On The Download: 10 Ways Michael Jackson Changed Music

1. His work with the Jackson 5

The Jackson 5 sparked a phenomenon comparable to Beatle-Mania. The five young men from Gary, Ind., made girls scream and made teens and adults alike start listening and dancing to their music. Whether it was bubblegum, soul, pop or R&B, the Jackson 5 covered almost every genre and in doing so, crossed racial lines, garnering fans of every race and influenced just about every vocal group that followed from New Edition, to ‘NSync to Destiny’s Child. Even decades later, when the brothers performed at Michael’s 30th anniversary celebration, the magic and chemistry was still there as they performed their classic songs and signature dance moves.

2. His solo career

It’s fairly rare in the music business to break off from a hugely successful group and become even more successful as a solo artist. Before Beyonce, Gwen, Fergie, and Justin did it, Michael said goodbye to his brothers and became one of the biggest selling artists of all time. Michael was never afraid of trying new sounds with each new album. Whether it was the disco sounds in “Off the Wall,” the soul in “Thriller,” the pop in “Bad,” the rock and roll in “Dangerous,” the R&B in “Invincible” or the fusion of all those genres in “HIStory,” Michael never stopped developing and creating new sounds as an artist.

3. Killer dance moves and a little thing called…The Moowalk

May 16, 1983, the world watched in awe as Michael defied gravity at the Motown 25 Celebration. Even the dancer of all dancers — Fred Astaire, called Michael that night to congratulate him on his moves. Every time Michael danced, you could see he could feel the music and rhythm in his blood. Yes, his moves were at times controversial, but that’s what made his moves so memorable. He was a consummate performer and helped redefine dance, just as Shakespeare helped to redefine the English language. You’d be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t know one of his dance moves.

4. Thriller

Michael’s chef-d’oeuvre. “Thriller” was the album that shot Michael way past superstardom into a musical hemisphere only known to Elvis and the Beatles. What can I say about “Thriller” that hasn’t already been said? Every song on the album is amazing, though there’s something to be said about my favorite song on the album, the rarely played “Lady in My Life.” That song, coupled with the cool and sophisticated album cover showed just how smooth and charismatic he was.

5. Innovative music videos and MTV

MTV was just a fledgling network, debuting in 1981. In March, 1983, “Billie Jean” was added to the MTV’s rotation and helped the network to gain steady popularity. “Beat It” and “Thriller” soon followed, establishing MJ as a groundbreaking video star. Soon the productions became even more elaborate and detailed. Getting Martin Scorsese to direct his “Bad” video was quite impressive. “Smooth Criminal” had us in awe again of his dance moves, wondering how he could lean forward and back so far without falling over. Magnets? “Black Or White” was a revolutionary video with that famous “morphing” scene, but it was also inspirational, showing MJ dance with people around the world. And who could forget the fun he had in “Remember the Time” with cameos by Eddie Murphy, Magic Johnson, and Iman. The vulnerability he showed in “You Are Not Alone” has always stayed with me. I could go on forever about his videos, but I’ll stop at “Scream.” Watching brother Michael and sister Janet in a very expensively made space age video, fighting over video games and synchronizing their dance breaks…it really doesn’t get better than that.

6. We Are The World

Michael, along with Lionel Richie and Quincy Jones, gathered the biggest recording stars of the 1980’s to create one of the biggest selling singles of that decade. Michael, Lionel, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Ray Charles, Diana Ross, Stevie Wonder, Cyndi Lauper, the Jackson siblings…and even Dan Aykroyd came together to record what would become the benchmark for benefit singles. Written by Michael and Lionel, and released in 1985, “We Are the World” raised money for famine relief in Africa and paved the way for subsequent charity recordings, from “That’s What Friends are For,” (the Elton John, Dionne Warwick, Gladys Knight, Stevie Wonder collaboration) to last year’s star-studded cancer fundraiser, “Just Stand Up,” (featuring Beyonce, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey and Rihanna). This is the song and the event that brought the “charity single” to a whole new level. It became a huge phenomenon and showed how the biggest stars in the world could put aside their egos and raise money for a good cause. “We Are The World” epitomized Michael’s philanthropic ways. He was a man who had a lot to give and always wanted to help those less fortunate than him.

7. The King of Collaborators

Michael worked with EVERYONE. Musicians, producers, directors…you name it. Eddie Van Halen provided the guitar riffs for “Beat It.” While a decade later, another guitar god, Slash, worked with Michael on “Black or White” and “Give In To Me” for his “Dangerous” album. He duetted with Paul McCartney multiple times. He brought a then unknown Sheryl Crow on to sing backup on his “Bad” tour. He worked with music’s biggest producers including Quincy Jones and Berry Gordy. And in recent years, he worked with the likes Will.I.Am and Akon, creating new music with them. It seems everyone wanted the opportunity to work with Michael.

8. Everyone wanted to be like Mike

Michael greatly influenced a slew of today’s pop musicians and singers. From Justin Timberlake to Usher to Britney to Rihanna, they were all influenced and inspired by MJ.

9. The Live Experience

I absolutely hate that I never got to see him live in concert. But having watched many of his concerts on TV, it’s obvious it was quite a sight to behold. Any concert of Michael’s was a spectacular event. The pandemonium in the audience was crazy: people screamed, cried, passed out and had to be taken away on stretchers. It was all a reaction to seeing Michael being shot straight up from underneath the stage and landing as pyrotechnics went off. He’d stand there for a matter of minutes without moving, just listening to the crowd scream. And then he would move – sharply he’d move his head to the left. The screams got higher. After another minute of doing nothing, he moved again, slowly removing his sunglasses. And the screams swelled to heights that would deafen anyone. And this is all before he even sang a note. After a high-energy set, he would take off wearing a jet pack. I only wish I knew what the audience felt like inside the stadium. All that happened on only one tour. Each tour had it’s own life and personality and Michael did his best to give his fans the best show they’ve ever seen.

10. Michael Unified

Michael Jackson brought everyone together despite their musical tastes, their race, their gender, their religion… Although he may be gone, people continue to love Michael Jackson’s music. Even people who didn’t appreciate him or like him as a person, it didn’t matter. There was no denying that Michael was a talented, innovative, ingenious man.

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