Motown singles reaching #1 on the charts. Subsequently, they crossed over to white audiences, even appearing on a Saturday morning cartoon show, The Jackson 5ive.
They continued their chart success throughout the decade, even as Michael embarked on his solo career with the single "Got To Be There" and a very successful turn singing the title track for the film Ben.
Michael Jackson As Icon
As Michael's career grew, so did his creative output. He was writing songs for The Jacksons and for his own solo material. He began a creative alliance with super producer Quincy Jones and released his first truly huge album with 1979's Off the Wall. Boasting an astounding four top 10 hits including two #1 singles, the album would go on to sell 20 million plus units and remains one of the biggest selling albums of all time.
But Michael was just getting started.
Michael Jackson and MTV
Just as he'd done with the Jacksons in the seventies, Michael Jackson helped pave the way for other African American artists with his overwhelming MTV crossover success. MTV didn't play many music videos by black artists until Michael's uber successful videos from what would eventually become the biggest selling album of all time, Thriller. The videos for "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Thriller" were viewed as some of the first great music videos, with "Thriller" (directed by horror/comedy great John Landis) widely regarded as the best music video ever made.
His video releases became events, MTV put him into heavy and regular rotation (a marriage which benefitted them as much as Jackson), the album Thriller began selling at a rate never before seen in the music industry, he cleaned up at the Grammy Awards, and Michael Jackson became the biggest pop icon in the world.
To date, Thriller has sold upwards of an unbelievable 109 million copies worldwide, making it the biggest selling album of all time.
Post-Thriller Michael Jackson Records and Image
Jackson continued his assualt on the charts with 1987's Bad. Despite yielding a record 5 number one songs on the Billboard charts, it wasn't as successful as Thriller. Jackson's image had undergone many changes since his triumphant 1982 record, and had become known as an extreme eccentric. Some of the events leading to that change in public opinion were his purchase of a pet chimpanzee and the rumors of his sleeping in a hyperbolic oxygen chamber and owning the remains of the Elephant Man.
While the latter two rumors were not true, Jackson himself perpetuated the myths and they became a permanent part of his public persona. He'd also underwent a huge change in his physical condition, due to a skin condition that had gradually changed his skin color to a much more pale hue.
He had facial surgeries which modified the way he looked, particularly his nose, and he had a cleft put in his chin due to his desire to showcase more masculine features. His image continued this way, with the nickname "Wacko Jacko" following him for the rest of his life.
Other releases from Jackson include Dangerous, HIStory, and his 2001 comeback album, Invincible. Despite selling 10 million units worldwide, Invincible was still seen as a disappointment, with record sales much lower than his previous efforts.
Michael Jackson's Image
Despite being listed in the Guinness Book of World Records as the pop artist supporting the most charities, Jackson's public image took a shellacking with a molestation lawsuit in 1994. Though it was settled out of court, the reverberations were felt, and they would continue to follow him.
In 2004, he was acquitted on charges in another molestation case even as he received a humanitarian award in Washington DC for his efforts in the fight against AIDS in Africa. Still, the damage done to his reputation was big and far reaching.
Legacy of Michael Jackson
Before Michael Jackson died at the age of 50, he had scheduled a series of 50 concerts which were to take place on various dates at a London arena. The dates were all sold out and he would have played to over one million people at the shows. In another tribute to his lasting legacy, a reissue of Thriller complete with new tracks was released in 2008 and sold over 3 million copies worldwide, making it one of 2008's best selling CDs.
Michael Jackson's musical versatility kept him relevant for the better part of four decades as a recording artist. His influence is so far reaching and so concrete that many artists today are still using his creative works, dance moves, and video mastery as a template, and that is likely to always be the case.
