# Michael Jackson's voice: natural? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372 "2005-06-15T14:07:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/1 "2005-06-15T14:07:57Z")
Is his high speaking voice just something that naturally happened? Or can a person’s adult voice be affected by singing or strain during puberty or before? Or some other factors? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/2 "2005-06-15T14:33:08Z")
How about the Bee Gees? I remember one DJ remarking (at the height of their fame) that they sounded as if someone hit them with a 2 X 4 just before they went onstage. Or Frankie Valli. Or lots of other high-pitched singers. ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/3 "2005-06-15T14:37:40Z")
I was more thinking of Jackson’s speaking voice than his singing voice. I’m pretty sure I’ve heard the Bee Gees speak, and I don’t recall their voices being particularly high. I was mainly speculating if excessive singing before or during puberty can affect the development of the adult voice, which I now wonder might be a question better suited for a general GQ thread. ---
**Author:** ![Omega\_Glory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/7c8e57/32.png) [@Omega\_Glory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omega_Glory)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/4 "2005-06-15T14:37:56Z")
I saw a VH1 documentary on Michael, and one of his friends said that he has a regular deeper voice that he uses in real life. The high pitched one that he uses is just for show. ---
**Author:** ![dotchan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9d8465/32.png) [@dotchan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dotchan)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/5 "2005-06-15T14:44:40Z")
Isn’t it just a matter of using one’s falsetto voice? (Personally, I find that much more straining on my vocal cords, so I talk with a pretty low register.) ---
**Author:** ![Revtim](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/revtim/32/1042_2.png) [@Revtim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revtim)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/6 "2005-06-15T14:48:45Z")
> [@dotchan](#): > > Isn’t it just a matter of using one’s falsetto voice? You mean you think he uses a falsetto when speaking, or do you mean his falsetto singing altering his speaking voice? ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2005, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/7 "2005-06-15T14:56:33Z")
Didn’t you see the Simnpson’s episode with Michael Jackson? His real speaking voice is… down… …here. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/8 "2005-06-16T01:02:29Z")
I wouldn’t use the word “natural” to describe \*\*anything \*\*about Michael Jackson. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/9 "2005-06-16T01:55:06Z")
> [@Revtim](#): > > Is his high speaking voice just something that naturally happened? Or can a person’s adult voice be affected by singing or strain during puberty or before? Or some other factors? He lowers his voice a few octaves in public – otherwise, only dogs can hear him. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d26b3c/32.png) [@Mr.Blue\_Sky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Blue_Sky)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 1:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/10 "2005-06-16T01:56:10Z")
> [@Steve MB](#): > > He lowers his voice a few octaves in public – otherwise, only dogs can hear him. Like LaToya? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/11 "2005-06-16T02:06:13Z")
He’s faking it. It’s to make him seem youthful, I reckon, and so he still has a comparable singing voice to when he was a kid. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 2:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/12 "2005-06-16T02:36:52Z")
If you listen to him speaking on television when he was a kid, his voice sounds much more natural, and often, a bit deeper than it does now. ---
**Author:** ![MelCthefirst](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/eada6e/32.png) [@MelCthefirst](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MelCthefirst)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 2:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/13 "2005-06-16T02:41:19Z")
Maybe he has been neutered? Oh wait, I seem to recall in Anne Rice’s novel on Castratos, not all of them kept their high singing voices after they got past a certain age. ---
**Author:** ![chique](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/4491bb/32.png) [@chique](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chique)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 9:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/14 "2005-06-16T09:56:25Z")
> [@Omega Glory](#): > > I saw a VH1 documentary on Michael, and one of his friends said that he has a regular deeper voice that he uses in real life. The high pitched one that he uses is just for show. Similarly, I once saw or read an interview with Lisa Marie Presley where she made a comment along the lines of, “You know, Michael, you really should let everyone see you sitting around like you do on Sundays, watching football and drinking beer in your jockies, with your regular voice.” ---
**Author:** ![Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ccd318/32.png) [@Carnac\_the\_Magnificent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Carnac_the_Magnificent)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/15 "2005-06-16T14:20:05Z")
> [@chique](#): > > Similarly, I once saw or read an interview with Lisa Marie Presley where she made a comment along the lines of, “You know, Michael, you really should let everyone see you sitting around like you do on Sundays, watching football and drinking beer in your jockies, with your regular voice.” Please, dear God, NO! ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 2:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/16 "2005-06-16T14:24:01Z")
> [@MelCthefirst](#): > > Maybe he has been neutered? Would’ve saved him a lot of legal trouble. ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/17 "2005-06-16T14:26:14Z")
> [@Guinastasia](#): > > If you listen to him speaking on television when he was a kid, his voice sounds much more natural, and often, a bit deeper than it does now. Yeah, but that was when he was still a human being. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 5:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/18 "2005-06-16T17:17:54Z")
His sister LaToya has a pretty high voice, and last night Tito was on Larry King (my DAD was watching it, not me. I swear!) and his voice is kinda high too. I am not surprised if he puts on extra falsetto for show, but seems like it’s partially genetic. ---
**Author:** ![Steve\_MB](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/steve_mb/32/5339_2.png) [@Steve\_MB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Steve_MB)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/19 "2005-06-16T18:13:12Z")
> [@chique](#): > > Similarly, I once saw or read an interview with Lisa Marie Presley where she made a comment along the lines of, “You know, Michael, you really should let everyone see you sitting around like you do on Sundays, watching football and drinking beer in your jockies, with your regular voice.” Thanks a lot for **that** image. Now I need to wash out my brain with bleach. ---
**Author:** ![DiosaBellissima](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a8b319/32.png) [@DiosaBellissima](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DiosaBellissima)\ **Post date:** [June 16, 2005, 6:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372/20 "2005-06-16T18:40:16Z")
Janet has a high pitched voice also. Didn’t he say he got his first (well he says only…but yeah) nose job so he could hit higher notes? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/michael-jacksons-voice-natural/308372.md?page=2)