Will "Thriller" be enough to save the legacy of Michael Jackson?

Question

I was having a discussion with a friend last night about Michael Jackson, and it inspired this question.

No one that was alive during the 80's can deny the impact this album had on its fans or our culture, as I'm sure if you didn't get the jacket, and glittery glove and socks you know someone who did. The impact was beyond huge.

Fast forward 10 years to rumors and accusations of copious amounts of plastic surgery, odd behavior and child molestation. The "King of Pop", at least here in the States, had not only been dethroned but permanently exiled. It's tough to imagine any album he releases now to be embraced.

I think it's tough for us who lived through it all to get over everything that's happened since we witnessed it first-hand, but for future generations, will they be able to look beyond his actions and remember him the way he was once seen?

Fonzie - it IS sad. I heard some stuff from "Off The Wall" not too long ago and it was reminder of how sad it truly is.

I agree with both dpunk00 and Dig This that it should be about the music, and the past should be remembered. But you have to admit that if everything stopped in the 90's for him (both personally and musically) he would be remembered MUCH differently.

lovnrckets - the "Black and White" video! Was that the one that had the extended version with the dance sequence where he had his hand on this package the whole time? I do remember the fall-out from that.

sylvia - I had the LP and tape too! :)

RJR - very, VERY true.

Darth - "Rock With You" is a great song. :)

There are some amazing answers here. Thank you! :)

Answer 1

I don't think so. People tend to remember the negatives with celebrities, versus the positives. Paul Reubens can never be Pee-Wee Herman again, because he got busted jerking it in public. That's not nearly as damaging as what Michael Jackson ws accused of -- multiple times.

His image is forever tarnished.

Answer 2

I don't think so. He will forever be damaged goods. Even before the child molestation charges, his career was in serious trouble. Go back to 1991, remember when he did an exclusive video premier on the Fox network for Black & White? That album ended up being a massive flop. Once word got out about all the plastic surgeries and other troubling eccentricities, he was becoming a punch line. Then came the serious criminal charges that overtook anything else he did. That is what he will be most remembered for. I agree it's a shame because Thriller and the earlier stuff should have been more than enough to make him forever known as the King of Pop. Off the Wall had some killer tracks on it and that's saying a lot for me because I don't normally listen to R & B.

I don't know if you ever listen to the Jim Rome Show on the radio, but he does this one hysterical bit. It's called the "Macaulay Alarm." It's a combination of a manual hand buzzer mixed in with Rome doing a falsetto voice repeating the lines "Macaulay, get out of the house, hurry!" You have to hear it to fully appreciate it, but the point is that the legacy of one Michael Jackson has become a joke.

Yes, Sookie. It was the video for Black or White, where the faces kept changing.

Answer 3

As other answerers have said - sadly, no, I don't think it will salvage The King of Pop's legacy. He'll always be remembered as "The child molester who had all the plastic surgeries..." (Even though he was never convicted.) Like others have said, people are going to remember what's been sensationalized in the media - and unfortunately, that's the negative.

But you're right - Thriller was a groundbreaking album for its time. As a child of the 80s, I had it on LP *AND* tape (lol!). Even now when I hear a song like "Billie Jean" or see the Thriller video (I love the zombie dance!), it makes me sad to see what's become of one of the idols of our childhood.

Oh, and Black or White was the video with the faces singing along at the end, and was one of the first uses of the computer morphing.

Answer 4

Michael Jackson Charity Home Michael Jackson Childrens' Hospital Michael Jackson Day Care! (aw) Michael Jackson School of Entertainment Arts Lmao. <3

Answer 5

I am one of those future generations I suppose, and although I do feel that many of the people in college and high school now, look as MJ as some sort of freak, but I believe that if people start looking at the hard facts about him, and actually listening to the music he put out and how much talent the guy has I believe that he can make a come back. I just heard this new song with him and it is called Gangsta and it is very 2000's with a michael twist, and I believe that people will hear it and like him for what he is good at. I have faith in my generation and i have faith in Michael.

Answer 6

I agree the public always remembers the negative first and longest, maybe it has something to do with the media cause if someone is screwing up the media make money off of it but if someone is doing well the only they are making money off it (yes and the other people involved with said person). I think that it is up to us if my Mom wasn't such an Elvis fan neither would I be but now here we are talking about this and I can refer to him by only his first name and everyone reading this knows exactly who I'm talking about and they will think "oh yea Elvis Presley he was one of the great ones". So I firmly believe that if we expose our kids to the stiles of the 80's then the icons that we know of a generation better known for sucking after the explosion we call the 70's will be passed on being known and appreciated for what it has contributed. Don't forget the Jackson Five.

Answer 7

Michael's music stands on it's own. Remember, this includes all his brilliant J5 stuff.

There are plenty of ******* in music and it hasn't effected *their* listenablitiy. Some white people love Thriller and other old-school Mike songs, but they're ashamed to admit it around other White people, becuase MJ has been a running joke for the last 20 years.

Remember, MJ had a horrible, abusive non-Childhood. It doesn't excuse all behavior, but it explains why the guy is incompetent in living a "normal" life. Understand that a.) he's lived an effed-up life from start to finish b.) he's a brilliant musician and entertainer and c.) He collaborates with legends, Quincy Jones produced "Thriller "and Eddie Van Halen played guitar on "Beat It".

Anyone who doesn't move to those old-school Mike groves is dead inside.

Answer 8

His legacy will NEVER die, it will remain until the earth is no more. And I won't say that about anyone else. He may be odd and behaves in strange ways but nobody but a fool can deny his impact and credibility in the music industry. In the 80's he made hits at will, he was an unstoppable force. He may not revive his career, but what he has done will always keep him a legend.

Answer 9

No

Even though he has never been found guilty of any crime I do not think he can save his legacy.

He was the "King of Pop" during the 'Thriller' & 'Bad' era but his legacy has been tainted. When you are the King with the best selling album ever, nobody has the courage to tell you what to do. If he had had stronger people around him maybe things would have turned out differently.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

Answer 10

I'm not really contributing anything here because somebody already said what I would have said.

I just wanted to say to James: Thanks about being dead inside. LOL. Thriller, and specially the Thriller video for me, was the thing (or event) that made MJ unpopular with me and some of the people I knew as a pre-teen. I blame MJ for being one of the people who brought the synchronized dancing (or whatever you call it) into videos. That's what I will remember him for (his legacy).