From Motown to Bruce Swedien, the expressive and technical outlines of a unique and timeless voice
Michael Jackson’s voice was first heard in a maternity ward in Gary, Indiana, on a summer evening of 1958. It was last heard on a warm summer morning in 2009 under the sunny sky of California. Still…It was soon clear that Baby Jackson had much more to say than most toddlers of his age. It was soon clear that his voice would be heard for a long time, that it would haunt, resonate, support, accompany, awaken, as it had always done, our lives and those of future generations. What is this voice? Where does it come from? Is it a gift from heaven and nature? Is it a work shaped by labor? If so, for what message? What words did it choose to embody? What is the Good Word it wanted to spread?From Motown to Bruce Swedien’s (Michael Jackson’s regular and emblematic sound engineer) studio, the author helps us discover the voice of the artist. A voice that managed to cross boundaries, as the entire work of the King of Pop, trans-stylistic, transracial, transgenerational, transcultural and transdisciplinary. Between lyrical pen and technical analysis, the author highlights different aspects of this hard-working and seasoned artist who was also a genius and a messenger, whose leitmotiv was the respect of his talents and his public, and the wish to win and deserve an unconditionnal love. As secular icone, he tried to enlighten the collective consciouscness and to challenge us, singing to us with a voice that will continue to resonate globally for a very long time.
