Hey I love this meme everytime I see it, but I want to point out that that point about growing up in "similar circumstances that nurture their skill’ is contingent upon working musicians being able to afford to raise children. Children that will also need to work.

Maybe I’m wrong but I don’t think there is a comparable proportion of the population that are working musicians, that earn enough money to support children, but not so much that the children don’t have to learn a trade, as there were in “Enlightenment” Europe where if a person wanted to hear music they had to make it themselves, or pay someone to make it, and every rich asshole had a chamber orchestra following him around.

Also parents don’t teach children their trades the way they used to, and they aren’t expected to support their parent’s businesses the way they used to. (I’m not lamenting this). There used to be a lot of pressure on children to contribute economically. Mozart, and his siblings probably faced what we’d consider child abuse if he didn’t practice. He was certainly exploited.

Michael Jackson is a Mozart of the 20th century. He was put to work at a young age to support his parents and siblings, that were also working musicians.

As much as I love Weird Al (and I do) I don’t think he was groomed and exploited the same way MJ/WM were. Kudos to his parents for that I guess.