Do you think Michael Jackson would still be highly revered if he didn't die?
before he died, he had multiple guiness world records including Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, 24 Grammy Awards, 13 AMA awards (more than any other artist of all time), his Thriller album was the highest selling album of all time. He had won hundreds of awards (before dying), more than any other artist in the history of popular music. He shattered all kinds of records and was generally the most popular and successful entertainer/artist in the history of popular music. he reached legendary status well before the end of the 1980s and remained one of the most famous people on the entire planet, for the entire rest of his life. he touched some boys too but that's another story