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as part of a radio show im doing sunday (........)

we're doing a segment of songs/ singers that has directly influenced mikes musical styles

so far we have

STEVIE WONDER- MAYBE YOUR BABY (HEE HEES)

STAPLE SINGERS- ILL TAKE YOU THERE (SHAMONES)

HALL AND OATS- CANT GO FOR THAT (BILLIE JEAN GROOVE)

and a couple of easy ones like SLY AND THE FAMILY STONE and THE SUPREMES for J5

are there any interesting ones im missing? Im talking about some obvious ones ( like vocal inflection and style) and some trivial ones.

i even read on here that mike was influenced somehow musically by GRACE JONES.....what!?

ELVIS Heartbreak Hotel.

James Brown - Anything and everythang!

Joe Tex (stage show and singing) and David Ruffin (swagger) and Jackie Wilson (everything.)

Four Tops and Temptations in the Jackson 5.

Funkadelic and Earth, Wind and Fire in the Jacksons stage show.

Something about the Jackson 5 shows remind me of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue for some reason... not for their dancing or what not but the way their shows seemed to always be high paced (of course that also goes for the James Brown Revue).

i thought the I Can't Go For That inspiration was just a rumor...

But i guess i can see some similar traits between it & Billie Jean

JoeBala said:

ELVIS Heartbreak Hotel.

James Brown - Anything and everythang!

FIXED

The bassline on Rick James' "Give It To Me Baby", for "Thriller"

Shango said:

The bassline on Rick James' "Give It To Me Baby", for "Thriller"

wow! never thought of that one.

It is a pretty similar bass line

You guys realize that Michael was influenced by A TRUCKLOAD OF MODERN/CURRENT artists after 1983, right? Including Prince...and his own kid sister...

Gunsnhalen said: wow! never thought of that one.

It is a pretty similar bass line

right on

Shango said:

The bassline on Rick James' "Give It To Me Baby", for "Thriller"

Nah that was more Off The Wall part II by way of Boogie Nights from Heatwave..a simple retread from Rod Temperton (who wrote all of them).

So if anything, Ricked did the rippinng...

Fred Astaire

Gene Kelly

Vincente Minelli

Walt Disney

"...The moog bass synth line is borrowed by Quincy from Rick James' "Give It To Me" - as he told the story in his GH liner notes..."

The making of Thriller http://prince.org/msg/8/312874

Darling Nikki >>>Dirty Diana

Timmy84 said:

Something about the Jackson 5 shows remind me of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue for some reason... not for their dancing or what not but the way their shows seemed to always be high paced (of course that also goes for the James Brown Revue).

Actually you're right AND for their dancing too! Tina influenced tons of people w/ her singing/dancing at the same time....then add to it their backup singers/dancers the Ikettes. (Shoot, PP Arnold actually got a career out of being an Ikette ). In some ways, Tina was a female version of James Brown, if you really consider it (and she managed to do it as a hot feminine chick.) This is a huge part of her appeal to so many rock stars. MJ was a boy/man, after all!

Ike and Tina had a rollicking upbeat thing w/ a more mainstream sound yet were quite RnB at the same time, no mean feat. The Jackson 5 pre-Motown were NOT some bubblegum kiddie group, but a serious vaudeville RnB outfit whose performers happened to be young. They were very inspired by the adult acts they saw on the circuit they perfomed on. Ike and Tina were/are really underrated IMHO and I can definitely see them inspiring MJ, if not directly, in spirit.

MJ was the last vaudevillian...never forget that!

[Edited 3/3/12 6:05am]

Oh yeah, how could I forget?!

The one and only Sammy Davis Jr. Every Black entertainer who came afterwards owes this cat a nod.

brooksie said:

Timmy84 said:

Something about the Jackson 5 shows remind me of the Ike & Tina Turner Revue for some reason... not for their dancing or what not but the way their shows seemed to always be high paced (of course that also goes for the James Brown Revue).

Actually you're right AND for their dancing too! Tina influenced tons of people w/ her singing/dancing at the same time....then add to it their backup singers/dancers the Ikettes. (Shoot, PP Arnold actually got a career out of being an Ikette ). In some ways, Tina was a female version of James Brown, if you really consider it (and she managed to do it as a hot feminine chick.) This is a huge part of her appeal to so many rock stars. MJ was a boy/man, after all!

Ike and Tina had a rollicking upbeat thing w/ a more mainstream sound yet were quite RnB at the same time, no mean feat. The Jackson 5 pre-Motown were NOT some bubblegum kiddie group, but a serious vaudeville RnB outfit whose performers happened to be young. They were very inspired by the adult acts they saw on the circuit they perfomed on. Ike and Tina were/are really underrated IMHO and I can definitely see them inspiring MJ, if not directly, in spirit.

MJ was the last vaudevillian...never forget that!

[Edited 3/3/12 6:05am]

You know yous are right I've seen many posters/handbills on sale advertising Ike Tina/Jackson 5 live I'm sure there could have been more but Tina had to pull cause of illness

[img:$uid]http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa149/bellaowen/1_ec3156dfe036e00858ce3a19c2b94e69.jpg[/img:$uid] I can just imagine Michael and all the guys checking Tina's moves out as Aretha once said before she came on stage after Tina she had to wait for the dust to settle thats how much she tore the stage up

[Edited 3/3/12 6:51am]

shellyk84 said:

brooksie said:

Actually you're right AND for their dancing too! Tina influenced tons of people w/ her singing/dancing at the same time....then add to it their backup singers/dancers the Ikettes. (Shoot, PP Arnold actually got a career out of being an Ikette ). In some ways, Tina was a female version of James Brown, if you really consider it (and she managed to do it as a hot feminine chick.) This is a huge part of her appeal to so many rock stars. MJ was a boy/man, after all!

Ike and Tina had a rollicking upbeat thing w/ a more mainstream sound yet were quite RnB at the same time, no mean feat. The Jackson 5 pre-Motown were NOT some bubblegum kiddie group, but a serious vaudeville RnB outfit whose performers happened to be young. They were very inspired by the adult acts they saw on the circuit they perfomed on. Ike and Tina were/are really underrated IMHO and I can definitely see them inspiring MJ, if not directly, in spirit.

MJ was the last vaudevillian...never forget that!

[Edited 3/3/12 6:05am]

You know yous are right I've seen many posters/handbills on sale advertising Ike Tina/Jackson 5 live I'm sure there could have been more but Tina had to pull cause of illness

[img:$uid]http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa149/bellaowen/1_ec3156dfe036e00858ce3a19c2b94e69.jpg[/img:$uid] I can just imagine Michael and all the guys checking Tina's moves out as Aretha once said before she came on stage after Tina she had to wait for the dust to settle thats how much she tore the stage up

http://www.showbiz411.com...discovered Howard Mann, the Toronto entrepreneur who bought a warehouse full of Jackson family paraphernalia, has a surprise for Michael Jackson fans and the singer’s estate. He has the masters to 273 unreleased Jackson tracks. Some are Michael alone, some are duets with superstars like Tina Turner, and some are with the Jackson family.

[Edited 3/3/12 6:51am]

WOW. That's something I'd really like to hear! Ike would have seen their potential immediately. They had to be seriously on their game to even open for I/T Revue.

Aretha, who knows a thing or two about performing , knew of which she spoke and she spoketh the truth. The I/T Revue was a stage act on a whole 'nother level. The Jacksons regularly performed before or after some of the best live acts ever. They had tons of inspo for polishing their act pre Motown. Arguably, they along w/ the Four Tops, were the most experienced stage acts Motown signed during that era. That's quite remarkable considering their youth.

[Edited 3/3/12 7:46am]

Stomp-Brothers Johnson

You Should Be Dancing-BeeGees

And some of the following artists, more or less

Madonna

Timbaland

Teddy Riley

Bobby Brown

Ginuwine (Heartbreaker reminds me of Pony)

Janet

Jody Watley

But he has his own style, he's definitely not a non-talented rip off.

[Edited 3/3/12 7:55am]

alphastreet said:

Stomp-Brothers Johnson

You Should Be Dancing-BeeGees

Interesting for which MJ-tracks? I know Mike co-wrote and sang back up for "This Had To Be", from that same Bros. Johnson album.

[Edited 3/3/12 8:38am]

alphastreet said:

And some of the following artists, more or less

Madonna

Timbaland

Teddy Riley

Bobby Brown

Ginuwine (Heartbreaker reminds me of Pony)

Janet

Jody Watley

These people are influenced MJ??
How??
I think MJ has influenced them much much more ...
-----------------
His main influences:
James Brown
Fred Astaire
J. Kelly

Sammy Davis

LiLi1992 said:

alphastreet said:

And some of the following artists, more or less

Madonna

Timbaland

Teddy Riley

Bobby Brown

Ginuwine (Heartbreaker reminds me of Pony)

Janet

Jody Watley

These people are influenced MJ??
How??
I think MJ has influenced them much much more ...
-----------------
His main influences:
James Brown
Fred Astaire
J. Kelly

Sammy Davis

I know he has influenced them, but he also was inspired by them, it makes sense that it went both ways at times. He wanted to work with Teddy Riley after enjoying Don't Be Cruel, worked with Jam & Lewis and Janet ever since the RN project, and you can see influences in the Dangerous era.

LiLi1992 said:

alphastreet said:

And some of the following artists, more or less

Madonna

Timbaland

Teddy Riley

Bobby Brown

Ginuwine (Heartbreaker reminds me of Pony)

Janet

Jody Watley

These people are influenced MJ??
How??
I think MJ has influenced them much much more ...

Just because they came after him didn't mean he couldn't be influenced/inspired by them. This didn't have to go one way...they could be influenced by them and he by them. It's not mutually exclusive.

Certainly Janet influenced him. He only started to become sexual and risque after Janet had walked that path. Sexuality was almost absent from his work before Bad.

Jody Watley (and her dance partner Jeffery Daniel) were big influences on him wrt dance. MJ rated the Soul Train style very highly. He worked w/ Daniel many times over the years.

Madonna, perhaps....if in no other way than sheer management of image.

[Edited 3/3/12 9:28am]

Oh yeah...Jackie Wilson.

brooksie said:

LiLi1992 said:

These people are influenced MJ??
How??
I think MJ has influenced them much much more ...

Just because they came after him didn't mean he couldn't be influenced/inspired by them. This didn't have to go one way...they could be influenced by them and he by them. It's not mutually exclusive.

Certainly Janet influenced him. He only started to become sexual and risque after Janet had walked that path. Sexuality was almost absent from his work before Bad.

Jody Watley (and her dance partner Jeffery Daniel) were big influences on him wrt dance. MJ rated the Soul Train style very highly. He worked w/ Daniel many times over the years.

Madonna, perhaps....if in no other way than sheer management of image.

[Edited 3/3/12 9:28am]

Thank you. Great points made here. But MJ was sexy in Lady in My Life and Billie Jean

[Edited 3/3/12 9:34am]

brooksie said:

LiLi1992 said:

These people are influenced MJ??
How??
I think MJ has influenced them much much more ...

Just because they came after him didn't mean he couldn't be influenced/inspired by them. This didn't have to go one way...they could be influenced by them and he by them. It's not mutually exclusive.

Certainly Janet influenced him. He only started to become sexual and risque after Janet had walked that path. Sexuality was almost absent from his work before Bad.

Jody Watley (and her dance partner Jeffery Daniel) were big influences on him wrt dance. MJ rated the Soul Train style very highly. He worked w/ Daniel many times over the years.

Madonna, perhaps....if in no other way than sheer management of image.

[Edited 3/3/12 9:28am]

I don.t know, for me, "influence" is something more global. Because it is possible to allocate hundreds of people who are affected, even minimally, the absolutely any artist.

Diana Ross
Paul McCartney
Freddie Mercury
Elvis Presley
Stevie Wonder
David Bowie
All these people influenced MJ more than Bobby Brown, Janet, or Madonna. But I still would not call them of his great influences.

LiLi1992 said:

brooksie said:

Just because they came after him didn't mean he couldn't be influenced/inspired by them. This didn't have to go one way...they could be influenced by them and he by them. It's not mutually exclusive.

Certainly Janet influenced him. He only started to become sexual and risque after Janet had walked that path. Sexuality was almost absent from his work before Bad.

Jody Watley (and her dance partner Jeffery Daniel) were big influences on him wrt dance. MJ rated the Soul Train style very highly. He worked w/ Daniel many times over the years.

Madonna, perhaps....if in no other way than sheer management of image.

[Edited 3/3/12 9:28am]

I don.t know, for me, "influence" is something more global. Because it is possible to allocate hundreds of people who are affected, even minimally, the absolutely any artist.

Diana Ross
Paul McCartney
Freddie Mercury
Elvis Presley
Stevie Wonder
David Bowie
All these people influenced MJ more than Bobby Brown, Janet, or Madonna. But I still would not call them of his great influences.

I agree wholeheartedly that the older artists influenced him way more, and I think we can all agree with that. Another influence mentioned in the Joe Vogel book was the group Yes.

[Edited 3/3/12 9:43am]

alphastreet said:

Thank you. Great points made here. But MJ was sexy in Lady in My Life and Billie Jean

[Edited 3/3/12 9:34am]

Imma tell you why I said that. Before Bad, his videos never seemed to star a woman. He was sexy, but sexy alone w/o emphasizing the point. Think about Thriller...Ola Ray (funnily enough a Playboy bunny) was cast as a teenybopper type. His early vids seemed to focus on him alone or dancing, but not giving a holla like "The Way You Make Me Feel", w/ Naomi in "The Closet", w/ Lisa Marie in "You Are Not Alone", or "You Rock My World". MJ became positively "blokish" over the later years.

Sheryl Crow helped bump up the sex factor on the Bad tour. They could be pretty steamy onstage!

[Edited 3/3/12 10:03am]

alphastreet said:

LiLi1992 said:

brooksie said:

Just because they came after him didn't mean he couldn't be influenced/inspired by them. This didn't have to go one way...they could be influenced by them and he by them. It's not mutually exclusive.

Certainly Janet influenced him. He only started to become sexual and risque after Janet had walked that path. Sexuality was almost absent from his work before Bad.

Jody Watley (and her dance partner Jeffery Daniel) were big influences on him wrt dance. MJ rated the Soul Train style very highly. He worked w/ Daniel many times over the years.

Madonna, perhaps....if in no other way than sheer management of image.

[Edited 3/3/12 9:28am]

I don.t know, for me, "influence" is something more global. Because it is possible to allocate hundreds of people who are affected, even minimally, the absolutely any artist.

Diana Ross
Paul McCartney
Freddie Mercury
Elvis Presley
Stevie Wonder
David Bowie
All these people influenced MJ more than Bobby Brown, Janet, or Madonna. But I still would not call them of his great influences.

Given that Janet was his sister and somehow managed to become famous via being a VERY sexual artist, his head had to be turned. In many ways, Janet was the far more daring artist in terms of image. I don't know if you were born in 1992, but lemme tell ya...Janet caught EVERYBODY off guard from "Control" forwards. Think about it like this, Janet married and then left home before MJ did.

It's hard to convey just how conservative the Jacksons' image was before Janet became a game changer.

[Edited 3/3/12 9:57am]