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As news of Jackson’s death spread worldwide, a deluge of tributes emerged — not just from the singer’s home country, but from diverse international sources as well. Former South Korean President Kim Dae-jung, for example, described Jackson as “a hero of the world,” reported the New York Times, while the Nelson Mandela Foundation, created by the human rights activist and former president of South Africa, stated, “His loss will be felt by fans worldwide.”
Nowhere was the global impact of the singer’s death more evident than on the Internet, which exploded with Jackson-related news following the event. YouTube quickly displayed tens of thousands of homemade tribute videos; one particularly unusual segment, showing more than 1,500 inmates in a Philippines prison performing the signature dance from Jackson’s groundbreaking Thriller music video, spread virally, receiving more than 28 million views at the time this article was written. There were news reports that Google News, a leading search engine, initially received so many “Michael Jackson” requests that its computers mistakenly believed it was under automated cyberattack.
The power of Jackson’s music to unite fans from around the globe — seemingly regardless of their political, religious, ethnic, or socio-economic differences — remains unparalleled. “My parents don’t know much American music,” said Rajneil Singh, a 23-year-old whose family immigrated to the United States from the Fiji Islands in the 1970s. “But they know all of Michael Jackson. He transcends not just cultures, but generations — the old people are just as sad as the young people. There aren’t many artists who can have that sort of impact.”
THE MAN AND THE MUSIC
In 1999, Jackson met with Nelson Mandela (left, foreground) and donated profits from two shows to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.
Jackson crafted a trademark musical style that earned him massive success. “You could say that it was pop or that it was rhythm and blues, but it really was a unique-sounding hybrid,” said Geoff Grace, a California composer who worked for Jackson as an arranger and orchestrator in conjunction with Jackson’s longtime music director, Brad Buxer. “Michael would never imitate someone else’s style. He was always an original.” While maintaining his distinctive voice, Jackson exhibited a wide stylistic range. “There are a lot of acts known for hard-hitting dance music, or for tender ballads, but Michael was known for both,” added Grace. “People might have been interested in him for something sweet like ‘The Girl Is Mine,’ or a harder, driving song like ‘Jam.’ He had a breadth, as well as uniqueness, of style that captured a lot of people’s attention.”
Key to Jackson’s style was the sonic bedrock that Buxer, Grace and others helped create for his recordings and live performances. “A lot of the instrumental sounds used on Michael’s recordings are larger than life, just like everything else about him,” said Grace. Whether recording pianos, drums, synthesizers or strings, Jackson and his production team took great care to produce tones and textures that were edgy and powerful. “The goal was more than just creating a wide, lush, stereo soundscape,” Grace continued. “It was, ‘What can we use to make an impact?’”
Perhaps more important than the music itself was Jackson’s total fearlessness on stage. The singer’s breakout television performance of the song “Billie Jean” for the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, and Forever special in 1983, for example, showcased Jackson’s fiery energy, explosively virtuosic dancing and total commitment to his performance. “Starting in the 1990s, there would be moments when he would just stop and scream during his concerts and videos,” said Grace. “He didn’t hold anything back.”
Jackson grew up in the spotlight as the youngest member of the Jackson 5 singing group, performing with his four older brothers and achieving stardom as a child. And though this early experience can explain much of the appeal Jackson would later develop as a solo artist, other factors contributed as well. “Michael Jackson transcended boundaries,” said Jason Burwen, a world-music radio disc jockey and graduate student in international public policy. “Pop music is about being popular, and he appealed to people with different backgrounds. He was not just music — he was, in and of himself, a fantasy, and people were into that.” Grace echoed the sentiment. “There was nobody who was even remotely like Michael,” he said. “He didn’t fit into anybody’s stereotypes of anything. And people wanted to know what made him tick.”
Indeed, Jackson’s life on and off the stage was one of spectacle and controversy, inspiring both adoration and revulsion from the global public. Jackson’s lavish California “Neverland Ranch,” for example, housed a zoo and amusement park, while his dramatic, plastic surgery-induced appearance changes attracted morbid fascination from fans and media alike. “He was larger than life, and nobody thought he was really human,” said Burwen. “So when he passed away, it was a huge shock. Nobody thought he could actually die.”
Michael Gallant, a musician, composer, producer and author living in San Francisco, serves as senior editor at Keyboard magazine
http://www.america.gov/st/peopleplace-english/2009/July/20090708153044maduobbA0.994198.html
Nowhere was the global impact of the singer’s death more evident than on the Internet, which exploded with Jackson-related news following the event. YouTube quickly displayed tens of thousands of homemade tribute videos; one particularly unusual segment, showing more than 1,500 inmates in a Philippines prison performing the signature dance from Jackson’s groundbreaking Thriller music video, spread virally, receiving more than 28 million views at the time this article was written. There were news reports that Google News, a leading search engine, initially received so many “Michael Jackson” requests that its computers mistakenly believed it was under automated cyberattack.
The power of Jackson’s music to unite fans from around the globe — seemingly regardless of their political, religious, ethnic, or socio-economic differences — remains unparalleled. “My parents don’t know much American music,” said Rajneil Singh, a 23-year-old whose family immigrated to the United States from the Fiji Islands in the 1970s. “But they know all of Michael Jackson. He transcends not just cultures, but generations — the old people are just as sad as the young people. There aren’t many artists who can have that sort of impact.”
THE MAN AND THE MUSIC
In 1999, Jackson met with Nelson Mandela (left, foreground) and donated profits from two shows to the Nelson Mandela Children's Fund.
Jackson crafted a trademark musical style that earned him massive success. “You could say that it was pop or that it was rhythm and blues, but it really was a unique-sounding hybrid,” said Geoff Grace, a California composer who worked for Jackson as an arranger and orchestrator in conjunction with Jackson’s longtime music director, Brad Buxer. “Michael would never imitate someone else’s style. He was always an original.” While maintaining his distinctive voice, Jackson exhibited a wide stylistic range. “There are a lot of acts known for hard-hitting dance music, or for tender ballads, but Michael was known for both,” added Grace. “People might have been interested in him for something sweet like ‘The Girl Is Mine,’ or a harder, driving song like ‘Jam.’ He had a breadth, as well as uniqueness, of style that captured a lot of people’s attention.”
Key to Jackson’s style was the sonic bedrock that Buxer, Grace and others helped create for his recordings and live performances. “A lot of the instrumental sounds used on Michael’s recordings are larger than life, just like everything else about him,” said Grace. Whether recording pianos, drums, synthesizers or strings, Jackson and his production team took great care to produce tones and textures that were edgy and powerful. “The goal was more than just creating a wide, lush, stereo soundscape,” Grace continued. “It was, ‘What can we use to make an impact?’”
Perhaps more important than the music itself was Jackson’s total fearlessness on stage. The singer’s breakout television performance of the song “Billie Jean” for the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, and Forever special in 1983, for example, showcased Jackson’s fiery energy, explosively virtuosic dancing and total commitment to his performance. “Starting in the 1990s, there would be moments when he would just stop and scream during his concerts and videos,” said Grace. “He didn’t hold anything back.”
Jackson grew up in the spotlight as the youngest member of the Jackson 5 singing group, performing with his four older brothers and achieving stardom as a child. And though this early experience can explain much of the appeal Jackson would later develop as a solo artist, other factors contributed as well. “Michael Jackson transcended boundaries,” said Jason Burwen, a world-music radio disc jockey and graduate student in international public policy. “Pop music is about being popular, and he appealed to people with different backgrounds. He was not just music — he was, in and of himself, a fantasy, and people were into that.” Grace echoed the sentiment. “There was nobody who was even remotely like Michael,” he said. “He didn’t fit into anybody’s stereotypes of anything. And people wanted to know what made him tick.”
Indeed, Jackson’s life on and off the stage was one of spectacle and controversy, inspiring both adoration and revulsion from the global public. Jackson’s lavish California “Neverland Ranch,” for example, housed a zoo and amusement park, while his dramatic, plastic surgery-induced appearance changes attracted morbid fascination from fans and media alike. “He was larger than life, and nobody thought he was really human,” said Burwen. “So when he passed away, it was a huge shock. Nobody thought he could actually die.”
Michael Gallant, a musician, composer, producer and author living in San Francisco, serves as senior editor at Keyboard magazine
http://www.america.gov/st/peopleplace-english/2009/July/20090708153044maduobbA0.994198.html