Flashback Video: 'Liberian Girl' by Michael Jackson

Ever since the dawn of MTV and Friday Night Videos, the music video has significantly impacted musical tastes and pop culture. It might not be as extreme as when the Buggles declared that "Video Killed the Radio Star", but there is no arguing that the music video certainly could make or break a song's popularity. So this regular Flashback Video feature will serve to remember some of the music videos from the great '80s decade that made an impact on me in one way or another.

This issue we will cover "Liberian Girl" by Michael Jackson. It was ninth and final single released from his 1987 album Bad in July of 1989 (not officially in U.S.) almost two years after the album's original release. It is not one of his best known singles since it wasn't released in the U.S., but it had a star-studded and creative music video to go with it.

The music video for "Liberian Girl" was directed by Jim Yukich and produced by Paul Flattery. Jim Yukich is quite prolific when it comes to music video directing especially extensive experience with Phil Collins solo work, Mike + the Mechanics as well as Genesis including their '80s hits "That's All" (1983), "Easy Lover" (1984), "Separate Lives" (1985), "Sussudio" (1985), "One More Night" (1985), "Silent Running" (1985), "Invisible Touch" (1986), "Land of Confusion" (1986), "All I Need is a Miracle" (1986), "In Too Deep" (1986), "Throwing It All Away" (1986), "Take Me Home" (1986), "Tonight, Tonight, Tonight" (1987), "A Groovy Kind of Love" (1988), "Two Hearts" (1988) and "Another Day in Paradise" (1989). Yukich also worked a lot with Iron Maiden in the early '80s in addition to the following '80s hit videos David Bowie "Modern Love" (1983),  Bruce Willis "Respect Yourself" (1987), Eric Carmen "Make Me Lose Control" (1988), REO Speedwagon "Here With Me" (1988), Miami Sound Machine "1-2-3" (1988), Debbie Gibson "Lost in Your Eyes" (1989), Richard Marx "Right Here Waiting" (1989), and Gloria Estefan "Don't Wanna Lose You" (1989) among many more from that decade and continuing strong into the '90s. Yukich went on to direct and/or produce over 500 Music Videos, Concerts, Comedy Specials, Commercials, TV shows and even a couple films. He has won 3 ACE Awards, has been nominated for 15 MTV Awards and won 2 of the 5 Grammy Awards he has been nominated for.

The "Liberian Girl" music video was filmed in two days in April 1989 at A&M Chaplin Stage at A&M Studios in Los Angeles, California. The humorous short film starts with black and white footage of an African port town, before a transition to color, where a production assistant’s clapboard reveals they are just on a soundstage. On that set, dozens of Michael Jackson's friends and collaborators make small talk, joke and wait around waiting for direction and wondering where Michael is. At the video’s conclusion, it is revealed that Michael was behind the camera the whole time, laughing as he descends from a camera crane and saying, “Okay everyone, that’s a wrap!”

Here is the music video for "Liberian Girl" by Michael Jackson...

In case you missed any of them, here is the awesome list of celebrities in order of appearance:

Beverly Johnson, Malcolm-Jamal Warner, Sherman Hemsley, Mayim Bialik, Brigitte Nielsen, Paula Abdul, Carl Weathers, Whoopi Goldberg, Quincy Jones, Jackie Collins, Amy Irving, Jasmine Guy, Rosanna Arquette, Billy Dee Williams, Lou Diamond Phillips, Olivia Newton-John, John Travolta, Corey Feldman, Steven Spielberg, Debbie Gibson, Ricky Schroder, Blair Underwood, "Weird Al" Yankovic, Suzanne Somers, Lou Ferrigno, Don King, Virginia Madsen, David Copperfield, Richard Dreyfuss, Danny Glover, Olivia Hussey, Dan Aykroyd, and Steve Guttenberg.

Wow, what a list! Such a simple idea, but so much fun and a very underrated Michael Jackson music video in my opinion.

Hope you enjoyed another trip back to the '80s thanks to Flashback Video!