Experts hope Jackson’s music outlives rumors

A sequined white glove and a moonwalk made history March 25, 1983.

That was the night Michael Jackson appeared on the televised “Motown 25” concert, debuting his iconic steps while performing “Billie Jean.” As he slid across the stage, the audience screamed.

After Jackson’s sudden death Thursday at age 50 from cardiac arrest, just weeks before a planned 50-show tour in London, fans are looking at the Michael Jackson of the past, before dangling children and whitened skin overshadowed “I’ll Be There” and “Beat It.”

Music stores across the world reported spikes in sales of anything Jackson related. And while album purchases might be some fans’ way to say a final goodbye, professor of music Glenn Gass said he hopes it’s a sign people are remembering the music rather than the tabloid antics of Jackson’s life.

“People need to remember him for the right reasons, which is the music,” Gass said. “The music will always be what matters.”

IU alumnus Anthony DeCurtis, a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, said Jackson is hardly the only talented artist with a twisted personal life.

“There’s always going to be two stories for Michael Jackson,” DeCurtis said. “As time goes on, the elements of his personal life are going to become secondary because most people will be able to get to his music and see the performances. ... His work will carry him into the future.”

Though he said the news will be filled with “sordid tabloid stuff” for the coming months as Jackson’s cause of death and estate are sorted out, Gass said Jackson’s landmark album “Thriller,” which is still the highest-selling album in music history, exemplifies Jackson’s influence on music.

“‘Thriller’ almost singlehandedly revived the record industry,” Gass said. “For a kid to go from 12 and great to in his 20s and great, it’s impressive.”

Jackson’s career started in a tiny two-bedroom home in Gary, where he and brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon first rehearsed the music that would go on to make them famous as The Jackson 5.

The family moved to Los Angeles from Gary in 1968 and left behind the talent show stages of hometown high schools for a deal with Motown Records and four number one hits. Jackson eventually recorded four solo albums with the label.

After meeting producer Quincy Jones while performing in “The Wiz” in 1978 alongside Diana Ross, Jackson recorded “Off the Wall,” his first solo album after leaving Motown Records. Jackson and Jones continued to work together and, a few years later, cowrote and produced “Thriller.”

Artists such as Chris Brown, Beyonce, Justin Timberlake and Britney Spears can look to Jackson as a watershed of pop music, DeCurtis said.

“Michael Jackson represented the apex of blockbuster mentality,” DeCurtis said. “Michael invented the album with seven or eight hit singles.”

In total, Jackson had 13 singles reach the top of the Billboard charts as a solo artist, including “Billie Jean,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Thriller” and “Bad.”

In addition to his sales, Gass credits Jackson with fully integrating popular music along both racial and age lines.

Jackson was the artist to break down the color barrier on MTV, at the time an avenue for white artists; Gass and DeCurtis said his music bolstered the young network.

“The influence of blending styles and bringing black music into mainstream continues to be enormous,” Gass said. “You go to a club and hear Michael Jackson playing and it could be any type of club.”

But “Thriller”-level success eventually ate away at the pop star as news of his plastic surgeries and rumors of molestation eclipsed his music.

“There was this desperate attempt to recreate ‘Thriller’ that really damaged him,” DeCurtis said. “There’s a level of validation in what ‘Thriller’ represented for him.
“There was a void inside this guy. The bigger he got, the bigger it got and the more it took to fill it, and there’s the tragedy.”

DeCurtis said he always hoped Jackson would be able to rise above his tabloid image in his lifetime and hoped Jackson’s tour in London would remind people of the performer behind the eccentric behavior.

“If you love music and love performance, this guy was one of the best,” DeCurtis said. “Along with all of the sadder stuff, there’s that. It’s really undeniable.”