Michael Jackson and the Creation of His Pop Culture - Essay Example

Michael Jackson and the creation of his pop culture Introduction Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, United States. He was the eighth born in the Jackson’s family and got into music at a tender age in the year 1964 alongside his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon who became known as The Jackson 5. He later got into solo performance in 1971 in which he later became one of the most dominant figures in the music industry in the entire world. He was an American singer songwriter, dance as well as an actor who starred in several movies. He gained the title King of Pop owing to the fact that he contributed a lot to that genre of music and dance. Some of his commonly known music videos include Beat It, Thriller, Scream, Black or White and Billie Jean which were considered to be advocating for racial integration in the American society (Fisher, 23). He emerged with a number of dance moves such as the robot and moonwalk to which people knew him best and became part of his thrilling performance whenever he was on stage. The curtain finally went down in his life in June 25, 2009 in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, California, in the United States aged fifty when he died. The life as well as the music career of Michael Jackson is filled with numerous remarkable events and he made a great contribution to the music industry that has long lived beyond his death. He is therefore worth writing about owing to the fact that very few music artistic have achieved what Michael was able to achieve in his entire music career. Many people all over the world have something to remember about this popular pop artist who inspired them in life. He had a great influence on other genre of music such as hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop, and rock by being the role model to the artists who performed such genres (Danesi,57). Despite the fact that pop culture has been witnessed in a number of departments and areas of life, music has registered the most remarkable application of this culture and it is mainly attributable to the King of Pop; Michael Jackson. His biography clearly demonstrated the formation as well as the establishment of this form of culture that has become a way of life in various parts of the world to date. Remarkable events in the life of Michael jackson In June 1975, the Jackson 5 made a historic signing with Epic Records which is a subsidiary of CBS Records. The move necessitated a change in their name from The Jackson 5 to The Jacksons. It was at that time that another Jackson known as Randy formally joined the band. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael become the groups lead songwriter during this time and proceeded to write a number of hits such as Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) in the year 1979, This Place Hotel in the year 1980 and Can You Feel It in 1980). He began his film career in 1978 when he starred as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, which starred other renowned actors such as Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross. He later proceeded to produce another hit single known as Off the Wall under the help of Quincy Jones. In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine which marked the beginning of his future health complications. The production of the hit album Off the Wall in 1979 marked a major transition in the music career of Michael Jackson as he transited from the youth singer to an adult singer. That album reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide. In 1980, Jackson won three awards at the American Music Awards for his solo efforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Dont Stop Til You Get Enough". He also won Billboard Year-End awards for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album, and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Dont Stop Til You Get Enough".In 1981 Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt that Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit. The events and achievements increased the number of people liking and following his music thus the pop culture became deeply entrenched in the life of many people all over the world. Children all over the world began to practice and exercise his magic moves to the enthusiasm of their parents leading to the promotion as well as the development of this form of culture. The formation of his pop culture The album Thriller that earned Jackson seven additional Grammys and eight American Music Awards was released in 1982. This is the album that led Jackson into the creation of his own pop culture. The music album became the best-selling music album in the year 1983 and it can be attributed to the emergence and rise of the popular culture as it had a very unique and distinct style of performance that moved people all over the world. It sold close to 70 million copies in only one year marking a record that has never been broken in the history of music production in the entire world. Unlike Off the Wall, this album topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin Somethin. In the year 2009, this album was certified for 29 million shipments by the RIAA,[59] giving it Double Diamond status in the United States. Later life and death The physical appearance of the musician had been gradually changing over the years. His skin had been a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, but starting in the mid-1980s, it gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that he might be bleaching his skin. He was later diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus which may have been caused by skin bleaching. As a result, both illnesses made him sensitive to sunlight and the treatment for such conditions further led to the lightening of his skin. He underwent major physical transformations which were witnessed by decrease in body weight which was a deliberate move aimed at gaining a light body for making vigorous dance moves. In his later years, he came into sharp disagreement with his recording label Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him sometime in the early 2000s. Once he had the licenses, he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep all the profits. Jackson discovered that the attorney who represented him in the deal was also representing Sony. Jackson was also concerned about the fact that for a number of years, Sony had been pressuring him to sell his share in their music catalog venture. Jackson feared that Sony might have a conflict of interest, since if Jacksons career failed, he would have to sell his share of the catalog at a low price. Detecting foul play, Jackson sought an early exit from his contract with Sony (Smit, 34-78). Conclusion Throughout his life, Michael Jackson influenced the world through a number of ways leading to the creation of his popular culture. He created a unique form of fashion marked by the single, white, sequined glove. He further had red leather jacket with so many zippers, the pegged pants as well as the fedora. The bedazzled military coats offered a remarkable blend in his outfits. He outfitted himself to show off his magical moves. Black shoes with glittering white socks proved that he knew no one could ignore feet turned out like that. He made a great influence through his sound. At the onset of his career, Jackson was a lovable, pint-sized pre-teen with a puffy Afro and an electric voice. Through the 1970s, 1980s and early 1990s, Jackson held onto the earnestness he had as the front-man of the Jackson Five. His voice made people to believe in every word that he sang. His dancing styles attracted everyone although no one could actually make such moves apart from Jackson. Music might have made him a star, but from the blunt sexuality of the crotch grabs, to the laser-sharp spins, snaps and pivots, to the mesmerizing group choreography spotlighted in his videos, to, of course, the otherworldly impossibility that was his moonwalk, dance launched Jackson into the stratosphere. His music videos were a great form of attraction and people waited eagerly whenever he had announced a new release. The Thriller video was the most expensive video to be ever released at the time and people waited patiently to have to roll on their television screens. Work Cited Danesi, Marcel. Popular Culture: Introductory Perspectives. Lanham, Md: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2012. Print. Fisher, Mark. The Resistible Demise of Michael Jackson. Winchester, UK: Zero Books, 2009. Print. Rojek, Chris. Pop Music, Pop Culture. Cambridge [u.a.: Polity Press, 2011. Print. Smit, Christopher R. Michael Jackson: Grasping the Spectacle. Farnham, Surrey: Ashgate, 2012. Print. Read More