Michael Jackson's legacy rocked, not wrecked, by trial
http://www.usatoday.com/story/life/...ackson-legacy-four-years-after-death/2449131/
Source: USA Today – By Edna Gundersen
A wrongful-death suit revives image problems, but the late icon’s artistic stature is unassailable, experts say.
Michael Jackson died four years ago June 25, leaving behind a remarkable body of work, a mountain of debt, a squabbling family and a scandal-plagued specter.He has yet to rest in peace.
Since 2009, the singer’s estate has grown, along with appreciation for his artistry, but his private life has been undergoing renewed scrutiny in the ongoing wrongful-death suit pitting his mother against AEG Live.
For years, Jackson’s character has been battered but not destroyed by allegations of child molestation, substance abuse, cosmetic procedures and so-called abnormal behavior. As testimony revisits the pop superstar’s frailties and drug use in detail, will the freshly exhumed indignities damage Jackson’s legacy?
Courtroom mud may not be enough to dethrone the King of Pop, say some of his closest observers.“It’s rehashing what’s already been rehashed,” says Gail Mitchell, Billboard senior editor. “This is just confirmation of what we already know or what’s been gossiped about. People don’t care anymore. It might be burnout. I haven’t seen any backlash. When I talk to emerging R&B and pop types about their influences, Michael’s name invariably comes up.”
A prime example is hot Danish electro-soul duo Quadron, which covered Thriller track Baby Be Mine and pays tribute to Jackson on new album Avalanche with the song Neverland, about an obsessed fan who impersonates the singer.Revelations of Jackson’s foibles haven’t contaminated his artistic profile, says Quadron musician/producer Robin Hannibal, who sees improvement in the star’s image since his death.“And it will be more so, the longer time passes by,” he says. “All the media trash and paparazzi stuff will have evaporated and feel less important, and there will be even more focus on his artistry.
“MJ has meant a lot to us in our music. He is always present in the back of our heads when we create, and we often ask ourselves, ‘What would MJ do?’ His work ethic, talent and pursuit for perfecting his art is a huge inspiration.”Jackson imprinted Quadron’s sound in the same way he will continue to shape new generations of artists, Hannibal says.
“He was a perfectionist, but he also added a lot of emotion and honesty,” he says. “He put himself on the line. … His belief in what he did is also extremely inspiring. He shaped the modern pop song, in regard to structure, arrangement and his use of harmonies and ad-libs. He was able to mix big ballads, guitar-driven songs and R&B into the same albums.”Has the public sequestered the King of Pop from his dirty laundry?
“As the global amnesia brought on by Jackson’s death suggested, many have no problem embracing him and his often-transcendent music while ignoring his tragic and troubling life,” Varga says. “Yes, his legacy may be further tarnished by the trial. But Jackson will likely go on to rival Elvis Presley as a superstar who becomes even more lucrative in death than in life.”
“Four years after his death, Michael Jackson’s earning power is incredibly strong,” says Zack O’Malley Greenburg, a Forbes senior editor and author of the upcoming Michael Jackson, Inc. (Atria). “In fact, it’s as high as — or higher than — that of any living musical act, based on the income totals we track here at Forbes. In light of that performance, it seems unlikely the trial will affect the King of Pop’s ability to earn big from beyond the grave.”
Estimates of his posthumous net worth range from $600 million to $1 billion. When he died, he was at least $400 million in debt. And his stardom was stained.
“He was in a really bad place with all the child molestation allegations,” says Jermaine Hall, Vibe editor. “After he died, we almost immediately got back to celebrating his music. I do think people are able to separate the man from the music, despite all the stuff coming out now. You’ve been hearing it so long, you’re almost desensitized. We’re aware of his personal troubles. I don’t think the trial will have a huge impact on his legacy.”
The pop icon’s stature can withstand a thrashing, says Jackson authority Joseph Vogel, author of 2011′s Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson.
“In most ways, the trial humanizes him,” Vogel says. “Historically, so many great artists are tragic figures, from Jim Morrison to Marvin Gaye to Kurt Cobain. Michael’s life was complicated, but we’ve reached the point where his art is what people really care about. The more distance we get, the more his legacy comes into focus. I mean, Michael Jackson not only revolutionized music, but short films, dance, fashion, performance. His influence is everywhere, from Bruno Mars to Lady Gaga to Kanye West.”
The public is weary of sensational headlines, which won’t prevent anyone from buying Off the Wall or Bad, he says.“People already knew about Michael’s anxieties and health issues, including his sleep problems,” Vogel says.
“Ten, 20, 100 years from now, people won’t be going back to TMZ, but they will be listening to Billie Jean and Human Nature.”
Granted, there’s an “icky quality” to much of Jackson’s story, says Robert Thompson, a professor of pop culture at Syracuse University. But his enormous talent and fame afforded him latitude denied to ordinary mortals in the rational world.“But while he was alive, there was a notion that he was so rich and so famous at such a young age that it almost exiled him from humanity and he ended up on Planet Michael.”
Megastars dim. Just ask any Millennial about such yesteryear giants as actress Sarah Bernhardt, opera star Jenny Lind or crooner Rudy Vallée.
“For all their enormous penetration, they didn’t make that transition over a couple of generations,” Thompson says. “Michael Jackson is not going to be one of those. We are talking about a magnitude of cultural mythology that very few people share.”
A few legal maneuvers in a Los Angeles courtroom are unlikely to threaten Jackson’s towering stature.
“Where are we going to be when the smoke clears?” Thompson says. There was a cleansing to his story. OK, this wipes it all away.“But that legend is intact.”