MUS15: Michael Jackson

Going Solo: The Wiz and Off the Wall

Jackson 5 Recap
Signed a record contract with Motown in
1969
Bobby Taylor (a Motown staff songwriter
and producer) recorded first several
covers of popular R&B, Soul and Funk hits
Modeled after the Motown Sound that was
so successful in the1960s
Rooted in blues and soul music
lrom 8lues Lo Soul
8lues:
Lyrlcs closely ued Lo speech sLyle ln AA8 rhyme scheme
1he melody ls slmllar Lo Lhe call and response formaL of church
muslc
1he slnglng ls narrow ln plLch range, and mlmlcs walllng, crylng
or moanlng
Slmple rhyLhmlc sLrucLure as a way Lo supporL Lhe vocal llne
8elles on repeuuon of shorL muslcal ldeas
Soul:
Slnglng ls more rooLed ln Cospel muslc, as a form of 'secular
Lesufylng'
SLrucLurally based on Lhe blues, addlng more lnLrlcaLe rhyLhm
secuon, and looser slnglng sLyle
lrom Lhe MoLown Sound Lo op
8obby 1aylor's work wlLh Lhe !ackson 3 relled heavlly
on Lhe MoLown Soul sound
Mlchael's slnglng was amboyanL, soulful and made use of
excesslve lmprovlsauon
1aylor's Lracks also feaLured very dense lnsLrumenLauon,
uslng sLrlngs, horns, harp, plano, organ, drums, bass,
gulLar, and ughL vocal arrangemenLs.
8erry Cordy haLed lL, and was lnLeresLed ln culuvaung
a sound LhaL was cleaner.
Pe wanLed Lo feaLure Lhe boys' youLh by chooslng songs
wlLh more naive sub[ecL mauer, raLher Lhan havlng Lhem
perform adulL maLerlal and sLyllngs
new Sound/uecade/Scene
Cordy gave no nouce LhaL he would be movlng hls
company Lo Lhe Pollywood
Many of Lhe muslclans were sLuck: elLher go wlLh
Cordy and Lry Lo keep Lhe career allve, or sLay ln
MoLown and fade lnLo obscurlLy
1he Corporauon
8eplaced Polland-uozler-Polland as Lhe prlmary
songwrlung and producuon Leam
1eam of songwrlLers and producers assembled by 8erry
Cordy for Lhe new Pollywood sLudlos and 1he !ackson 3
8ubblegum Soul
Less abouL novelLy and more abouL depLh LhaL would
appeal Lo klds and adulLs allke
8ubblegum Soul lormula
SmooLh ouL Mlchael's lnsuncuvely amboyanL lead vocal
1lghL background vocals, drawlng from doo wop Lradluons,
and call and response formaLs
Add lnLer[ecuons by !ermalne and feaLure !ackle slnglng ln
hls falseuo
lunky bass and gulLar parLs LhaL !ermalne and 1lLo would
play ooly on llve performances
LxLended choruses LhaL would feaLure boLh a caLchy hook
and Lhelr ughL choreography
lnnocuous lyrlcs abouL asplrauonal relauonshlps, noL
necessarlly abouL anyLhlng LhaL mlghL be experlenced
lays up Lhelr youLhful naiveLe
4 #1 PlLs
ulooo koss lteseots. 1be Iocksoo 5 (1969)
roduced by 1he Corporauon
Slngles: l WanL ?ou 8ack, Who's Lovln' ?ou (tbe ooly
8obby 1oylot-ptoJoceJ sooq to moke lt ooto tbe
olbom)
A8c (1970)
roduced by 1he Corporauon
Slngles: A8C, 1he Love ?ou Save
1bltJ Albom (1970)
roduced by 1he Corporauon
Slngles: l'll be 1here, Pow lunky ls ?our Chlcken
CversaLurauon
llrsL few records wenL Lo #1, Lhough sales sLalled aer
Lhe 1972
Merchandlslng
SaLurday Mornlng carLoon
C8S varleLy Show
Mlchael's growLh on dlsplay, and he became more
wlLhdrawn Lhe more of a commodlLy he became
1974: 1 more hlL wlLh uancln' Machlne and Mlchael's
performance of Lhe 8oboL on Soul 1raln
llrsL ume Mlchael auached a slgnaLure dance Lo a song
SLalemaLe and Lhe Move Lo Lplc
1he boys wanLed Lo wrlLe more of Lhelr own maLerlal, buL MoLown
refused
MoLown wanLed Lo keep Lhem wlLhln Lhe 8ubblegum formula, Lhey
wanLed Lo branch ouL
8eleased 6 albums from 1971-1974
Lplc 8ecords, a label owned by parenL company, C8S 8ecords
boughL ouL Lhelr MoLown conLracL, paylng Lhe group a 20 per
record royalLy (compared Lo MoLown's 2.8)
!ermalne dldn'L make Lhe swlLch wlLh Lhe group aer marrylng
Cordy's daughLer
8andy omclally [olned Lhe group
SwlLch names Lo 1he !acksons, slnce 1he !ackson 3" was owned by
MoLown
Lplc 8ecords
1be Iocksoos (1976)
roducuon Leam kenny Camble and Leon Pu
MosLly dlsco/funk song
Slngle: Ln[oy ?ourself
uesuoy (1978)
Self produced by Lhe !ackson broLhers
Mlchael was deslgnaLed lead songwrlLer
Slngles: 8lame lL Cn Lhe 8oogle, Shake ?our 8ody
(uown Lo Lhe Cround)
lrom Chlld 1o AdulL
uesuoy proved Lo be Lhe denlng momenL for
Mlchael and hls broLhers
1hey had nally found Lhelr songwrlung sLyle
whlch would feaLure Mlchael's expandlng
reperLolre of vocal sounds and dance moves
Mlchael had also begun a wrlung parLnershlp
wlLh hls baby broLher, 8andy, LhaL helped puL
1he !acksons on Lhe map as an auLonomous
group Lo be Laken serlously
M!'s 1urnlng olnL
ln 1978, a 20 year old Mlchael was lnvlLed Lo
audluon for an updaLed verslon of 1be wlzotJ of
Oz (1939 MCM Muslcal)
1hls MCM classlc was based on 1be wooJetfol wlzotJ
of Oz a 1900 chlldren's novel
1he muslcal was very successful on 8roadway,
and ln 1973, wlnnlng seven 1ony Awards
MoLown purchased Lhe rlghLs Lo Lhe show ln
1977 whlch was used, prlmarlly, as a vehlcle for
ulana 8oss
All-SLar CasL
uoroLhy: ulana 8oss
MoLown's blggesL sLar aL Lhe ume, known for her work wlLh 1he Supremes ln Lhe 1960s, and
her malnsLream success as a solo arusL ln Lhe 1970s.
1he 1ln Man: nlpsey 8ussel
veLeran comedlan, known ln Lhe 60s and 70s for hls appearances on Came Shows and varleLy
rograms
1he Cowardly Llon: 1ed 8oss
8roadway acLor, evenLually achleved malnsLream success ln Lhe monumenLal slLcom, 1be
Ie[etsoos
1he Scarecrow: Mlchael !ackson
uuh.
1he Wlz: 8lchard ryor
ConLroverslal sLand-up comedlan and acLor, who revoluuonlzed comedy wlLh hls
uncompromlslng commenLary abouL Lhe condluons of hls exLravaganL llfesLyle, and Lhe soclal
sLaLus of Afrlcan Amerlcans ln a osL-Clvll 8lghLs uS.
1he Cood WlLch: Lena Porne
Among Lhe rsL Afrlcan Amerlcan sLars Lo achleve malnsLream success Lhe lm lndusLry ln Lhe
early 20
Lh
cenLury
Lvlllene: Mabel klng
veLeran 8roadway acLress and slnger, achlevlng success as Mamma ln slLcom, wbots
noppeoloq
Why ls lL so lmporLanL?
1be wlz commenLs dlrecLly on a raclsL
Amerlcan enLerLalnmenL Lradluon, known as
MlnsLrelsy
erformance Lradluon feaLurlng boLh Afrlcan
Amerlcans and Caucaslans performlng
carlcaLured deplcuons of Afrlcan Amerlcans
MlnsLrel shows rose Lo promlnence as Lhe
preferred form of enLerLalnmenL ln Lhe 19
Lh

and early 20
Lh
CenLurles
CarlcaLure: !lm Crow
CreaLed by blackface performer, 1.u. 8lce
1he good-naLured buoon, who was oen asked
Lo dance for hls supper and appear eLernally
graLeful for any reward glven Lo hlm by whlLes
Segregauon laws were named aer Lhls
characLer.
ln popular culLure, Lhls characLer ls oen
deplcLed by blrds, Lhe mosL famous of whlch
appeared ln ulsney's 1941 lm, uombo.
CarlcaLure: SLagolee" or SLagger Lee"
Sllck, smooLh-Lalklng guy whose moral
compass was no-where Lo be found
8epresenLed more abouL whlLe socleLy's
fanLasles and fears abouL black men's
menaclng sexuallLy. 1he legacy of Lhe urban
dandy was cenLral Lo blues culLure and [and
comedlans], Lo say noLhlng of Lhe
blaxsplolLauon lm genre and Lhe myLh-
maklng of gangsLa rap." - Warwlck, 24
CarlcaLure: Mammy"
CharacLerlzes a wlse older woman, whose [ob
was Lo ralse Lhe chlldren of her slave owner.
1he rsL Lalklng plcLure, 1be Iozz 5loqet, ls
abouL a blackface vaudevllle performer.
Al !olson performlng Mammy"
Pame Mcuanlel
llrsL Afrlcan Amerlcan Lo wln an Academy
Award, porLraylng Mammy ln Cooe wltb tbe
wloJ ln 1939

1he lall of Lhe Pays Code and lLs
lnuence on Afrlcan Amerlcans ln lllm
1he Pays Code was a sysLem of SLandards and
racuces LhaL conLrolled evetytbloq LhaL came
ouL of Pollywood up Lhrough Lhe 1960s.
1hls seL of values pollced so-called obscenlLy.
among oLher Lhlngs:
Mlscegenauon: a sexual relauonshlp beLween 2
persons of dlerenL races
Lusuul klsslng
8eallsuc vlolence
All 1hls Leads Lo 1be wlz
Sydney LumeL, dlrecLor
Sydney LumeL was an Amerlcan lm dlrecLor who
began maklng lms ln Lhe 60s.
lmmedlaLely, he hlred Lhls guy, Culncy !ones, Lo
do hls lm score for hls 1964 lm, 1be
lowobtoket.
LumeL ls known for chooslng sLoryllnes LhaL
feaLured grluy soclal reallsm
Pe would laLer go on Lo dlrecL lms llke 12 Aoqty
Meo, 1be Netwotk and uoq uoy Afetoooo
(whlch, lncldenLally, feaLures Al aclno as Lhe rsL
openly gay characLer Lo appear on lm).
Culncy !ones
Culncy !ones
CoL hls sLarL as a LrumpeLer and arranger for
ulzzy Clllesple
WenL on Lo be Lhe rsL Afrlcan Amerlcan
execuuve of Mercury records
Arranged and produced records for lrank
SlnaLra, Llla llLzgerald, Sarah vaughan, and
pop slnger, Lesley Core
WroLe 33 lm scores.lncludlng tbls.
1he Wlz
1he lm adapLauon feaLured new songs by
Culncy !ones
llrsL molostteom lm Lo feaLure an all-black casL
Amerlcan Muslcal 1heaLer
Afrlcan Amerlcans ln muslcals had appeared prlmarlly
as accessorles Lo Lhe maln ploL, such as ln 5bow 8oot
(1927)
5totmy weotbet and cotmeo Iooes feaLured all black
casLs, buL were largely only seen by Afrlcan Amerlcan
audlences
uebunklng SLereoLype
My characLer had plenLy Lo say and Lo learn. l
was propped up on my pole wlLh a bunch of
crows laughlng aL me, whlle l sang ?ou Can'L
Wln." 1he song was abouL humlllauon and
helplessness - someLhlng LhaL so many people
have felL aL one ume or anoLher - and Lhe
feellng LhaL Lhere are people ouL Lhere who
don'L acuvely hold you back as much as Lhey
work quleLly on your lnsecurlues so LhaL you
hold yourself back." - Mlchael !ackson, 140
M! as Scarecrow
lL ls as Lhough !ackson, ln Lhls number, ls exLrlcaung
hlmself from Lhe vaudevllle anucs of !lm Crow and
pleadlng Lo be recognlzed as fully human." - 232
osLurlng hlm on Lhe pole ln a ChrlsL-llke sLance
Lllmlnauon of hls lconlc danclng
locus musL be pald on Lhe volce
1he rsL ume M! fully explores Lhe lower reglsLer!
Mlchael en[oyed Lhe escaplsm of Pollywood
3-hour makeup [ob
Marveled aL Lhe process of lmmaklng
Would planL Lhe seed for hls fuLure muslc vldeos.
8eclamauon
8e-approprlauon of raclsL sLereoLypes
Lvlllene no 8ad news"
1he lm wasn'L well-recelved by Lhe popular
press and lL dld poorly ln Lhe 8ox Cmce
leaLures Lhe moral Lale of a hard-worklng
educaLed woman, whose own lnsecurlues keep
her from rlslng Lo Lhe Lop
Much llke Mlchael, ulana 8oss used Lhe lm as a
vehlcle Lo slng more soulfully Lhan 8erry Cordy ever
permlued her Lo do before.
1ransluon
Mlchael was on locauon ln Lhe laLe 1970s ln new ?ork
ClLy aL Lhe helghL of ulcso lever," spendlng much of
hls free ume aL SLudlo 34
llrsL ume he spenL any exLended ume away from hls
famlly
M! was suerlng from lmmense anxleLy and lnsecurlLy
abouL shoulderlng Lhe burden of hls famlly's buslness
Whlle on Lhe seL of 1be wlz, Mlchael shyly asked
Culncy lf he knew of anyone who would llke Lo
produce hls nexL solo record.
C! qulckly oered hlmself, and a happy marrlage was
born!
1he ArL of Crossover
[O[ tbe woll was seen] as Lhe sLarL of a new era of pop LhaL mlghL
Lranscend Lhe raclal segregauon LhaL had long domlnaLed Lhe muslc
markeL, an era LhaL would culmlnaLe wlLh Lhe rlse Lo unlversal
sLardom of Mlchael !ackson and rlnce ln Lhe 1980s." - uanlelson,
131
O[ tbe woll performed equally well on Lhe 8lack 8&8 charLs and on
whlLe op/8ock charLs,
llrsL record by a black arusL Lo reach Lhe Lop of 1he 8lllboard 200
Successfully comblnes pre-consLrucLed muslcal forms of boLh sldes
of Lhe coln, and as such denes pop as a color-less, malnsLream,"
crossover" genre.
8epresenLed a grown-up, sexy and self-aware M! ln lL use of Lrendy
conLemporary muslcal sLyles.
O[ tbe woll (1979):
8lrLh of an lcon
O[ tbe woll (1979)
WanLed a sound LhaL was noLhlng llke whaL he
had culuvaLed wlLh hls famlly.
Mlxes dlsco, funk, pop, soul, rock and [azz elemenLs ln
an eorL Lo consLrucL Lhls new sound
leaLured muslc LhaL was wrluen mosLly by hlm,
Lhough also uullzed veLeran songwrlLers and
enLerLalners 8od 1emperLon, SLevle Wonder and
aul McCarLney.
Mlxlng by 8ruce Swedlen, frequenL collaboraLor
of Culncy !ones
O[ tbe woll (1979)
M! and C! wanLed Lo consLrucL a pop record on whlch
Lhere were no ller Lracks
1hls Lype of producuon was popularlzed by Lhe 8eaLles ln
Lhe 60s, and successfully adopLed by serlous" muslc
genres (8ock, mosLly).
op was sull a markeL of slngles, noL albums
1en Lracks, ln LoLal and ve slngles:
uon'L SLop '1ll ?ou CeL Lnough (M!)
8ock WlLh ?ou (8od 1emperLon)
C Lhe Wall (1emperLon)
She's CuL of My Llfe (1om 8ahler, C! had orlglnally planned on
glvlng lL Lo lrank SlnaLra)
Clrlfrlend (aul McCarLney)
ls Lhls whaL you assoclaLe wlLh ulSCC?
ulsco
ulsco ls a dance-based muslc genre LhaL popularlzed
culLural subverslon.
Lmerged ouL of Lhe 1970s dlscoLheque culLure, ln whlch people
of all races, slzes and sexual orlenLauons could hang LogeLher
8ased ln funk, soul and laun
8aslc band: bass, gulLar, drums
1he dlsco bass llne acLs as a melodlc elemenL.
Also lncludes exLenslve sLrlng parLs. 8eally long lnLerludes.
Porns are lncluded as well.
ercusslon: cow bells, shakers, congas, gulrros (Laun
percusslon)
Soul-based vocals wlLh heavy reverberauon.
CLher orchesLral elemenLs: uLes, reeds.
LaLer, Lhe synLheslzer plays an lmporLanL role.
lunk
1he de-emphasls on vocal melody and brlnglng Lhe rhyLhm secuon
Lo Lhe foreground.
Muslcally consLrucLed of small muslcal secuons LhaL would geL
repeaLed (vamped) Lo provlde room for vocal lmprovlsauon.
!ames 8rown really developed Lhe sound ln Lhe 60s, and ln Lhe 70s
groups llke Sly and Lhe lamlly SLone, 1ower of ower and ulumaLely,
Lhe arllamenL lunkadellc developed Lhe form and broughL lL Lo a
wlder audlence.
LlemenLs:
ScraLch gulLar
Porns provldlng accenLs ln loud hlLs!!! 8eally complex horn lnLerludes.
Plghly rhyLhmlc.
lmprovlsed vocals
SyncopaLed bass llnes: Lhe bass rl becomes an lmporLanL elemenL ln
lunk. lL's noL necessarlly used as a melodlc lnsLrumenL, buL lL provldes
a very caLchy foundauon.
uon'L SLop '1ll ?ou CeL Lnough
lnLro:
1hrobblng bass under Mlchael's umld (sexual) whlsperlng
PCC!: Launches Lhe soarlng sLrlng parLs
verses:
lalseuo slnglng volce
lunky gulLar parLs
Laun percusslon
vocal lnLer[ecuons wlLh hlmself
1he hlccups!
Chorus
Add horns and bulldlng sLrlng LexLure
8ecorded all Lhe vocal parLs hlmself
Pand claps
8rldge
Muslc lnLer[ecuon beLween chorus and nal verse
leaLured a rock-heavy gulLar solo
llnal Chorus 8epeaL Lo lade
Lach of Lhe muslcal elemenLs ls ln a consLanL loop, whlle M! lmprovlses
Lyrlcs
1ouch me and l feel on re
Aln'L noLhln' llke a love deslre
l'm melung
Llke hoL candle wax
Sensauon, lovely where we're aL
So leL love Lake us Lhrough Lhe hours
l won'L be complalnln'
'Cause Lhls ls love power (CCP)
Comblnauon of LlemenLs
.pop fans have Lyplcally never shared Lhe rock audlence's
fasclnauon wlLh dlsLorLed or 'raw' sounds." - uanlelsen,
162
ulsco's ughL sLrlngs and smooLh vocals
Lven Lhough ulsco was qulckly loslng lLs popularlLy Lhanks Lo
Lhe lm 5ototJoy Nlqbt levet, and dlsco records belng released
by whlLe rock acLs (8olllng SLones and 8od SLewarL)
lunk's groove-based bass llnes, punchy horns and lnslsLenL
rhyLhm secuon
op's lnLeresL ln cleanllness"
Lllmlnaung Lhe subverslve elemenLs of Lhe genres LhaL
preceded lL
ShorLen Lhe lengLh, and use slmple verse/chorus/brldge
sLrucLure
She's CuL of My Llfe
op 8allad: ln Lhe 1970s, Lhe pop sound referred
Lo really sappy, emouonal and senumenLal
conLenL.
LlemenLs:
Cverly senumenLal lyrlcal conLenL.
Peavy use of synLheslzers.
1he emphasls ls on Lhe recordlng producuon, maklng
you feel as lf Lhe slnger ls Lalklng dlrecLly Lo you.
Ceneraung lnumacy wlLh such a broad formaL.
WhlLney would revoluuonlze Lhe pop ballad, maklng lL
less cheezy and more soulful. 1hank you, WhlLney.
uesuny World 1our
ln uecember 1979, 1he !acksons launched a Lour Lo
promoLe Lhelr prevlous record, uesuoy
1he show feaLured a seL ln whlch Mlchael would
perform hls O[ tbe woll slngles
Pls broLhers would accompany hlm wearlng Lhe spacesulL
M! wore ln hls 8ock WlLh ?ou vldeo
M! would appear ln hls cosLumes used ln hls solo
vldeos, semng hlm aparL from hls broLhers.buL mosLly
solldlfylng Lhe vlsual assoclauons of Mlchael as a solo
arusL
Sparkle socks and Luxedo
erformance a more sophlsucaLed verslon of hls persona
1he Muslc vldeo!!!
1he producuon values . are Lyplcal of Lhe klnd
of low-budgeL vldeos LhaL black arusLs would be
saddled wlLh well lnLo Lhe mld-1980s: on
vldeoLape before a prlmluve green screen
where backgrounds were dropped ln laLer. As
speclal eecLs, Lhey are deeply chlnLzy, even by
Lhe sLandards of Lhe era." - nelson Ceorge,
39-60
1elevlslon and lnuence
As we wlLnessed ln Lhe case of Llvls resley, and
laLer wlLh 1he !acksons' appearances on 5ool
1tolo, appearlng on 1v was someLhlng LhaL could
lmmedlaLely aecL Lhe way muslc was produced.
8ecord labels, lnlually havlng wrluen o 8ock and
8oll as a fad, began churnlng ouL Llvls look (and
sound)-a-llkes ln droves.
Mlchael !ackson would change Lhe way pop
muslc was regarded, and as we'll see nexL week,
eecuvely change Lhe way muslc vldeos are
concelved and produced.
Changes
1979: Mlchael red !oe as manager.
l was beglnnlng Lo feel LhaL l was worklng for
blm raLher Lhan LhaL he was worklng for me."
- M!, 132
O[ tbe woll dld well, buL noL nearly as well as
he'd hoped.
8ecelved only 1 Crammy for 8esL Male 8&8 vocal
erformance for uon'L SLop '1ll ?ou CeL Lnough"
Pe felL lgnored by hls peers
WalL unul nexL ume - Lhey won'L be able
Lo lgnore Lhe nexL album."
.unul nexL ume.