Black History Month Music: Michael Jackson
By Four Walls
@FourWalls (82910)
United States
February 15, 2026 11:00am CST
Well duh. You can’t have Black History Month in music without this man. There are people I had to omit (Jimi Hendrix, and as I mentioned yesterday, Diana Ross), but come on, you can’t ignore this guy! So here he is!
Michael Jackson
You know, I’m not even going to try to summarize or explain Michael Jackson. There are a lot of things that can’t be explained, although knowing his story (as most people do) gives insight into others on this list (like Billie Holiday) who had similar themes (abusive parents, no “real” childhood, drugs) and their early deaths.
We mourn what we lost at such an early age from one of those pill-pushing quacks (Elvis before him, Matthew Perry since) and yet we celebrate the incredible music that will remain for all time. I hate that Jackson got sucked into that black hole of “too much fame.” I wish there was something we could do about it. Dying young should not be a byproduct of success.
Michael Jackson
Born Michael Joseph Jackson, August 29, 1958, Gary, Indiana
Died June 25, 2009, Los Angeles, California (propofol intoxication) (age 50)
HALLS OF FAME: Rock and Roll x2, 1997 (with Jackson 5) and 2001 (solo); Songwriters, 2002; Vocal Group, 1997 (with Jackson 5); Dance, 2010; National Rhythm & Blues, 2014
You will probably object to the song I picked…but there are way too many to choose from, so I’m going with one you don’t hear every day, “Mama’s Pearl”:
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11 people like this
7 responses
@TheHorse (234936)
• Walnut Creek, California
5h
Michael Jackson and I were walking down State Street in Santa Barbara in 1988. An adoring fan came up to us and said, "Are you that famous psychologist who recently published an important paper supporting Martin Seligman's diathesis-stress model of learned helplessness?" After I autographed a John Prine CD she was holding, she turned toward Michael Jackson and said, "You look familiar too!" 
5 people like this
@Ineeddentures (17672)
•
5h
Haha
Lol
Nice one.
Brightened my.day like an MJ skin lightener
3 people like this
@TheHorse (234936)
• Walnut Creek, California
4h
@Ineeddentures I would like to have met Michael Jackson. I think his dad put a lot of pressure on him and his brothers when they were young.
3 people like this
@Ineeddentures (17672)
•
4h
@TheHorse
Nah
MJ was just a whining little wimp
Great music though
2 people like this
@Ineeddentures (17672)
•
5h
If he had lived any longer he would have been white wouldn't he?
2 people like this
@FourWalls (82910)
• United States
4h
Only in skin tone. Like Pony said, whites can’t dance. (See: Steve Martin in The Jerk.)
2 people like this
@rebelann (115940)
• El Paso, Texas
4h
He was only 11 when he appeared on the Ed Sullivan show with the Jackson 5, way too young to be pushed into such a demanding 'career', it's no wonder he had a tough time as an adult but he was also a genious given all the different things he did with his music ..... I think he wanted to get into acting but his music was way more lucrative.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (82910)
• United States
4h
Without looking it up, I’m thinking he played in the movie version of The Wiz.
@RasmaSandra (94259)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
1h
A very talented guy, a bit strange, but so am I. I think we would have gotten along well. I looked like a thriller and he did a very great number with that. I could have been in the video. 
@LeaPea2417 (39504)
• Toccoa, Georgia
2h
My Sister loved Michael Jackson and had to buy his "Thriller" album. We listened to it a lot together.
