We’re guessing this versus will be very contested, because many will say there is no basis for comparison and that these artists have different styles, but our intention is to analyze the problem from another angle.
Undoubtedly, both artists have left a huge legacy in music, unique voices, but even if their styles are different (Michael Jackson was a pop / soul / R & B singer, while Freddie Mercury was a rock / opera singer), we challenge you to tell us who had a greater influence on the music culture.
Freddie Mercury was an incredible singer, songwriter, performer, having an amazing voice. His inspiration came mainly from Lez Zeppelin, David Bowie and Jimi Hendrix. He was a great performer.
Michael was one of the few artists that was introduced twice in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He was also included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful showman of all time, with 13 Grammys to his credit, 13 number 1 singles on the charts and sales of over 750 million albums worldwide.
Here are some interesting facts about their musical styles:
Freddie Mercury
• Freddie Mercury had a great and distinctive voice, including a 4-octave vocal range.
• Mercury wrote ten of the seventeen songs from Queen’s album “Greatest Hits”.
• Spanish soprano Montserrat Caballe, with whom Mercury recorded an album, said the difference between Freddie and all the other rock singers was his voice.
• The most notable aspect of his music is that he introduced various styles of music n his tracks, including rock, heavy metal, pop, and disco.
• Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose owed much of his career to Mercury’s influence: “If I didn’t have Freddie Mercury’s lyrics to hold on to as a kid I don’t know where I’d be.”
• During childhood, Mercury listened to a lot of Indian music, and one of his first influences was Lata Mangeshkar, whom he had the opportunity to see live in India.
• Mercury said of Hendrix: “Jimi Hendrix is very important. He’s my idol. He sort of epitomizes, from his presentation on stage, the whole works of a rock star.”
• Mercury was a fan of Elvis Presley. He wrote the song “Crazy Little Thing Called Love” as a tribute to Presley and sang songs like Jailhouse Rock during the concerts.
Michael Jackson
• “Beat It”, the song about gang violence, became a tribute to West Side Story, being the first composition of a crossover to rock that has become an important success.
• Jackson described his friend Elizabeth Taylor as “a warm cuddly blanket that I love to snuggle up to and cover myself with.”
• Jackson musical genre is rooted in R & B, Motown Records singers, pop and soul.
• Little Richard had the biggest influence on Jackson’s compositions and he drew the biggest inspiration from James Brown since childhood, considering him a “master” or “genius,” particularly during the time he was a member of the band Famous Flames: “Ever since I was a small child, no more than like six years old, my mother would wake me no matter what time it was, if I was sleeping, no matter what I was doing, to watch the television to see the master at work. And when I saw him move, I was mesmerized. I had never seen a performer perform like James Brown, and right then and there I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because of James Brown.”
• Diana Ross helped young Jackson to improve his vocal technique.
• As a musician, he went from ballads and dance tracks, characteristic to performers from Morown Records, to techno and house, including new jack swing, with compositions that had funk influences and hard rock guitars.
• Unlike other singers, Jackson didn’t write his works on paper. He dictated them to a recorder; when he was in the studio, he played from memory.
• Some critics have noted that “Off the Wall” was a combination of funk, disco, pop, soul, soft rock, jazz and pop ballad. Other notable examples are “She’s Out Of My Life,” “Workin’ Day and Night” and “Get on the Floor.”
Share your opinion with us. Which artist had a bigger influence?
Oh you'll know who win this, all the agressive fanboys of Michael will vote for him, there's no point in even trying.
Soundfreak · Member since
I think it's pretty pointless to compare these two. The only thing they have in common is, that both are no longer with us.
Apart from that Mercury was a singer, Jackson was a dancer who didn't sing live on stage......each to his own
Zander05 · Member since
They've both influenced their fans in various ways. Neither is better nor worse than the other, but some people are biased and have their preferences (and they're entitled to their opinions). Mine would obviously be Freddie, since I have a blog dedicated to him and Queen and I'm a member of this site, etc. But that's not to say that I don't appreciate or recognize that Michael Jackson was a brilliant musician as well.
And anyway, what's the "problem" you mention in the second paragraph? Is it a problem if anyone likes Michael Jackson the slightest bit more than Freddie? Why are Freddie's rock influences seen as an advantage to Michael's Motown and R&B influences? Clearly you favor Freddie since you went out of your way to talk about how awesome you think he is before you listed his stuff, but with Michael Jackson you just went right into the list. If anyone disagrees with you or doesn't give you the response you want, will that change your opinion? Or will you use that information to make yourself feel "superior" or "enlightened" to those silly Michael Jackson fans?
Zander05 · Member since
By the way, it's Led (with a D) Zeppelin.
GratefulFan · Member since
Zander05 wrote: They've both influenced their fans in various ways. Neither is better nor worse than the other, but some people are biased and have their preferences (and they're entitled to their opinions). Mine would obviously be Freddie, since I have a blog dedicated to him and Queen and I'm a member of this site, etc. But that's not to say that I don't appreciate or recognize that Michael Jackson was a brilliant musician as well.
And anyway, what's the "problem" you mention in the second paragraph? Is it a problem if anyone likes Michael Jackson the slightest bit more than Freddie? Why are Freddie's rock influences seen as an advantage to Michael's Motown and R&B influences? Clearly you favor Freddie since you went out of your way to talk about how awesome you think he is before you listed his stuff, but with Michael Jackson you just went right into the list. If anyone disagrees with you or doesn't give you the response you want, will that change your opinion? Or will you use that information to make yourself feel "superior" or "enlightened" to those silly Michael Jackson fans? ======================================
Who are you talking to exactly? The original post was lifted verbatim from the supplied link. You and your blog really need to lighten up some I think.
Zander05 · Member since
GratefulFan wrote: Zander05 wrote: They've both influenced their fans in various ways. Neither is better nor worse than the other, but some people are biased and have their preferences (and they're entitled to their opinions). Mine would obviously be Freddie, since I have a blog dedicated to him and Queen and I'm a member of this site, etc. But that's not to say that I don't appreciate or recognize that Michael Jackson was a brilliant musician as well.
And anyway, what's the "problem" you mention in the second paragraph? Is it a problem if anyone likes Michael Jackson the slightest bit more than Freddie? Why are Freddie's rock influences seen as an advantage to Michael's Motown and R&B influences? Clearly you favor Freddie since you went out of your way to talk about how awesome you think he is before you listed his stuff, but with Michael Jackson you just went right into the list. If anyone disagrees with you or doesn't give you the response you want, will that change your opinion? Or will you use that information to make yourself feel "superior" or "enlightened" to those silly Michael Jackson fans? ======================================
Who are you talking to exactly? The original post was lifted verbatim from the supplied link. You and your blog really need to lighten up some I think. --
I read this in the news section and for some reason there wasn't showing a link to the original source. So I thought I was talking to mickypraise since they had posted. But I guess I'm not! Thanks for pointing out my being a jackass, otherwise I'd never know.
scollins · Member since
michael jackson is not in the same league as freddie, also jacko in my book is the same as gary glitter a child molester and a beast, and i dont understand why he still gets his music played :(, just my opinion
on my way up · Member since
Soundfreak wrote: I think it's pretty pointless to compare these two. The only thing they have in common is, that both are no longer with us.
Apart from that Mercury was a singer, Jackson was a dancer who didn't sing live on stage......each to his own
Actually, Michael excelled at singing and dancing like few others have done.
Go to youtube and watch Yokohama'87, for example Billie Jean, and try not to be stunned....
If you still think he was "just" a dancer who didn't sing live after that clip, then I'll retire like John!!
Matias Merçeauroix · Member since
Michael Jackson was truly an amazing singer, which is something that not many people seem to appreciate.
The Real Wizard · Member since
scollins wrote:
also jacko in my book is the same as gary glitter a child molester and a beast, and i dont understand why he still gets his music played :(, just my opinion
====================
Well, it is a very misguided one. What is the source of your information about him?
Agreed with jazzy... Michael Jackson was a brilliant singer, dancer, performer, and songwriter. Undoubtedly the single biggest and most influential artist since The Beatles.
nickie · Member since
It's hard to say. Freddie and Michael had different strengths. Freddie was a far better songwriter, there's no question about that. Michael was primarily a singer and dancer. So they're different. But in terms of who had the greater influence, it's hard to say. They were both global superstars. Michael was out there promoting himself, as Michael Jackson. Freddie was primarily promoting Queen, not himself. So probably, as it stands right now, I'd have to say Michael had a greater influence during his lifetime. But 100 years from now, we'll probably look back and say Freddie Mercury was definitely the genius and his work had a greater long-term impact and influence. In Michael's autobiography, 'Moonwalk," Michael said Freddie and Queen were a very big influence on him. I think Michael took many elements of Freddie's and Queen's performance style, and worked it into his shows as time went on. So, without Freddie's influence, I don't think Michael would have been the global superstar he later became.
N0_Camping4U · Member since
FREDDIE #1 ALWAYS!
mickyparise · Member since
Zander05 wrote: GratefulFan wrote: Zander05 wrote: They've both influenced their fans in various ways. Neither is better nor worse than the other, but some people are biased and have their preferences (and they're entitled to their opinions). Mine would obviously be Freddie, since I have a blog dedicated to him and Queen and I'm a member of this site, etc. But that's not to say that I don't appreciate or recognize that Michael Jackson was a brilliant musician as well.
And anyway, what's the "problem" you mention in the second paragraph? Is it a problem if anyone likes Michael Jackson the slightest bit more than Freddie? Why are Freddie's rock influences seen as an advantage to Michael's Motown and R&B influences? Clearly you favor Freddie since you went out of your way to talk about how awesome you think he is before you listed his stuff, but with Michael Jackson you just went right into the list. If anyone disagrees with you or doesn't give you the response you want, will that change your opinion? Or will you use that information to make yourself feel "superior" or "enlightened" to those silly Michael Jackson fans? ======================================
Who are you talking to exactly? The original post was lifted verbatim from the supplied link. You and your blog really need to lighten up some I think. --
I read this in the news section and for some reason there wasn't showing a link to the original source. So I thought I was talking to mickypraise since they had posted. But I guess I'm not! Thanks for pointing out my being a jackass, otherwise I'd never know.
Thanks GratefulFan for clearing that up.
Heres the link Zander if you can't access it. http://www.inrumor.com/in/people/musicians/freddie-mercury-vs-michael-jackson/
"Is it a problem if anyone likes Michael Jackson the slightest bit more than Freddie? Why are Freddie's rock influences seen as an advantage to Michael's Motown and R&B influences? Clearly you favor Freddie since you went out of your way to talk about how awesome you think he is before you listed his stuff, but with Michael Jackson you just went right into the list. If anyone disagrees with you or doesn't give you the response you want, will that change your opinion? Or will you use that information to make yourself feel "superior" or "enlightened" to those silly Michael Jackson fans?"
The author is by Nicole. And if you respond to it, don't be so tough on them. Its seems she or he wrote the article fairly and don't seem pushing one way or the other.......I thought it was nicely written.
