I just heard ABC on the radio and marveled again at his early talent. How much did MJ bring to phrasing and stylings of his singing? Was he heavily coached by producers? I know the songs themselves were largely throwbacks and the form is inherently collaborative, but his singing was quite amazing.
If I may take an opposite tack, I thought at the time (and still do) that MJ was a cute kid with big hair and what set his singing apart from that of most other cute kid singers was an unpleasant screechy quality but GREAT throwback songs, arrangements, and production, a creation of Berry Gordy’s music and publicity machine. After their first few hits I never expected to hear any of them again, though I thought Tito had potential.
Michael got better at singing, but even at the start they could dance just as good as they walked. And do it live, even on American Bandstand.
I was a kid myself at the time, so my impression of Michael Jackson the kid wasn’t too sophisticated. But these days, when I hear the Jackson 5 stuff, if ABC comes on the radio, I still get really sad that there was this talented little kid that got completely screwed up by his family and the fame. But I think mostly the family.
Michael was always good at singing. There are tons of adults who wish they could be so “screechy”.
Michael’s vocal control, at the age of 11 or 13, is simply amazing. Listen to the acapella versions of the early Jackson 5 material - it’s flawless. He could sing straight up pop, soul (“Who’s Loving You,” which Smokey Robinson remarked that there was no way a kid could understand the intensity of that song, but Michael sung it better than he did), and ballads (“I’ll Be There”).
“I Want You Back” - I remembered a Creem writer said that the song was sung “as if his lungs were about to burst into flames.” Perfect description.
Jermaine Jackson was also a solid vocalist. But Michael was in a class of his own. He never really had an “awkward” voice change; in fact my favorite vocal performances of his were the period between '74 and '82 or so. He got into the percussive thing after that, which I always thought was a gimmick he didn’t need.
I can’t think of any other performer his age that even came close to what Michael did, before or since.
Shirley Temple? She peaked at five and all she could do was tap dance, something every little girl can do after a few lessons.
He was special.
I miss Michael Jackson!
It’s real good, but untrained. I hear an unnecessary harshness, like he’s forcing it, especially in Got To Be There, though the processing covers it up a bit. But everybody knows I’m a contrarian.