Michael Jackson

=== Influences ===
Jackson was influenced by musicians including [[James Brown]], [[Little Richard]], [[Jackie Wilson]], [[Diana Ross]], [[Fred Astaire]], [[Sammy Davis Jr]]., [[Gene Kelly]],<ref name="Tucker">{{cite news |first=Ken |last=Tucker |title=Summer Reading; Firing Your Father Isn't Easy |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |page=751 |date=June 5, 1988 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1988/06/05/books/summer-reading-firing-your-father-isn-t-easy.html}}</ref> and [[David Ruffin]].<ref>{{cite magazine |title=100 Greatest Singers: 65 – David Ruffin |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=November 27, 2008 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/100-greatest-singers-of-all-time-19691231/david-ruffin-20101202}}</ref> Little Richard had a substantial influence on Jackson,<ref>{{cite news |first=Martin |last=Herron |title=Michael Jackson saved my life |newspaper=[[The Scarborough News|Scarborough Evening News]] |date=June 27, 2009 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.scarborougheveningnews.co.uk/news/39Michael-Jackson-saved-my-life39.5407768.jp |archive-date= June 28, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090628193111/https://www.scarborougheveningnews.co.uk/news/39Michael-Jackson-saved-my-life39.5407768.jp}}</ref> but Brown was his greatest inspiration; he later said that as a small child, his mother would wake him whenever Brown appeared on television. Jackson described being "mesmerized".<ref>{{cite web |title=Jackson Attends Brown's Public Funeral |publisher=[[Contactmusic.com]] |date=January 2, 2007 |access-date= May 31, 2015 |url=https://www.contactmusic.com/james-brown/news/jackson-attends-browns-public-funeral_1017673}}</ref>

Jackson's vocal technique was influenced by Diana Ross; his use of the ''oooh'' interjection from a young age was something Ross had used on many of her songs with [[the Supremes]].{{sfn|Taraborrelli|2009|p=64}} She was a mother figure to him, and he often watched her rehearse.<ref>{{cite press release |first=Mallory |last=Simon |title=Jackson shared bond with 'very dear friend Diana Ross' |publisher=CNN |date=July 3, 2009 |access-date= December 1, 2016 |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/07/03/michael.jackson.diana.ross/index.html?iref=nextin}}</ref> He said he had learned a lot from watching how she moved and sang, and that she had encouraged him to have confidence in himself.{{sfn|Taraborrelli|2009|p=60}}

Choreographer [[David Winters (choreographer)|David Winters]], who met Jackson while choreographing the 1971 Diana Ross TV special ''[[Diana!]]'', said that Jackson watched the musical ''[[West Side Story (1961 film)|West Side Story]]'' almost every week, and it was his favorite film; he paid tribute to it in "Beat It" and the "Bad" video.{{sfn|Lewis Jones|2005|pages=6, 54}}<ref>{{cite web |first=David |last=Winters |date=June 26, 2009 |title=David Winters remembers Michael Jackson |website=Magick Papers |url=https://www.magickpapers.com/blog/?p=400 |archive-date= July 2, 2015 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20150702033511/https://www.magickpapers.com/blog/?p=400}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |first=Eugene |last=Hernandez |title=Remembering Michael Jackson, on Screen |publisher=[[IndieWire]] |date=June 27, 2009 |url=https://www.indiewire.com/article/michael_jackson_on_screen |archive-date= June 27, 2009 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090627205050/https://www.indiewire.com/article/michael_jackson_on_screen}}</ref>