Paying tribute

This is a paper that I wrote for a English class I had a few semesters ago. I think on this day it is perfect to express how much I appreciate Michael Jackson and how we should all pay tribute to his vision.


Thrilling the World

Music, among others things, influences and shapes society from the way we dress to how we talk to the way we view the world around us. There have been numerous artists that have had notable impact on the world, but there have only been a handful of musicians that have truly influenced society to look at the bigger picture. One such performer is Michael Jackson. He has produced multiple No.1 albums and singles, but perhaps the most record breaking and influential album that he produced is “Thriller.”
Prior to the release of “Thriller,” the world of music was very different than it is today. In fact, not only was the world of music different, but the world in general. America was slowly mending its wounds from the Vietnam War (or what we are calling it today, The Vietnam Conflict). The Monkey’s, The Beatles, Bob Dylan, Led Zeppelin, Jimi Hendrix, and many others had helped with the healing process bringing America the sounds that they needed to hear. People where trying to forget the pains that the war brought to so many hearts and homes, and they were using the great musicians of their era, more than willing to offer their aid, to enthuse and restore a tattered nation.
With the war over and the economy doing better than ever, the advances in technology soared. Only a decade before the release of “Thriller” artists were reaching the masses only through radios and record stores, and record companies did not even consider the impact of a “video” to sell music. There was no MTV. No VH1. No CMT.
Around this same time, Jackson was beginning to launch his solo career separate from The Jackson 5, which had topped the charts for years. It was with his band of brothers that Jackson got his start in Gary, Indiana. Within a year of the bands launch in 1964 Jackson became the lead singer. He was adored by fans even as a young child and this adoration would later contribute to his success as a solo artist. Despite the eventual loss of Jackson as their lead singer, as well as other losses within the group, The Jackson 5 remained part of main stream music until 1990, but only making a few appearances in their later years.
Perhaps the greatest way that Jackson influenced society was through his innovative music videos. It is often said that Jackson was the pioneer of music videos, turning them into an art form chock-full of storytelling and amazing choreography. The “Thriller” album played a huge part in that transformation. The world of music videos would not be what it is today without Jackson’s television breakthrough on MTV. Initially, Jackson’s influence on the new music television was inhibited by his African American heritage. Glenn Gamboa of newsday.com reporting on the release of “Thriller 25”, the 25th Anniversary of the album, said this about the break through video: “Perhaps more important, though, Jackson's work on "Thriller" broke the race barrier on MTV, kicking open the door for African-American artists on the channel. Jackson told Ebony magazine recently that MTV's rejection of his music videos inspired him to make "Thriller" even stronger.”(Gamboa) After some persuading from the CBS Records President threatening to not give videos to the station, MTV started showing “Billie Jean,” another of Jackson’s first hit solo songs and music videos. Jackson said this of the event that changed so many things for so many people:
“They said they don't play [black artists]. It broke my heart, but at the same time it lit something. I was saying to myself, 'I have to do something where they ... I just refuse to be ignored. So yeah, 'Billie Jean,' they said, 'We won't play it.' But when they played it, it set the all-time record. Then they were asking me for everything we had. They were knocking our door down.”(Gamboa)
This very important event changed the industry allowing the recognition of more and more black artists. It is interesting to think that without this event MTV would not be as big and influential today. “Thriller’s music videos set the creative bar so high that many pundits credit the album for transforming MTV into the global phenomenon it is today.”(Britt) Music has become more than just music. It has become entertainment. “The short film Michael released in conjunction with “Thriller” is certainly the most influential music video of all time, the one that thrust videos into the realm of art, the catalyst that completed the transition of music from an audio medium to an audio-visual medium.”(Marino) With any big hit song there is a video to go with it. Artists today would have a much harder way of getting their music known without the medium of MTV and others. With the development of the web it is even more important to add a video to draw in the masses.

Another way that Jackson paved the way for many artists is his ability to perform. He is not just a singer or just a dancer. He does it all. He is a true performer.
“The moonwalk? It was jaw-dropping, one of the last dance moves to become a cultural phenomenon. Everybody saw it, everybody knew it, everybody was stunned by it. (When he debuted the move in 1983, during a 25th-anniversary concert celebration for Motown Records, the audience responded with a bewildered shriek—they’d never seen anything like it.) This was not like the Macarena, a wedding dance, an asinine hand jive drunken bubbas could do in the stands at NFL games. The moonwalk was otherworldly. We didn’t know a body could move like that—our bodies couldn’t move like that.”(Marino)

Chris Brown, a young R&B star who idolized Jackson recently tried to pay tribute to his idol by performing three of Jackson’s early hits; needless to say that when it came time for Brown to do the famous moonwalk he just did not give it justice.
Only nine songs – it took only nine songs to make “Thriller” a hit. Not only was the album a hit but nearly all nine songs were themselves hits. Here are the songs that were originally released on the album and what they did to propel it to the top:
1. - “Wanna Be Startin’ Somthin’” – bridged disco with other world music
2. “Baby Be Mine” – never released as a single but would have done well.
3. “The Girl Is Mine” – featured Paul McCartney a surprising combination made this song a hit.
4. “Thriller” – a fourteen-minute-long film which started the whole thing and set history in motion.
5. “Beat It” – another surprise team with Eddie Van Halen and a West-side-story video, another testament to Jackson’s vision.
6. “Billie Jean” – the inspiration for the moonwalk and another great video.
7. “Human Nature” – proved to the world that he really could sing.
8. “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” – a song that is inspiration to more songs than one would think. From Janet Jackson to Rihanna.
9. “The Lady in My Life” – not released as a single but a nice change from the other songs featured on the album.
In February 2008, Jackson’s original hit album was reincarnated with the re-release of “Thriller 25,” the 25th anniversary tribute to this world-changing record. The album featured some of today’s biggest artists, including Kanye West, Fergie, Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am. and Akon. Each should pay tribute to Jackson for paving the way so that they might be as successful as they have been. In fact, with the release of the 25th anniversary album there are many celebrities paying tribute to the affect that “Thriller” had on their lives and careers.
“What Michael Jackson has as an artist that no other artist has in a long time, probably ever is that glow, that anointing as if he was chosen to… become the Michael Jackson that he is now. That isn’t just accidental to impact society, not just America but Japan, China, London, Germany, Brazil, Argentina, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Venezuela, Panama, Africa.” (will.i.am.)
“Michael Jackson definitely opened the door for all entertainers, he made music and entertainment in general one thing, you know, he made it magical. It was so categorized before Michael Jackson, ‘cause you couldn’t put him in a box, you couldn’t categorize him, you know, he wasn’t rock, he wasn’t R&B, he wasn’t soul, he wasn’t pop, he was just this amazing entity to where he was just everything all at once, so it gave you the opportunity, it gave other entertainers the opportunity to say, ‘I want to follow in those footsteps, I want to make music like that I want to be an entertainer like that’… He just opened the doors in so many different places.” (Cannon)

It is clear to see the immense impact of the “Thriller” album, across both decades and genres of music, and it is incredible to consider all the ways that Jackson’s music has influenced our society and modern world. From the broken barriers of race, to music videos, to the careers of several current artists, the remarkable “King of Pop,” Michael Jackson, is continuing to thrill the world even today.