![]() These tightly arranged, chromatic, hook driven records where cut in Los Angeles, but harked back to the mid-60s mastery of the label’s Detroit golden era. ![]() The Jackson’ Five’s initial run of number one singles are all vocal gems and, appropriately, many of them (“ABC,” “Stop! The Love You Save,” “I Want You Back,” “I’ll Be There”) were produced by a team labeled “the Corporation” that included Motown founder Gordy. He was the last great vocalist to be nurtured by Motown’s hitmaking production line. From executives Berry Gordy to Suzanne de Passe, from producer Hal Davis to keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, from producer Quincy Jones to songwriter Siedah Garrett, the list includes many of the most significant figures in R&B history.įor the purposes of identifying the various transitions in vocal styles in pop music in the later part of the 20th century Jackson’s journey is an essential. To ignore him is erase the work on scores of musicians, arrangers and producers who did some of their finest work in tandem with this product of Gary, Indiana. Moreover, it is simply impossible to write any serious consideration of black popular music in the last sixty years without including Michael Jackson’s role as singer, songwriter and star. ![]() The writing of that book changed my life, that of my family and actually had an impact on the course of American cinema (profits from it allowed me to invest in Spike Lee’s first feature ‘She’s Gotta Have It.’) When the phenomenon of ‘Thriller’ made Jackson more than an R&B star, but a global pop icon, I was offered my first book deal, a chance to write a quickie paperback bio to capitalize on his appeal. My family went to see their first headline appearance at Madison Square Garden in 1970. I suspect that Jackson’s music, songs that helped define the ‘70s and ‘80s, and ‘90s, are so deeply embedded in our collective global consciousness it is difficult - likely impossible – for pop culture to escape/erase/ignore the potency of his performances. After some initial reluctance by some radio stations to play Jackson’s hits I still hear his classics flowing from car radios on both coasts. A Broadway show based on his life, delayed by Covid-19, is scheduled to open in December. There are twenty-six million monthly listeners to the Michael Jackson artists page on Spotify. Even before his death his reputation had been damaged by a child molestation trial and, since his passing, a documentary featuring two dancers who accused him of sexual abuse when they were young. Michael Jackson would have been sixty-three years old today.
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