Michael Jackson was always in some kind of peripheral vision for me. I was catching up on the history of jazz since my late teens, and though I was aware of him, as I was aware of disco. I am puzzled as to how Michael Jackson is being credited for breaking some racial color lines. Perhaps they mean only the most contemporary color lines.
I've been listening to Coltrane this evening. "My Favorite Things"
He tromps Julie Andrews. (As did the late great Betty Carter)
Maybe it is the difference between "pop" and "classical"
Maybe the difference between musicians whose music spoke for them, rather than their images.