Black Fedora Hat

A major iconic force in pop culture, Michael Jackson, has moved on. The black fedora, black dreaded locks, military jacket and black power shades made Michael Jackson one of the most recognized icons of the Western world in the last 50 years.

The King of Pop, a conqueror of contemporary music, herald of the rock music video, definer of modern dance has died. Michael Jackson, at 50, has died entirely too soon to suit everyone the world over. Jackson’s death has brought enough world emotional impact that individuals across the planet looking for more information and consolation crashed Twitter and the Michael Jackson’s Wikipedia entry. The social aggregator website Facebook and Youtube charged back and forth lending bandwidth and hosting videos until enough was enough. Iconic images of Michael Jackson hunched in a dance stance in his black fedora appeared on the front pages of newspapers worldwide in every language.

Almost every picture taken of Jackson for a time included a black fedora hat, especially after the Pepsi commercial fire which caused damage and burns to his face. Whitening of Jackson’s skin caused increased media attention from paparazzi to his face which also necessitated a fedora for entrances nd exits from gigs, entertainments, restaurants, and social events. Michael Jackson used the fedora as a sprightly fashion note which played up his slim elegance during dancing and gave a classic touch to many of his music video choreography routines and “characters.” The black fedora for many men today has its roots in a generation who grew up watching Michael Jackson videos of a black fedora hat worn when paired by Jackson with a simple white t-shirt and tailored pants.

Rehearsing a London comeback series of 50 concerts, Michael Jackson seemed to some more than equal in his latter days to another worldwide concert tour. Evolving from a childhood genius of amazingly precocious star talent, Michael Jackson remained every step a brilliant dance performer and stunning vocal artist.The indicator of this phenomenon was the Motown 25 year anniversary celebration televised. The lithe, stylized Jackson dance moves with the fedora flair and tight spins and moonwalk dazzled onlookers and created and overnight permutation of Michael Jackson’s glitzy new image. The fedora for Jackson was strategic, he could see his spots and markers on the stage or concert floor and hit roving camera targets for perfectly angled video shots.

Michael Jackson articulated signature dance moves and a stylized “Billie Jean” performance that night the dance equal of Fred Astaire and the brand equivalent of Frank Sinatra.The legend was born. The routines of complicated yet trademarked Michael Jackson dance moves are all the more striking for his accessories of the black fedora hat and silver sequined glove. Beneath the canted fedora was a polished performer who had learned harsh lesson growing up under a demanding father who expected rote perfection routines and vocal excellence as a matter of course. Imitators and doubles would wear the black fedora and military jacket, the hat pulled low to “disguise” the “Glove One’s” celebrity presence.

Emerging from post-adolescence into a white-hot spotlight of celebrity, the black fedora and its famous dancing wearer would range through many subcultures of arts & entertainment. Michael Jackson minted platinum record after platinum records, topping charts and dominating radio play. Furthermore the airwaves of a generation were immersed with the visual media of music television and the fledgling music television medium as a broadcast origin.The debut of Michael Jackson music video became a worldwide destination T.V. event almost before the term came into practice. Just as Michael Jackson culled dance and vocal styles from decades of previous artists, dancers, music video directors, and other pop artists derived their styles and fan bases from the broad shadow of the Michael Jackson legacy of song, lyric, composition and dance and performance achievement.

To friends and family that knew him, Michael Jackson in his last days seemed emaciated and was continuing to take painkillers. A broken leg and other ongoing medical conditions a yet unknown medical incident that terminated his life. The schedule and legacy of health problems combined to cause discomfort while Jackson led a grueling dance and vocal performance schedule. The Los Angeles County Coroner has not yet finalized a cause of death or announced the details to the public. Hordes of ticket holders across the U.K. will have to elect their tickets to be refunded, a quagmire that many never saw coming. The previous decades of worldwide tours and chart topping records has been replaced by child sex scandals, allegations of fitful parenthood responsibility, medical issues, and growing financial debt. The silhouette and break dancing phenomenon wearing the immortal sequined glove and black fedora would never take the stage again.

While the financial behemoth of the Michael Jackson “Peter Pan” era of Neverland Ranch has faded, the iconic symbol of an African-American entertainer who crafted a legend around his own songwriting and musical talent and performance stands as a legacy matched by few music industry greats and celebrities at large. Only the lofty echelons of super-celebrity like Elvis, John Lennon, the Beatles and a smattering of others can challenge Michael Jackson’s place in the firmament of important individuals who both raised the bar of individual human contributions to culture and the arts, and served as a popular and enjoyable reference to an era. For many people the world over, especially Americans, a Michael Jackson song, a black fedora, a silver sequined glove, will always evoke youth, fun, and a musical effusion of a rock beat, style, and attitude uniquely Jackson’s own.