Re: Michael Jackson - King of Pop or Overrated?
I guess you're indirectly talking to me here. So let me explain myself. The truly great artists who get the monikers of "king, queen and prince" have long prime years or make a huge comeback in later years that revives their legendary status.
Michael had a prime of only about 12 years tops as a solo artist. Now let's look at the monikers i've mentioned:
King of rock: Elvis, a man that had longevity and was very popular from the day he debuted to the day he died. The man was so popular and influential that he's taken on a cult-like status.
Queen of Soul: Now I know Aretha had a prime of about 6-8 years but she sold tons of albums, influenced the idea of the "pop diva" and made a huge comeback in the '80s. She maintained a legendary status right up into the '90s singing with popular songstresses of the time. In fact I think there was a tune that she did with Gladys Knight and I think Brandy that was #1 or damn close to it.
Prince of Soul: Well I'm biased here but objectively if you look at it Marvin Gaye's prime years sales wise were 14 years. For most of the 1960s he was the highest grossing Motown act and had commercial success with 3 different women! We all know about his trifecta of albums in the '70s that are standards in the genre today. Even when Marvin was in the wilderness in terms of popularity he was still artistically sharp as a knife. HERE MY DEAR is now regarded as a lost treasure of RnB music. In fact, I once read a listing of greatest albums where HMD was in the top 100! You also have the fact that Marvin came out of the wilderness and wowed the world with "Sexual Healing". The man was primed for a 2nd wave of commercial success when he was gunned down by his father.
Michael has done a lot, He gave life to some of the best songs of his time but his overall influence while great for a time has waned. He's now so shot as far as image goes that he truly needs a "sexual healing" type phenomenon to bring him back among the upper echelon. See I still think the King of Pop moniker is mostly his but it's slipping away as Prince's legend grows.Michael needs to make that one big comeback with the average consumer.
I guess you're indirectly talking to me here. So let me explain myself. The truly great artists who get the monikers of "king, queen and prince" have long prime years or make a huge comeback in later years that revives their legendary status.
Michael had a prime of only about 12 years tops as a solo artist. Now let's look at the monikers i've mentioned:
King of rock: Elvis, a man that had longevity and was very popular from the day he debuted to the day he died. The man was so popular and influential that he's taken on a cult-like status.
Queen of Soul: Now I know Aretha had a prime of about 6-8 years but she sold tons of albums, influenced the idea of the "pop diva" and made a huge comeback in the '80s. She maintained a legendary status right up into the '90s singing with popular songstresses of the time. In fact I think there was a tune that she did with Gladys Knight and I think Brandy that was #1 or damn close to it.
Prince of Soul: Well I'm biased here but objectively if you look at it Marvin Gaye's prime years sales wise were 14 years. For most of the 1960s he was the highest grossing Motown act and had commercial success with 3 different women! We all know about his trifecta of albums in the '70s that are standards in the genre today. Even when Marvin was in the wilderness in terms of popularity he was still artistically sharp as a knife. HERE MY DEAR is now regarded as a lost treasure of RnB music. In fact, I once read a listing of greatest albums where HMD was in the top 100! You also have the fact that Marvin came out of the wilderness and wowed the world with "Sexual Healing". The man was primed for a 2nd wave of commercial success when he was gunned down by his father.
Michael has done a lot, He gave life to some of the best songs of his time but his overall influence while great for a time has waned. He's now so shot as far as image goes that he truly needs a "sexual healing" type phenomenon to bring him back among the upper echelon. See I still think the King of Pop moniker is mostly his but it's slipping away as Prince's legend grows.Michael needs to make that one big comeback with the average consumer.
Like I said before if MJ has a huge comeback he automatically is the king of pop to me no questions asked. Every great artist has had a rough patch and came back to varying success. Michael hasn't had that 2nd wind yet.
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