Gates resident explores cultural legacy of Michael Jackson | News

Controversy and scandal marred Michael Jackson's reputation as the most influential entertainer of all time, however a new book about the King of Pop is designed to change that.

"I wanted to help shift the discussion back to what made him famous in the first place, which is his music," said Joseph Vogel, a doctoral candidate in the University of Rochester's English Department and author of Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson (Sterling Press 2011).

The book assesses Jackson's solo catalog from the 1979 album Off the Wall to the music he created before his death in 2009. In order to understand the creative process behind each song and how the albums were created, Vogel drew on hundreds of sources, including archives from Jackson's estate, Jackson's own words, and interviews with his collaborators — some of whom are speaking out about their experiences for the first time.

In addition to receiving positive reviews in the national media, the book caught the attention of film director Spike Lee, who wrote:

"Mr. Joe Vogel has brilliantly cracked the DNA, the code of the work, the artistry of Michael Joseph Jackson. I want to stress the word 'artistry' because people have forgotten or never understood that's what MJ is, that's what he worked at day and night. This is the book I have been long awaiting — a pointed, intelligent dissection of an epic body of work.
Mr. Joe Vogel breaks it down album by album, song by song."

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