Michael named Top Hoosier musician

billyworld99

Proud Member
Joined
Jul 25, 2011
Messages
2,021
Points
0
About the series: The list of 25 top Hoosier musicians includes subjective selections by Indianapolis Star reporter David Lindquist. For this list, a “Hoosier” is defined as someone who helped shape the cultural identity of Indiana or someone whose identity was shaped by the state.

This is the conclusion of a series that looks at the top 25 musicians, ranked in order, in Indiana history. The list includes representatives of blues, pop, country, hip-hop, R&B, rock, classical, jazz, Broadway and punk rock styles.



Full List

25. Scrapper Blackwell

24. Bob Flanigan

23. Bobby Helms

22. Lisa Germano

21. Rusty Redenbacher

20. Crystal Gayle

19. Charlie Fuqua

18. Steve Wariner

17. Dale Lawrence

16. Yank Rachell

15. Paul Mahern

14. Kenny Aronoff

13. Joshua Bell

12. Janet Jackson

11. J.J. Johnson

10. Axl Rose

9. Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds

8. Hoagy Carmichael

7. Freddie Hubbard

6. John Hiatt

5. John Mellencamp

4. Bill Monroe

3. Wes Montgomery

2. Cole Porter

1. Michael Jackson





bilde


Michael Jackson

'King of Pop' specialized in joyful dance hits, empathetic ballads



. Michael Jackson



A new era of superstars dawned when Michael Jackson sold more than 40 million copies of 1982 album "Thriller," which continues to hold steady as the top-selling recording of all time.



Gary, Ind., native Jackson (1958-2009) earned his "King of Pop" nickname by making joy-infused dance hits and empathetic ballads. Within a career packed with honors, awards and superlatives, Jackson was named "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" by the Guinness Book of World Records in 2006.



May 16 will mark the 30th anniversary of a television broadcast that brought Jackson's greatness into clear focus for an audience of millions. As part of a special titled "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and Forever," he performed smash single "Billie Jean" and complemented his lyrics with a memorable look (black fedora, one sequined glove and sequined socks) and unforgettable moves (the back-sliding "moonwalk" dance).



"Thriller" was bookended by significant-selling albums "Off the Wall" (20 million copies in 1979) and "Bad" (30 million in 1987). In 1985, Jackson and Lionel Richie co-wrote landmark charity single "We Are the World."



"The Daniels house was full of Michael Jackson's music for all the years our girls were growing up, and I think Cheri may have been a bigger fan than any of our daughters," Gov. Mitch Daniels said following Jackson's death. "His music will live a long time, and Indiana will always be proud of the Jackson family."

Jackson's singing career began in Gary, where he spent his earliest years in a white house roughly the size of a two-car garage -- 2300 Jackson St. Nine children of Joseph and Katherine Jackson lived in the house, and sons Michael, Tito, Marlon, Jackie and Jermaine became the dynamic Jackson 5 singing group. The quintet made its live debut at Gary nightclub Mr. Lucky's in 1964.



Seven years later, the chart-topping Jackson 5 returned to record TV special "Goin' Back to Indiana" at Gary's West Side High School. Michael Jackson made a high-profile visit to Gary in 2003, receiving a ceremonial key to the city and greeting crowds of well-wishers at City Hall and at Roosevelt High School. "Thank you for a magical day I'll remember for the rest of my life," he said.



Despite Jackson's faults (he paid $22 million to the family of a 13-year-old boy who accused the singer of sexual abuse), he remains globally loved.



Following Jackson's death, The Indianapolis Star published an editorial that framed the singer's complicated life: "From prodigy to tragedy, Michael Jackson lived inescapably in the public domain, the quintessential superstar turned staple tabloid fodder, the object of near-religious worldwide devotion and the butt of a million standup jokes."



Howard Stringer -- former CEO of Sony Corporation, home to Jackson's solo recordings on the Epic label -- focused on Jackson's musical achievements: "(He) was a brilliant troubadour for his generation, a genius whose music reflected the passion and creativity of an era. His artistry and magnetism changed the music landscape forever. We have been profoundly affected by his originality, creativity and amazing body of work."



Essential songs: “Billie Jean,” “I Want You Back,” “Man in the Mirror” (See the accompanying Spotify playlist).



He said it: "My motto has been ‘Heal the World,’ ‘We are the World,’ ‘Earth Song,’ ‘Save Our Children,’ ‘Help Our Planet.’ And people want to persecute me for it, but it never hurts, because the fan base becomes stronger. And the more you hit something hard, the more hardened it becomes -- the stronger it becomes. And that’s what’s happened: I’m resilient. I have rhinoceros skin. Nothing can hurt me. Nothing,” Jackson, quoted in Interview magazine in 2003.

http://www.indystar.com/article/20130103/THINGSTODO02/130103003
 
Janet also made the list at #12


In a family of hitmakers, the youngest took control

12. Janet Jackson


Janet was the ninth and final child in the musically mighty Jackson family, born after Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Michael and Randy. By embracing reinvention within dance, pop and R&B styles, Janet’s career eclipsed all but Michael’s.

Born in Gary, Ind., in 1966, Janet Jackson has sold more than 100 million recordings. Her first two albums flopped, but a commercial breakthrough arrived with “Control,” her 1986 statement of independence that yielded five Top 5 singles: "What Have You Done for Me Lately," “Nasty,” “When I Think of You,” “Control” and “Let’s Wait Awhile.”


Jackson’s next four albums -- "Rhythm Nation 1814" (1989), "Janet" (1993), "The Velvet Rope" (1997) and "All for You" (2001) -- stretched her impact era into the 21st century. She worked with producers Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who emerged as contemporaries of Prince in Minneapolis in the the early 1980s, from “Control” through 2006 album “20 Y.O.”


“There was no controversy with that family; they could just all sing and dance,” Sean “Puffy” Combs said during 2001’s “MTV Icon” tribute to Janet Jackson. “When she put out ‘Control,’ we finally had a Jackson with some edge.”


A five-time Grammy Award winner, Jackson was cited by Billboard magazine in October as the No. 9 pop artist of the last 20 years.


In a 2011 email interview, Jackson told The Indianapolis Star that she doesn't remember many things about life in Gary, but she recalled Rebbie getting married in 1968. Her brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael made their live debut as the Jackson 5 at Gary nightclub Mr. Lucky’s in 1964. The family moved to California in 1969

As an actress, Janet made memorable appearances on TV shows "Good Times," "Diff'rent Strokes" and "Fame." "Poetic Justice," a 1993 film co-starring Tupac Shakur, stands as Janet’s big-screen highlight.


She hasn't appeared in concert in her home state since October 2001. (A 2011 appearance at the Indiana State Fair was canceled after a stage-rigging collapse killed seven people before a scheduled Sugarland show at the fair.)


In 2004, controversy erupted around Jackson’s participation in that year’s Super Bowl halftime show. Justin Timberlake and Jackson were singing one of Timberlake's hits, "Rock Your Body," when he grabbed Jackson's bustier and pulled away the material that covered her right breast.


The Star asked Jackson about Timberlake's role in the infamous split second of nudity. In terms of public outcry, did she take the heat and he emerge unscathed?


"I don't really wish to speak about that," Jackson replied. "But I will say that there has always been a double standard regarding the sexes, don't you think? Women's rights have come a long way, but we still have so far to go."


Essential songs: “Nasty," “When I Think of You,” “That’s the Way Love Goes” (See the accompanying Spotify playlist).


She said it: “I wrote my very first song when I was 9. ‘Fantasy’ is the title. I remember being a kid and my brother Randy, my brother Mike and myself, we have our chores to do after dinner, especially, I remember one night in particular, I was doing dishes, I think Mike was sweeping the floor. And Randy was cleaning off the tables and all the countertops. And that's how we would always create music. We could come up with melodies and then we would add lyrics to them. And we would sing a three part-harmony," Jackson, on “Larry King Live” in 2010.
 
Thank you Billieworld :flowers: so nice to see Michael honored in his home state
 
It is good to see Michael honored. I see the amount of payment is going up from 20 mil to 22 mil. By now writers should have better research on such an important matter. Regardless this was a very good read overall.
 
It is good to see Michael honored. I see the amount of payment is going up from 20 mil to 22 mil. By now writers should have better research on such an important matter. Regardless this was a very good read overall.

And according to the actual settlement it was 15 million.
 
True Respect and I only saw the correct amount in one article. We will have to send the information to the author, since this overall was a good read.
 
it was normal to be number one, it is his home state:)

Sometimes your own persecute and do not respect you. Look how the American press treated Michael and he was a Native American, and many still downplay his important music & legacy. So even though it is normal for your own to see you as #1, sometimes it does not work that way.
 
Back
Top