Michael Joseph Jackson ( Gary , August 29, 1958 – Los Angeles , June 25, 2009 [14] ) was an American singer – songwriter , dancer , composer , record producer , choreographer , actor , philanthropist and entrepreneur .
Also known as ” The King of Pop” , and MJInnocent is considered one of the most significant figures of the 20th and 21st centuries [18] [19] [20] thanks to his contribution to the world of music , [21] [22] [23] [24] of dance , [25] of fashion [26] [27] and entertainment . [28] [29] [30] [31]Through his live performances and videos he has popularized dance techniques such as moonwalk , toe stand , anti-gravity lean and robot dance , coming to be considered one of the best dancers in history. [25] [32]
He is one of the few artists in the world to have been inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame , once as a soloist and once as a member of the Jackson 5 ; he was also inducted into 10 other Hall of Fame , including the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame , the only dancer from the world of the music industry . [33] [34] [35] Jackson has won hundreds of awards , making him the most awarded artist in history . [36] [37] [38] [39] [40] These include 39 certifications in theGuinness Book of Records , including “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time”, [41] 15 Grammy Awards (including two Lifetime Achievement Grammys ) out of 38 nominations , [42] 40 Billboard Awards , 26 American Music Awards , [43] [44] 16 World Music Awards , [45] 15 MTV Video Music Awards , [46] [47] 12 Soul Train Music Awards , 6 BRIT Awards [48] and a Golden Globe . [49]He has also been awarded as an artist ” of the Decade “, [50] ” of a Generation “, [51] ” of the Century ” [52] and ” of the Millennium “. [53]
Considered the most commercially successful artist of all time by the Guinness Book of Records , [54] [55] [56] [57] [58] the estimated sales of all his albums and singles are around one billion copies all over the world , making him one of the best-selling artists in the history of music . [59] In 1982 he released his sixth studio album Thriller , which became the best-selling album in music history, having surpassed 100 million copies globally, [60] [61]including 34 million in the United States alone , making it the best-selling and most certified studio album in the country. [62] [63] His other recording projects, including Off the Wall , Bad , Dangerous and HIStory are also listed among the best-selling albums in the world, [64] while Blood on the Dance Floor is listed as the best-selling remix album in the world . During his solo career Jackson had 14 number one singles in the United States, [65]more than any other male Hot 100 Era artist, [66] as well as being the first artist in history to hit the Billboard Hot 100 straight at number one. [67] [68]
As a lead member of the Jackson 5, Jackson became the youngest singer to make it to # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, [54] [65] as well as being one of only three artists in the world, alongside Paul McCartney and Phil Collins . , to have sold over 100 million copies worldwide both as a solo artist and as a member of a band . [69] In 1997 a popular poll declared him “the most famous man on the planet “, [70] [71] [72] [73] while in 2006the Guinness Book of Records elected him “undoubtedly the most famous living human being “. [74] [75] [76] In 2000 , the Guinness Book of World Records recognized him for the support of 39 different charities , more than any other entertainer. [77] [78]
Subsequently, the artist often made headlines about himself also for his private life, including his change of appearance (from black to white due to vitiligo ), cosmetic surgery , his personal relationships and allegations of harassment , from which he was later found not guilty in 2005, as well as for his humanitarian initiatives such as the creation of charities to protect the rights of children and animals . [79] [80] [81] Michael Jackson died in 2009 , at the age of 50, of a heart attack following an intoxicationcaused by the anesthetic propofol administered to him, in a fallacious attempt to relieve his chronic insomnia , by the doctor Conrad Murray, who was later convicted of manslaughter . [82]
Moreover, Jackson also boasts several posthumous records: in 2010 he became the most downloaded artist on the Internet of all time, [83] [84] in 2014 he became the only artist in history to have entered the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades, [85] while in 2016 he became the highest-earning artist in history, living or deceased, earning more than $ 825 million in a single year . [86] [87] [88] Since his death, Jackson has dominated the most missing celebrities chartrich in the world of Forbes for eleven years, the last eight of which consecutively, with earnings in excess of 2.5 billion dollars. [89] In 2021 , she became the first artist in history to have Top 20 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 in seven consecutive decades.
Michael Joseph Jackson [93] was born at 7:33 pm on August 29 , 1958 at St. Mary’s Mercy Hospital in Gary , Indiana ; eighth of ten children of a modest African American family . [94] [95] Her mother Katherine Esther Scruse, [96] shop assistant at a Sears supermarket , [97] was a devoted Jehovah’s Witness since 1963 and used to sing with her children. [98] Father Joseph Jackson was a worker in a United States Steel mill and in his youth he was the guitarist of the Falcons, an amateur R&B group. Michael had three sisters , Rebbie , La Toya , Janet , and six brothers , Jackie , Tito , Jermaine , Marlon , Brandon ( twin brother of Marlon, who died 24 hours after birth) and Randy . [99] [100] The Jackson family lived in a small for a long timebrick house on Bowmont Drive, at 2300 Jackson Street . [101]
Michael and his brothers grew up in a family environment where the Bible was the only training tool , the transgression of which involved severe punishment : [102] according to various testimonies , the Jackson brothers, in particular Michael, were often mistreated by their father and forced to test incessant as well as physical violence . Michael’s relationship with his father will be at the center of media attention throughout his career.
Growing up in a family devoted to music , Michael came into contact with the entertainment world from an early age. He sang for the first time in public, in front of his classmates and family, during a Christmas play performing the song Climb Ev’ry Mountain a cappella in his kindergarten . In 1964 , at the age of five, he was aggregated by his father into the group of his brothers, who did not yet have a definitive name. [106] Michael was initially the percussionist , but later began to share the singing part with his brother Jermaineand the group changed their name to The Jackson 5. [107] After participating in various talent at the time, the Jackson 5 first signed to Steeltown , a record label of Gary, only to be brought to the attention of record producer Berry . Gordy , head of Motown Records , who launched them in 1969 . When their debut single I Want You Back reached # 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970 , [108] Michael became the youngest singer to make it to # 1 on the US charts at the age of 11 and 5.months . [54] [65] [109] With the release of their next three singles, ABC , The Love You Save and I’ll Be There , the Jackson 5 became the first artists in history to debut with four consecutive singles at number one. Billboard , [110] [111] [112] and the first internationally acclaimed group of teen idols . [113] Following the group’s success, the Jackson family left Gary and moved to Encino , California in May 1971 .
To the enormous success with his brothers the young Michael began to alternate his solo career, and thanks to Motown he managed to record his first four solo studio albums: Got to Be There and Ben in 1972 , Music & Me in 1973 and Forever, Michael in 1975 , which met with some success, selling more than 20 million copies worldwide. The song Ben , extracted from the self-titled album, became the first number one single in his solo career, won a Golden Globe and was nominated for an Academy Award for best song ., being the main piece of a film of the same name . Ben ‘s performance at the 1973 Oscars was one of the first solo acts of his career. [114]
After their deal with Motown expired in 1976 , the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records . Motown challenged the deal, however, filing legal proceedings. Eventually the brothers had to change their name from The Jackson 5 to The Jacksons and lost Jermaine, who wanted to stay on the old label; he was replaced by Randy, the youngest son of the Jackson brothers.
In 1976, the first song written and composed by Michael, entitled Blues Away , was released on the album The Jacksons , but it was from 1978 that the singer, in addition to being the frontman of the Jacksons also became the main author, with the collaboration of his brother Randy. For the Destiny album , Epic gave the Jackson brothers carte blanche for the first time, allowing them to write and compose every song, with the exception of the release single Blame It on the Boogie ; [115] the second single, Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) , entered the Billboard Top 10and became the most successful single in the group’s history. [116]
The same year he was hired to play the role of the scarecrow in the musical film The Wiz , directed by director Sidney Lumet . The soundtrack of the film was edited by record producer Quincy Jones , whom Jackson had the opportunity to meet during the shooting of the film, and to whom he asked to produce his first solo album for Epic.
Off the Wall was released on August 10, 1979 and was a huge success becoming the first album in music history to placefour singles in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 : Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough , Rock with You , Off the Wall and She’s Out of My Life . [117] The album also broke the same record in the UK , with four songs making it into the Top 10 on the Official Singles Chart . [118] Off the Wall also reached # 3 on the Billboard Albums Chart , staying for 48 weeksconsecutive in the top 20 and selling over 15 million copies in a short time, becoming at the time the album by an African American artist best-selling in history. The album to date has sold nearly 10 million copies in the United States and around 30 in total worldwide. [119] [120] [121] Jackson also became the first black artist to make it to a white rankings, thus breaking racial barriers and helping to create unified rankings. [122] [123] According to Rolling Stone magazine , with Off the Wall , Jackson:
The album also earned Jackson several awards: in 1980 he won three American Music Awards and a Grammy Award for his interpretation of Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough . [127] However, as stated later in his autobiography , despite all this success, Jackson was disappointed with the results obtained by the album, which he said should have had a greater impact.
After the solo interlude, the singer returned to the studio with the brothers to record their new album Triumph . Composed almost entirely by Jackson, [115] [128] and propelled by the singles Lovely One , This Place Hotel and Can You Feel It , it became the group’s first album to reach the top of the charts since 1971, [115] [129] coming followed by a new successful national tour . [130] Although the group enjoyed renewed popularity, the comparison with the outstanding achievements of Off the Wallit was evident, giving a clear signal that Jackson was now on his way to a solo career.
In 1982 Jackson was contacted by director Steven Spielberg , who invited him to take part in the making of an audiobook of the film E.T. the extra-terrestrial , known as ET Storybook , for which the singer recorded the song Someone in the Dark and also told the story of the film, for which he will receive a Grammy Award in 1984 . [132] The singer then spent much of the year with producer Quincy Jones at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles to record his new studio album.
On November 30th Thriller was released , the artist’s second solo album for Epic, which became his biggest commercial success. The album ranked # 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed there for 37 weeks, longer than any other studio album in chart history, [133] [134] and then stayed in the top ten for another 80 consecutive weeks, establishing a second record. [61] It was the first album in history to place 7 singles in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100: The Girl Is Mine , sung alongside Paul McCartney , Billie Jean , Beat It , Wanna Be Startin ‘Somethin’ ,Human Nature , PYT (Pretty Young Thing) and the eponymous Thriller , [135] while in the UK he broke the Off the Wall record , placing five songs in the Top 10. [118] Jackson became the first artist in history to reach the 1st position in four different charts of American albums and singles simultaneously, [136] also setting the record for permanence in the charts for a male artist. [137] With sales of over 20 million copies, [138] Thriller was the best-selling album in the United States in both 1983 and 1984, [139]making it the country’s first best-selling album for two consecutive years. [140]
The album was the first to be certified triple diamond by the RIAA [61] with sales of 34 million copies in the United States , [63] [138] more than any other studio album. It is also the best-selling album in the history of music globally, with over 100 million copies to its credit. [141] The impact of the album in popular music was enormous, [142] [143] so much so that it changed the record industry forever [144] [145] [146] and became a real cultural phenomenon , [147 ]being defined as follows: