In a way if he already hasn't. Somone posted that today is th e anniversary for Thriller. Well Thriller saved a floundering record insutry..remade the blockbuster album concept. Fed a lot of folks for years and brought in folks who did not ordinarily purchase music back into record stores. He recieved play on mainstream video stations opening the doors for others who would get no such play, thus letting mainstream see whats out there and dig it. Prince is a part of this..even though he released the seminal 1999 the same time damn near, Thriller introduced a lot of the mainstream into black music artists etc. Not "fully" and it isn't the only album to do so, but Prince did reap some of the benefits of the aftermath of Thriller. WB et al. could see that movies and cd projects could be made etc. with an r-n-b star. Prince of course is a badass in his own right, and he would have been successful without Thriller...but still. It would be interesting to see how far the 1999 project would have gone without Thriller. LRC was a straight up rock song and after its release they say his audience changed drastically so it cant all be thanks to Thriller..(who are they? everyone always says 'they say'--but in this case they are Monte who is quoted in A Pop Life and someother Rev band members quoted in DMSR)but can radio have used Thriller as a precursor to accept LRC allowing for that change in audience and acceptance by the masses? Hmmm. Prince and princefans,say thanks to Thriller for the thrills of it..the chills of it...we just want them for their sex.

The same could be said for Looney Tunes/Bugs Bunny. Without Disney doing well in the 40's and 50's, WB wouldn't have backed Mel Blanc and his associates for making Bugs Bunny and Co what they are today.
But try to think about it in reverse:

Without MJ's Thriller doing well, WB may not have backed Purple Rain($7 million is chump change for a movie studio mind you)...but that's got nothing to do with Prince's talent which was there all along.
WB should be thanking him for putting them back on the map. The state of music in 82/83(Toto, REO, Styx, etc) sucked before the BIG 2 jumped on the scene. Sony and WB owe a lot to MJ and P.

mrchristian said:

co-sign!

mrchristian said:

Thats why I said Prince was a badass in his own right regardles..I never said he didnt have any moxie himself to wreck shit.and yes he helped WB out (as did Rumours etc) but |Im saying WB may have given him the chance to help them out because of Thrillers-MJ's blockbuster.

Well said on all points.

We all KNOW that rdhull, but do we wanna go there?

LaVisHh said:

It's my duty to take people there...blue pill or red pill..I give that choice

PRINCE is the best!

See my post...on current Michael Jackson Thriller 20th anniversary thread over in Non-Prince Music forum.

Wacko Jacko can thank his childhood career with the Jackson 5 and Quincey Jones for his success of Thriller, Not to mention the Moonwalk move he copied off of Break Dancers who did it before him. After that move he was way more hype than an actual MUSICIAN like mmm PRINCE!!!

Prince would of make it all the same with out "THRILLER"

Michael had to hire Eddie Van Halen to do guitar on
"Beat It" probably because he knew PRINCE was coming towards the lime light with his.

Vincent Price made Thriller more interesting than anything Michael did for it.

I was like 21 when all that happened, Prince was far more interesting and mysterious than Michael.

Its funny that different people judge a Black performers success by if MTV was playing their video at the time. Pop music did'nt start when MTV came on the scene. Black performers have been in top 10 Pop Music since before Michael and Prince were Born.

Prince did Androgony before Michael and Others did it before Prince. Who cares?

Why do Michael Jackson fans come one here with observations discribing how Prince should thank him. If Prince should thank him for anything it would be for Having so much Plastic Surgery that he looks like a self absorbed Super Star Gone Too Far!!!
Meanwhile these days... Prince Looks Fabulous~

buttcheeks said:

This is specific to the two twin titans of pop rnb thats why..they both releases their seminal records at the same time..Im not an MJ fanaticfan per se' but Im being objective about the influence of a work that may have opened the door for anothers to be accpeted that much more..btw that Vincent Price comment was weak abnd bogus...and it isn't about who did adrogony first etc..I mean damn calm down. Be forwarned..I and many others will "come here with obvservations " on many things. Nobody, save this post I believe has come here telling Prince to thank MJ or it's not something that is always happening..and if you see the post header it says "maybe"..hello! It is just some observations for a discussion on the event of Thrillers birthday(and 1999 as well). No need to poke people with your eyeliner and nobody smudged your smurf boots.

buttcheeks said:

But see, Michael's talent had a lot to do with his transition from child star with the J5 to adult recording artist with the release of Off The Wall. That type of transition for a child to make is NOT easy to do. Either because the talent isn't mature enough to be transcendent into the adulthood artistic process, OR, MAYBE because the audience that grew up on that child, or adolescent won't allow them to be anything other than what they remember him/her as. Maybe it's a combination.

George Michael wasn't a kid with Wham!, but Wham!'s music and image was very much teenybopper-ish. He made that transition with his first solo album.

Stevie Wonder wasn't exactly a teenybopper, but he was 12 or 13 when he made his first record, and made the transition after being granted creative control by Berry Gordy. His subsequent albums are nothing if not adult.

People like Donny Osmond and the members of New Kids On The Block never successfully made that adult transition.

Michael's eventual adulthood transition is not ALL due to Quincy Jones. Jones deserves his recognition for those albums though.
[This message was edited Thu Dec 5 23:04:48 PST 2002 by Supernova]

buttcheeks said:

Sounds like sour grapes to me, most of what you posted.Why do some Prince fans seem to have an inferiority complex when it comes to MJ, therefore only point out Michael's faults?

they are two different types of artists.It was fair to make comparisons in 83/84 but not now, not for years infact.Get over the fact MJ sold more than the allegedly more talented artist.Sales aren't everything.

BTW Michael IS a musician of sorts, but if you aren't a big fan you wouldn't probably know that.

don't expect him to be embarrasing himself on stage like Madonna with her so-called guitar 'playing' though!

rdhull said:

My bad, i read it wrong.

Your right about the "greater acceptance" Michael vs other Black performers. Is that where the Skin Bleaching came in? And could Prince having been light skinned, and Purple Rain Movie with his Mother being white gain more acceptance also? Did those 2 actually get the white folks to walk in the door and accept Black performers as Super Stars? I am not very knowledgable about early Rap, but did Run DMC and others of that era get Snoop Dog and 2Pac and others in the door also? Did they bring the white kids all the way to the deepest and darkest parts of life as a Black Person? And now that they are there, Eminem arrives and is one of them~
Where will the next break through go?
Who is going to thank Eminem?

Michael went through everything Prince did early on in His Career.Motown took the Name Jackson 5 without the Group getting any Loot through Royaltys but that is another matter.MJ showed that a Black Artist could have a Multi-Media Impact in a Very Racist time period on Radio in the early 80's.also the MJ Backlash Benefited Prince alot because MJ had been Plastered everywhere all through 83&early 84.Warners&Prince had too have a Eye on MJ's Blow Up.Prince is a Very Talented Cat but when something like what happen with "THriller" goes down you gotta acknowledge that no matter what.MJ brought Quincy Jones on Board&they worked together&Both had a say on things but MJ did more than alot of folks know about.Every Black Artist that gets Cross-Over heavily over too Pop Owes A Debt Of Gratitiude too Michael Jackson IMHO.the Cat flipped the Script.Mike made you Respect Him as a Artist&the Cat made Himself known all Over the World.Like Martin Lawrence said in His Stand-up when MJ has a Performance in a Place you ain't even Heard of&is Rocking the Spot you Know He is a BADD MF!!I Ain't into His HollyWood Side-Show&whatnot but the Man&His Music is what it's always been about with me.Michael Opened the door for YO MTV Rap!etc...

Thecherryloon said:

WORD!

Venables OUT!

they are both phenomenal performers in there own right. I think MJ breaking some boundaries absolutely helped Prince, as well as many other black artists. The sheer willingness and determination of P would have worked out for him in time regardless, but that doesn't change the facts of what actually did happen. What really helped out BOTH artists was MTV. And they didn't even play black artists at first. We can all thank Epic Records for threatening to take ALL of their artists off from MTV's playlists (which would have meant the end of the channel since they were the majority of acts on MTV). That is the real reason that MJ blew up to such iconic stature. I know he was already famous before, but we've got to agree it was his video that knocked everybody on their ass.
see...record companies can do good things too, even if their
motives are money.
but that's just my

Perhaps we should really be thanking Rick James? In 1981,he was the first artist to openly complain about MTV's failure to support Black artists.

M.J. is an ENTERTAINER i.e. MADONNA,BRITENY,JANET,JUSTIN T.
PRINCE is a MUSICIAN i.e. JIMI,MILES,ERYKAH B.,D'ANGELO and that is the nitty gritty of it period

I think Prince has thanked Mike enough and does appreciate him

Dont u think?

I think it's already relevant enough.

I think Prince probably bumpin' "Heaven Can Wait" in his BMW right now.

DavidEye said:

True true...but it was Epics threats to pull their artists from the channel that allowed MJ on MTV. But Rick should recieve credit for being the artists open enough to publicly denounce the station..I read that shit in Random Notes in RS..he called MTV out and also said Vanity 6 couldnt sing but his ladies, MJ Girls "could throw down vocally as well as visually" heh.

prince

will

always

b

a better singer and song wrighter and dancer ...man that man can move on stage ...tell me i am right

and more talented

Micheal Jackson on the other hand is just a wast of time ...i am so tired of him doing the same shit over and over

it like watching a re-run over again 4 the 6th time

Thecherryloon said:

Amen to this, Loon...this aint Junior High School, we're all adults here, and we've ALL seen both of these men grow musically. Aint no more need for the comparisons. You're right about that.


I knew that MJ plays drums (I remember an interview from years ago and described him in his house, playing the drums in the studio)


Oh MAN that shit was funny wasn't it? I mean the song she was singing was dope (Candy Perfume Girl) But her guitar playing was HELLA corny (it wasnt her guitar playing so much as it was the WAY she was holding the guitar and strumming it), I laughed my ass off, she looked so corny

RainbowPaintedSky said:

Prince isn't in anyway a better dancer than Michael Jackson, not in a million years, and he'd probably be first to admit that.Dancing isn't all that important anyway, in terms of singing i can't split them, i love both their voices, and if i were to make a definitive 'best of' of both guys work, i'd be very hard pushed to say who has the better body of work.

I'd definately say Prince is more diverse, prolific and dedicated to making music though.

I don't think it's fair 2 either Prince or Michael Jackson 2 compare them.

They have as many differences as they do similarities...

They are also individualists with visions. They both seem 2 enjoy adopting the role of preacher or world-peace bringer or whatever, however u like 2 put it.

That's a similarity.

This dispute can go on & on, but why are we comparing in the first place?

I love them both 4 different reasons, and 4 the one common reason that they are both such fabulous artists.

"Do urself a favour" and ease off this subject. Respect 2 both.

one day people will all realize that MJ had nothing to do with any early 80's anything.. OR prince OR madonna.

all that time period was .. The Music Industry finally understood the tool of MTV and put money behind Music Videos..

and thats it.. nothing more or less.. They saw how in mid america state kids were buying albums like "Bow wow wow" I want candy.. any other band from europe because of MTV..

The Record Companies saw this ..that kids were buying albums and singles and anything they saw from MTV .. and they decided to put huge money behind next generation of artist (MJ,Prince,Madonna)..

I mean come on in 1983-1986 everyone was selling CD's and Merch.. Hughy Lewis and The News were huge?

** the key is what you did AFTER in 1984.. if you were a true musican.

as for Thriller yes it is a great album.. but to paint the thing as only an MJ album.. that nuts (quincy jones has come out in many places Charie Rose for one and said MJ didn't write most of it or produce it.. and all through the late 1980's MJ was getting sued and settling out of court for stealing/taking songs & ideas from Demos,ect HE HEARD from Epic) Thats why BAD took so long, because MJ for the first time had to write an album..Quincy Jones said all this NOT me.. QJ said all this on Charlie Rose/Magazine Interviews..

1984 was a time period.. and thats it..almost anyone on MTV was huge and sold.. and it will never happen again, because it was the first time the roecord companies realized that MTV was a money maker.

locoarts said:

mtv was NOT huge until the late 80s. sure mtv existed, but it was not in nearly as many homes as it is in now. actually there is a stronger correlation between what sells now and what plays on mtv. 1999, purple rain, thriller were all big sellers and had radio hits before their videos were big. the video for thriller was the first really mainstream video, but it was not responsible for its success. CDs were not being bought in the early 80s. it wasn't until the late 80s before cds started to take off. video did not kill the radio star until the late 80s when cable television was more widely available.

I have new respect for MJ after seeing him tell that lady to go to hell. lmao.

No maybe about it. I'll take ONA Live over Thriller in a heartbeat.
And ONA Live is Prince in 2002. MJ ain't ever gonna come up with anything that brilliant. Ever. Period.