gemari77 said:

Many of us who grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the early to mid-80's didn't have cable or satellite.... yet, he was still the biggest thing in the world in our eyes. We'd see an occasional video on a video program, but it wasn't like having MTV...which I didn't have until my family moved South in 1990.

My mom still has the Off The Wall record on vinyl, which she used to listen to constantly before Thriller. This, in addition to all the Motown 45's.

One of my fondest memories though is sitting on the floor in my parent's bedroom at 5 or 6 years old watching that Motown special with them--mesmorized by Michael's performance, which was highly anticipated! That moment he did the moonwalk was one of the biggest 'HOLY CRAP!' moments I can remember. If DVR existed in those days, we would have watched it and re-watched it a million times.

If I'm being honest, I think MTV did probably expose him to more people and put him and his music into even more households. It certainly aided in his success... but, it's hard to gauge, because radio was still very important in those days too. He made great records and a variety of stations played them.

Count me in on this 100%, i didnt have MTV, grew up in Brooklyn, and my Fridays were spent in front of the TV jumping back and forth between friday night videos and NY Hot Tracks, this was before the cosby kids took over Friday Night Videos and other hosts, in the beginning that show was 90minutes of straight videos with not too much commercials. Also props to NY Hot tracks, some people think this show only played "RB" but this was an all inclusive show, one week you could see an interview with Lisa Lisa, the next, Ashford and SImpson, the next Billy Joel, and thats how the playlist ran too. I thank these two shows aalso U68, for exposing me too other artists that MTV was playing, u would never see freestyle artists like Expose or the Cover Girls on MTV, and my favorite band ever was NOT broken by MTV in america, it was technically U68 that premiered that video before anyone did, and then after a few weeks MTV had it.

But as for the MJ thing, sure videos pushed him into the stratosphere with exposure, it did for tons of artists, and also helped new ones unknown get known, but to say MJ might be what he was if not for video, is def not true

Militant said:

Timmy - Yeah! The Box! LOL I remember that shit. Your timing is way off though. That didn't launch until 1992. Back in the 90's that shit was basically a jukebox where you phoned up to request a song and if they got enough requests they'd play it. Hell, that practice continued with a lot of channels even up till the mid 00's, but as far as I know, there aren't any video channels that do that anymore. They wouldn't be able to make money from it cos ain't nobody paying to see a damn music video when we have the internet LOL.

Actually ITV in some regions had an overnight show in the mid to late 80's called 'The Box' which preceded what you are talking about. It showed videos for free, no calling up nonsense. Different entirely.

Marrk said:

Militant said:

Timmy - Yeah! The Box! LOL I remember that shit. Your timing is way off though. That didn't launch until 1992. Back in the 90's that shit was basically a jukebox where you phoned up to request a song and if they got enough requests they'd play it. Hell, that practice continued with a lot of channels even up till the mid 00's, but as far as I know, there aren't any video channels that do that anymore. They wouldn't be able to make money from it cos ain't nobody paying to see a damn music video when we have the internet LOL.

Actually ITV in some regions had an overnight show in the mid to late 80's called 'The Box' which preceded what you are talking about. It showed videos for free, no calling up nonsense. Different entirely.

So I wasn't far off?

lastdecember said:

gemari77 said:

Many of us who grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the early to mid-80's didn't have cable or satellite.... yet, he was still the biggest thing in the world in our eyes. We'd see an occasional video on a video program, but it wasn't like having MTV...which I didn't have until my family moved South in 1990.

My mom still has the Off The Wall record on vinyl, which she used to listen to constantly before Thriller. This, in addition to all the Motown 45's.

One of my fondest memories though is sitting on the floor in my parent's bedroom at 5 or 6 years old watching that Motown special with them--mesmorized by Michael's performance, which was highly anticipated! That moment he did the moonwalk was one of the biggest 'HOLY CRAP!' moments I can remember. If DVR existed in those days, we would have watched it and re-watched it a million times.

If I'm being honest, I think MTV did probably expose him to more people and put him and his music into even more households. It certainly aided in his success... but, it's hard to gauge, because radio was still very important in those days too. He made great records and a variety of stations played them.

Count me in on this 100%, i didnt have MTV, grew up in Brooklyn, and my Fridays were spent in front of the TV jumping back and forth between friday night videos and NY Hot Tracks, this was before the cosby kids took over Friday Night Videos and other hosts, in the beginning that show was 90minutes of straight videos with not too much commercials. Also props to NY Hot tracks, some people think this show only played "RB" but this was an all inclusive show, one week you could see an interview with Lisa Lisa, the next, Ashford and SImpson, the next Billy Joel, and thats how the playlist ran too. I thank these two shows aalso U68, for exposing me too other artists that MTV was playing, u would never see freestyle artists like Expose or the Cover Girls on MTV, and my favorite band ever was NOT broken by MTV in america, it was technically U68 that premiered that video before anyone did, and then after a few weeks MTV had it.

But as for the MJ thing, sure videos pushed him into the stratosphere with exposure, it did for tons of artists, and also helped new ones unknown get known, but to say MJ might be what he was if not for video, is def not true

I very much believe if Michael never made any music videos for 'Thriller' he still wouldve been popular. 'Billie Jean' was the first music video from 'Thriller' yet it barely created a buzz. When he appeared on Motown 25 it was the most talked about singular performance on network television. So that video did not elevate him to the pop stratosphere to me it was his live performance. I dont know if MTV was playing Billie Jean at the time of the special but Im sure they were playing it afterwards.

My family had cable back in 1980. I remember the channel HBO was the one we looked at. About two years later I was turing the dial(before remote control) and I came across MTV. The first video I seen on that network was by David Bowie but I remember how intrigued I was by this and I kept going back to it. MTV did introduce me to a new genre of music 'New Wave'.

In order to watch R&B videos we tuned in to NY Hot Tracks which was first then Friday Night Videos then U68 rap videos with Ralp McDaniels.

1sotrue said:

lastdecember said:

Count me in on this 100%, i didnt have MTV, grew up in Brooklyn, and my Fridays were spent in front of the TV jumping back and forth between friday night videos and NY Hot Tracks, this was before the cosby kids took over Friday Night Videos and other hosts, in the beginning that show was 90minutes of straight videos with not too much commercials. Also props to NY Hot tracks, some people think this show only played "RB" but this was an all inclusive show, one week you could see an interview with Lisa Lisa, the next, Ashford and SImpson, the next Billy Joel, and thats how the playlist ran too. I thank these two shows aalso U68, for exposing me too other artists that MTV was playing, u would never see freestyle artists like Expose or the Cover Girls on MTV, and my favorite band ever was NOT broken by MTV in america, it was technically U68 that premiered that video before anyone did, and then after a few weeks MTV had it.

But as for the MJ thing, sure videos pushed him into the stratosphere with exposure, it did for tons of artists, and also helped new ones unknown get known, but to say MJ might be what he was if not for video, is def not true

I very much believe if Michael never made any music videos for 'Thriller' he still wouldve been popular. 'Billie Jean' was the first music video from 'Thriller' yet it barely created a buzz. When he appeared on Motown 25 it was the most talked about singular performance on network television. So that video did not elevate him to the pop stratosphere to me it was his live performance. I dont know if MTV was playing Billie Jean at the time of the special but Im sure they were playing it afterwards.

My family had cable back in 1980. I remember the channel HBO was the one we looked at. About two years later I was turing the dial(before remote control) and I came across MTV. The first video I seen on that network was by David Bowie but I remember how intrigued I was by this and I kept going back to it. MTV did introduce me to a new genre of music 'New Wave'.

In order to watch R&B videos we tuned in to NY Hot Tracks which was first then Friday Night Videos then U68 rap videos with Ralp McDaniels.

No i agree on that Motown 25 was the igniter, it was a huge show, and it was the visual of a move that no one ever saw, it wasnt HYPED up like anything today, u didnt get HYPED a month before the show by someone tweeting "mikes going to do the moon walk" a million times a day, so in that respect those times the unexpected always won out, nothing is unexpected now, everything is calculated. There is no way in hell MJ knew that dance move would be the shit, just like John Travolta didnt thiink that pose in the white suit was anything more than the end of his photoshoot that day, little did they know it was going to be iconic. Back then icons were made by what they did, now you try to be iconic by what you say you are going to do.

MTV was a great thing early on, even through till about 86-87 maybe 88 even, but then like all "new things" they get sold away, i mean think about Myspace and Youtube and Facebook and Twitter good for the first few then at some point its lost its luster, mtv lost it when its sale went into effect, that was pretty much the end.

Militant said:

bboy87 said:

I've been looking for UK TV adverts and footage from the premieres and I could only find footage from the Australian premiere on Countdown with Molly Meldrum. MTV played the original advert for the premiere of Thriller during Michael's memorial service but unfortunately, I didn't record it

I did find an airing of Don't Stop Til You Get Enough on Top Of The Pops from mid 1979

I don't have anything from that early.

I have a VHS of the original BBC2 airing of the 1992 Bucharest show, which I think aired the day after the show. I remember watching it when it aired and I used to watch that tape CONSTANTLY as a kid, which I why I just wasn't excited when they finally released the DVD in '05.

I was like "Damn, of all the shows, they release this one that I've already had for 13 years?"

I also have a VHS with the UK premiere of "Black Or White" which I think was the ONLY time a UK TV channel showed the full uncut video.

Timmy - Yeah! The Box! LOL I remember that shit. Your timing is way off though. That didn't launch until 1992. Back in the 90's that shit was basically a jukebox where you phoned up to request a song and if they got enough requests they'd play it. Hell, that practice continued with a lot of channels even up till the mid 00's, but as far as I know, there aren't any video channels that do that anymore. They wouldn't be able to make money from it cos ain't nobody paying to see a damn music video when we have the internet LOL.

Not true. The Jukebox Network (later renamed The Box) was available in 1989. Even back then, you had to lived in specific regions of the USA to get it on TV synication. I was able to watch Jukebox in the Baton Rouge area a lot better than in the New Orleans area.

bboy87 said:

Adisa said:

I'm tired as hell and not thinking clearly, so I could be wrong about this... but weren't the videos for Beat It and Billie Jean out before the Motown 25 performance? And wasn't it the Motown 25 performance that really kickstarted the Thriller craze? And wasn't it the Thriller craze that set the stage for the "Thriller" video that was in rotation every 4 hours on MTV?

Mike's contingency for M25 was a solo spot so he could promote his new shit that had been out for months already.

Well, it started with Billie Jean. Although The Girl Is Mine was a hit (peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the R&B chart), Billie Jean's release pushed the album in the top 5

The album didn't reach #1 until 10 weeks after it's release in February 1983, right around the time Billie Jean hit MTV (and also BET)

OK. But wasn't it a tv performance, not a video or MTV, that really took the Thriller album and MJ's carer to the next level? I'm not trying to take away the historical significance of the "Thriller" video or MJ's love of making short films. I'm just saying that the Motown 25 perfomance had a bigger impact.

Adisa said:

bboy87 said:

Well, it started with Billie Jean. Although The Girl Is Mine was a hit (peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the R&B chart), Billie Jean's release pushed the album in the top 5

The album didn't reach #1 until 10 weeks after it's release in February 1983, right around the time Billie Jean hit MTV (and also BET)

OK. But wasn't it a tv performance, not a video or MTV, that really took the Thriller album and MJ's carer to the next level? I'm not trying to take away the historical significance of the "Thriller" video or MJ's love of making short films. I'm just saying that the Motown 25 perfomance had a bigger impact.

No you're right. Motown 25 pushed Michael to the stratosphere. Prior to Motown 25, Thriller had initially peaked at No. 1 and Def Leppard's Pyromania took its place (if I remember my MJ factoids list correctly). After M25, sales pushed back up and he reclaimed the No. 1 spot. I think "Beat It", the single and video, was released either before or after M25. Ironic thing was Michael turned it down numerous times because he wanted to focus on solo work and not a J5 reunion. When Michael told Berry he wanted a solo spot, it changed the course of history. It was really that moonwalk. The videos were extra on that gravy really.

Adisa said:

bboy87 said:

Well, it started with Billie Jean. Although The Girl Is Mine was a hit (peaked at #2 on the Hot 100 and #1 on the R&B chart), Billie Jean's release pushed the album in the top 5

The album didn't reach #1 until 10 weeks after it's release in February 1983, right around the time Billie Jean hit MTV (and also BET)

OK. But wasn't it a tv performance, not a video or MTV, that really took the Thriller album and MJ's carer to the next level? I'm not trying to take away the historical significance of the "Thriller" video or MJ's love of making short films. I'm just saying that the Motown 25 perfomance had a bigger impact.

Oh I agree. I was just saying the album didn't start really taking off until Billie Jean's release. the Motown 25 performance took the album and Michael to a completely different level

bboy87 said:

Adisa said:

OK. But wasn't it a tv performance, not a video or MTV, that really took the Thriller album and MJ's carer to the next level? I'm not trying to take away the historical significance of the "Thriller" video or MJ's love of making short films. I'm just saying that the Motown 25 perfomance had a bigger impact.

Oh I agree. I was just saying the album didn't start really taking off until Billie Jean's release. the Motown 25 performance took the album and Michael to a completely different level

But it did take off. There is no way to break it down into fragments. Thriller was always going to be a megahit. This was a known. Off the Wall was huge and Thriller was expected to be AS big if not bigger. Where is the mystery?

The video phenomenon isn't as strong of an impact on someone's career as some give it credit for being. Prince, for instance, has always had shitty videos no matter what and he remains successful. Granted, his music is much more diverse and less formulaic so it doesn't appeal to everyone.

Spinlight said:

bboy87 said:

Oh I agree. I was just saying the album didn't start really taking off until Billie Jean's release. the Motown 25 performance took the album and Michael to a completely different level

But it did take off. There is no way to break it down into fragments. Thriller was always going to be a megahit. This was a known. Off the Wall was huge and Thriller was expected to be AS big if not bigger. Where is the mystery?

The video phenomenon isn't as strong of an impact on someone's career as some give it credit for being. Prince, for instance, has always had shitty videos no matter what and he remains successful. Granted, his music is much more diverse and less formulaic so it doesn't appeal to everyone.

Yeah and Michael had the SMARTS to know where he was going with Thriller. Everyone else was shocked.

Timmy84 said:

MJJstudent said:

saturday night fever, tim...

Girl... I KNOW THAT... why did I type "LIVE"?!

hee hee...

gemari77 said:

Many of us who grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the early to mid-80's didn't have cable or satellite.... yet, he was still the biggest thing in the world in our eyes. We'd see an occasional video on a video program, but it wasn't like having MTV...which I didn't have until my family moved South in 1990.

My mom still has the Off The Wall record on vinyl, which she used to listen to constantly before Thriller. This, in addition to all the Motown 45's.

One of my fondest memories though is sitting on the floor in my parent's bedroom at 5 or 6 years old watching that Motown special with them--mesmorized by Michael's performance, which was highly anticipated! That moment he did the moonwalk was one of the biggest 'HOLY CRAP!' moments I can remember. If DVR existed in those days, we would have watched it and re-watched it a million times.

If I'm being honest, I think MTV did probably expose him to more people and put him and his music into even more households. It certainly aided in his success... but, it's hard to gauge, because radio was still very important in those days too. He made great records and a variety of stations played them.

exactly... i grew up in the bronx and brooklyn, and the videos which came out of michael (and his brothers) prior to- and even after- thriller we saw on new york hot tracks or video music box or whatever... i didn't see MTV until about 1991, 1992 or so, after the dangerous album. and michael was HUGE when i was growing up! all the kids wanted to be like him.

Timmy84 said:

Spinlight said:

But it did take off. There is no way to break it down into fragments. Thriller was always going to be a megahit. This was a known. Off the Wall was huge and Thriller was expected to be AS big if not bigger. Where is the mystery?

The video phenomenon isn't as strong of an impact on someone's career as some give it credit for being. Prince, for instance, has always had shitty videos no matter what and he remains successful. Granted, his music is much more diverse and less formulaic so it doesn't appeal to everyone.

Yeah and Michael had the SMARTS to know where he was going with Thriller. Everyone else was shocked.

Who do people think was pulling the strings of the Michael Jackson career? MJ!

People give Quincy and Freddy D so much credit and they forget that Michael himself was a genius. He ain't Britney fuckin Spears.

Timmy84 said:

Adisa said:

OK. But wasn't it a tv performance, not a video or MTV, that really took the Thriller album and MJ's carer to the next level? I'm not trying to take away the historical significance of the "Thriller" video or MJ's love of making short films. I'm just saying that the Motown 25 perfomance had a bigger impact.

No you're right. Motown 25 pushed Michael to the stratosphere. Prior to Motown 25, Thriller had initially peaked at No. 1 and Def Leppard's Pyromania took its place (if I remember my MJ factoids list correctly). After M25, sales pushed back up and he reclaimed the No. 1 spot. I think "Beat It", the single and video, was released either before or after M25. Ironic thing was Michael turned it down numerous times because he wanted to focus on solo work and not a J5 reunion. When Michael told Berry he wanted a solo spot, it changed the course of history. It was really that moonwalk. The videos were extra on that gravy really.

Yeah that's how I remember it. As big of an MJ/ Jacksons fan as I always was I remember not giving a damn about no Beat It or Billie Jean video back in the day. I remember kids in my 3rd grade class telling our teacher about the BJ video, bed lighting up and stuff and she was like Then M25 broadcasts and that same teacher, eand everybody else lol, was like about any and ALL things MJ after that. And Barry knew it, which is why he put out all those J5/ MJ releases of old shit so all the new fans would buy it. And they did, too.

TonyVanDam said:

Militant said:

I don't have anything from that early.

I have a VHS of the original BBC2 airing of the 1992 Bucharest show, which I think aired the day after the show. I remember watching it when it aired and I used to watch that tape CONSTANTLY as a kid, which I why I just wasn't excited when they finally released the DVD in '05.

I was like "Damn, of all the shows, they release this one that I've already had for 13 years?"

I also have a VHS with the UK premiere of "Black Or White" which I think was the ONLY time a UK TV channel showed the full uncut video.

Timmy - Yeah! The Box! LOL I remember that shit. Your timing is way off though. That didn't launch until 1992. Back in the 90's that shit was basically a jukebox where you phoned up to request a song and if they got enough requests they'd play it. Hell, that practice continued with a lot of channels even up till the mid 00's, but as far as I know, there aren't any video channels that do that anymore. They wouldn't be able to make money from it cos ain't nobody paying to see a damn music video when we have the internet LOL.

Not true. The Jukebox Network (later renamed The Box) was available in 1989. Even back then, you had to lived in specific regions of the USA to get it on TV synication. I was able to watch Jukebox in the Baton Rouge area a lot better than in the New Orleans area.

We were discussing the UK channel, "The Box"....nothing to with what you're talking about.

Adisa said:

Timmy84 said:

No you're right. Motown 25 pushed Michael to the stratosphere. Prior to Motown 25, Thriller had initially peaked at No. 1 and Def Leppard's Pyromania took its place (if I remember my MJ factoids list correctly). After M25, sales pushed back up and he reclaimed the No. 1 spot. I think "Beat It", the single and video, was released either before or after M25. Ironic thing was Michael turned it down numerous times because he wanted to focus on solo work and not a J5 reunion. When Michael told Berry he wanted a solo spot, it changed the course of history. It was really that moonwalk. The videos were extra on that gravy really.

Yeah that's how I remember it. As big of an MJ/ Jacksons fan as I always was I remember not giving a damn about no Beat It or Billie Jean video back in the day. I remember kids in my 3rd grade class telling our teacher about the BJ video, bed lighting up and stuff and she was like Then M25 broadcasts and that same teacher, eand everybody else lol, was like about any and ALL things MJ after that. And Barry knew it, which is why he put out all those J5/ MJ releases of old shit so all the new fans would buy it. And they did, too.

Barry would release a new J5 album out whenever there was a new Michael or Jacksons album out

bboy87 said:

Adisa said:

Yeah that's how I remember it. As big of an MJ/ Jacksons fan as I always was I remember not giving a damn about no Beat It or Billie Jean video back in the day. I remember kids in my 3rd grade class telling our teacher about the BJ video, bed lighting up and stuff and she was like Then M25 broadcasts and that same teacher, eand everybody else lol, was like about any and ALL things MJ after that. And Barry knew it, which is why he put out all those J5/ MJ releases of old shit so all the new fans would buy it. And they did, too.

Barry would release a new J5 album out whenever there was a new Michael or Jacksons album out

Yeah but it wasn't until 1981 that he sought to make profit. Technically it started with Joyful Jukebox Music in 1976 (after The Jacksons and the TV series), then Boogie (after Destiny). But One Day in Your Life was the first real attempt to have chart success with Michael's Motown catalog, which they did with the title track (#1 in the UK) and then Farewell My Summer Love and a list of other hits collection during the Thriller craze. One compilation for the J5 even had it credited to Michael Jackson AND the Jackson 5.

Life was never the same once brotha' man put that hat on his head

This performance did it....yup

1sotrue said:

lastdecember said:

Count me in on this 100%, i didnt have MTV, grew up in Brooklyn, and my Fridays were spent in front of the TV jumping back and forth between friday night videos and NY Hot Tracks, this was before the cosby kids took over Friday Night Videos and other hosts, in the beginning that show was 90minutes of straight videos with not too much commercials. Also props to NY Hot tracks, some people think this show only played "RB" but this was an all inclusive show, one week you could see an interview with Lisa Lisa, the next, Ashford and SImpson, the next Billy Joel, and thats how the playlist ran too. I thank these two shows aalso U68, for exposing me too other artists that MTV was playing, u would never see freestyle artists like Expose or the Cover Girls on MTV, and my favorite band ever was NOT broken by MTV in america, it was technically U68 that premiered that video before anyone did, and then after a few weeks MTV had it.

But as for the MJ thing, sure videos pushed him into the stratosphere with exposure, it did for tons of artists, and also helped new ones unknown get known, but to say MJ might be what he was if not for video, is def not true

I very much believe if Michael never made any music videos for 'Thriller' he still wouldve been popular. 'Billie Jean' was the first music video from 'Thriller' yet it barely created a buzz. When he appeared on Motown 25 it was the most talked about singular performance on network television. So that video did not elevate him to the pop stratosphere to me it was his live performance. I dont know if MTV was playing Billie Jean at the time of the special but Im sure they were playing it afterwards.

My family had cable back in 1980. I remember the channel HBO was the one we looked at. About two years later I was turing the dial(before remote control) and I came across MTV. The first video I seen on that network was by David Bowie but I remember how intrigued I was by this and I kept going back to it. MTV did introduce me to a new genre of music 'New Wave'.

In order to watch R&B videos we tuned in to NY Hot Tracks which was first then Friday Night Videos then U68 rap videos with Ralp McDaniels.

yeah, i only saw HBO, and WHT. and video music box used to be on channel 31, i think, where i was... and i totally remember friday night videos before the tv stars on it...

lastdecember said:

gemari77 said:

Many of us who grew up in Brooklyn, New York in the early to mid-80's didn't have cable or satellite.... yet, he was still the biggest thing in the world in our eyes. We'd see an occasional video on a video program, but it wasn't like having MTV...which I didn't have until my family moved South in 1990.

My mom still has the Off The Wall record on vinyl, which she used to listen to constantly before Thriller. This, in addition to all the Motown 45's.

One of my fondest memories though is sitting on the floor in my parent's bedroom at 5 or 6 years old watching that Motown special with them--mesmorized by Michael's performance, which was highly anticipated! That moment he did the moonwalk was one of the biggest 'HOLY CRAP!' moments I can remember. If DVR existed in those days, we would have watched it and re-watched it a million times.

If I'm being honest, I think MTV did probably expose him to more people and put him and his music into even more households. It certainly aided in his success... but, it's hard to gauge, because radio was still very important in those days too. He made great records and a variety of stations played them.

Count me in on this 100%, i didnt have MTV, grew up in Brooklyn, and my Fridays were spent in front of the TV jumping back and forth between friday night videos and NY Hot Tracks, this was before the cosby kids took over Friday Night Videos and other hosts, in the beginning that show was 90minutes of straight videos with not too much commercials. Also props to NY Hot tracks, some people think this show only played "RB" but this was an all inclusive show, one week you could see an interview with Lisa Lisa, the next, Ashford and SImpson, the next Billy Joel, and thats how the playlist ran too. I thank these two shows aalso U68, for exposing me too other artists that MTV was playing, u would never see freestyle artists like Expose or the Cover Girls on MTV, and my favorite band ever was NOT broken by MTV in america, it was technically U68 that premiered that video before anyone did, and then after a few weeks MTV had it.

But as for the MJ thing, sure videos pushed him into the stratosphere with exposure, it did for tons of artists, and also helped new ones unknown get known, but to say MJ might be what he was if not for video, is def not true

i miss carlos deJesus...

we stayed up late at night at my grandmother's house watching it, and switching beteween the two shows too!. shows like that too, was where i saw the 'she's out of my life', 'rock with you' and 'don't stop til you get enough' videos. this was before MTV's premiere. this was also where i saw the 'can you feel it' film. this was the first music film michael actually (co)conceived, with credits and everything. people never mention this, when speaking about the music films like 'thriller'.

[Edited 4/6/11 2:36am]

[Edited 4/6/11 2:40am]

Timmy84 said:

bboy87 said:

Barry would release a new J5 album out whenever there was a new Michael or Jacksons album out

Yeah but it wasn't until 1981 that he sought to make profit. Technically it started with Joyful Jukebox Music in 1976 (after The Jacksons and the TV series), then Boogie (after Destiny). But One Day in Your Life was the first real attempt to have chart success with Michael's Motown catalog, which they did with the title track (#1 in the UK) and then Farewell My Summer Love and a list of other hits collection during the Thriller craze. One compilation for the J5 even had it credited to Michael Jackson AND the Jackson 5.

and i love how a bunch of songs from 'forever, michael' were on that collection, when it seems as if motown seemingly did little to nothing to promote the album in 1975. and 'one day in your life' fared better as a single in the UK, hitting no. 1 in 1981 (as you mentioned). 'take me back' (one of the best during michael's motown era) was the b-side for the single in 1981. 'we're almost there' was the original flipside in 1975 (opposite 'take me back')... i have both editions of the 45- the US 1975 edition, and the UK 1981 edition.

'farewell my summer love' was a terrible collection with those remixed tracks... the 1986 (looking back to yesterday) and 1995 (anthology) collections are MUCH better.

bboy87 said:

Militant said:

I didn't have MTV growing up, but I was obsessed with MJ regardless. My cousins would sometimes record me video tapes of MJ specials on MTV though, but for the most part, I listened to the music, wore out my VHS of "Moonwalker" and played the video game

So you know, I don't think it's just about MTV, it's about exploring as many avenues as you can in order for people to hear your music. Videos and MTV were one of those avenues. The video games were another. Hell, how many artists do you see with their own rides at Disneyland? So the videos were an avenue, a big avenue, but take them away and Michael would still be one of the biggest stars of all time.

When did the UK get MTV?

I know the OTW videos along with Billie Jean and Beat It were all shown on Top Of The Pops and Thriller premiered on Channel 4 on The Tube at midnight

wasn't the jacksons' concert in 1978 (for 'destiny') done for channel four?

[Edited 4/6/11 2:52am]

Militant said:

TonyVanDam said:

Not true. The Jukebox Network (later renamed The Box) was available in 1989. Even back then, you had to lived in specific regions of the USA to get it on TV synication. I was able to watch Jukebox in the Baton Rouge area a lot better than in the New Orleans area.

We were discussing the UK channel, "The Box"....nothing to with what you're talking about.

This isn't the first time the two "Boxes" were confused with each other. My apologies.

For me the MTV/video shit was never the main draw with MJ.

I just always really liked his voice, and his dancing and the music itself.

So to answer the question, his impact is that he was a damn talented guy who did a lot of damn good songs. Talented enough that not many can surpass him, and songs good enough that a lot of them are unforgettable.

Graycap23 said:

Let me explain.

I used 2 see Mj quite a bit here and there pre Thriller and he was a well known celeb, but a "normal" celeb. He could go out in public and he would be treated like any other celeb. He had a very nice solo career.

a very nice solo career....

I remember listening to Casey Kasems AT40 back in the days and all of his chart trivia... back then albums were not pushed to the max with videos and "milked" to the last drop concerning singles... and Off The Wall was only the fourth album in history to spawn four top 10 singles.. two of the other albums were soundtracks with various artists doing the hits (Grease and Saturday Night Fever) so they do not really count. the remaining one was Fleetwood Mac Rumours. so OTW was the first album by a solo act ever to make such an impact (if that is an impact you were asking for in your thread title...)

yeah, a "very nice solo career" but nothing outstanding yet... okay... please continue

kids

[Edited 4/6/11 23:54pm]

HuMpThAnG said:

Life was never the same once brotha' man put that hat on his head

This performance did it....yup

I remember exactly where I was and who I was with when I saw this.

Not only was I blown away, I remember thinking 2 myself, "That was thee BEST performance I've ever seen on television".

We were all just sort of speechless after that.

Graycap23 said:

HuMpThAnG said:

Life was never the same once brotha' man put that hat on his head

This performance did it....yup

I remember exactly where I was and who I was with when I saw this.

Not only was I blown away, I remember thinking 2 myself, "That was thee BEST performance I've ever seen on television".

We were all just sort of speechless after that.

that performance took things to a whole new level.People were blown away and 'Thriller' started selling like hotcakes.

Graycap23 said:

HuMpThAnG said:

Life was never the same once brotha' man put that hat on his head

This performance did it....yup

I remember exactly where I was and who I was with when I saw this.

Not only was I blown away, I remember thinking 2 myself, "That was thee BEST performance I've ever seen on television".

We were all just sort of speechless after that.

yeah me too, and I remember people talking about it afterward.

the funny thing is, he lip synched it, which would bother me today. But we had never seen anything like it. And I had actually seen mimes do the moonwalk, but that did not matter. It was just mesmerizing.

That is all the Ushers and Beyonces and Justins need to do to be the "next MJ." Amaze us with your brilliance. Just one time!

Asymphony5 said:

What do you mean what impact Michael had musically?

Are you serious?

Take away the videos, he still have the talent. Isn't it curious why Mike never released a Human nature music video? Heck, half his stuff for Thriller became hits. He doesn't need to rely on music videos to sell albums. Also, have you forgotten the J5? He means a lot to my parents' generation. I grew up with his music as a child. Keep in mind that I never even knew what he looked like as a baby but I can still jam to his songs.

The music video did play a part in making him 'blow up' as you say. No one was doing something as amazing at the time so of course he would have gotten more exposure. But no mistake I can still jam to Billie Jean even without any visuals.

This type of question should be asked regarding Brtiney Spears and not Michael Jackson.

Agreed with most of what you said