Each year, as we mark the passing of the Michael Jackson, people write dozens of articles highlighting his influence on the entertainment industry and his countless imitators. Yet, what about the artists who inspired the King of Pop? Well, it’s time to acknowledge those great acts for their contributions to Jackson’s legendary career.

Jackson rocketed to fame as a member of The Jackson 5 and eventually established himself as an even more successful solo artist. As one of the most important artists of our time, he developed his own unique brand of music, thanks to his remarkable skills as a singer, songwriter and producer.

Additionally, Jackson was the epitome of a brilliant entertainer, and his grand stage productions have been repeatedly emulated by many young performers, such as Chris Brown, Beyonce, Usher and Justin Timberlake. However, Jackson’s ideas weren’t entirely original and he was heavily inspired by other gifted artists who dominated the charts both before and during his time. So, as we acknowledge the fourth anniversary of Jackson’s passing, let’s remember some of the artists who laid the foundation for his career.

“If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants” – Isaac Newton

8. Jackie Wilson

Jackie Wilson had one of the most powerful voices in music and a vocal range that went far beyond many of his female counterparts. However, what set the R&B great apart from other acts were his exciting showmanship and slick dance moves that subtly channeled the flair of Cab Calloway.

Jackson was a big fan of Wilson’s work, and he employed a few of the latter’s movements in many of his performances and videos, such as “Beat It” and “Rock with You”. Shortly after Wilson’s death in 1984, Jackson honored him by dedicating the Album of the Year trohpy for Thriller to him at the Grammy Awards.

7. Smokey Robinson

The sound of Motown dominated the 1960s and 1970s, and the man behind many of those hits was singer-songwriter Smokey Robinson. Often with the assistance of label head Berry Gordy, Robinson wrote and produced material for The Temptations (“My Girl”), Mary Wells (“My Guy”), Marvin Gaye (“Ain’t That Peculiar”) and The Marvelettes (“Don’t Mess with Bill”).

One of Robinson’s most popular songs was “Who’s Lovin’ You”, which he first recorded as a member of The Miracles. The Jackson 5 covered the tune on their Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 debut album in 1969 and Jackson showcased exactly how much his singing at the time followed that of Robinson. Although he eventually developed his own style, traces of The Miracles’ frontman’s sound were always present in Jackson’s music.

6. Marvin Gaye

Long before Jackson became the industry’s leading force for social change, Marvin Gaye made it his mission to challenge injustice with his music. One of his earliest records of protest was 1971’s “What’s Going On”, which peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100, and its surprising success on the Pop charts led to a flurry of similar releases by other artists.

Among those acts was Jackson, and he used his voice to make a difference on songs such as “Man in the Mirror”, “Heal the World”, “We are the World” and “Earth Song”. It is important to note that Bob Marley had put forward socially conscious music long before Gaye but the latter was clearly more influential on Jackson as a result of their Motown connection and his massive impact on the Pop charts.

5. Stevie Wonder

Stevie Wonder was the first young genius of Motown and at the age of 12 years, he changed the people’s perspectives regarding talent as he proved that many big gifts are found in small packages. As Wonder grew, his skills as a singer, songwriter and producer also improved, and he became one of the most important musicians of the 20th century.

Jackson was clearly inspired by Wonder’s melody driven compositions of R&B and Funk when he crafted the Off the Wall and Thriller albums, and he even got the chance to work with the man himself. They joined forces on the song “Just Good Friends”, which appeared on Jackson’s Bad album.

4. Prince

Speaking of Bad, did you ever notice the similarities between Jackson and Prince during the late 1980s? Each era of the former’s career was a natural progression from the last except Bad. Instead of building on the mix of Disco, Funk and R&B that echoed throughout Off the Wall and Thriller, Jackson took a major artistic detour and relaunched himself as a Pop/Rock artist with a striking resemblance to Prince.

We all know that Jackson and Prince  presented by the media as great rivals but they actually respected each other’s work. In fact, Jackson was a big fan of the purple diva and he even wanted want his peer to appear on the Bad title track.

Unfortunately, Prince declined the offer and refused to appear in the song’s accompanying video as Wesley Snipes’ character.  Meanwhile, as part of his fascination, Jackson ditched his Liberace-inspired fashion sense and adopted Prince’s brand of Glam Rock with a slightly more PG approach.

3. Diana Ross

Berry Gordy cleverly orchestrated Motown as a platform on which artists regularly built off each other’s momentum. So, when The Jackson 5 kicked off their career, he attached the group to his star act, Diana Ross, and even titled their debut album as Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5.

The young Jackson instantly bonded with Ross and her love of all things sparkly, and emulated her carefree and upbeat personality to create his own non-threatening stage persona. Furthermore, he included Ross’ signature “oooh” exclamation into his singing along with Mavis Staples’ “shamon” from “I’ll Take You There”.

2. Fred Astaire

Along with “Thriller”, Jackson’s most popular video is undoubtedly “Smooth Criminal” but despite being praised for the incredibly choreographed production, he actually remade several of the included scenes from Fred Astaire’s “The Band Wagon”.  That’s right, Jackson didn’t invent the wheel.

Still, unlike Beyonce, who simply copies other artists’ work move for move without giving credit until being forced by the media, Jackson regularly paid homage to Astaire and spoke freely about the sources of his inspiration. Moreover, he put his own spin on everything he learned from his predecessor with his own interpretations of each piece.

1. James Brown

From the start of his career, Jackson’s favourite artist was James Brown. He idolised the Godfather of Soul as a great entertainer and did his best to move with the same fire as his idol. Jackson, however, was a Pop singer and never fully captured the Rock & Roll edge of Brown – Prince was the person who did it best and took it a step further with his raunchy performances – but he incorporated elements to create his own style. If Cab Calloway was the first sketch then Brown was blueprint and Jackson was the kid-friendly version 2.0.

As a special bonus, watch Jackson share the stage with Brown and Prince in a rare performance below:

Which artist had the biggest influence on Jackson? Who among those listed above was his biggest inspiration? Who was missing from this list? Vote in our poll and share your opinion!