(August 29, 1958—June 25, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter, dancer, businessman and philanthropist. Often referred to as the “King of Pop”, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records His contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his 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 1964, and began his solo career in 1971. In the early I 980s, Jackson became the dominant figure in popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of “Beat It.” “Billie Jean,” and “Thriller,” were credited with breaking down racial barriers and transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. The popularity of these videos helped to bring the then relatively new television channel MTV to fame. With videos such as “ or White and “Scream” he continued to innovate the medium throughout the 1990s, as well as forging a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk to which he gave the name. His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop 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 History, (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 only dancer from pop and rock music. 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” and “Artist of the 1980s”; 13 number-one singles the United States in his solo career, more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era; and the estimated sale of over 400 million records worldwide. Jackson has won hundreds of awards making him the most- awarded recording artist in the history of popular music. in what would have been Jackson’s 52nd birthday on August 29, 2010, he became the most downloaded artist of all time. Jackson constantly traveled the world attending events honoring his humanitarianism and the 2000 Guinness Book of Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities.
Aspects of Jackson’s personal life, including his changing appearance, personal relationships, and behaviour, generated controversy. In the mid-1990s, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the case was settled out of court for about $25 million and no formal charges were brought. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts.
While preparing for his comeback concert series titled This Is It, Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and his personal physician was convicted of involuntary manslaughter Jackson’s death triggered a global outpouring of grief and a live broadcast of his public memorial service was viewed around the world.
Life and career
195875: Early life and The Jackson 5
Jackson’s childhood home in Gary, Indiana, showing floral
tributes after his death.
Michael Jackson as born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana. He was the eighth of tell children in an African American working-class family who lived in a 3-room house in Gary, an industrial city near 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 arid five brothers: Jackie Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy A sixth brother, Brandon, who was a twin of older brother Marlon, died shortly afterbirth.
Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a boy. Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though lie also credited his father’s strict discipline with playing a large role in his success. Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson’s father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that lie had a fat nose on numerous occasions. In fact, Michael Jackson’s deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain childlike throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment lie endured as a young child.
In an interview with Martin Bashir later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but was nonetheless a “genius”, as he admitted his father’s strict discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, and that “if you didn’t do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you”.
Jackson (center) as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1972
In 1964, Michael and Marion joined the Jackson Brothersa band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaineas backup musicians playing congas and tambourine Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group’s name was changed to The Jackson 5 The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a suing of black clubs known as the “ 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 “ Got You (I Feel Good)” led by Michael.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including “Big Boy”, for the local record label Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968. Rolling Stone magazine later described the young Michael as “a prodigy” with “overwhelming musical gifts,” writing that lie “quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer” The group set a chart record when its first four singles ( Want You Back” “ABC”, “ Love You Save” and “ Be There” peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100(2 Between 1972 and 1975, Michael released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There and fl released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as “ to Be There”, “Ben”, and a remake of Bobby Day’s “Rockin’ Robin”.
The Jackson 5 “became a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists… five working-class black boys with Miss and bell bottoms, and they really didn’t have to trade any of that stuff in order to become mainstream stars.”
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. 197581: MovetoEpic and Off the Wall
In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with Epic Records a subsidiary of CBS Records and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Younger brother Randy formally joined the band around this time, while Jermaine choose to stay with Motown and pursue a solo career. They continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984, during which Michael was the lead songwriter, writing hits such as “ Your Body (Down to the Ground)”, “This Place Hotel” and “Can You Feel It”. In 1978, he starred as the Scarecrow in the musical, The Wiz a box-office disaster. It was here that he teamed up with Ouincy Jones who was arranging the film’s musical score. Jones agreed to produce Jackson’s next solo album, Off the Wall In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequent rhinoplasty was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin who performed Jackson’s second rhinoplasty and subsequent operations.
