Michael Joseph Jackson , born August 29, 1958 in Gary , Indiana , died June 25, 2009 in Los Angeles , California , [ 1 ] [ 2 ] [ 3 ] was an American pop singer , songwriter and dancer , with tremendous success over four decades. Jackson is one of the 20th century’s most prominent entertainers and has had a major impact on the music industry, including through his innovative music videos .
Taj Jackson career in 1964 with four of his brothers in The Jackson 5 . He began his solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Jackson came to produce some of the world’s best-selling musical albums ever and received the epithet The King of Pop ( English for “The King of Pop”) from his close friend Elizabeth Taylor . The album Thriller (1982) holds the record for best-selling of all time. The sales figures are estimated at between 65 and 105 million copies sold. [ 4 ] Also the albums Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) andHIStory (1995) achieved great commercial success.
During the 1980s, Jackson is considered to have revolutionized the approach to music videos as an art form and marketing ploy. The usually very lavish videos, which Jackson insisted on calling “short films”, became a staple of the then new music channel MTV . The most important are ” Beat It “, ” Billie Jean “, ” Thriller “, ” Black or White ” and ” Scream “. In his films and stage shows, he has often used advanced dance steps such as the moonwalk , which he has thus popularized around the world. Michael Jackson’s distinctive musical style has over the years influenced many hip hop -,artists. He said that he himself took inspiration from, among others, Jackie Wilson and James Brown .
Michael Jackson was twice inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum , once with The Jackson 5 and once as a solo artist. [ 5 ] He was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame .
Jackson died of cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50 in his rented property in Los Angeles. This a short time before his comeback and what he said would be his last tour. On October 12, 2009, the single ” This Is It ” was released posthumously.
Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana (an industrial suburb of Chicago, Illinois ) into a working-class family on August 29, 1958. His parents Joseph “Joe” Walter and Katherine Esther , born Scruse, had a total of ten children, of whom Michael was the eighth. His siblings are Rebbie , Jackie , Tito , Jermaine , La Toya , Marlon , Randy and Janet and a brother who died shortly after birth. Father Joseph Jackson was employed at a steel mill and often performed with his brother with a band called The Falcons . Michael Jackson was oneJehovah’s Witness Growing Up. [ 7 ]
Jackson was physically and mentally abused by his father and it came to affect him in his adult life. [ 8 ] In an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1993, Michael Jackson spoke openly for the first time about what he was exposed to. He said that during his childhood he often cried from loneliness and sometimes became nauseous and ill from seeing his father. Jackson also said that he felt strong hatred for his father then. [ 9 ] [ 10 ] [ 11 ] [ 12 ] During Jackson’s second high-profile interview Living with Michael Jackson(2003) the singer covered his face with his hand and started crying when he talked about the abuse. [ 13 ] Jackson recalled that his father Joseph was sitting in a chair with a belt in his hand as he practiced with his siblings and if their efforts were not sufficient he abused them. [ 14 ]
Jackson showed his musical talent early in life when he performed at Christmas concerts at the age of five. In 1964, Michael and his brother Marlon became members of the band Jackson Brother, which their brothers Jackie, Tito and Jermaine started. The two got to play congas and tambourine . Michael later got to perform as a background singer and dancer. By the age of eight, he and Jermaine had become lead singers, and the group changed its name to The Jackson 5 . [ 7 ] The band toured extensively in the American Midwest between 1966 and 1968. They regularly played at a number of clubs and venues known in groups as the “chitlin ‘circuit”. They were often bandaged forstriptease performances and other similar types of performances. In 1966, under Michael’s direction, they won a major local talent hunt where they interpreted hits from the record company Motown and James Brown’s ” I Got You (I Feel Good) ‘”. [ 15 ]
For the local record company Steeltown Records, The Jackson 5 recorded several songs in 1967, including their first single “Big Boy”, to sign a record contract with Motown Records since 1968 . [ 7 ] Since Michael Jackson began singing and dancing with his brothers, Rolling Stone Magazine described the young Michael as a prodigy with overwhelming musical talents. Rolling Stone wrote that he had a child’s squeaky voice, but that he danced like an adult professional dancer and that he sang with an R & B / gospel tone like Sam Cooke , James Brown , Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder . [ 16]
The band The Jackson 5 broke a hit list record when its first four singles (” I Want You Back “, ” ABC “, “The Love You Save” and I’ll Be There “) reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100. [ 7 ] In Jackson’s early years, Motown’s PR group claimed that Michael was only nine years old, two years younger than he really was, to make him appear sweeter and more accessible to the masses. [ 17 ]
In 1972, Michael released a total of four solo studio albums with Motown, including ” Got to Be There ” and ” Ben “. These were released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise and produced several successful singles such as “Got to Be There”, ” Ben ” and a cover recording of Bobby Days ‘”Rockin’ Robin”. The group’s sales figures began to decline in 1973 and the band members were annoyed by Motown’s strict refusal to allow them to gain creative control or bring in their own ideas. Although the group received several top-40 hits, including the disco single “Dancing Machine” among the top-5 and “I Am Love” among the top-20, Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.
In 1975, the Jackson brothers left Motown and signed for Epic Records in June . [ 18 ] Since the name The Jackson 5 belonged to Motown, they re-created the band under the name The Jacksons , [ 19 ] where Michael’s younger brother Randy replaced Jermaine who instead stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. [ 20 ]
After the name change, the band continued to tour internationally and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. During those years, Michael Jackson was the leader of the group’s songwriting and he wrote hits such as “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)”, “This Place Hotel” and “Can You Feel It”. [ 15 ] Other popular songs they recorded were “Blame It on the Boogie”, “Things I Do for You”, “Lovely One” and “State of Shock”, a duet with Michael and Mick Jagger . From the beginning, it was thought that the rock artist Freddie Mercury would have sung the song with Michael, but the collaboration was interrupted. However, the demo recording where Michael and Freddie sing the song together has been leaked on the Internet. [ 21]
Michael played one of the lead roles as the Scarecrow in the film musical The Wiz which was released in 1978. [ 22 ] The film music was arranged by Quincy Jones , and he and Jackson formed a collaboration during the film production and Jones agreed to produce the singer’s next solo album, Off the Wall . [ 23 ] Songwriters included Jackson, Heatwaves, Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder , and Paul McCartney . When it was released in 1979, the album became the first to reach four US top-10 hits, which included the chart hits ” Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough ” and ” Rock with You “.[ 24 ] Off the Wallreached number three on the Billboard 200and has since sold over 20 million copies worldwide. [ 25 ] [ 26 ]
In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during an intricate dance number. His subsequent nose job was not completely successful and he complained of difficulty breathing, which would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who underwent a second nose operation and other subsequent surgeries. [ 27 ]
At the 1980 American Music Awards , Jackson won three awards for his solo performances: “Favorite Soul / R & B Album”, “Favorite Male Soul / R & B Artist” and “Favorite Soul / R & B Single” for the song “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough “. That year he also won the Billboard Music Awards for “Top Black Artist” and “Top Black Album” and a Grammy for “Best Male R&B Vocal Performance” (for the song “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough”). [ 24 ] Despite the commercial success, Jackson felt that Off the Wall should have had a much greater impact, and he was determined to exceed expectations with his next record.In 1980, Jackson had the highest royalty in the music industry with 37% of wholesale album revenue. [ 29 ]
After Jackson’s contribution of the song “Someone in the Dark” to the film ET the Extra-Terrestrial in early 1982 , which earned him a Grammy for Best Album for Children, [ 30 ] he released his second solo album in December 1982, with the name Thriller , for Epic Records . This turned out to be the highlight of his career and the album topped the Billboard 200 for the next 80 weeks, with 37 of them topping the list. Seven singles from Thriller were simultaneously on the Hot 100 top ten, including ” Billie Jean “, ” Beat It ” and ” Wanna Be Startin ‘Somethin’ “.31 ] [ 32 ] It became the world’s best-selling record with today 108 million copies sold. [ 33 ] [ 34 ] In 2005, Thriller had sold more than 26 × platinum in the United States. [ 35 ] The RIAA certified that Thriller had been shipped in 28 million copies in the United States, giving it the status of a so-called Double Diamond. [ 36 ] [ 37 ]
The Thriller period was an extraordinarily profitable period for Jackson, whose lawyer John Branca had negotiated what he boasted was the highest royalty amount ever in the music industry, about $ 2 per album. Meanwhile, Jackson also received money from Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller , a documentary by Jackson and John Landis , which quickly sold over 350,000 copies. In addition, he began to profit from the sale of Michael Jackson dolls and other novelties that reached the market. [ 38 ] The documentary became the world’s best-selling music video on VHS. [ 39 ]
The album not only led to a record success among the fans but led to changes in the music industry itself in mainly four areas. To begin with, it increased the importance of albums and challenged the notion of how many future hits an album could contain. [ 40 ] Second, it restored the industry’s sense of confidence in its ability to release artists at a high level during a period of declining revenues. [ 38 ] Third, it helped MTV succeed, although MTV certainly helped Thriller succeed. Fourth, Thriller paved the way for other artists such as Prince .[ 41 ] The New York Timeslater stated that Jackson alone was a lifesaver for the music industry, [ 42 ] and even on its 25th anniversary,Thrillerits influence on the music industry, artists, and American culture. [ 43 ]
On March 25, 1983, Jackson appeared alongside Jackson 5, but he also performed “Billie Jean” himself, live on the TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever . It was at that performance that he debuted with his dance step Moonwalk and his performance was seen by 47 million viewers on its first broadcast. The performance was later compared to Elvis Presley’s and The Beatles’ appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show . [ 44 ] Jackson had not come to the Moonwalk himself, but had honed a dance that was initially danced by children in the ghetto . [ 45 ] New York Timespraised his performance when, according to them, a perfect timing was required to carry it out, and called him a skilled technician, illusionist and pantomime . [ 46 ]
The 13-minute music video for the song “Thriller” was praised by critics and was widely shown on MTV, among others. The popularity of the Thriller video led to the release of a VHS called Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller and became the world’s best-selling music video on VHS. [ 47 ]
On January 27, 1984, Jackson was hit by an adversity when, during a filming of a Pepsi commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, he suffered second-degree burns when a pyrotechnic accident caused his hair to start burning. When this happened in front of a packed stage with fans during a simulated concert, the incident received great media attention and aroused great sympathy. Pepsicomade an out-of-court settlement and Jackson gave the $ 1.5 million he received in the settlement to Brotman Medical Center in Culver City, California where he received medical treatment for his injuries. The money gave the hospital the opportunity to acquire the best possible technology for treating burns, and Brotman then changed, in his honor, the name of his burn ward to the Michael Jackson Burn Center. [ 48 ] Jackson had his third nose job shortly after and then became even more insecure about his appearance. [ 27 ]
On May 14, 1984, Jackson was invited to the White House to receive an award from US President Ronald Reagan . He received the award for his support of charities, which worked to help people cope with alcohol and drug abuse . [ 49 ]
He was also nominated in twelve different categories for the 1984 Grammy Awards and won eight of them. [ 50 ] Unlike previous albums, Thriller did not have an official concert tour planned to promote it, but during the so-called Victory Tour , which starred Jackson in 1984, much of his solo material was performed in front of more than two million Americans. [ 51 ] He donated the $ 5 million he received for the tour to charity. [ 52 ]
In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity single ” We Are the World ” with Lionel Richie . The single was released globally with the aim of helping the poor in Africa and the United States and Jackson was one of 39 famous musicians who appeared on the recording. The single became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with nearly 20 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated in support of the starving. [ 53 ]
When Jackson worked with Paul McCartney on their two hit singles ” The Girl Is Mine ” (1982) and ” Say Say Say ” (1983), they became friends and visited each other from time to time. At one point, McCartney told Jackson about the millions of dollars he earned through music catalogs; he had earned an estimated $ 40 million a year from other people’s songs. Jackson then started doing business and began buying, selling and distributing the rights to release music from a large number of artists. Shortly afterwards, the music catalog Northern Songs went on sale. It contained thousands of songs, including several songs by The Beatles. [ 54 ] [ 55 ]Jackson immediately showed interest, but was warned that he would face strong opposition in the bidding process. Jackson explained that he did not care about it but gave his lawyer Branca the task of getting them. Branca then contacted McCartney’s lawyer, who clarified that McCartney was not interested in bidding because the price was too high. After Jackson began negotiations, however, McCartney changed his mind and tried to persuade Yoko Ono to bid on the record with him, but she declined and he withdrew from the bidding. Jackson, after ten months, finally won the bidding and paid 47.5 million for the catalog. [ 54 ] [ 56 ]
In 1986, Jackson had a fourth nose operation planned and when he wanted to make his features more masculine, he operated on a cleft palate. [ 27 ] He then starred in George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola’s 3D film Captain EO , which was the most expensive film per minute at the time. [ 57 ] The film was a huge success and Disneyland highlighted it in the Tomorrowland area for nearly 11 years. Walt Disney World showed it at Epcot Theme Park from 1986 to 1994. [ 58 ]
Newspapers now began to write more and more stories about Michael Jackson. When Jackson bought a chimpanzee he called Bubbles, it was described in some magazines as a further separation from reality. [ 59 ] In 2003, Jackson claimed that Bubbles could go to the bathroom himself and that he cleaned his own room. [ 60 ]
It was also alleged that he slept in a pressure chamber to prevent the aging process. In addition, there were stories that Jackson wanted to buy the Elephant Man’s skeleton, [ 60 ] these stories were untrue, but according to the book “The Magic & the Madness” written by “J. Randy Tarraborelli”, who followed Jackson since he was young, it was actually Jackson himself and his manager Frank Dileo who invented the stories to promote Jackson. [ 61 ] Jackson has subsequently claimed that these were just completely false rumors. [ source needed ]The story gave rise to the derogatory nickname “Wacko Jacko” (rough translation: “Crazy Jacko”) that Jackson received the following year. He would then loathe that nickname. When he realized his mistake, he stopped leaking untruths to the press. However, this did not help much when the press realized what income similar stories could provide, and they therefore began to invent their own stories. [ 60 ] [ 62 ]
In 1987, Jackson released his third solo album Bad and this was the last time he worked with Quincy Jones. Bad had seven top 10 singles, five of which went up to first place. The album was in first place for 8 weeks. [ 63 ]
The album was followed by Bad Tour which lasted for about a year and he visited 15 countries, the first concert was in Japan . The music videos for ” Bad ” and ” Smooth Criminal ” became very popular. The music video for “Bad” was directed by Martin Scorsese , and the now world-famous actor Wesley Snipeshad a role as a gangster in the 18-minute short film. The “Bad” video was a huge success, but made headlines in the newspapers because Jackson’s skin color had become much paler. Jackson asked rival Prince if he wanted to sing the song “Bad” with him as a duet. At first, Prince was positive about the idea, but their views on the lyrics were different, which is why Prince left the project. According to Quincy Jones, in an interview on Thriller: Special Edition , Prince considered the song to be a hit, at least “without” him.
In 1988, the autobiographical book Moonwalk was released, as well as the film Moonwalker , which was shown in cinemas in the USA and Sweden, among other places. The film begins with a video for the song ” Man in the Mirror ” , then follows a short biographical film about the star’s upbringing and career until the album Bad . Then follow a number of music videos. The film later became a video game on arcade and Sega Mega Drive.
It was at an awards gala in 1989 that Elizabeth Taylor called him “the true king of pop, rock and soul”. Fans cut it short and started calling him “The King of Pop”. In early 1989, Jackson gave his last Bad Tour concerts, took a break, and then returned to the studio to record a new album. In November 1989, he performed the ballad “You Were There” at Sammy Davis Jr.’s birthday concert. In 1990, he continued to record commercials for both Pepsi and La Gear Sports.
In 1991, Jackson released his fourth album, titled ” Dangerous “, which sold 7 million copies in the United States [ 64 ] and whose biggest hit was ” Black or White “, but also ” Remember the Time “, ” In the Closet “, ” Heal the World “, ” Who Is It “, ” Jam “, and ” Will You Be There ” were big hits. He ended his collaboration with Quincy Jones and hired new producers, such as Teddy Riley . “Will You Be There” was also included as a soundtrack to the film Save Willy. The music videos were, as usual, lavish and innovative. The video for “Jam” showed Jackson and Michael Jordan dancing together and playing basketball . In the video for “Remember the Time”, Eddie Murphy , Iman and Magic Johnson all guest starred . In “In the Closet”, Michael Jackson posed and danced with photo model Naomi Campbell .
On February 14, 1992, Jackson received the National Order of Merit from Gabon’s President Omar Bongo . [ 65 ] In June 1992, Jackson embarked on a new world tour, the Dangerous Tour , which never visited the United States. Later in January 1993, Jackson appeared in the semifinals of Super Bowl XXVII . The performance had the largest audience to date in American television history. [ 66 ]
In 1993, Michael Jackson was accused of sexually abusing Jordy Chandler. He had become friends with Jackson in 1992-1993 but now Jordy’s parents accused him. According to the book “The Magic & The Madness” by J. Randy Tarraborelli, Jordy’s father Evan Chandler is said to have demanded a sum of money to keep quiet. At first Jackson did not want to pay but later both parties agreed on a sum, about 20 million dollars according to some sources [ 67 ] and after that Jordy’s parents withdrew the accusations. The prosecutor was Thomas Sneddon, who also handled the investigations. The song DS is dedicated to him.
Michael Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley on May 18, 1994, and they divorced in January 1996. Lisa Marie describes; “He loved me as much as a man can love someone.” [ source needed ] In her blog, she describes how she regrets that she did not stay with him during the hard times in his life and Michael has also answered when he was asked; “What’s the biggest mistake of your life?” “let the big love of my life go away”.