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Countless entertainers, authors, politicians, intellectuals, and so on have had their issues with alcohol and drugs. That does not change what they accomplished. I could name some of them, but I don't have the few hours it would take to tally up a short list. I won't even get into what kind of person has this kind of emotional investment in what people they don't even know do to their own bodies in their own private time.
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There have actually been studies done on the link between creativity and depression; there's a book about it. And again, the first route that people
generally take when hit with the pain of depression is to self-medicate, with drugs, alcohol or both. He'd had to work like an adult since he was 5;
he was always trying to create that lost childhood for himself. Also, he clearly suffered from arrested development. Stop picking at his bones.
Michael Jackson is seen as a hero to many because he singlehandedly broke down massive social barriers that had stood for time immemorial, and opened the door for an entire segment of this society to succeed. There were no black people on TV before Michael. There weren't all that many blacks songs in the mainstream media before Michael. Blacks artists didn't experience the astronomical monetary and sales success they do now until Michael showed up. As far as civil rights go, few individuals this side of Malcolm and Martin did more than he did.
Wait a minute...
Nat King Cole had his own TV show in the 1950s. He was black.
Ever heard of Sammy Davis Jr.? (Black). Or Louis Armstrong? Lena Horne?
And the (black) vocal group The Platters were the most popular vocal group of the 1950s, selling over 89 million records.
It is pathetic the way some of the leaders of this country are perpetuating the misguided hero worship of a man who, more likely than not based on reports and eye-witness accounts, was nothing better than a junkie.
Location: Upstate NY for now. Hanover, New Hampshire come the fall.
99 posts, read 153,547 times
Reputation: 64
Quote:
Originally Posted by Fleet
Wait a minute...
Nat King Cole had his own TV show in the 1950s. He was black.
Ever heard of Sammy Davis Jr.? (Black). Or Louis Armstrong? Lena Horne?
And the (black) vocal group The Platters were the most popular vocal group of the 1950s, selling over 89 million records.
Ok then, I'll rephrase. Edited parts are in bold.
"Michael Jackson is seen as a hero to many because he singlehandedly broke down massive social barriers that had stood for time immemorial, and opened the door for an entire segment of this society to succeed. There were very few black people on TV before Michael. There weren't all that many blacks songs in the mainstream media before Michael. Blacks artists didn't experience the astronomical monetary and sales success they do now until Michael showed up. As far as civil rights go, few individuals this side of Malcolm and Martin did more than he did."
I'm holding on to the second part. Perhaps there was an isolated exception or two, but the fact of the matter is that Michael opened the door for black musical culture to become a central, more integral part of popular culture, the way that it is today. Billie Jean was the first video by an African-American artist to be played in a heavy rotation on MTV or any other channel on cable TV. Without that, 90% of black artists out there today are basically under the radar and nothing more.
He achieved a level of stardom that I'm quite sure The Platters never reached prior to him and that no artist since has either. He was, quite frankly, very much more successful than them. For me, that's notable enough.
It is pathetic the way some of the leaders of this country are perpetuating the misguided hero worship of a man who, more likely than not based on reports and eye-witness accounts, was nothing better than a junkie.
It is pathetic the way some of the leaders of this country are perpetuating the misguided hero worship of a man who, more likely than not based on reports and eye-witness accounts, was nothing better than a junkie.
What leaders of this country are doing this perpetuating?
"Michael Jackson is seen as a hero to many because he singlehandedly broke down massive social barriers that had stood for time immemorial, and opened the door for an entire segment of this society to succeed. There were very few black people on TV before Michael. There weren't all that many blacks songs in the mainstream media before Michael. Blacks artists didn't experience the astronomical monetary and sales success they do now until Michael showed up. As far as civil rights go, few individuals this side of Malcolm and Martin did more than he did."
I'm holding on to the second part. Perhaps there was an isolated exception or two, but the fact of the matter is that Michael opened the door for black musical culture to become a central, more integral part of popular culture, the way that it is today. Billie Jean was the first video by an African-American artist to be played in a heavy rotation on MTV or any other channel on cable TV. Without that, 90% of black artists out there today are basically under the radar and nothing more.
He achieved a level of stardom that I'm quite sure The Platters never reached prior to him and that no artist since has either. He was, quite frankly, very much more successful than them. For me, that's notable enough.
he was marketed better and managed better--the wonderful black artists of the 40's,50's etc had more talent in their little fingers than mj--tony williams of the platters had a remarkable vocal range-- but early black performers were purposefully mishandled,robbed of their monies--some even dying in poverty---THEY opened the door for the black musicians of the 90's like mj imho
mj was talented,but not the best---just very well marketed!
Location: Upstate NY for now. Hanover, New Hampshire come the fall.
99 posts, read 153,547 times
Reputation: 64
Quote:
Originally Posted by returningtonepa???
he was marketed better and managed better--the wonderful black artists of the 40's,50's etc had more talent in their little fingers than mj--tony williams of the platters had a remarkable vocal range-- but early black performers were purposefully mishandled,robbed of their monies--some even dying in poverty---THEY opened the door for the black musicians of the 90's like mj imho
mj was talented,but not the best---just very well marketed!
Well, there are just under a Billion people(over a billion tuned in to watch his memorial) and nearly an entire music/pop culture world that would disagree with you. MJ was the greatest entertainer alive. Don't take my word for it-his accomplishments speak for themselves.
The fact is not that MJ was marketed better or managed better-on the contrary, his first manager(Joe Jackson) succeeded in driving him off of the deep end. The fact is that those black artists in the 40's and 50's were not tolerated in the same way that Jackson was because of the racial barriers inherent in society. Jackson almost singlehandedly broke down the barriers that those earlier performers had faced, and that was because of his talent.
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2 Bit nah!
