MUAR 392 Lecture Notes - Lecture 21: The Jackson 5, Eddie Van Halen, Mark Goodman
16 Aug 2016
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MUAR 392
Lecture 21 — Mar 11
Michael Jackson (1958-2009)
-Member of family band The Jackson 5
-Originally signed with Motown, then signed with Epic
-Has a TV show then begins to work with Quincy Jones
-Began solo career in 1971
-Carefully studied and emulated James Brown’s vocal and dance performance
“I Want You Back” (1969)
-Michael was very much a soloist in the Jackson 5 as he had a main role singing
-Never really had a childhood — was always a performer
Off the Wall (1979) — produced by Quincy Jones
-Appeals to both dance markets and top 40 radio
-Bridged the gap between the 70s and 80s effortlessly, seeing off the death of disco but
doesn’t sound dated
-Problem: was upset that it only won soul R&B record of the year, rather than the album of
the year. Decided that next album would win album of the year
Thriller (1982)
-$750 000 budget, 110M copies sold to date (at peak was selling 1M a week)
-7 top 10 singles
-Crossover results in pop hits
-“Beat It” (funky heavy metal with Eddie van Halen solo)
-“The Girl is Mine” — duet with Paul McCartney
Michael Jackson “Billie Jean” (1982)
-Quincy Jones arrangement builds gradually as the song progresses
Synthesis of Musical Elements — Slick Funk Disco
Music TeleVision — MTV
-Introduces the video single that is made for mass consumption
-Reconfigures the notion of the performing artist
How music had been Looked At or consumed
Visually:
-Promotional videos
-Films
-TV music programs
-Concerts
Radio:
-Genre/ market (race, class, age…) specific formats
-Top 40
-Album oriented rock
-Middle-of-the-road
-Country and Western
-Adult Contemporary
MTV was a leader of this thinking — moving music into the arena of television
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
Member of family band the jackson 5. Originally signed with motown, then signed with epic. Has a tv show then begins to work with quincy jones. Carefully studied and emulated james brown"s vocal and dance performance. Michael was very much a soloist in the jackson 5 as he had a main role singing. Never really had a childhood was always a performer. Off the wall (1979) produced by quincy jones. Appeals to both dance markets and top 40 radio. Bridged the gap between the 70s and 80s effortlessly, seeing off the death of disco but doesn"t sound dated. Problem: was upset that it only won soul r&b record of the year, rather than the album of the year. Decided that next album would win album of the year. 000 budget, 110m copies sold to date (at peak was selling 1m a week) Beat it (funky heavy metal with eddie van halen solo)
