His appeal in my view was mainly in an ability to cross popular racial and musical barriers by integrating new dance moves with R&B, motown, and rock; and he made a big impact on MTV. But he did not come up with anything very original musically. His abilities were not very strong as a songwriter or composer. Everything he did already existed in some form- R&B, pop, soul, Motown, rock, disco. I think he is best seen as a popular music icon who was able to bring pop music, dance and newly created media (MTV) to a much larger audience. I can't think of a single song he came out with during his most impactful period from 1980-1990 that had any impact on me as a person or as a musician. I was a teen at the time and musician at the time. I thought of him as a media sensation, a pop icon, a great dancer and a teen sex symbol. He was talented as all those things, but I believe his originality as a musician was rather limited. And I still think that after all these years.
To end on a genuine positive however, anyone who brings the love of music to a wider audience has done a nice thing for all, and Michael Jackson did that as much as anyone ever did during his lifetime. He was a great popularizer, bar none. And he had 25 more years coming to him that were taken away by cruel fate. As a person of similar age as Michael Jackson, I feel it is a genuine tragedy he checked out so early.
Last edited by Cubdriver; 06-26-2009 at 04:38 PM.