Michael Jackson

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  • Year:
    2001
  • Inducted by:
    N*Sync
  • Category:
    Performers
michael_jackson

Introduction

Michael Jackson was a creative visionary and gifted performer who redefined what pop could—or should—sound like.

The future King of Pop carried soul and R&B into the mainstream in the '70s with the Jackson 5, and then leveraged music videos and smart collaborations to become a beloved global superstar in the '80s.

Hall of Fame Essay

2001

Mikal Gilmore

There was one unmistakable moment when Michael Jackson entered the American mind as an embodied possibility of not just our pleasures but also our ideals.

That moment came in early 1983. Jackson’s music was al­ready in the air by that time - in fact, it was transforming the air. Everywhere you turned, you would hear an ani­mating sound. It began with taut, maddened, funk-infused guitar lines that scrambled against the upsweeping curve of a string section in a heady depiction of emotional panic.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Program Cover 2001
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2001 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Inductee Michael Jackson
He knew what would make us move onto the dance floor
N*SYNC

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Collection

Artifact_MichaelJackson Jacket
Michael Jackson Video Prop Jacket, 1995

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Gallery

Photography: Getty/WireImage; Kevin Mazur, WireImage