Did Michael Jackson owe his father for his musical talent?

[fantasyvn]

I ask this question both as a musician and as a father who wants to raise his children well.

I read that Michael Jackson's father, Joe Jackson, raised his children with a strong hand and the strictest discipline. Apparently his children could not socialize with outsiders lest they fall prey to Satan.

It made me wonder whether this discipline had anything to do with Michael's talent. Or did Michael thrive despite his family upbringing? In other words, his genius had nothing to do with the way he was raised.

What do you think?

Thank you

[Mushy Mushy]

I'm pretty sure he didn't get his talent from his breakfast cereal, so yes.

[osiris]

I think it was more like had no contact with outsiders because Joe Jackson made the rehearse 16 hours a day .....
MJ was born with what he had - otherwise all his brothers would be huge megastars also, no?

[Kevin Deas]

Why don't you ask Joe Jackson? Or better yet Katherine Jackson. This is the type of thread that is turning KVR into the MTV/Jerry Springer of audio production sites.

[robogone]

My guess would be that he instilled discipline and that it spilled over into his musical career. He owed a lot more to other artists, like James Brown and Jackie Wilson in terms of developing his music.

He probably also owed his father some credit for mental scarring, as did many of his siblings who all seemed to have self-esteem issues.

[samsam]

OP - are you considering bringing up your kids the say way MJ's father did?

[Sendy]

His father seemed like an abusive arsehole with serious issues. I'm guessing MJ never had a proper childhood, and he lived it out through his music when he performs. He was a tortured soul, it comes out in his gasps and other vocalisations. There's a lot of passion there because he's been to the edge of sanity, probably pushed off as well and had to claw his way back as best he could. But do we really need to put people through the ringer and destroy their life just to extract art? I think not. But - it's a way to do it.

MJ is like the Christ of music. He was crucified for our entertainment (and to make his family tons of money).

[RunBeerRun]

If you're a father, what you might look into is making the child work for themself, work smarter not harder. I got good grades as a child, and I didn't need parents or hard work, it was very minimal. And today that has all paid off.