It was a surreal moment learning that the intergalactic megastar and uncontainable force of musical energy known as Michael Jackson had died from a drug overdose five years ago today.
This writer was stuck in Washington’s Reagan National Airport on June 25, 2009, when murmurs pierced the still quietness.Multiple people sitting next to me and passersby were talking about the unthinkable:
- A flight attendant ran up to her flight captain with the news, ‘Did you hear …?’;
- A man of Turkish descent expressed horror at MJ’s demise through his thick accent;
- A young child who was born long after MJ’s prime had come and gone nevertheless began to cry after hearing that the King of Pop was dead.
Still, as Quincy Jones said to this reporter last year, he still hears songs from Off the Wall and Thriller being played in nightclubs across the globe.
In honor of the King of Pop, here are seven other ways Michael Jackson’s legacy continues to live on after his tragic death on June 25, 2009.
The legion of imitators: Everyone from Usher to Justin Timberlake to Chris Brown to Beyonce have testified to the tremendous influence that Jackson had over their lives. Beyonce said when she saw the sidewalks light up in the “Billie Jean” video, “he was like our angel.” And Timberlake has taken a previously unreleased song,
Videos
Jackson’s videos for the album Thriller helped transform a fledgling new musical medium, MTV, into a station flexing with worldwide prominence because his multi-million-dollar mini-movies became appointment television, particularly “Billie Jean” (above), “Beat It,” and especially “Thriller” (below). He also helped to exponentially raise the profile of other musicians who may have remained fringe stars such as Prince, Lionel Richie and Run DMC.
Revolutionized Album Creations: Michael Jackson envisioned creating albums where each song could stand on its own and each become hits. It started with Off the Wall, the first album ever to have four singles reach the Top Ten of the Billboard Charts. And then it manifested itself most definitively with Thriller, which had seven singles in the Top 10, and could have had more. Many stars and superstars attempted to duplicate that feat in the 32 years since Thriller’s release.
Preteen stars: Michael Jackson was not the first prepubescent star: Shirley Temple was legendary before MJ was even born, while Stevie Wonder beat him to the punch at his own Motown label. But because of his adult-like poise, polish and pizzaz, the record industry began combing the county in search of other young talents who could make the girls go wild. Then, they found the Osmond Brothers. Today, we can see that influence in the likes of Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez and Miley Cyrus.
Over-the-top Super Bowl Halftime Shows: Much like he did with videos and albums, Jackson helped make Super Bowl halftime shows appointment viewing. Soon after MJ, the likes of Prince, Madonna, Rolling Stones, Beyonce and even Jackson’s little sister Janet were taking turns creating the much-ballyhooed and highly-anticipated halftime shows.
Impersonators: Whether you walk down Hollywood Boulevard in Los Angeles or peruse YouTube, you can find impersonators almost as numerous as Elvis Presley disciples.
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