HIStory
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A couple of years ago I had a debate with somone in some Internet comment section about Michael Jackson's significance as an artist. And this person talked down on him, claiming at one point that "he did not influence anyone, no one considers him an influence". Of course, this is ridiculous because anywhere you look you can see artists influenced by MJ. And not even only at one area at that: in music, dance, fashion etc. This person was (not surprisingly) a rock fan so I guess the type of music he typically listens to does not really have much MJ influence, but actually even many rock artists cited Michael as an influence in one way or another. Besides the very obvious and very numerous pop and R&B artists he influenced.
So this thread is for posting every and any examples of artists being influenced by Michael.
So here I start with some not so obvious ones (and just to show that even rock stars cited him as an influence):
Michael Jackson Influenced Pearl Jam Too
by Jessica Letkemann on June 26, 2009
Believe it or not, Michael Jackson, who the world is mourning after his sudden death yesterday, played a formative roll in both Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament’s music life.
“At an early age, I realized music was a very powerful thing,” Jeff told Bass Player in 1994. “I’d hear Michael Jackson singing [1972's] “Ben” and it would make me cry and I’d have to go hide.”
While nine-year-old Jeff was reacting to MJ’s first solo No. 1 in Montana, seven-year-old Eddie over near Chicago counted the Jackson Five as one of his favorite groups. Eddie told Circus in 1992 that singing along to 12-year-old Michael Jackson was some of the first singing he ever attempted. “We had moved north of Chicago,” Eddie said. “And my parents became the new foster parents for seven kids in this group home. they were mostly African-American kids and some Irish kids. Most of these kids were around 11, and they were all full on Motown. That’s when I got into Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Otis Redding and the Jackson Five. I started singing to Michael Jackson records.” In the same article, Eddie notes that his first album was Michael Jackson’s 1972 album “Got To Be There.”
As all PJ fans know, these two unlikely fans paid homage to Michael Jackson twenty years later in the 1993 Pearl Jam song, “Rats.” The song is dominated by Jeff’s bass-heavy groove and it swings into a massive key shift at the end so that Eddie can repeatedly sing the chorus of “Ben.”
http://www.twofeetthick.com/2009/06/michael-jackson-influenced-pearl-jam-too/
Rat by Pearl Jams with references to Ben at the end.
[video=youtube;SFXCEe3Aos8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFXCEe3Aos8[/video]
Kurt Cobain
A drawing he made in high school:
Adam Duritz of Counting Crows:
What was THE song or THE album that literally changed your life? Well, the first record I ever bought was, I’m not sure. I may have bought them both the same day. But the first two records were certainly Michael Jackson’s Got To Be There, which I think was his first solo record. It had like “Rockin’ Robin” on it and “Got To Be There” and I can’t remember what else. And then the Jackson 5’s Greatest Hits. Those two records were the first two records I ever remember getting and the first concert I went to when I was a kid. It was a Jackson 5 concert. My parents took me when I was a really little kid. And I don’t mean the Jacksons. It was legitimately the Jackson 5. It was a rodeo in Texas and probably 1970 maybe. I was a kid. And that really knocked me out. Those songs were so good and they were so vibrant and he was such a killer singer. He was my age, a few years older than me, but it seemed like I was looking at a kid who was my age. He was probably ten or eleven and I was probably six. Maybe he was twelve, I don’t know, but he was a kid and I was a kid and they were so ****ing good. Those songs and those grooves. That guitar bass groove for “I Want You Back,” I mean, I can still remember it to this day. It sticks in your head, it’s incredible. I think that’s probably the first thing.
I don’t know if that made me want to write songs but it certainly made me like, whoa, music, this is awesome (laughs). I couldn’t get enough after that. And you know, there were Beatles records right then too. My parents had all The Beatles albums and I can definitely remember those songs. But my first record was the Jackson 5 record or the Michael Jackson record. I may have bought them together. Probably because we were going to that concert. I don’t know if I heard stuff before that. I’ve just always sort of remembered the Jackson 5 stuff to really being the first stuff that blew my mind, to think, wow, this is incredible. Music is incredible.
http://www.glidemagazine.com/119366/adam-duritz-counting-crows-exclusive-interview/
So this thread is for posting every and any examples of artists being influenced by Michael.
So here I start with some not so obvious ones (and just to show that even rock stars cited him as an influence):
Michael Jackson Influenced Pearl Jam Too
by Jessica Letkemann on June 26, 2009
Believe it or not, Michael Jackson, who the world is mourning after his sudden death yesterday, played a formative roll in both Eddie Vedder and Jeff Ament’s music life.
“At an early age, I realized music was a very powerful thing,” Jeff told Bass Player in 1994. “I’d hear Michael Jackson singing [1972's] “Ben” and it would make me cry and I’d have to go hide.”
While nine-year-old Jeff was reacting to MJ’s first solo No. 1 in Montana, seven-year-old Eddie over near Chicago counted the Jackson Five as one of his favorite groups. Eddie told Circus in 1992 that singing along to 12-year-old Michael Jackson was some of the first singing he ever attempted. “We had moved north of Chicago,” Eddie said. “And my parents became the new foster parents for seven kids in this group home. they were mostly African-American kids and some Irish kids. Most of these kids were around 11, and they were all full on Motown. That’s when I got into Smokey Robinson, James Brown, Otis Redding and the Jackson Five. I started singing to Michael Jackson records.” In the same article, Eddie notes that his first album was Michael Jackson’s 1972 album “Got To Be There.”
As all PJ fans know, these two unlikely fans paid homage to Michael Jackson twenty years later in the 1993 Pearl Jam song, “Rats.” The song is dominated by Jeff’s bass-heavy groove and it swings into a massive key shift at the end so that Eddie can repeatedly sing the chorus of “Ben.”
http://www.twofeetthick.com/2009/06/michael-jackson-influenced-pearl-jam-too/
Rat by Pearl Jams with references to Ben at the end.
[video=youtube;SFXCEe3Aos8]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SFXCEe3Aos8[/video]
Kurt Cobain
A drawing he made in high school:
Adam Duritz of Counting Crows:
What was THE song or THE album that literally changed your life? Well, the first record I ever bought was, I’m not sure. I may have bought them both the same day. But the first two records were certainly Michael Jackson’s Got To Be There, which I think was his first solo record. It had like “Rockin’ Robin” on it and “Got To Be There” and I can’t remember what else. And then the Jackson 5’s Greatest Hits. Those two records were the first two records I ever remember getting and the first concert I went to when I was a kid. It was a Jackson 5 concert. My parents took me when I was a really little kid. And I don’t mean the Jacksons. It was legitimately the Jackson 5. It was a rodeo in Texas and probably 1970 maybe. I was a kid. And that really knocked me out. Those songs were so good and they were so vibrant and he was such a killer singer. He was my age, a few years older than me, but it seemed like I was looking at a kid who was my age. He was probably ten or eleven and I was probably six. Maybe he was twelve, I don’t know, but he was a kid and I was a kid and they were so ****ing good. Those songs and those grooves. That guitar bass groove for “I Want You Back,” I mean, I can still remember it to this day. It sticks in your head, it’s incredible. I think that’s probably the first thing.
I don’t know if that made me want to write songs but it certainly made me like, whoa, music, this is awesome (laughs). I couldn’t get enough after that. And you know, there were Beatles records right then too. My parents had all The Beatles albums and I can definitely remember those songs. But my first record was the Jackson 5 record or the Michael Jackson record. I may have bought them together. Probably because we were going to that concert. I don’t know if I heard stuff before that. I’ve just always sort of remembered the Jackson 5 stuff to really being the first stuff that blew my mind, to think, wow, this is incredible. Music is incredible.
http://www.glidemagazine.com/119366/adam-duritz-counting-crows-exclusive-interview/