Michael Jackson 's obituary, written in 2009 in The New York Times by Brooks Barnes, explains how Mr. Jackson has touched the hearts of many listeners with his catchy rhythms and stories portrayed throughout his songs however, it does not get in depth enough about the pure ambition and willpower that Mr. Jackson has had since he was a child that made him The King of Pop. Some examples of Mr.Jackson’s devotion is his patented shoes he invented know as “Magic Shoes” that help perform certain dance routines. Other contributions to his career would be that he practiced everything “...until it felt like second nature.” (Barnes, 2009, para. 36.) as stated by Vincent Patterson (Mr. Jackson’s choreographer/director). In Barnes obituary about Michael …show more content…
Some remarkable things Mr. Jackson contributed to the world of performance, that Barnes failed to mention, would be the world famous illusionary Moonwalk dance in which Mr. Jackson slides his feet in such a manner that it looks like he is gliding backwards. Another innovation, that Barnes failed to note, is his invention of “Anti-Gravity Shoes” which help with another illusionary dance move that Mr. Jackson invented “The Anti-Gravity Lean” as originally seen in the music video “Smooth Criminal” that debuted in 1988 by Mr.Jackson, to me that truly shows his devotion to his career and …show more content…
Even though most know him for “Thriller” album that debuted in 1982 and went 30 times platinum (30 millions sales) to this day (highest ever recorded selling album in history). Mr. Jackson will also be remembered as the King of Pop because of his love for music. That is what got him the title of King of Pop and also highest ever recorded sales for a single album which is no easy task. And as stated by Barnes, that is why the publicity and fans never abandoned him even on the day of his death by lining the streets around Mr. Jackson 's home as he was taken to the U.C.L.A. Medical Center on the day of his death by ambulance, (Barnes, 2009, para 52). This is why Mr. Jackson’s legacy shall never be
However, what attributed to Michael Jackson’s success was not because he got lucky, it is simply because he practiced hours and hours at his craft and essentially where he was born and raised. Michael wasn’t just blessed with an impressive dance skill set, behind those flashy dance moves was hard work and dedication. At the early age of 5, Michael Jackson studied and was inspired by the late great icon James Brown. Jackson studied the musicians legendary singing, dancing, and even his mannerisms while he was performing on stage. While Michael was studying the late singer, he had a hunch that he wanted to achieve major stardom in the same fashion as James Brown. In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Outliers, he addressed the 10,000 hour rule. He indicated that it takes roughly ten thousand hours of practice to achieve full mastery in a field. It’s easy to assume that Michael simply just had a natural ability to sing and dance, but we tend to overlook the endless amount of hours this man has put forth to become so successful. The most compelling evidence that contributed to his success was his ability to have room for error and think of new ideas. Michael was constantly searching and constructing new dance moves/routines to perform to his audience. In addition, he always eager to
middle of paper ... ... If Jackson did not change his view of life, work hard at everything he did, and excel at sports, who knows where he would be today? He could be sitting in a jail cell because he never changed his ways and lost his temper, or he could still be living in a small house in a small town.
Michael Jackson is known as the greatest entertainer of all-time. Even though he became known for classic pop hits such as Beat It, Billie Jean, and Thriller, Jackson is more than a one-dimensional artist. Jackson have the ability to cover all genre of music from techno to gospel. Next to pop, love songs are Jackson’s second strongest suit in music. In 1982, Jackson released The Lady in my Life, arguably his greatest love ballads of his career. Unlike Trey Songz who used the vulgar and infidelity language about his sex-partner, from the opening lines of “There be no darkness tonight, lady our love will shine,” Jackson captured the nature of
With his father recently deceased, his mother, Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, was forced to live with family. Because of this, Jackson’s mother had to earn her families room and board by working for her relatives. He was surrounded by family, but never really fit in. I believe this led to an inferiority complex in Jackson; causing aggression and the need to “one up” everyone. As a child, he was constantly fighting; trying to prove his strength and worth. It is said, that Jackson would get so worked up he would be “slobbering”. It is my opinion that this is where Jackson started building his legendary personality; dominating those around him with his charisma or hostility. I believe it is because of this personality he accomplished so many things; it is also what led him to treat those he saw as “beneath him” so poorly. (Meacham
life, as well as in the lives of the other Jackson’s, there seemed to be so much pressure for success, but they all seemed to lack self-esteem.
Michael Joseph Jackson, or as most people know him The King of Pop, was a
According to CNN, Jackson was taking more painkillers than he needed and he grew more and more dependent on them. He even had to cut his Dangerous tour short because he needed to enter a rehab program in 1993 (Duke 2013). Sadly, “Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50. Jackson suffered cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home and was rushed to the hospital after his heart stopped and CPR attempts failed. He died later that morning” (Michael Jackson Biography.com 2017). It was later reported in 2010 that Michael Jackson died from a drug overdose. Jackson’s personal physician told police that Michael took the drugs to help him sleep and he had an addiction to the drugs. He even referred to the drugs as his “milk.” The physician tried to wean Jackson off the drugs near the time of his death (Michael Jackson Biography.com 2017). After his death, Jackson’s children were in the custody of their grandmother, Katherine Jackson (Michael Jackson Biography.com). Soon after, Michael Jackson’s ranch was sold for 100 million dollars, and would soon be lowered to 33 million dollars. Neverland’s name was also changed to Sycamore Valley Ranch (White 2017). Even though Michael Jackson was known as one of the greatest singers and performers of all time, his mistakes made him go down as one of the most controversial modern tragic
Michael Jackson and His Impact on Pop Music Introduction: There have always been pioneers in every field one can think of, no matter what. These people had a great mentality and also a taste for innovation and creativity, so they happened to have a great influence on what they were doing. This is why now they are called ‘pioneers’. Music-wise, no one can ignore the impact of Michael Jackson’s music on the mainstream music in totality and particularly on the pop culture. He started as one of the singers of a boy band and ended up becoming the greatest entertainer of all time (according to Guinness records).
The night of May 16, 1983, almost 50 million people watched one of the most spectacular performance on television (Scott 1). Jackson won 40 Billboard music awards (Scott 1). His lyrics are powerful he also talks about social causes, human race, and relationships. He inspired millions of people with the music he wrote. Since I was a little girl I listened to his music couple of my favorite songs are “Bad”, “Dirty Diana”, Make that Change”, “You are not alone”, “Billie Jean” “Smooth Criminal”. These songs where inspiring to me growing up to this day I listen to him. My siblings and me loved his movie called “The Moonwalker,” It’s about his music career when he was five years old till he went solo as an artist at the age of thirteen. I would watch his movie repeatedly. My sisters and me would try to follow his dance moves but we were always unsuccessful it was a great memory growing up. I loved the part when he turns himself into a bunny as a little girl I thought that was awesome. I would think I had magic And, I remember telling my mom “I wanted to be like Michael Jackson because he has powers” my mother would just laugh. One of his quotes from his lyrics that is powerful to me is “If you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself, then make that change,” this
Some of my earliest memories of listening to Michael Jackson include his number 1 hit 'Beat It'. I can remember that when I was younger, Michael Jackson’s 'Beat It' was one of his first songs that I ever listened to. Between the driving rock guitar, the soaring vocals, and the overall story that the song delivers, the song has easily become one of my favorite Michael Jackson tracks to this day.
First, he became the first artist to have obtained a total of eight Grammys at one night during the twenty-sixth Annual Grammy Awards, (Grammys). The thing that is remarkable about this is it very hard just receive one Grammy, but to receive eight you need to be someone very special. Not only did he receive eight Grammys on one night he was also, one out of fifteen individuals to have received the, "prestigious Grammy Legend Award.", (Grammys). Since there was only a total of fifteen awards overall that means only fifteen of the most special or best singers can have received that award, and basically that can be used to conclude that Jackson was one of the most
Unquestionably one of the most influential musical pioneers of the last half-century, James Brown, often known as “The Godfather of Soul”, laid a musical foundation that many artists were influenced by. Ranging from Mick Jagger to Afrika Bambaataa to Jay Z, Brown’s musical characteristics can be seen in various artists. How did the music of Michael Jackson demonstrate the influence of James Brown?
Although “Thriller” is beloved as a classic 80’s pop music video, it manages a successful dive into the social and political issues that make zombie flicks so great. Pulling from a history of work on zombies, Michael Jackson packs so much history into such a concise package. Through using the texts of Amy Devitt and Kerry Dirk we are able to uncover Jackson’s experience and social commentary in “Thriller”. He simultaneously writes a hit song, revolutionizes music videos, and still remarks on the societal problems of the early 1980’s. However, the story goes much further than that of a number one hit. “Thriller” owes its success to an important cultural figure that looms as large as
Alan Jackson, a country music singer, is one of a few superstars who has built his career on traditional country. The Boot Staff states that Alan Jackson is “one of the greatest singers in country music that has written the best songs in the history of the genre”. He has “written more than sixty singles and half of them have reached to #1 on the charts” (The Boot Staff). Most of the songs that Alan Jackson has written during his career are about his personal experiences. The song “Remember When” was written “during a difficult period in his marriage, which was when he and his wife got separated and then reconciled” several months later (The Boot Staff). In the song “Remember When” by Alan Jackson, the lyrics, music video, and history reveal the events in his life with his wife so they will remember as they grow old together.