There's a Michael Jackson movie coming out. (It might even be out now. I wrote this post a while back and release dates change.) You may have heard about it. If not, here's the trailer...
Michael | Official Trailer
Produced by Sony / Universal, who were also his record company, in co-operation with the Michael Jackson estate, with Jermaine's son in the leading role.
It strikes me that this is an effort to polish a tarnished legacy - make us all forget that MJ might have been a little Off The Wall... possibly a Smooth Criminal... maybe even Bad? With that back catalogue, Sony should be making far more money out of Michael Jackson's songs than they probably are... so will a movie Heal The World and make us all start listening to Thriller again? You know what they say, Sony... Don't Stop Till You Get Enough!
Stranger things have happened...
That, however, is not the business of the day. Instead, we are gathered here to listen to music by lots of different people called Michael Jackson. Because if that's your name... You Are Not Alone.
MICHAEL JACKSON #1
Who’s bad? Back in 1926, the answer to that question would
be Kentucky jazz and blues pianist Mike Jackson, performing here with Mabel
Richardson on vocals. I really wanted to find the flip side, which was
apparently called I’m Gonna Kill Myself. But the tube of you always gets upset when I type that into my search engine.
Mike
Jackson & Mabel Richardson – Just Too Bad
MICHAEL JACKSON #2
Next - another Mike Jackson, this one the drummer and songwriter
with US garage band The Fugitives in 1966…
The
Fugitives – No Tease
MICHAEL JACKSON #3
Bradford-born Mick Jackson was the bassist with The Love
Affair (see Namesakes #157) from 1967-71. Which gives us another excuse to
listen to this…
The
Love Affair – Everlasting Love
MICHAEL JACKSON #4
Which brings us to the oh-so-controversial King of Pop… though, as Swiss Adam pointed out
in a past edition of Cancel Culture Club, despite his sins, radio still plays
his songs. Hopefully they focus on the stuff up to and including Thriller , because after that it’s all a bit ropey. Bad has dated Badly,
and the only good thing about Earth Song is Jarvis Cocker’s bum-wiggling
interruption at the BRITS.
Go further back though, and his achievements are still
worthy of note – not least for becoming the (joint-) lead singer of the Jackson
Five when he was only six years old.
Michael
Jackson – Beat It
MICHAEL JACKSON #5
Connecticut-born jazzman Michael Gregory Jackson released
his first records in the late 70s, but
dropped his surname from the record sleeves in the mid-80s, to be known only as
Michael Gregory after that.
Michael
Gregory Jackson – Steel Your Heart
MICHAEL JACKSON #6
Pick up a copy of the 1979 hit Blame It On The Boogie by The
Jacksons and you’ll notice it was written by one M. Jackson. You’d be forgiven for
thinking that this was Michael sharing a hit with his brothers to balance out his
blossoming solo career, but not so. Boogie was actually the brainchild of
English singer-songwriter Michael George Jackson, his brother David Jackson and
one Elmar Krohn – no relation. Mick’s version battled it out in the charts with
the Jacksons – Capital only played his version, while Radio 1 favoured The
Jacksons. The NME and the Melody Maker also took sides. Ultimately, Mick lost
out, only getting to #15, while The Jacksons crashed the top ten. Mick's follow-up
single, Weekend, also made the Top 40, and he got to appear on the same
edition of Top Of The Pops as his more famous namesake.
Mick
Jackson – Blame It On The Boogie
MICHAEL JACKSON #7
OK, I’m ready for the accusations of barrel-scraping now,
but when I discovered that one Michael Thorpe Jackson was involved in the
production of the second best single from the 80s called Atmosphere, I knew he
deserved a place here. Joy Division fans can rest easy – they’re not second
best to anyone. But Russ Abbot’s Atmosphere…? ‘Nuff
said.
Sadly, it turns out that MTJ had nothing to do with the
A-side and only arranged the B-side, a woeful Russ Abbott composition (of
course Russ didn’t write Atmosphere!) which I’m sharing here today purely because
I’m a sadist.
Russ
Abbott – Thoughts Of A Child
MICHAEL JACKSON #8
Next up to Rock With You - the keyboard player with Seattle-based prog-metal band Heir
Apparent, but only between 1987 and 1989, when this was recorded…
Heir
Apparent – Just Imagine
MICHAEL J. JACKSON #9
Lead singer with British metal band Satan, proud NWOBHM-heads
that they were, from 1986 till… well, it seems like they’re still going.
Who’d
have thought that one of our MJs might have had any direct links to Satan?
Satan – Key To Oblivion
MICHAEL JACKSON #10
Here’s Buffalo-born Michael Lee Jackson rocking out in 2006,
with Ian Gillan on backing vocals. He also takes a nice photo – we should
get him to join John Medd’s Photo Challenge.
Michael
Lee Jackson – Clean And Dirty
MICHAEL JACKSON #11
Imagine the pop potential of Michael Jackson and George
Michael! Put them together and you get George Michael Jackson: the man on guitar,
vocals, harp and songwriting duties on this 2014 tune by The Naked Heroes. How
could it fail?
The
Naked Heroes – Sheila
MICHAEL JACKSON #12
And finally, from 2018, the man who now promotes himself as “The Living
MJ”: musical theatre composer, lyricist, writer and trash talker, Michael R.
Jackson. “Honesty is his brand.”
Michael
R. Jackson – Dirty Laundry
Which Michael Jackson has Got To Be There on your playlist - and which MJ makes you cry: Leave Me Alone!?
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