Michael Jackson : The True King Of Pop And Soul

Michael Jackson once sang “I 'm starting with the man in the mirror. I 'm asking him to change his ways. No message could have been any clearer; if you want to make the world a better place, take a look at yourself and make the change” (Jackson). Defined by Merriam-Webster as “the study of the development, structure, interaction, and collective behavior of organized groups of human beings” (Merriam-Webster Dictionary), sociology helps us to better understand our sociological world and ourselves by giving us a new window to the world around us. Through this window we can see how other culture’s history, beliefs, and geographic location molds them into who they are; their thoughts, beliefs, and practices they have adopted. Once this new understanding and open-mindedness has been obtained, you will have a different, maybe stronger, understanding and appreciation for your own culture. A new image will appear in your mirror. Education practices can vary greatly between different cultures.

Cassette tapes…yes, those bulky pieces of plastic that you would have to flip over to the other side just to hear the rest of your favorite artist! Trust me, I know. However, I will have you know that at the beginning of the 1970’s sparked the age of modernization for the music and recoding industry. During this time, compact cassette tapes brought not only convenience but also better quality then their predictors past. For this Prownian Analysis Project I chose a cassette tape that had been passed down to me after the passing of Michael Jackson. More specifically, Michael Jackson’s 1979 release of “Off the Wall”. Stated by an artistic review web site called Pitchfork.com, The idea for the cover of Off the Wall came from the late 70’s show The Jacksons. Michael, often seen inviting various guests to sign a fake brick facade and do a little dance ending in a frozen ta-da! Pose. Aimed for detailed description of the cover art, the cassette tape itself, and a breakdown of its

All three of these songs had a significant part popular culture and helped make Michael Jackson's mark in the music industry. Below, I will analyze the song's musical characteristics based on why the songs had become such tremendous hits, the history and song meaning behind the lyric, and how the song performed on the charts in the past and present. Michael is not just a leader, but the leader, and by analyzing the songs Thriller, Beat It, and Billie Jean, it is very easy to tell how he became such an international superstar and forever musical legend.

Michael Jackson was known around the world as the “King of Pop.” He was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness, which molded him into a shy and quiet person. Something he was opposite of on stage. It is well documented that his father became violent with him and his brothers in order to push them to become successful. Thus, missing out on his childhood. During his early life, Michael had an accident that resulted in burns on his head and face. After this incident he had plastic surgery, changing the shape of his nose. Although he was born an African American, it became apparent that he started to appear lighter and lighter, bleaching his skin and ultimately appearing white. He created his own amusement park called Neverland, where there were exotic

Michael Jackson was not only an artists but a human being who had his struggles. One of them was the insecurity about his appearance which he had tried to correct and then perfect for most of his life. Another was his insistence on preserving his childhood dreams which resulted in the creation of the Neverland Ranch complete with an amusement park and a zoo. Michael was also known for understanding and loving children and on several occasions was accused of child molestation. The shadow of these accusations did

Michael Jackson had been making music for pretty much his entire life, for he started making music at a very young age. In fact, he started his music career at the age of 5 (“Michael Jackson”). He was considered to be the favorite out of the group by most people. “Michael Jackson was the youngest and most talented of five brothers whom his father, Joseph, shaped into a dazzling group of child stars known as the Jackson 5” (Vincent). The world soon became aware of how talented this young Michael really was. “Jackson was one of the nation’s finest 1960s rhythm-and-blues vocalists

For many decades popular cultural icons, Michael Jackson and Prince dominated the music scene. Over the years there are always countless discussions about both of their careers. Although Michael and Prince bear some superficial similarities with their musical influences on the world, the differences between their careers and upbringings are clear.

Respect, talent, fame, this “king of pop” had it all. He was very well-liked, and was a role model for many. His career even kicked off at such a young age when he and his brothers started their own band, The Jackson 5. These boys made an astonishing effort to travel to various Children’s Hospitals just to try to bring joy to the lives of very sick children. Michael Jackson continued to prove very successful, even on his own. Throughout his career, he was a constant supporter of many different charities, such as the Make-A-Wish Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House, and the American Cancer Society, just to name a few. He proceeded to take part in giving back to the community by donating to charity, even as he aged.

Michael Jackson was a singer, songwriter and a talented dancer. At the age of five, he became the lead singer of his family’s popular group, The Jackson 5. Later, he went to a solo career with massive success. He was dubbed the “King of Pop” for his contribution to the world to music.

“Oh, that was just the greatest entertainer of all time!” A very intelligent girl exclaimed. Michael Jackson is certainly the greatest entertainer that has ever lived. To begin, an article stated this, “The King of Pop's hits included Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller and his 1982 album was the best-selling album of all time, with more than 26 million copies sold” (“Michael Jackson”). Since his album is the best selling album ever and that he has millions of fans that proves he actually is the greatest entertainer ever. Secondly, Jackson is referred as The King of Pop because Michael is a very skilled dancer, singer, and songwriter (Hill 249). This shows that he was very

Michael Jackson had begun his solo career in 1971, in 1979 he sold the record Off The Wall and in 1987 he sold the record Bad. In 1971 he had begun his solo career. When he begun his solo career people didn't like his music. After making his number one hit record Off The Wall he blew up with fame. He had then sold the record BAD by then he had been the king of pop. He created a famous dance called the moonwalk.

Michael Jackson, a man that changed the music world forever. Jackson made his professional singing debut in 1964 with his siblings in a band called the Jackson 5. Jackson made it big with Jackson 5 having many singles reach the top 100 in the United States. But, when Jackson decided to start his own solo career in 1971 we were seeing a side of Michael Jackson that we have never seen before. Most importantly Jackson 1982, mulit-platinum selling album Thriller. Michael Jackson broke music barriers and made a change for racial equality in the music industry.

to music critics Jackson’s album Thriller seemed to be inspired by “a mixture of several genres

Michael Jackson or formally known as the "King of pop" characterized a musical time changing and touching the lives of millions for time he was on earth. Michael, being one of eight children from the multi-talented Jackson family, was dispatched into a musical universe not at all like others. But, his dedication and fame blossomed to the illustrious Jackson 5 and ultimately made him the solo pop start we all knew and loved. Michael was genuinely an amazing man that utilized his music to breakdown numerous boundaries that confronted the normal individual in the public arena, for instance, racism one of the greatest issues of Michaels’ time and was dealt with via songs constructing a fan base of millions who could relate to what Michael had to say. Michael was almost always in the spot light for disputable matters, for example, the subject of his skin however nothing of genuine damming nature. Notwithstanding Michaels numerous achievements all through his profession, numerous people felt as though the “King of Pop” was no more powerful as he succumbed to a progression of misfortunate events in 2005.

Michael Jackson, the King of Pop would not be who he is today without his inspirations, James Brown and Jackie Wilson (Taraborrelli, 2). James Brown, the godfather of soul, emphasized the genre of soul and the formation of a new music style called funk. He was a well-known singer, dancer, composer and performer. In his songs, he focused on the rhythm and groove making him different from the rest of the music artists of his time. His performance style was full of energy and different with his various dance moves and he was always ready at the mic on perfect que (Appell and Hemphill 320). Jackie Wilson on the other hand was well-known also for his stage performances and his songs would be a mix between James Brown and