Even still, his Grammy legacy is the stuff icons are made of.
It all started in 1980 when a 21-year old Michael won his first Grammy for best male R&B vocal for "Don't Stop Til You Get Enough," the hit single from 1979's Off the Wall. Jackson was disappointed that he didn't win more and that developed into the fire that spurred him to craft music's seminal juggernaut; Thriller.
Of course, Thriller became eligible for inclusion at the 1984 ceremony which took place at L.A.'s Shrine Auditorium. To understand why Jackson dominated the '84 Grammys, it's worth mentioning that Thriller was selling about one million copies per week at the time -- a full 15 months after it was released! The Grammys that night felt less like an awards show and more like a coronation...a deification if you will, for the superlative Michael Jackson and the epic popularity he possessed. It seemed as though the phenomenal sales of Thriller were almost an afterthought...he loomed so large over the event that each time he trekked to the stage to accept an award, it felt like his own personal showcase (read: love affair).
Jackson was the ultimate showman that night without even performing. He showed up with actress Brooke Shields and diminutive child star Emmanuel Lewis and wore a sparkly, blue military-style jacket complete with epaulets and a gold hued sash adorned with sequins. A white, collared shirt was underneath and black Aviator shades matched his black trousers. His signature, single Rhinestone glove was accessorized with a matching bracelet. At one point, Michael briefly removed his shades while accepting an award with his three sisters on stage with him and the crowd screeched their approval.
When the dust settled, Michael galvanized the entire music industry at its most prestigious event. The feeling that went through my household that night, 26 years ago was unbridled joy and jubilation. The great Michael Jackson got his just due and even though I was just six years old, I felt the enormity of the event.
Michael also won Grammys in 1985 and 1986 but his next transcendent Grammy moment took place at the 30th annual ceremony in March 1988. The event was held at Radio City Music Hall in New York City and Michael was in town to perform at Madison Square Garden two nights later as part of the second leg of his historic Bad World Tour. His Grammy performance included two songs off the Bad album: a slower tempo version of "The Way You Make Me Feel" and a stirring rendition of "Man in the Mirror" complete with a full choir. Michael's energy and defy-the-laws-of physics dancing meshed with the soaring emotion in his vocals to bring the house down.
It's all we talked about the next day in my 5th grade class.
MJ won a Grammy the following year for another in his long list of pioneering music videos, "Leave me Alone," but his next awesome moment took place at the 1993 ceremony. That's when Michael, at age 34 was honored with the Grammy Legend Award during a very publicly visible time for him. In the past month alone, Michael had performed an historic and eye-catching show at halftime of Super Bowl XXVII, sat down with television maven Oprah Winfrey for a 90-minute interview broadcast to a record audience globally and prepped for the summer debut of the second leg of his Dangerous World Tour.
Before Jackson was given his Legend Award, his youngest sister Janet took to the stage and payed a glowing tribute to him with a short video entitled, "How to Become a Legend." After the clip, Michael stepped onstage to a standing ovation and hugged his sister before grabbing the microphone. He exhibited a genuine humility in his acceptance speech and said it was great to finally be "thought of as a person rather than a personality." He expressed his love for children, thanked many family, friends and colleagues and responded to the public's opinion of him being "weird" by declaring that "when you grow up in front of 100 million people, you're automatically different."
Absolutely agree.
When Michael and Janet left the stage, it was touching seeing two American icons simply being brother and sister and nothing else. Their closeness and strong affinity for each other was quite evident. This moment, more than any of his other legendary moments on the Grammy stage was the best of Michael. He was playful and reflective. He was intelligent and aware. He was a giant and quite humble. It was the final time he would be viewed with more positivity than negativity by the general public. During his next television appearance, which would come 10 months later via satellite, a very shaken and crestfallen MJ was suddenly defending himself against awful allegations of child molestation. From then on, his seismic legend was forced to share space with the nastiness that came from such accusations and similar ones that surfaced a decade later.
One thing is for certain, though. Michael Jackson's massively amazing career deserves only the highest of praise and celebration. That is why he's deserved the Lifetime Achievement Award for about 20 years now.
I just wish he could be there to accept it.
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