Why does MJ never get proper credit for his voice...

Themidwestcowboy

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I stumbled across a article about MJ which content went something like this " Michael Jackson was the greatest dancer and entertainer that the world has ever seen". Very flattering and congenial words,of course, but i have seen this pattern emerge a lot as of lately. MJ never get proper reverence for his singing abilities. I've even heard some people go as far as to say that his voice was unilateral. MJ was one of the world's finest versatile singers.
 
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^ I feel that partially it's due to the fact his talents are so wide spread that his other talents over shadow his voice.. Not that his voice is any less grand than the rest of his talents, there are many more great singers than lets say great dancers.. That said, it was his short films, performances, and dance that was revolutionary so that will always get more attention.. You can't really revolutionize singing, you can only be great at it, be as unique as possible with stylization, and record it differently (which MJ did all of the above)..

His voice is so very beautiful and would like his voice to get recognized more often too!
 
I don't get it either, Michael had the range of a spinto tenor, so has Andrea Bocelli and he's more revered than Michael. Which is quite unfair tbh.
 
I for one think Michael's voice is beautiful. and I also love his deep voice. I think his deep voice is sexy. I hear that he mostly talked in his deep voice only around really close friends and family members.
 
Very underrated indeed, I always show people the Seth Riggs tape and Earth Song a cappella when they do not believe me

To be honest, it's hard to think of any greater vocalist overall if you ask me.......
 
I remember some magazine (Can't remember which one) did an article about the top 100 greatest vocalists of all time, and Johnny Cash beat MJ. That just shows how underrated MJ is as a vocalist, because no offense to Johnny Cash but he's nowhere close to being in MJ's league as a vocalist.

Then again this was some snobby rock magazine so it's not that shocking
 
MJ had the best voice on earth. nobody came close to it.
 
I remember some magazine (Can't remember which one) did an article about the top 100 greatest vocalists of all time, and Johnny Cash beat MJ. That just shows how underrated MJ is as a vocalist, because no offense to Johnny Cash but he's nowhere close to being in MJ's league as a vocalist.

Then again this was some snobby rock magazine so it's not that shocking

Rolling Stone? That magazine is the first one it comes to my mind being snobby rock 'n' roll mag for white people. I don't intend to be racist (I apologize if I came up that way) but black singers in many cases have a more powerful voice in general in popular music.
 
I think being called the greatest entertainer kind of covers everything - singing, dancing.


I remember some magazine (Can't remember which one) did an article about the top 100 greatest vocalists of all time, and Johnny Cash beat MJ. That just shows how underrated MJ is as a vocalist, because no offense to Johnny Cash but he's nowhere close to being in MJ's league as a vocalist.

Then again this was some snobby rock magazine so it's not that shocking

LOL reminds me of Rolling Stone's list of greatest singers and they had Bob Dylan in the Top 5 or Top 10. And MJ was a lot lower as usual on RS lists. But that Bob Dylan placing showed me what a joke that list was. RS just can't have good old Bob outside of the Top 5 or Top 10 in anything. And the same way they can't have MJ in the top 10 in anything. Nothing against Bob Dylan, a great artist, but can RS get real about his vocals? I mean, c'mon:

 
I think that a lot of people have this notion that rock stars must be ranked above everyone else in everything and anything to do with music, because rock stars are seen as more serious artists. Where as pop stars are seen as shallow and manufactured.
 
Shallow, manufactured and not serious are words that don't describe Michael whatsoever, it's the reason why I'm against people ("critics" specially) calling him a "pop star" given the fact he was an artist in all the extension of the word. His music may include pop but with a combination with other genres. TBH, I don't like the King of Pop title that much, I think it belittles his artistry.

I have nothing against Bob Dylan either, it's a great lyricist, a great musician, it compensates IMO his lack of vocal capacity. In all honesty, "musical critics" like the writers in RS over praise him because in that mag, (I'm sure it's not the only only one with those tendencies) many of them are a bunch of freaking racists.
 
Rolling Stone? That magazine is the first one it comes to my mind being snobby rock 'n' roll mag for white people. I don't intend to be racist (I apologize if I came up that way) but black singers in many cases have a more powerful voice in general in popular music.

Rolling Stone tends to crap on Michael a lot (the "tribute" magazine they put out after his death comes to mind), so it wouldn't surprise me if they were the ones that did that list.

Have to say I never thought of this situation before. :thinking: Although I think "entertainer" could easily cover his singing ability since that tends to be a blanket term.
 
I think being called the greatest entertainer kind of covers everything - singing, dancing.

I don't know Respect, it sometimes feel that they deliberately overlook that aspect when it comes to Michael. Take a look at some reviews for ex, Beyonce, Usher, Justin Timberlake and even Prince. They always cover that area, i mean really cover, explaining the the technical part of their ranges, but they never give Michael that treatment. I have yet to see someone (journalist/writer or even fan)give an in depth look at how his singing style evolved, where he drew his inspiration from, how he adjusted his voice after puberty. A lot could be used for an in depth analysis.

I think it has something to do with this ridiculous notion that Michael only sang high. Even some everyday people that i have encountered does this over the top high pitched voice when mimicking his songs, (this was for You Rock My World believe it or not). I don't want to generalize but if this is the general consensus when it comes to Michael's voice than it's obscenity. Just as people do this overly high pitched voice and claiming that he talked like that but I'll save that one for another discussion. :p
 
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1980 won Best R&B Vocal
1983 won Best Pop Vocal
1983 won Best Pop Vocal by Duo or Group
1983 won Best Rock Vocal
1983 won Best R&B Vocal
1985 nominated Best R&B Vocal by Duo or Group
1988 nominated Best Pop Vocal
1992 nominated Best Pop Vocal
1992 nominated Best R&B Vocal
1996 nominated Best Pop Vocal
2002 nominated Best Pop Vocal

"There's only one singer that I know as good as or better than myself, and that is Michael Jackson." (Frank Sinatra)

"Working with Michael Jackson's voice is like fine-tuning a Ferrari. He's the greatest male singer I've ever worked with." (Seth Riggs)

"There is a reason his songs are rarely covered and it is that most of them are excrutiatingly hard to sing. Ask any singer. He has a range that almost no other male singer could rival and a timbre that is entirely unique. Add to that exquisite control and speed and an ability to make any song his own and you have a genius vocalist."

"What Michael Jackson doesn't do is belt and most people think that belting is what makes a singer great. Michael did as a kid and grew out of it. He's more interested in using his voice as an instrument and in bringing different emotions to a song."

"He takes those lyrics, and he goes inside them in such a way...that if you're a vocalist, you study Michael Jackson. It's mandatory." (Jill Scott)

"One of the key elements of his style is how he uses his voice as an instrument. His signature grunts — "ugh," "ah" and all that — are rhythmic things that guitar players or drummers usually do. He's one of the most rhythmic singers ever — Prince emulated James Brown a lot more, but Michael Jackson approximated it more naturally.

And he has insane range. I can sing pretty high, but I had to drop "Beat It" a half step when I sang it. He sings this incredibly high note — I think it's a high C or even a high C-sharp, which no one can hit — on "Beat It," as well as "Billie Jean" and "Thriller." What people don't realize is that he can go pretty deep too. You hear that on "Burn This Disco Out," on Off the Wall — he goes deep into his range, which blows me away.

Think about it: On "Beat It," you had an R&B singer doing a full-on rock song with Eddie Van Halen. Or the intro on "Man in the Mirror": He's got this reverb in his voice, and any time he goes "uh!" it goes for miles. To me, that's up there with some Brian Eno shit. That's how far out there it is." (Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy)

"When most people think Michael is singing falsetto, he's not; the singing is all connected. That's testament to Michael's prowess as a vocalist."

Michael Jackson's vocal profile from Seth Riggs (the most successful voice teacher in the world):

Vocal timbre: Spinto, Countertenor, Baritone

Highest note: B5

Lowest note : E2

Vocal range: 3.6+ octaves (E2-B5; 44 notes by the middle of 1980s, in the 1990s range expanded to 4 octaves. Due to aging, Jackson got few additional lower notes, while not losing the highest ones.)


"An odd thing about Michael Jackson is that he has a totally spectacular voice but he doesn't feel the need to amaze us with it. At all. His favorite technique for conveying passion is to choke off his words. On dance songs he makes his voice as hard and compact as the percussion, reducing himself to icy shards and chilly wails. And when he lets loose with dazzling gospel-like displays, he undermixes these displays, letting them play in the background while drumbeats or simpler vocals take the spotlight. Or he'll just put whispers in the front of the mix, while scaling heights in the distance." (Frank Kogan [music critic at The Villiage Voice, 2001])
 
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Considering that the man constructed full songs using the nuances of just his voice, and translated that to his musicians to convey what he wanted instrumental-wise, I'd definitely agree his singing talent is underrated

Do people seriously not realize how limitless that aspect of his talent was?
 
ChrisC;3970248 said:
1980 won Best R&B Vocal
1983 won Best Pop Vocal
1983 won Best Pop Vocal by Duo or Group
1983 won Best Rock Vocal
1983 won Best R&B Vocal
1985 nominated Best R&B Vocal by Duo or Group
1988 nominated Best Pop Vocal
1992 nominated Best Pop Vocal
1992 nominated Best R&B Vocal
1996 nominated Best Pop Vocal
2002 nominated Best Pop Vocal

"There's only one singer that I know as good as or better than myself, and that is Michael Jackson." (Frank Sinatra)

"Working with Michael Jackson's voice is like fine-tuning a Ferrari. He's the greatest male singer I've ever worked with."

"There is a reason his songs are rarely covered and it is that most of them are excrutiatingly hard to sing. Ask any singer. He has a range that almost no other male singer could rival and a timbre that is entirely unique. Add to that exquisite control and speed and an ability to make any song his own and you have a genius vocalist."

"What Michael Jackson doesn't do is belt and most people think that belting is what makes a singer great. Michael did as a kid and grew out of it. He's more interested in using his voice as an instrument and in bringing different emotions to a song."

"He takes those lyrics, and he goes inside them in such a way...that if you're a vocalist, you study Michael Jackson. It's mandatory."

"One of the key elements of his style is how he uses his voice as an instrument. His signature grunts — "ugh," "ah" and all that — are rhythmic things that guitar players or drummers usually do. He's one of the most rhythmic singers ever — Prince emulated James Brown a lot more, but Michael Jackson approximated it more naturally.

And he has insane range. I can sing pretty high, but I had to drop "Beat It" a half step when I sang it. He sings this incredibly high note — I think it's a high C or even a high C-sharp, which no one can hit — on "Beat It," as well as "Billie Jean" and "Thriller." What people don't realize is that he can go pretty deep too. You hear that on "Burn This Disco Out," on Off the Wall — he goes deep into his range, which blows me away.

Think about it: On "Beat It," you had an R&B singer doing a full-on rock song with Eddie Van Halen. Or the intro on "Man in the Mirror": He's got this reverb in his voice, and any time he goes "uh!" it goes for miles. To me, that's up there with some Brian Eno shit. That's how far out there it is." (Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy)

"When most people think Michael is singing falsetto, he's not; the singing is all connected. That's testament to Michael's prowess as a vocalist."

Michael Jackson's vocal profile from Seth Riggs (the most successful voice teacher in the world):

Vocal timbre: Spinto, Countertenor, Baritone

Highest note: B5

Lowest note : E2

Vocal range: 3.6+ octaves (E2-B5; 44 notes by the middle of 1980s, in the 1990s range expanded to 4 octaves. Due to aging, Jackson got few additional lower notes, while not losing the highest ones.)


"An odd thing about Michael Jackson is that he has a totally spectacular voice but he doesn't feel the need to amaze us with it. At all. His favorite technique for conveying passion is to choke off his words. On dance songs he makes his voice as hard and compact as the percussion, reducing himself to icy shards and chilly wails. And when he lets loose with dazzling gospel-like displays, he undermixes these displays, letting them play in the background while drumbeats or simpler vocals take the spotlight. Or he'll just put whispers in the front of the mix, while scaling heights in the distance."

Man thank you for showing these and proving me somewhat wrong. Do you have an exact date for these excerpts? I don't see anything mentioned post Bad, and that is 10 excerpts spanning a 50 years career, it falls short. All though he only won awards in 83, arguably when his adult voice was at his highest, i wish they would acknowledge his voice more after thriller. Dirty Diana, Earth Song, Will You Be There, Tabloid Junkie, 2Bad. There is no way he could have delivered those songs like that back in 82 or earlier for that fact.

Edit* I love this
"What Michael Jackson doesn't do is belt and most people think that belting is what makes a singer great. Michael did as a kid and grew out of it. He's more interested in using his voice as an instrument and in bringing different emotions to a song."

To the American Idol generation, too much belting and vocal runs are just not good. The melody always becomes sparse and imperceptible
 
Man thank you for showing these and proving me somewhat wrong. Do you have an exact date for these excerpts? I don't see anything mentioned post Bad, and that is 10 excerpts spanning a 50 years career, it falls short.

Do you mean dates for the quotes?

I can try find them if so.
 
"There is a reason his songs are rarely covered and it is that most of them are excrutiatingly hard to sing. Ask any singer. He has a range that almost no other male singer could rival and a timbre that is entirely unique. Add to that exquisite control and speed and an ability to make any song his own and you have a genius vocalist."

I agree with this so much. I rarely see good MJ covers and when other people sing his songs it shows what a great vocalist he was because for others it's not easy to sing his songs well.

ChrisC, do you know who are these quotes from?
 
I like to simply say , let's compare any singers voice in the world to MJ's....ok now let's compare those singers at 10 years old.....job done!
 
I agree with this so much. I rarely see good MJ covers and when other people sing his songs it shows what a great vocalist he was because for others it's not easy to sing his songs well.

ChrisC, do you know who are these quotes from?

When I collated these quotes years ago I didn't need dates or names, alas I will try to marry it all back up.
 
I get chills when I watch Who's Loving You on the Ed Sullivan show it gives me chills. He was what, 11 years old and had that talent?! His vocals are incredible. They really do get overlooked which is unfortunate considering it's such an integral part to what made Michael as good as he is
 
I agree with this so much. I rarely see good MJ covers and when other people sing his songs it shows what a great vocalist he was because for others it's not easy to sing his songs well.

ChrisC, do you know who are these quotes from?

The thing with Michael's voice is not that it was just naturally beautiful, but there was every emotion behind it possible, which made his voice even greater. I just think of songs like, "Give in to Me" and "Dirty Diana". Nobody else can sing those songs like he does, no matter how hard they try, because the power and emotion he put into the songs comes from somewhere deep within Michael himself. It's a personal journey he's taking us on, and nobody else will ever be able to do that with his music. People can try, and they can come close, but nobody can sing them like he does.

I think it has something to do with this ridiculous notion that Michael only sang high. Even some everyday people that i have encountered does this over the top high pitched voice when mimicking his songs, (this was for You Rock My World believe it or not). I don't want to generalize but if this is the general consensus when it comes to Michael's voice than it's obscenity. Just as people do this overly high pitched voice and claiming that he talked like that but I'll save that one for another discussion. :p

I was just thinking about this, before I even saw your response. I, too, never understood why people always poked fun at Michael's voice. Whether it's signing or just talking, they always do this high-pitched, overly-effeminate voice which is just not what he sounded like. It drives me crazy.

Very underrated indeed, I always show people the Seth Riggs tape and Earth Song a cappella when they do not believe me

To be honest, it's hard to think of any greater vocalist overall if you ask me.......

I had never heard him sing a cappella before, at least nothing in any great detail. So I looked up that version of Earth Song and oh my god.... I was blown away. I get all happy any time I hear his voice and this just took me to another level. I don't understand why he ever needed backing vocals or instrumentation. He would have done just fine with just his voice :yes:
 
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Michael had one {If Not} the best vocal range & tone of any Singer of his generation!
Just listen to "Human Nature" The "Earth Song" the Legend had Beauty & the Beast in his voice!

His songs will live Forever! x
 
I have always said I hope heaven sounds like Michaels voice....
 
Thanks for starting this thread I couldn't agree more. He has the greatest voice I've ever heard. He can sing anything, and why he is not recognized more for his voice alone is beyond me.( I love the Sinatra quote by the way ) .When a MJ song comes on the radio it stops you in your tracks and makes you listen like it pops out the radio. The emotion he puts into every song is more than anyone else could ever dream of doing, when he sings a song it's like it is just to the listener, and it is though he has lived that song and that to me is magic, and only Michael Jackson that has that special magic.
 
Michael's voice is also very nostalgic for those of us who grew up on his music. It triggers so many memories and I just love that :D
 
His music isn't really nostalgic for me- except for "Will You Be There", which was the first song of his I remember hearing. I was 10. I've always been a fan of his music, but I didn't really grow up listening to it. But I know many people did, so I can understand what you're saying.

As for me, I like his voice, his music, because it strikes the core of my soul. He sings with such emotion. I can totally identify with the pain, the anger, the betrayal, the joy, the sadness, and the loneliness in his music. And when he sings, I feel it. It really is a beautiful thing :)
 
Technically, Michael Jackson has one of the finest voices in contempary music. His first advantage is the natural speed of his voice. Michael Jackson has the ability to sing in staccato, and sing complex rhythms in perfect timing. The best recorded example of this is the title track from his 1979 album, Off The Wall.

Jackson's second advantage as a singer is his range. Michael Jackson's natural vocal range, before he breaks off into falsetto, goes from two E's below middle C, to two B's above middle C, or 44 notes. Essentially, Michael is able to reach octaves that other tenors cannot attain with their natural voice. The best example of Michael Jackson's range is a recording from (2004), titled "Beautiful Girl".

Source: http://www.spiritus-temporis.com/michael-jackson/voice.html

The sheer vitality of the musical setting obviates any sense of self-pity. Quincy Jones' production – Jackson coproduced his own compositions–is sparer than usual, and refreshingly free of schmaltz. Then again, he's working with what might be pop music's most spectacular instrument: Michael Jackson's voice. Where lesser artists need a string section or a lusty blast from a synthesizer, Jackson need only sing to convey deep, heartfelt emotion. His raw ability and conviction make material like "Baby Be Mine" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" into first-class cuts and even salvage "The Girl Is Mine." Well, almost.

Source: Rolling Stone
 
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