Top 10 Michael Jackson songs
With dozens of chart-topping hits and a worldwide influence, Michael Jackson had a career that’s unlikely to be equaled anytime soon. As we remember the career of the King of Pop, who died today in Los Angeles, here are my selections of the Top 10 Michael Jackson songs from his solo career.
1.Billie Jean
Maybe it’s because it’s the song with which he introduced his signature move, the moonwalk, but this song seems to me the quintessential Michael Jackson song. Catchy, fresh, and a bit edgy and rebellious.
2.Thriller
One of the most brilliant videos of all time, and a cameo by Vincent Price, in an homage to classic horror films.
3. Beat It
A mixture of rock and pop, with the help of Eddie Van Halen.
4. Black or White
Slash provides a guitar solo in this New Jack Swing mixture of hard rock and rap. This racial-unity promoting song is the best single off 1991′s “Dangerous.” It briefly made me think that the 1990s might be as kind to Jackson as the 1980s; sadly this was more a last gasp than a new herald.
5.Don’t Stop til You Get Enough
This first single from Off the Wall introduced the mature Jackson and his songwriting talents to the world. It was also the first to feature his soon-to-be-signature falsetto.
6.Smooth Criminal
The best track from “Bad,” Jackson’s 1987 followup to “Thriller,” features a woman named Annie under attack from a ‘smooth criminal.’
7. Wanna Be Startin’ Something
The fourth single from Thriller is side A, song 1. And listening to it, you DO want to be starting something.
8. Man in the Mirror
Social commentary in a catchy package; if you want to make the world a better place, start with yourself.
9. The Way You Make Me Feel
Might not be on most rock critics’ list of essential Jackson, but this optimistic tune from Bad hit No. 1 in 1987.
10.Scream
Jackson did angry well, and here he was reacting to tabloid accusations in this duet with sister Janet Jackson on the HIStory album.
- Matt Price
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