Michael Jackson’s Biggest Hits Have an Unlikely Inspiration
Michael Jackson‘s biggest hits were all inspired by one style of music — and it’s not pop. It’s not even modern. One of the other members of The Jackson 5 explained the King of Pop’s “scientific” approach to songwriting.
Michael Jackson’s brother explained what he was thinking when he wrote his biggest hits
Jermaine Jackson was a member of The Jackson 5. In his 2011 book You Are Not Alone: Michael, Through a Brother’s Eyes, Jermaine had great insight into his brother’s musical compositions. The King of Pop felt music was a “science” and he wanted to study it the same way that scientists study DNA. Jermaine revealed that the “Thriller” singer tried to listen to classical pieces as much as possible in order to study their compositions. He also felt that different pieces had different “colors” and he discussed these colors with his brother.
“Michael’s favorite composition was The Nutcracker Suite by Tchaikovsky but he loved so many classical pieces, how they started slowly with the strings, swelled into something dramatic or racing, then calmed again,” Jermaine wrote. “This structure — the A-B-A form — was something we constantly dissected.
“And this classical inspiration runs as a thread through so much of his music because his forte was being able to combine a melodic structure and great lyrical content with a beat that gave it the pop feel,” he added. “Next time you listen to [The Jackson 5’s] ‘Heartbreak Hotel’ or ‘Dirty Diana,’ for example, you’ll better detect the classical thread running through them: the instrumentation he used to enhance the story. Listen to the cello in both those songs and the setup it provides.”
“Dirty Diana” is mostly a hard-rock song but the cello in the verses gives it an extra layer of musical suspense and drama. Listening to the instrumental of the song is like listening to one of Bernard Herrmann’s scores for an Alfred Hitchcock chiller. It also shows that there is more complexity to “Dirty Diana” than meets the eye.
Another 1 of the King of Pop’s biggest hits has a classical chord progression
Jermaine also saw a classic influence in “Thriller.” “[L]isten to the opening chord progressions of ‘Thriller’ and the suspense they build, the dread you feel,” he said. “Michael always wanted you to listen to his music, close your eyes and visualize.” Considering he was a music video vanguard, it’s incredible that the King of Pop wanted his fans to listen to his music with their eyes closed!
In the “Thriller” instrumental, the classical element is less obvious than it is in “Dirty Diana.” It sounds more like a 1970s disco song than anything. Regardless, classic chord progressions can appear in any style of music.
Michael Jackson explained he wanted his music to last like ‘The Nutcracker Suite’
During a 1992 Ebony interview quoted in the Los Angeles Times, Jackson said Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker Suite was also an inspiration for his album Dangerous. That record includes such classic hits as “Black or White” and “Remember the Time.” Jackson said that he wanted Dangerous to live on so that people would be listening to it in a thousand years. The Nutcracker Suite premiered in 1892, so even Tchaikovsky’s masterwork hasn’t lasted that long! In fact, very few tunes that are over a thousand years old receive any attention today. However, if any modern pop songs are going to survive, they might just be Jackson’s.
Jackson took inspiration from music that lasted and, all these years later, we’re still talking about his songs.
