MICHAEL JACKSON STUDIES
Welcome to Michael Jackson Studies. This page was created to serve as a resource center for those interested in researching and learning about the creative life and work of pop icon Michael Jackson. If there is a book, essay or article you feel should be added to this page, please contact me and I will gladly consider it. A few notes about the material I have included below:
1. This bibliography is not intended to be comprehensive. I only include material I am familiar with and believe might be useful for those studying and/or writing about Michael Jackson.
2. There are numerous fan websites and blogs that offer valuable information, excellent archives and interesting perspectives on Michael Jackson. Persistent researchers will no doubt discover the best of these. However, for this list I have decided to stick, as much as possible, to articles, essays and books with recognizable publishers and authors.
3. I am often asked whether I agree with or endorse every source I include on this list. The answer is “no.” These sources are intended to help serious researchers of Michael Jackson become familiar with a broad range of material, conversations and debates surrounding the artist and therefore includes a variety of perspectives.
4. Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this page in no way endorses a belief in the occult.
BOOKS BY MICHAEL JACKSON
Moonwalk
Dancing the Dream: Poems and Reflections
BOOKS ABOUT MICHAEL JACKSON’S CREATIVE WORK
Fast, Susan. Michael Jackson’s Dangerous (33 1/3). Bloomsbury, 2013. FORTHCOMING
George, Nelson. Thriller: The Musical Life of Michael Jackson
Jones, Quincy. Q: The Autobiography of Quincy Jones
Stillwater, Willa. M Poetica: Michael Jackson’s Art of Connection and Defiance
Swedien, Bruce. In the Studio with Michael Jackson
Vogel, Joseph. Man in the Music: The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson
Vogel, Joseph. Earth Song: Inside Michael Jackson’s Magnum Opus
White, Armond. Keep Moving: The Michael Jackson Chronicles. Resistance Works, 2009.
Editors of Rolling Stone. Michael
CULTURAL STUDIES
Marsh, Dave. Trapped: Michael Jackson and the Crossover Dream
Jefferson, Margo. On Michael Jackson
King, Jason. Michael Jackson Treasures
Vogel, Joseph.Featuring Michael Jackson: Collected Writings on the King of Pop
BIOGRAPHIES
George, Nelson. The Michael Jackson Story
Taraborrelli, J. Randy. Michael Jackson: The Magic, The Madness, The Whole Story, 1958-2009
Jackson, Jermaine. You Are Not Alone: Michael, Through a Brother’s Eyes
Cascio, Frank. My Friend Michael: An Ordinary Friendship with an Extraordinary Man
Sullivan, Randall. Untouchable: The Strange Life and Tragic Death of Michael Jackson
Greenburg, Zack O’Malley. Michael Jackson, Inc. Atria, 2014. FORTHCOMING
SCHOLARLY ESSAYS (chronological)
Mercer, Kobena, “Monster Metaphors: Notes on Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller.’“ Screen. Vol. 27.1 (1986): 26-43.
Wallace, Michelle. “Michael Jackson, Black Modernisms and the Ecstasy of Communication.” Third Text. Vol. 3.7 (1989).
Dyson, Michael Eric. “Michael Jackson’s Postmodern Spirituality.” Reflecting Black: African-American Cultural Criticism. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1993. 35-63.
Awkward, Michael. “A Slave to the Rhythm: Essential(ist) Transmutations; or, The Curious Case of Michael Jackson.” Negotiating Difference: Race, Gender and the Politics of Positionality. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1995.
Burnett, Robert and Burt Deivert. “Black or White: Michael Jackson’s Video as a Mirror of Popular Culture.” Popular Music and Society. Vol. 19.3. (1995).
Yuan, David. “The Celebrity Freak: Michael Jackson’s ‘Grotesque Glory.’”Freakery: Cultural Spectacles of the Extraordinary Body. Ed. Rosemarie Garland Thomson. New York: New York University Press, 1996. 368-384.
King, Jason. “Form and Function: Super Stardom and Aesthetics in the Music Videos of Michaeland Janet Jackson.” Velvet Light Trap. Vol. 44 (Fall 1999): 80-96.Martinec, Radan. “Construction of Identity in Michael Jackson’s Jam.” Social Semiotics. Vol. 10.3 (Dec. 2000):313-329.
Lynch, Christopher. “Ritual Transformation through Michael Jackson’s Music Video.” Journal of Communication Inquiry. Vol. 25.2 (April 2001): 114-131.Brooks, Jodi. “Ghosting the Machine: The Sounds of Tap and the Sounds of Film.” Screen. Vol. 44.4(Winter 2003): 355-78.
Yeoh Kah Sin, Dennis. “‘Did I Scare You?’: The Curious Case of Michael Jackson as Gothic Narrative.” Studies in Gothic Fiction. Vol. 1.1. 2009.Fast, Susan. “Difference That Exceeded Understanding: Remembering Michael Jackson.” Popular Music and Society. Vol. 33.2 (May 2010).
Pierce, Constance. “Lacrymae Rerum: Reflections of a Visual Artist Informed and Inspired By Gestures of Transcendence in the Passionate Art of Michael Joseph Jackson.” Passions of the Skies in Fine Arts Expression. Harvard University (May 2011).
Martin, Sylvia J. “The Roots and Routes of Michael Jackson’s Global Identity.” Society. Vol. 49 (2012): 284-290.
SPECIAL ISSUE ACADEMIC JOURNALS
Ed. by Fast, Susan and Stan Hawkins. Special Issue: Michael Jackson: Musical Subjectivities. Popular Music and Society. Vol. 35, no. 2. May 2012.
Ed. by Roberts, Tamara and Brandi Wilkins Catanese. Michael Jackson In/As U.S. Popular Culture. Journal of Popular Music Studies. Vol. 23, no. 1. March 2011Ed. by Zulu, Itibari M. MJ: The Man in the Mirror Analyzed. Journal of Pan African Studies. Vol. 3, no. 7. March 2010.
COLLECTIONS
Ed. by Fisher, Mark. The Resistable Demise of Michael Jackson. Zero Books, 2009.
Ed. by Christopher R. Smith. Michael Jackson: Grasping the Spectacle. Ashgate Publishing, 2012.
CONFERENCES/SYMPOSIA/COURSES
Michael Jackson: Critical Reflection On a Life & Phenomenon. University of California, Berkeley. 1 October 2009.
After the Dance: Conversations on Michael Jackson’s Black America. Schomburg Center for Research in Black Culture. 4-5 June 2010
Genius Without Borders: A Symposium in Honor of the Genius of Michael Jackson. Columbia College Chicago. 24 September 2010.
The Cultural Phenomenon of Michael Jackson. Society of Cinema and Media Studies. 12 March 2011.Michael Jackson and the Black Performance Tradition. Duke University. Dr. Mark Anthony Neal. Fall 2012.
DISSERTATIONS/THESES
Markowitz, Robin. “Ain’t Nobody’s Business: The Public Text of Michael Jackson.” City University of New York, 1992.
Tenenbaum, Sara. “I Know I Am Someone: Michael Jackson, Thriller, and American Identity.” George Washington University, 2011.
ARTICLES
Campbell, Mel. “Saying the Unsayable: The Non-Verbal Vocalizations of Michael Jackson.” The Enthusiast. 2 July 2009.
King, Jason. “An Appreciation of His Talent.” Passed the Curve. 27 June 2009.
Martin, Sylvia J. “Remembering Michael Jackson: Moonwalking Between Contradictions.” Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism’s Norman Lear Center. University of Southern California. 24 June 2010.
Neal, Mark Anthony. “Sampling Michael: Rhythm, Masculinity and Intellectual Property in the ‘Body’ of Michael Jackson.” NewBlackMan. 28 August 2012.
Okri, Ben. “A Meteor Streaks Our Collective Consciousness.” The Times. 27 June 2009.
Stevens, Hampton. “Michael Jackson’s Unparalleled Influence.” The Atlantic. 24 June 2010.
Stillwater, Willa “Rereading Michael Jackson.” MJFC. 2011.Sullivan, John Jeremiah. “Back in the Day.” GQ. September 2009.
Tate, Greg. “The Man in Our Mirror.” Village Voice. 1 July 2009.
Vogel, Joseph. “The Misunderstood Power of Michael Jackson’s Music.” The Atlantic. February 8, 2012.
White, Armond. “In MJ’s Shadow.” New York Press. 30 June 2009.
Zohny, Josephine. “In Defense of Michael.” Pop Matters. 9 February 2005.Dr. Cornell West and Dr. Michael Eric Dyson. The Tavis Smiley Show. PBS. 30 June 2009.
MEDIA/CULTURE
Block, Susan. “Sex, Death and Michael Jackson.” Counterpunch. August 2, 2009.
Fisher, Mary. “Was Michael Jackson Framed?” GQ. October 1994.
Kaufmann, Barbara. “Michael Jackson on Trial Again.” The Huffington Post. November 17, 2011.
Reed, Ishmael. “The Persecution of Michael Jackson.” Counter Currents. June 29, 2009.
Reed, Pamela. “Michael Jackson and the Toxicity of American Culture.” The Grio. July 7, 2009.
Semino, Matt. “Michael Jackson, The Wounded Messenger.” The Examiner. November 29, 2010.
Taibbi, Matt. “Inside the Strangest Show on Earth.” Smells Like Dead Elephants. Grove Press, 2007.
Thompson, Charles. “One of the Most Shameful Episodes in Journalistic History.” The Huffington Post. June 13, 2010.
Vogel, Joe. “Am I the Beast You Visualized?: The Cultural Abuse of Michael Jackson.“ The Huffington Post. November 2, 2011
VISUAL ARTS
Constance Pierce. “The Dance: Epiphany and Loss” watercolor series. The Fifth Art on Paper 2010. Museum of Art: Aichi, Japan. (Click here for the YouTube link)
Constance Pierce. “Will You Be There” Series. The Fourth Art on Paper 2010. Museum of Art: Aichi, Japan.
OTHER BOOKS
Boteach, Shmuley. The Michael Jackson Tapes. Vanguard Press, 2009.
Boteach, Shmuley. The Michael Jackson Tapes: A Tragic Icon Reveals His Soul in Intimate Conversation
Bush, Michael. The King of Style: Dressing Michael Jackson
Cadman, Chris and Craig Halstead. Michael Jackson For The Record – 2nd Edition Revised and Expanded
Fischer, Mary. Was Michael Jackson Framed?: The Untold Story That Brought Down a Superstar
Grant, Adrian. Michael Jackson: A Visual Documentary The Official Tribute Edition
Gray, Todd. Michael Jackson: Before He Was King
Jones, Aphrodite. Michael Jackson Conspiracy: New Edition
Kirkland, Douglas. Michael Jackson: The Making of “Thriller”: 4 Days/1983
BLOGS
Dancing With the Elephant: Conversations About Michael Jackson, His Art, and Social Change. Dr. Willa Stillwater and Joie Collins.
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