In all honestly, the peak of Jackson’s creativity and marketability is long behind him. His “Invincible” CD from 2003 was not a big seller, despite the fact that Sony spent $50,000 million dollars promoting it.
The music most Radio programmers would choose to include or not in a station’s music library would more than likely begin with Jackson’s 1979 “Off the Wall” CD which spurned hits like “Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough”, “Rock With You” and “She's Out Of My Life”.
More Jackson hits came in 1982 when he followed with the amazing “Thriller” CD which included “Wanna Be Startin' Something”, “The Girl is Mine” (with Paul McCartney), “Thriller”, “Beat It” , and “Billie Jean”.
In 1987, he released “Bad” and by 1991 the “Dangerous” CD revealed the King of Pop was beginning to lose his golden touch.
Then in 1993 Jackson was accused of child molestation for the first time (which he settled out of court for millions) and public opinion began to sway from what was formerly a curiosity with his eccentricities to a mild mistrust for the singer and his alleged behavior.
In 2003, when child molestation allegations surfaced once again and Jackson was arrested, radio stations did react negatively. Many stations across the U.S. and in other parts of the world pulled Jackson songs from their playlists.
In November of that year, England's Radio 1 banned Michael Jackson's latest single, "One More Chance". In addition, 18 other UK stations pulled the song. According to Mirror.co.uk, a Radio 1 spokesperson tried to downplay the ban by saying, "Jackson's not as relevant to our young audience as he once was."
Yet, according to a poll conducted by London's Capitol Radio, 81% of their listeners wanted to hear the new Jackson single.
So, with the trial now underway, programmers will be faced with the task of deciding whether including the proven Michael Jackson hits that are relevant to their particular station’s format will do more harm than good.
Program and Music Directors will no doubt keep a keen eye on the trial and react accordingly. If Jackson is ultimately convicted, he may very well become a musical pariah. If he is vindicated by a jury of his peers, it may well prove an opportunity for Jackson to be resurrected from the graveyard of hit maker “has beens”.
UPDATE: 2/14/05 - Hollywood News reported "Three private radio stations in Switzerland have removed pop star Michael Jackson's songs from their playlist, following feedback from their listeners."
Next Page: A Short History of Crime and Banned Music
