I'm starting with the man in the mirror
I'm asking him to change his ways
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What do you get when you have Siedah Garrett, The Winans and The Andrae Crouch Choir on backing vocals, Michael Jackson on lead and lyrics that speak to the human condition and personal responsibility? You get the hit classic "Man in the Mirror," which is one of the most-covered songs in history that has found a home in concert halls, churches, rallies and showcases across the world, performed by artists in every genre of music because of its universal message. Writing credit for the GRAMMY-nominated song "Man in the Mirror" from Michael's Bad album goes to Siedah Garrett, yet this song contains lyrics that ultimately defined the message Jackson advocated from the 1980s until his death last year: Make a change in the world.
Beginning in 1985, when he helped raised millions for famine relief in Africa with "We Are the World," Michael ultimately became one of the top change-makers in the world when it came to putting his music (and money) where his mouth was. From the '80s on, he donated funds to USA for Africa, the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the Elizabeth Taylor
AIDS Foundation eventually created the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. He was listed in the 2000 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records
for "Most Charities Supported by a Pop Star." "Man in the Mirror" is the theme song of Michael Jackson the philanthropist.
A summer's disregard
A broken bottle top
And a one man's soul
They
follow each other
On the wind ya' know
'Cause they got nowhere to
go
That's why I want you to know
Almost biographical in its telling of a person who was once so sheltered and self-absorbed that they did not give a thought to those in need around, MJ embraced the song with soulful authority and marked it as his own. This song is undeniably a personal message to and from Michael Jackson when admiring the musical tapestry he has created throughout the years. Michael tells us that nothing really matters if we aren't making a positive change in the lives of those who are worse off than we are. It's Michael Jackson through and through. MJ poured every ounce of his being into the recording of this song with such endearing delicate intensity that it became an emotional staple of his live concerts and was the intended close-out song for his ill-fated This Is It tour. Rumor has it that it was his favorite song to perform. I know that it is my favorite song to watch him perform; his attachment to the lyrics is always visible from the first note to the last.
The Moonwalker movie that MJ put out in the late '80s contains footage from his concerts performing this song amidst the screams, faints and yells of adoring fans from across the world. The song's lyrics are eerily juxtaposed against the images of fans totally absorbed--not in the message, but in the star mirage that Michael Jackson the entertainer presented. It is probably most fitting that after his death, as the screams have quieted and only the music is left behind, we can hear his message more clearly and be more apt to actualize it in our own way.
Michael Jackson: "Man in the Mirror"
