alternatehistory.com

Some people gripe from time to time that we don't have enough cultural based AH. Here is one:

Michael Jackson's album Off the Wall was a released in late 1979 and sold 20 million albums. It was considered a commercial and critical success by many. However, when the time came for the Grammy's, the album didn't win either record of the year or album of the year, like he hoped. He did win Best Male R&B performance for Don't Stop till you get enough. This devastated Jackson so much, that he was determined to show the world and the industry that he could make an album that would prove them wrong. That album was Thriller, which has become the best selling album of all time with sales estimates of 300 million copies sold, garnered him a record 8 Grammys and made him a pop cultural icon in music, videos and radio. The album was credited for helping pull the music industry out of a slump after the crash from the end of the disco era. He was the first black artist to be put into heavy rotation on MTV. He changed how music videos were produced and used to promote music. He helped change how music was produced and how top selling artists were paid. He influenced his contemporaries a great deal, forcing them to work harder to get their music out there and influenced dozens of artists that followed him.

So, it's February 27th, 1980 and the Grammy's for record and/or album of the year go to Michael Jackson. What changes for him? What changes for the world?

Torqumada
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