Seven years ago, we lost the biggest artist in the history of music. A lot of our readers were too young to remember so let me paint a picture of that day.
It was June 25th, 2009. Lady Gaga was the hottest new star on the planet. Twitter was in its infancy. The phrases fleek, slay, and YOLO weren’t in our popular lexicon. The now-ended “Glee” and “Parks & Recreation” were relatively new shows. Taylor Swift’s “Fearless” was the best-selling album at this point. Susan Boyle (remember that name?) was the biggest viral video sensation in the world. “American Idol” was still the #1 TV show. Oprah Winfrey’s talk show was still on the air. The Kardashians weren’t a influential dynasty (yet). One Direction wasn’t formed yet. Adele was still a budding singer but not the global superstar she is today. America was months into a recession and years into its war with Iraq & Afghanistan. Justin Bieber was still a teenage Canadian YouTube singer. Miley Cyrus was still a Disney star. Yep. That’s how long ago it was.
Now that you have the picture, you can see where we were at that time in our world. And the death of Michael Jackson was the biggest story in the world 7 years ago today. But why, you may ask? I know that some of our readers may not necessarily understand why his death was such a big deal to the world. Mainly because a lot of them didn’t grow up with his or his music. But I did.
I mentioned earlier that Michael Jackson was the biggest artist in music history. And that’s no exaggeration. How big exactly? He has the best-selling album in history, 1982’s “Thriller”, has sold more than 100 million copies worldwide. He won countless awards, had smash hit after smash hit, sold out concerts in numerous countries, and still inspires many artists to this day.
But his impact is bigger than that. He was the first non-white artist to have heavy rotation on MTV. Believe it or not, there was a time MTV didn’t play music videos by artists or color. There was also a time MTV played music videos. But I digress.
The then-fledgling music video network had its first breakout star in the mid-80s thanks to hits like “Billie Jean”, “Beat It”, and everyone and their grandmother’s favorite music video, “Thriller”. Also, look at music videos before and after Michael Jackson. You’ll see a huge difference along with his influence. His breakthrough allowed for the subsequent successes of the recently deceased Prince, Whitney Houston, and his sister who’s a mega pop star in her own right, Janet Jackson.
Michael Jackson was also the biggest celebrity in the 80s. And he was black. I mentioned that because this was the Reagan years, y’all! And for a black man to become the face of an entire decade is something we shouldn’t take lightly. I’m not kidding, either. When you think of the 80s, the first thing you think of is Michael Jackson.
He was also the most charitable pop star in history. Not surprising given one of his signature songs is the socially aware pop anthem
“Man In The Mirror”. He has donated and/or endorsed up to 39 charities. He has given up entire royalties for some of his singles and concert ticket sales to organizations. He would the pay the costs for funerals for people whose families couldn’t afford it. He co-wrote and participated in one of the biggest songs of all time, the 1985 all-star charity single “We Are The World”, which raised money for the famine in Ethiopia. During the late 80s, in the midst of the HIV-AIDS epidemic and the stigma it brought, Michael befriended a kid named Ryan White who contracted the disease through a blood transfusion and was kicked out of school. He even founded his own charitable organization in 1992, the Heal the World Foundation. Some reports have stated that a huge reason why he was in debt for a big portion of his life was because he donated so much money to charity.
Michael also brought light to important issues that never would’ve been brought up. After many years of speculation about the rapid lightening of his skin, during a 1993 live interview with Oprah Winfrey in front of millions, he confirmed he had vitiligo, a rare ailment that destroys the pigmentation in skin.
Unfortunately, the bigger Michael got, the easier it was to attack him. Many rumors and false stories began circulating in the press, some of them still around today. Comedians began making him the punchline of their jokes. TV hosts began talking about how “weird” and “eccentric” he was. Yes, he did live in a wondrous estate titled Neverland which had a petting zoo, Ferris wheel, and cotton candy machine. Yes, he did undergo plastic surgery and became unrecognizable. Yes, he was really shy and mysterious. But keep in mind, he began his career at 5 years old. Plus he dealt with many insecurities regarding his appearance.
When Michael died, the whole world stopped. Almost every social media network, search engine website, and even Wikipedia crashed within moments of the confirmation of his death. His music catalog, one of the most successful of all time, immediately re-topped the charts and re-entered rotation on the radio. Even MTV played his music videos for days in a marathon. His memorial service, not unlike the televised funerals for Princess Diana and Ronald Reagan, was watched by over 1 billion people. And that doesn’t include the millions more watching online. But of course, the most heartbreaking thing was to see how it affected his friends and family, especially his 3 children, Prince Michael, Paris, and Blanket.
His influence is seen in many artists today such as Beyoncé, Justin Timberlake, The Weeknd, Bruno Mars, Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, and many more. But it doesn’t stop with music. May seem far fetched but I believe that Michael Jackson’s success led to the success of Oprah Winfrey, Tiger Woods, and even our current US president, Barack Obama.
7 years ago, I lost my favorite artist. My biggest inspiration. The first artist I ever remember listening to. The artist I listened to almost every day of my life. It’s hard to imagine a world without Michael Jackson. But we don’t have to. His music definitely lives forever. One positive thing to take from us losing him was to see all the little kids begin to find out who he was and discover his music. Just like with Elvis Presley, Beatles member John Lennon, Selena, and Kurt Cobain, his death brought his music to a new audience. And that…is forever.
PS-My favorite song (at least at the moment) is “Black Or White”, a pop rock anthem dedicated to racial harmony. Let’s remember his legacy today and forever. We love and miss you, Michael.
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