Prince Was Always Compared To Michael Jackson, But He Was More Like David Bowie 

Loads has been made from the rivalry between Prince and Michael Jackson, and it’s simple to grasp why. They had been two of the most important pop stars of the ‘80s (together with Bruce Springsteen, Madonna and George Michael, amongst just a few others). 

For one factor, they had been two of the primary non-white artists to get important airtime on MTV. Musical Youth, Herbie Hancock, Eddy Grant and the Bus Boys obtained some play, however Prince and Michael had been the primary to be handled as stars, not novelties or one-hit wonders. Prince’s breakthrough to MTV was his fifth album, 1999, launched in October of 1982, a few month earlier than Michael Jackson’s Thriller. “1999” and “Little Purple Corvette” obtained some MTV consideration as nicely, however not on the extent of Thriller’s “Billie Jean,” “Beat It” and “Thriller” – the latter had a price range of $1 million in an period the place most music movies had been comparatively low price range affairs. 

The Jackson and Prince rivalry wasn’t a media concoction; there was precise friction there. Jackson mentioned it in a dialog he recorded for his 1988 autobiography, Moonwalker. The phase wasn’t used within the guide, however the British tabloid The Mirror obtained possession of the tapes in 2016, shortly after Prince’s passing. “I don’t prefer to be in comparison with Prince in any respect,” he stated. “I’ve confirmed myself since I used to be actual little. It’s not truthful. He seems like I’m his opponent. I hope he alters as a result of, boy, he’s gonna get damage… He was so impolite, one of many rudest folks I’ve ever met. Prince may be very aggressive. He has been very imply and nasty to my household.”

The 2 had been nearly the very same age, however after all, as a baby star, Jackson’s profession began over a decade earlier than Prince’s. Nonetheless, Prince stated in a 1997 interview with Chris Rock, “[He] was by no means my modern.” Rock protested, “He’s obtained to be a recent! [Was there] any rivalry between you and Mr. Jackson?” Prince responded flatly, “To not me. I’m a musician. I dwell for taking part in and creating songs.” 

This was the unique “I don’t know her.” After all they had been contemporaries. And, after all, there was a rivalry. Thriller spent over 20 non-consecutive weeks at #1 on the album charts in 1983, and the primary 15 straight weeks of 1984 within the high slot. However 1984 would in the end belong to Prince: Purple Rain was the number-one album within the nation for 22 weeks in a row, from the start of August by way of the 12 months’s finish. 

The rivalry didn’t finish there: Prince didn’t take part in USA For Africa’s “We Are The World.” The tune, after all, was co-written by Jackson and Lionel Richie. Richie mentioned Prince’s absence from the tune with Jimmy Kimmel in 2019. The Netflix documentary on the tune goes into extra element about why Prince wasn’t concerned within the recording.

Regardless of that, Jackson needed to work with Prince. He invited Prince to carry out on the tune “Dangerous.” This additionally got here up in Prince interview with Chris Rock. He took concern with the road “Your butt is mine.” “I stated, ‘Who’s gonna sing that to whom? ‘Trigger you certain ain’t singing that to me. And I certain ain’t singing that to you.’ So, proper there we obtained an issue.” Apparently, Prince despatched Michael and producer Quincy Jones a demo of how he thought the tune would go; this wasn’t nicely obtained. Evidently, Prince isn’t on Jackson’s “Dangerous.” 

Not that any artists have to be in comparison with anybody, however a better comparability to Prince was David Bowie. Each loved being huge stars, and so they each used that foreign money to present them the house to do much less industrial tasks. Prince adopted up 1984’s Purple Rain with 1985’s Round The World In A Day, an album that marked a 180-degree inventive flip. Now a marquee idol, Prince wasn’t seen on the album’s cowl, he did minimal press and nearly appeared to need to get away from the success of Purple Rain.  Bowie did quite a lot of drastic left turns all through his profession. After his greatest album, 1983’s Let’s Dance, Bowie did just a few extra (much less profitable) albums in that vein however then shaped a brand new band, Tin Machine, that gave the impression of nothing he’d ever accomplished earlier than. 

They each veered backwards and forwards between extra standard and fewer accessible tasks over the many years, altering their backing bands based mostly on their inventive visions and who might greatest execute on that. They had been ready, to various levels, to include newer genres into their music. (Prince embraced hip-hop on 1991’s Diamonds and Pearls, and Bowie integrated drum and bass/jungle/techno on 1997’s Earthling). They usually loved working with youthful artists who they’d influenced (Bowie labored with Trent Reznor, Prince with Gwen Stefani, Sheryl Crow and Eve). 

A few of these issues are true of Michael as nicely, and none of that is to disparage him. And, in the end, Prince possible wouldn’t have needed us to. As his pal, the author Tavis Smiley revealed, when the information of Jackson’s passing circulated, Prince took it exhausting. He advised ExtraTV, “Prince was in rehearsal at Paisley Park; Prince cancels rehearsals, despatched the band residence, and for days, locked himself in his bed room, wouldn’t come out, actually didn’t discuss to folks.” 

Smiley elaborated in a later interview. He famous that these rehearsals had been for the Montreaux Jazz Pageant in Switzerland, which befell simply weeks after Jackson’s passing. Smiley accompanied Prince to Switzerland for the pageant and recalled that after the present, he and Prince frolicked on the roof of the resort: “We walked there at about two within the morning, and we sat on the rooftop of that resort, trying on the Swiss Alps ‘til the solar got here up, and all Prince talked about for hours was Michael Jackson…. I don’t know if I stated ten phrases that evening, however Prince simply needed to get it out of his system. It was so surreal to listen to him discuss for hours about his respect for Michael’s genius, for Michael’s present, for Michael’s showmanship.” 

Michael’s genius and present had been about doing issues on the highest and largest ranges: he wasn’t about bizarre, against-the-grain tasks. He was the grain! The whole lot needed to be primary for him. And there was an pleasure to that. Off The Wall, Thriller, Dangerous and Harmful had been all large moments in popular culture. However what Prince and Bowie had in widespread was that they’d have large mainstream successes after which do one thing that wasn’t practically as accessible, with the arrogance that they might at all times have one other hit once they needed to. 

Brian has been working in popular culture and media for about three many years: he’s labored at MTV, VH1, SiriusXM, CBS and Loudwire. Moreover working as a author and an editor-in-chief, he’s additionally appeared on air as a pundit, guested on radio exhibits and hosted podcasts. Over time, he’s interviewed the surviving members of Led Zeppelin, the members of U2, Beyonce, Pink, Usher, Stevie Nicks, Lorde… and is grateful to have had the possibility to interview Joe Strummer of the Conflict and Tom Petty.