| Img alt | A mid-twenties African American man wearing a sequined military jacket and dark sunglasses. He is walking while waving his right hand, which is adorned with a white glove. His left hand is bare. |
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| Background | solo_singer |
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| Birth name | Michael Joe JacksonGary, Indiana, U.S. |
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| Died | June 25, 2009Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
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| Instrument | Vocals, Piano, Drums, Beatbox, Guitar, Bass Guitar |
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| Genre | R&B;, pop rock, electronic |
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| Occupation | Singer-songwriter, record producer, composer, musician, dancer, choreographer, actor, author, businessman, philanthropist |
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| Years active | 1964–2009 |
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| Label | Motown, Epic, Legacy |
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| Associated acts | The Jackson 5 |
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Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an
American recording artist,
dancer,
singer-songwriter, and
philanthropist. Referred to as the
King of Pop, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by
Guinness World Records. His contribution to music, dance and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in
popular culture for over four decades. The eighth child of the
Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of
The Jackson 5 in the mid-1960s, and began his solo career in 1971.
In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs including "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller", were credited with transforming the medium into an art form and a promotional tool, and the popularity of these videos helped to bring the relatively new television channel MTV to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made him a staple on MTV in the 1990s. Through stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style have influenced numerous hip hop, pop, contemporary R&B; and rock artists.
Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other records, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. Some of his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award); 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century"); 13 number-one singles in the United States in his solo career (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era); and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won hundreds of awards, which have made him one of the most-awarded recording artist in the history of music. He was also a notable humanitarian and philanthropist, donating and raising hundreds of millions of dollars for beneficial causes and supporting more than 39 charities.
Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships and behavior, have generated controversy. In 1993, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury ruled him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for his concert series This Is It, Jackson died on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. Before his death, Jackson had reportedly been administered drugs such as propofol and lorazepam. The Los Angeles County Coroner declared his death a homicide, and his personal physician pleaded not guilty to charges of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as one billion people around the world reportedly watched his public memorial service on live television. In March 2010, Sony Music Entertainment signed a US$250 million deal with Jackson's estate to retain distribution rights to his recordings until 2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following his death. His first posthumous album of new material, simply titled Michael, was released on December 14, 2010.
Life and career
Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
, showing floral tributes after his death.]]
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family, in
Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. His mother,
Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout
Jehovah's Witness, and his father,
Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B; band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters:
Rebbie,
La Toya, and
Janet, and five brothers:
Jackie,
Tito,
Jermaine,
Marlon, and
Randy. Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a child. The band toured
the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "
chitlin' circuit", where they often opened
stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of
Motown hits and
James Brown's "
I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.
Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer." Between 1972 and 1975, Jackson released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them
Got to Be There and
Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "
Got to Be There", "
Ben", and a remake of
Bobby Day's "
Rockin' Robin". The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5
disco single "
Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "
I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975. and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine left to pursue a solo career. In 1978, he starred as the
scarecrow in the musical,
The Wiz, a box-office disaster. It was here that he teamed up with
Quincy Jones, who was arranging the film's musical score. Jones agreed to produce Jackson's next solo album,
Off the Wall. In December 2009, the music video for "Thriller" was selected for the
National Film Registry by the
Library of Congress, "Thriller" is the first music video ever to be inducted.
The New York Times wrote that, "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else". Jackson never recovered from this injury. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated his $1.5 million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in
Culver City, California, which now has a "Michael Jackson Burn Center" in honor of his donation. When they were unable to make the joint purchase, McCartney let the offer fall through, not wanting to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs.
According to a negotiator for Holmes à Court in the 1984 sale, "We had given Paul McCartney first right of refusal but Paul didn't want it at that time." But there were several other companies and investors bidding. In September 1984, Jackson was first informed about the sale by Branca and sent a bid of $46 million on November 20, 1984. Jackson's agents thought they had a deal several times, but encountered new bidders or new areas of debate. In May 1985, Jackson's team walked away from talks after having spent over $1 million on four months of due diligence and on the negotiations.
In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that Charles Koppelman's and Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Co. had made a tentative agreement with Holmes à Court to buy ATV Music for $50 million. But in early August, Holmes à Court's team contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson raised his bid to $47.5 million and it was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence of ATV Music. He also agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the Channel Seven Perth Telethon. Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized August 10, 1985.
Appearance, tabloids, Bad, autobiography and films (1986–87)
Jackson's skin had been a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, but starting in the mid 1980s, it gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that he was bleaching his skin. Although initially he saw these stories as opportunities for publicity, he stopped leaking untruths to the press as they became more sensational. Consequently the media began making up their own stories. In the same year, Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards because
Bad is the first album ever to generate five number one singles in the US, the first album to top in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and in 1988. In Japan alone, the tour had 14 sellouts and drew 570,000 people, nearly tripling the previous record of 200,000 in a single tour. He attributed much of the change in the structure of his face to
puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hair style, and stage lighting.
Moonwalk reached the top position on
The New York Times best sellers' list.
In March 1988, Jackson purchased land near Santa Ynez, California, to build Neverland Ranch at a cost of $17 million. He installed Ferris wheels, a menagerie, and a movie theater on the property. A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds. In 2003, it was valued at approximately $100 million. Shortly afterwards, he became the first Westerner to appear in a television ad in the Soviet Union.
His success resulted in his being dubbed the "King of Pop".
Dangerous, Heal the World Foundation and Super Bowl XXVII (1991–93)
In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65 million, a record-breaking deal at the time, The album's second single "
Remember the Time" spent eight weeks in the top five in the United States, peaking at number three on the
Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the end of 1992,
Dangerous was awarded 1992's best-selling album worldwide and "Black or White" was awarded 1992's best-selling single worldwide at the Billboard Music Awards. Additionally, he won an award as best-selling artist of the '80s.
Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity organization brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to enjoy theme park rides that Jackson had built on the property. The foundation also sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. In the same year Jackson published his second book, the bestselling collection of poetry, Dancing the Dream. While it was a commercial success and revealed a more intimate side to Jackson's nature, the collection was mostly critically unacclaimed at the time of release. In 2009, the book was republished by Doubleday and was more positively received by some critics in the wake of Jackson's untimely death. The Dangerous World Tour grossed . The tour began on June 27, 1992, and finished on November 11, 1993. Jackson performed to 3.5 million people in 67 concerts. In his trip to Côte d'Ivoire, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief. He then thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed official documents formalizing his kingship and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.
In January 1993, Jackson made a memorable appearance at the halftime show at Super Bowl XXVII. The performance began with Jackson catapulting onto the stage as fireworks went off behind him. As he landed on the canvas, he maintained a motionless "clenched fist, standing statue stance", dressed in a gold and black military outfit and sunglasses; he remained completely motionless for a minute and a half while the crowd cheered. He then slowly removed his sunglasses, threw them away and sang four songs: "Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White" and "Heal the World". It was the first Super Bowl where the audience figures increased during the half-time show, and was viewed by 135 million Americans alone; Jackson's Dangerous album rose 90 places up the album chart. Jackson was given the "Living Legend Award" at the 35th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles. "Black or White" was Grammy-nominated for best vocal performance. "Jam" gained two nominations: Best R&B; Vocal Performance and Best R&B; Song. The Dangerous album won a Grammy for Best Engineered – Non Classical, awarding the work of Bruce Swedien and Teddy Riley. In the same year, Michael Jackson won three American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B; Single ("Remember the Time") and was the first to win the International Artist Award, for his global performances and humanitarian concerns. This award will bear his name in the future.
In the summer of 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy named Jordan Chandler and his father, Dr. Evan Chandler, a dentist. Jackson later used the recording to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father whose only goal was to extort money from the singer.
Later that year, on December 20, Jackson's home was raided by the police, and Jackson submitted to a 25-minute strip search. Jordan Chandler had reportedly given police a description of Jackson's intimate parts, notably claiming that his bleach-damaged penis was circumcised; the strip search revealed, to the contrary, that Jackson was actually uncircumcised,
, daughter of Elvis Presley, in 1994.]]
In May 1994, Jackson married the daughter of Elvis Presley, Lisa Marie Presley. They had first met in 1975, when a seven-year-old Presley attended one of Jackson's family engagements at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino, and were reconnected through a mutual friend.
Jackson proposed to Presley over the telephone towards the fall of 1993, saying, "If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?" They married in the Dominican Republic in secrecy, denying it for nearly two months afterwards. The marriage was, in her words, "a married couple's life ... that was sexually active".
The first single released from the album was the double A-side "Scream/Childhood". "Scream" was a duet, performed with Jackson's youngest sister Janet. The song fights against the media, mainly for what the media made him out to be during his 1993 child abuse allegations. The single had the highest debut on the Billboard Hot 100 at number five, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". It was seen as a major artistic and commercial success, receiving a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance". In late 1995, Jackson was rushed to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance; the incident was caused by a stress-related panic attack. The track "They Don't Care About Us" became controversial when the Anti-Defamation League and other groups criticized its allegedly anti-Semitic lyrics. Jackson quickly put out a revised version of the song without the offending lyrics.
In 1997, Jackson released , which contained remixes of hit singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand at copies as of 2007, it is the best selling remix album ever released. Forbes placed his annual income at $35 million in 1996 and $20 million in 1997. Throughout June 1999, Jackson was involved in a number of charitable events. He joined Luciano Pavarotti for a benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show was in support of the non-profit organization War Child, and raised a million dollars for the refugees of Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia, as well as additional funds for the children of Guatemala. Jackson was also concerned about the fact that for a number of years, Sony had been pressuring him to sell his share in their music catalog venture. Jackson feared that Sony might have a conflict of interest, since if Jackson's career failed he would have to sell his share of the catalog at a low price. Jackson sought an early exit from his contract. Just before the release of Invincible, Jackson informed the head of Sony Music Entertainment, Tommy Mottola, that he was leaving Sony. As a result, all singles releases, video shootings and promotions concerning the Invincible album were suspended.
In September 2001, two were held at Madison Square Garden to mark the singer's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson appeared onstage alongside his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured performances by Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, 'N Sync, Destiny's Child, Monica, Luther Vandross, and Slash, among other artists. The second of the two shows took place the night before the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. Jackson's solo performances were omitted from the televised version of the benefit concert, although he could still be seen singing background vocals. This omission happened because of contractual issues related to the earlier 30th Anniversary concerts: those concerts were boiled down into a two-hour TV special entitled which debuted in November 2001.
In spite of the events preceding its release, Invincible came out in October 2001 to much anticipation. Invincible proved to be a hit, debuting atop the charts in 13 countries and going on to sell approximately 13 million copies worldwide. It received double-platinum certification in the US. The album cost to record, not including promotional expenditures. Invincible spawned three singles, "You Rock My World", "Cry" and "Butterflies", the latter without a music video. Jackson alleged in July 2002 that Mottola was a "devil" and a "racist" who did not support his African-American artists, using them merely for his own personal gain. Jackson denied the allegations, saying the sleepovers were not sexual in nature. The People v. Jackson trial began on January 31, 2005, in Santa Maria, California, and lasted five months, until the end of May. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. Jackson agreed to a Sony-backed refinancing deal in April 2006, although the exact details were not made public. Jackson performed at the World Music Awards, in London on November 15, 2006, and accepted a Diamond Award for selling over records.
Death and memorial
On June 25, 2009, Jackson died in his bed at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the
Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles. Attempts at resuscitating him by Conrad Murray, his
personal physician, were unsuccessful.
The news spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and crash from user overload. Both TMZ and the Los Angeles Times suffered outages. Overall, web traffic ranged from 11% to at least 20% higher than normal. As a musician, he ranged from Motown's dance fare and ballads to techno and house-edged new jack swing to work that incorporates both funk rhythms and hard rock guitar.
According to Huey, Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance and rock tracks were more aggressive, while the pop tunes and ballads were softer and more soulful. Notable tracks included the ballads "The Lady in My Life", "Human Nature" and "The Girl Is Mine"; the funk pieces "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"; and the disco set "Baby Be Mine" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)". With Thriller, Christopher Connelly of Rolling Stone commented that Jackson developed his long association with the subliminal theme of paranoia and darker imagery. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine noted this is evident on the songs "Billie Jean" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" he argues against gossip and the media. He also observed that the title track "Thriller" began Jackson's interest with the theme of the supernatural, a topic he revisited in subsequent years. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the charity anthem "We Are the World"; humanitarian themes later became a recurring theme in his lyrics and public persona.
In Bad, Jackson's concept of the predatory lover can be seen on the rock song "Dirty Diana". "Smooth Criminal" was an evocation of bloody assault, rape and likely murder. Allmusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine states that Dangerous presents Jackson as a very paradoxical individual. The first half of the record is dedicated to new jack swing, including songs like "Jam" and "Remember the Time". The album is Jackson's first where social ills become a primary theme; "Why You Wanna Trip on Me", for example, protests against world hunger, AIDS, homelessness and drugs. The title track continues the theme of the predatory lover and compulsive desire. The second half includes introspective, pop-gospel anthems such as "Will You Be There", "Heal the World" and "Keep the Faith"; these songs show Jackson opening up about various personal struggles and worries. In the ballad "Gone Too Soon", Jackson gives tribute to his friend Ryan White and the plight of those with AIDS. In the track "D.S.", Jackson launched a verbal attack against Tom Sneddon. He describes Sneddon as an antisocial, white supremacist who wanted to "get my ass, dead or alive". Of the song, Sneddon said, "I have not—shall we say—done him the honor of listening to it, but I've been told that it ends with the sound of a gunshot". With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded. At the time, Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder. Their analysis was also that "Jackson's feathery-timbred tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly".
When singing of brotherhood or self-esteem the musician would return to "smooth" vocals. When commenting on Invincible, Rolling Stone were of the opinion that—at the age of 43—Jackson still performed "exquisitely voiced rhythm tracks and vibrating vocal harmonies".
In the 19-minute music video for "Bad"—directed by Martin Scorsese—Jackson began using sexual imagery and choreography not previously seen in his work. He occasionally grabbed or touched his chest, torso and crotch. When asked by Oprah in the 1993 interview about why he grabbed his crotch, he replied, "I think it happens subliminally" and he described it as something that was not planned, but rather, as something that was compelled by the music. "Bad" garnered a mixed reception from both fans and critics; Time magazine described it as "infamous". The video also featured Wesley Snipes; in the future Jackson's videos would often feature famous cameo roles. It featured scenes construed as having a sexual nature as well as depictions of violence. The offending scenes in the final half of the 14-minute version were edited out to prevent the video from being banned, and Jackson apologized.
The music video for "Scream", directed by Mark Romanek and production designer Tom Foden, is one of Jackson's most critically acclaimed. In 1995, it gained 11 MTV Video Music Award Nominations—more than any other music video—and won "Best Dance Video", "Best Choreography", and "Best Art Direction". Jackson's music and videos, such as Thriller, fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster, helped to put the relatively new channel into public awareness, and steered the channel's focus from rock to pop music and R&B;, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. Jackson's work continues to influence numerous hip hop, rock, pop and R&B; artists, including Beyoncé, Madonna, and Ludacris, among others. In the mid-1980s, Time magazine's pop music critic, Jay Cocks, noted "Jackson is the biggest thing since The Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever". In 1990, Vanity Fair cited Jackson as the most popular artist in the history of show business. In 2007, Jackson said, "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever." This speculation however is contradicted by financial documents obtained by the Associated Press, which showed that as of March 31, 2007, Jackson's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog (his most prized asset) was worth $390.6 million and Michael Jackson's net worth was . Billboard has estimated that Jackson has generated at least in revenue in the year following his death.
Discography
Got to Be There (1972)
Ben (1972)
Music & Me (1973)
Forever, Michael (1975)
Off the Wall (1979)
Thriller (1982)
Bad (1987)
Dangerous (1991)
(1995)
Invincible (2001)
Filmography
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
!Year!!Film!!Role!!Director
|- style="text-align:center;"
||1978||
The Wiz||
Scarecrow||
|- style="text-align:center;"
||1986||
Captain EO||Captain EO||
|- style="text-align:center;"
||1988||
Moonwalker||Himself||
|- style="text-align:center;"
||1997||
Michael Jackson's Ghosts||Maestro/Mayor/Ghoul/Skeleton||
|- style="text-align:center;"
||2002||
Men in Black II||Agent M (cameo)||
|- style="text-align:center;"
||2004||
Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls||Agent MJ (cameo)||
|- style="text-align:center;"
||2009||
Michael Jackson's This Is It||Himself||
|}
Tours
Bad World Tour (1987–89)
Dangerous World Tour (1992–93)
HIStory World Tour (1996–97)
This Is It (2009–10) (cancelled)
See also
Honorific nicknames in popular music
List of best-selling music artists
List of best-selling music artists in the United States
List of unreleased Michael Jackson material
Notes
Bibliography
Further reading
External links
Michael Jackson Hip Hop influence & samples
Michael Jackson Live: Best Pics - slideshow by Life magazine
Michael Jackson sample map, depicting the influence Jackson's work has had on other users.
Category:1958 births
Category:1960s singers
Category:1970s singers
Category:1980s singers
Category:1990s singers
Category:2000s singers
Category:2009 deaths
Category:African American dancers
Category:African American music
Category:African American non-fiction writers
Category:African American poets
Category:African American record producers
Category:African American rock singers
Category:African American singer-songwriters
Category:American businesspeople
Category:American child singers
Category:American choreographers
Category:American dance musicians
Category:American disco musicians
Category:American expatriates in Ireland
Category:American humanitarians
Category:American male singers
Category:American philanthropists
Category:American pop singers
Category:American rhythm and blues singers
Category:American soul singers
Category:American vegetarians
Category:Beatboxers
Category:Boy sopranos
Category:BRIT Award winners
Category:Burials at Forest Lawn Memorial Park (Glendale)
Category:Drug-related deaths in California
Category:English-language singers
Category:Epic Records artists
Category:Former Jehovah's Witnesses
Category:Grammy Award winners
Michael Jackson
Category:Motown artists
Category:Musicians from Indiana
Category:People from Gary, Indiana
Category:People from Santa Barbara County, California
Category:Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees
Category:Songwriters from Indiana
Category:Songwriters Hall of Fame inductees
Michael Jackson
Category:World Music Awards winners
Category:World record holders
