Michael Jackson was more than a pop star. His amazing voice, his awesome dancing moves, his unique clothing style – everything he did added up to the creation of an iconic image. Two important features of this image were arguably the taped fingers and the white socks. In each and every performance, Michael Jackson taped the tips of his fingers and wore white socks that were sticking out of his high-cuffed pants and black, polished shoes (remember when we talked about How Michael Jackson Was Able To Pull Off The Famous Anti-Gravity Lean?).
But was this just a fashion statement or something more?
Well, as it turns out they did serve an important on-stage purpose. (the article continues after the ad)
In “Michael Jackson’s This Is It” documentary (Get it from Amazon
), Michael Bearden, the music and producer who was working with him on the preparations for the London comeback shows in 2009, says that this was one of the things that he asked the man himself. What was the answer?
As Michael Jackson told him, he taped the tips of his fingers so everyone in the audience could follow his fingers and understand the dancing moves. Due to the distance from the stage, spectators, especially those sitting on the back, couldn’t always see his movements. By taping his fingers with white tape that catches the eye, it was easier to follow every gesture:
“So if you’re doing that” – [shoots his hand into the air, à la MJ] – ” automatically, you’re gonna look right there. It’s just a show thing.”
And that was the exact same reason he was wearing the white socks as it draws attention to the feet and it’s easier to spot the dancing moves. In fact, the white socks thing was not a Michael Jackson “invention”; Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly have been using this trick since the 1950s.
If you like what you read, then you will definitely love this one: This Is How Michael Jackson Was Able To Pull Off The Famous Anti-Gravity Lean
Main Article Photo: Michael Jackson Tribute Portrait, www.citypolice.us
Photoshop: I’m A Useless Info Junkie
Sources: Michael Jackson’s Team Reveals Secrets From ‘This Is It’ Stage
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