Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson. Born August 29, 1958 in Gary - died June 25, 2009 in Los Angeles. American singer, songwriter, dancer, choreographer, actor, philanthropist, entrepreneur.
The most successful performer in the history of pop music. Known as the "King of Pop".
Winner of 15 Grammy Awards and hundreds of other awards.
25 times listed in the Guinness Book of Records.
The number of Jackson records (albums, singles, compilations, etc.) sold in the world is 1 billion copies.
In 2009, he was officially recognized as an American Legend and Music Icon.
Michael Jackson has made a significant contribution to the development of popular music, video clips, dance and fashion.
He died on June 25, 2009 as a result of an overdose of drugs, in particular propofol.
Michael Jackson. History of life and creativity
Michael Jackson was born to Joseph and Katherine in Gary, Indiana. He was the eighth of ten children.
Jackson claimed that his father repeatedly humiliated him mentally and physically. However, he respected his father's strict discipline, which played a large part in Jackson's success.
In one of the confrontations with his father, described by Michael's older brother Marlon, his father, holding him upside down, struck on his back and buttocks. One night, while Michael was sleeping, his father snuck into his room through the window. He was in a frightening mask, piercingly screamed and roared. Joseph explained his action by saying that he wanted to teach his children to close the window before going to bed.
Four years later, Michael admitted that he suffered from nightmares in which he was kidnapped from his bedroom.
In 2003, Joseph admitted to the BBC that he had beaten Michael when he was a child.
Jackson first spoke openly about the humiliation he had to endure as a child in an interview with him in 1993. He said that in childhood he often cried from the feeling of loneliness and vomited after talking with his father. In another high-profile interview, "Life with Michael Jackson"(Living with Michael Jackson, 2003), during a story about childhood abuse, the singer covered his face with his hand and began to cry. Jackson recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand when he rehearsed with his brothers, and that "if you did something wrong, he will bring you to tears, really get you."
Jackson performed in front of classmates at Christmas concerts from the age of five.
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined The Jacksons - a group formed by their brothers Jackie, Tito and Jermaine - as understudies, playing congo and tambourine, respectively. Jackson later began performing as a backing vocalist and dancer; at the age of eight, he and Jermaine became the main vocalists and the group was renamed The Jackson 5.
The band toured extensively in the Midwest from 1966 to 1968. Often they performed in a number of "black" clubs and places known as the "Chitlin" circuit, often warming up the audience for a striptease.
In 1966 they won a local talent competition with hits from Motown Records and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)" with Michael as the main vocalist.
The Jacksons soon rose to the national level, and in 1970 their first four singles were on the first line of the American Billboard Hot 100 chart. Gradually, Michael stood out as the frontman of the children's quintet, in fact, it was he who got the main solo parts.
He drew attention to himself with his unusual manner of dancing and behavior on stage, which he copied from his idols - James Brown, Jackie Wilson and others.
In 1973, the success of the family project began to decline, the record company limited their financial possibilities, and in 1976 they signed a contract with another company, as a result of which they had to change their name again to The Jacksons, as Motown took the name "Jackson 5" for themselves.
From 1976 to 1984 they released 6 more albums, traveling around the country on tour. Meanwhile, Jackson released four solo albums and a string of successful solo singles, including "Got to Be There", "Rockin' Robin" and the 1972 chart-topper "Ben" (a ballad dedicated to his pet rat).
In 1978, Michael starred with Diana Ross in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical "Viz" based on the fairy tale "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz". On the set, he met music director Quincy Jones, who would go on to produce his most famous albums.
The first of these, Off the Wall, was released on August 10, 1979. The disco hit "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and the slower track "Rock With You" reached the top of the charts, and the album itself sold over 20 million copies. Many music critics consider Off the Wall the last pinnacle of the disco era.
The Thriller album went down in history as the best-selling album in the world.
Released in November 1982, Thriller gave America nine singles: "The Girl Is Mine" (No. 2, duet with ), "Billie Jean" (No. 1, Grammy Award, the biggest hit of Jackson's entire career and one of the most sampled tracks funk music), "Beat It" (No. 1, another Grammy), "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (No. 5), "Human Nature" (No. 7), "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (No. 10), "Thriller" (No. 4), "Baby Be Mine", "The Lady in My Life".
Thriller topped the Billboard 200 for nine months (37 weeks) and stayed on the chart for over two years (122 weeks). For this album, Jackson received seven Grammy awards (including the Best Album of the Year nomination, and the eighth Grammy was for the audio recording of the story "Alien" based on the film of the same name) and seven American Music Awards (American Music Awards).
In 1985, the album was declared by the Guinness Book of Records as "the best-selling album of all time".
As of July 2001, the album has sold 26 million copies in the US, making it the second highest selling album in American history behind The Eagles' Greatest Hits (27 million). Thriller has sold a record 109 million copies worldwide.
Jackson and his producers capitalized on the burgeoning music television scene: his groundbreaking videos were the first ever clips for a black artist in regular rotation on MTV, who was only a year old at the time of the album's release.
The eighties of the 20th century can be described as the "golden" era of Michael Jackson. On November 30, 1982, Thriller was released, which is still the best-selling album in the world.
March 25, 1983 at the anniversary show "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever", which was broadcast throughout North America, during the performance of the song "Billie Jean" Michael Jackson demonstrated his famous "moonwalk" for the first time. This performance was included in the list of the most significant moments on American television.
Michael Jackson. Billie Jean. 1983 - first moonwalk
In February 1984, the 14-minute film Thriller, created by Michael Jackson and directed by John Landis, was released, setting new standards for music video and, along with other Jackson videos, helping to establish the video music industry in the form of the newly launched MTV channel.
May 14, 1984, at the White House, Michael receives an award from the President for his support of charities that help people overcome alcohol and drug abuse.
From July 6 to December 9, 1984 in America and Canada, the Jackson brothers hold the largest for the groups of that time "Victory Tour": 55 concerts, more than 2 million viewers, more than 75 million dollars in profit. At that time, these were world records. Michael donated to charity all his income from this tour - $ 5 million.
Also in 1984, Jackson again leads the American charts, this time with a duet recorded with the song "Say Say Say". The following year, Michael bought up most of the shares in ATV Music Publishing, which owned the rights to most of The Beatles' songs, which caused a quarrel with McCartney, who himself dreamed of buying these shares. Michael Jackson also worked with, making several test recordings with him, said Queen guitarist Brian May, but the collaboration never took place due to the busyness of both musicians.
On March 7, 1985, the single "We Are the World" ("We are the world") is released. The song was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and performed by the most famous musicians in the USA. Funds raised from sales of $61,800,000 went to famine relief in Ethiopia.
However, the 80s were marked not only by achievements and records. January 27, 1984 - the day that changed a lot in the life of Michael Jackson. Michael and his brothers starred in a Pepsi commercial. At the request of the director, he lingered dangerously close to pyrotechnic devices. His his hair caught fire and Michael suffered 3rd degree burns to his scalp..
While in the hospital, Michael visited a children's burn unit, and after that he decided, instead of receiving a multi-million dollar settlement from Pepsi, to open a children's burn center with the help of Pepsi in his name. This was the beginning of Michael's charitable activities, which he did not stop until the end of his days. At the opening of the same burn center, Michael was asked to pose in an oxygen pressure chamber for patients with extensive body burns. Michael posed lying on his back, and then turned on his side and pretended to be asleep. Thus was born the most famous myth in show business. In fact, this was the only time that Michael Jackson "sleep" in a pressure chamber.
Another consequence of the burn was that the stress transferred by the body provoked the development of vitiligo, a disease that was transmitted to Michael through the maternal line, and violates the pigmentation of the skin. This led to the need to apply heavy make-up and avoid sunlight. Another consequence: Jackson never recovered from this injury, and the pain did not leave Michael for the rest of his life, and he was forced to start taking painkillers regularly. In addition, after the burn, Michael first got acquainted with plastic surgery, when he restored damaged skin and scalp. After that, he decided to have nose and chin surgery. All this, combined with the transition to a vegetarian diet, and weight loss led to significant changes in the appearance of the singer, which was constantly fodder for discussion in the press.
In September 1986, Michael Jackson made his film debut. It was a 17 minute 3D movie "Captain Io", filmed by George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola specifically for display in Disneyland parks.
August 31, 1987 the album is released Bad. Circulation over 45 million. This is the first album in history to contain five singles that were at number one on Billboard.
Michael Jackson - Bad
From September 12, 1987 to January 14, 1989, the epic "Bad Tour" lasted. 123 concerts in 15 countries attended by 4.4 million people. The tour grossed over $125 million and became the largest in the world.
In London, a new record was set - 504,000 spectators.
On October 29, 1988, the musical film "Moonwalk" was released, which was a success at the box office and earned $ 67 million, and then published on video in the amount of 800 thousand copies (for 1989). In 1989, at the Soul Train Music Award ceremony, actress Elizabeth Taylor named Michael Jackson in her speech "the true king of pop, rock and soul" ("the real king of pop, rock and soul music"), and the informal title "the king of pop" stuck with Michael Jackson forever.
Due to the increased attention to his person, Jackson spent most of his time in seclusion at his strictly guarded Neverland Ranch. Few friends visited him there, including Elizabeth Taylor. Children also lived on the ranch, to whom the singer was always partial. In 1991, he wrote two singles for The Simpsons, of which he was a fan. However, due to contract restrictions, his name was not mentioned in the credits.
November 26, 1991 the album was released Dangerous, the release of which was preceded by the premiere of a large-scale video clip for the single "Black or White" (Russian: "Black or White"). For five weeks, "Black or White" was at the top of the charts and became Jackson's biggest hit since "Billie Jean". As with previous albums, seven singles were released from this album. In addition to "Black or White" (No. 1), they included "Remember the Time" (No. 3), "In the Closet" (No. 6) and "Will You Be There" (No. 7).
"Remember the Time" was filmed with a multi-million dollar budget and CGI clip featuring Eddie Murphy and a top model as the pharaoh of Egypt and his wife.
On June 16, 1995, the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I was released: on the first disc - a collection of greatest hits, on the second - 15 new songs. It was supposed to be the first part of a trilogy. The first single was released "Scream"- the singer's duet with his sister, Janet Jackson. The song was accompanied by a futuristic music video that cost over seven million dollars to film.
The album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 and sold over 20 million copies (7 million copies in the US). Many new songs from it were released as singles, among them a ballad about Moscow ( Stranger in Moscow; Jackson promised to record a song about the Russian capital when he visited it for the first time in 1993), an environmental-themed song "Earth Song" (five weeks at number one in the UK) and a composition in the style of modern rhythm and blues "You Are Not Alone"(his thirteenth "number one" on the Billboard Hot 100), written and produced for him by R. Kelly. In the video for "You Are Not Alone," Michael appeared half-naked along with his first wife, Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley.
Album released in 1997 Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix: the soundtrack to the film "Ghosts" and a collection of dance remixes of tracks from HIStory. Reviews for this disc were mostly positive, with the title track topping the sales charts in many countries, including the UK. In the US, the album went largely unnoticed and did not reach number one on the charts.
Michael Jackson first came to Moscow in September 1993. His concert was organized by the firm "Dessa", the organizer of the tour - Samvel Gasparov. The concert took place on September 15 in an open area - the Big Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Stadium in heavy rain. Shortly after the concert, the company ceased to exist due to financial problems, and the stadium was closed for repairs. During the concert, it was pouring rain, the puddles of which were removed by the attendants right during the performance of Michael Jackson. In his Moscow hotel room, Jackson wrote a ballad about loneliness - Stranger in Moscow, which was included in the 1995 album History and was released as a single.
Jackson's second performance in Russia took place on September 17, 1996 at the Dynamo Stadium in Moscow. During the visit, Michael Jackson met with the then Mayor of Moscow Yuri Luzhkov, the head of the security service of the President of the Russian Federation Korzhakov, a composer.
Michael Jackson in Moscow
Jackson's next studio album was recorded only six years later, its release was repeatedly postponed. The Sony label was reluctant to invest millions of dollars in the protracted process of recording and subsequent promotion of the album, which ultimately led to a falling out between the singer and the recording giant. Invincible(Russian Invincible), released in October 2001, contained 16 tracks, including the single "You Rock My World", in the clip to which famous actors Marlon Brando and Chris Tucker starred. The album received mixed reviews from critics, and sales figures were half that of HIStory.
The song "Invincible" is dedicated to a 15-year-old Afro-Norwegian boy named Benjamin Hermansen, who was killed by a group of neo-Nazis in the city of Oslo (Norway, January 26, 2001). Omer Bhatti, a close friend of Jackson, was a good friend of Benjamin Hermansen.
To promote the album, a 30th Anniversary Benefit for Michael Jackson's solo career was held at Madison Square Garden in September 2001. Michael Jackson appeared on stage alongside his brothers for the first time since 1984. The benefit also included performances by Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, Tamia, "N Sync, Slash, Aaron Carter. A world tour was also planned to support the album, but the tour was canceled due to the September 11 attacks. The album spawned three singles, "You Rock My World", "Cry" and "Butterflies", the latter of which did not have a music video. "Unbreakable" was supposed to be released as a single, but due to a number of funding issues, Sony refused to release it.
In November 2003, Jackson released a hits collection "Number Ones". The 18 tracks included in the collection included 16 previously released hits, a live performance of the song "Ben" and the new single "One More Chance". By the end of 2004, Number Ones had sold over 6 million copies worldwide.
In 2003, Jackson had to stand trial on charges of child molestation. After a lengthy trial, the musician was acquitted. After the trial, Michael Jackson retired from journalists in Bahrain and began preparing a recording of a charity single in memory of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. It soon became clear that not all the invited musicians wanted to participate in the project led by Jackson. Although the song "I Have This Dream" was recorded, it was never released as a single, due to unclear circumstances.
November 16, 2004 Michael Jackson released Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection- 5 disc set - containing 57 tracks and 13 previously unreleased recordings, covering the period from 1969 to 2004, plus a previously unreleased 1992 live concert on DVD.
In the summer of 2008, Sony BMG launched a global campaign in which people in more than 20 countries voted for their favorite Michael Jackson songs, and thus took part in compiling the hits collection of the "King of Pop" in their country. 122 tracks were presented to the fans. The album, which became unique in each country, included about 17-18 tracks on each disc (there were 1 or 2 in total, depending on the country).
In addition, Michael Jackson recorded his new solo album, which was scheduled for release in 2009. The album featured rappers Will.I.Am, Kanye West and R&B singer Akon.
In November 2008, the son of the King of Bahrain, Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad al-Khalifa, at whose invitation the singer was in this country, filed a lawsuit against Michael Jackson for failure to fulfill contractual obligations. The sheikh demanded payment of seven million dollars to him.
In March 2009, Michael announced that he was going to play the last series of concerts in London called "This Is It Tour". The concerts were scheduled to begin on July 13, 2009 and end on March 6, 2010. When Jackson announced his return to the stage at a special press conference on March 5, 2009, it was about 10 concerts at The O2 arena, which seats 20,000 people. However, the demand for tickets was so high that 40 more performances had to be scheduled. The concert tour never took place due to the death of the singer.
On the morning of June 25, 2009, Conrad Murray injected Michael Jackson with propofol. and walked away. About 2 hours later, Murray returned to find his patient lying on the bed with his eyes and mouth wide open. The doctor tried to resuscitate the singer, but the attempts were unsuccessful. At 12:21 local Pacific time, a call to 911 was recorded. Arriving after 3 minutes and 17 seconds, the doctors found Jackson no longer breathing with a stopped heart and immediately began cardiopulmonary resuscitation. Efforts to bring Jackson back to life continued along the way and for an hour after arriving at the UCLA Medical Center at 1:14 p.m. These attempts were unsuccessful. Death was pronounced at 14:26 local time. The news of his death received publicity in the first minutes after the incident. Rumors and news about the death of Michael Jackson broke online records, causing a kind of Internet "traffic jams" and a sharp increase in traffic on sites such as Google, Facebook, Yahoo!, Twitter and Wikipedia.
June 25-26, 2009 The Game, Chris Brown, Diddy, DJ Khalil, Polow da Don, Mario Winens, Usher and Boyz II Men recorded the single Better on the Other Side, dedicated to the death of Michael Jackson. The lyrics were written by Jason Taylor (The Game). On June 30, 2009, a music video was released for the song.
On July 7, 2009, a farewell ceremony was held in Los Angeles, consisting of a family service at Liberty Hall at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in the Hollywood Hills, followed by a public farewell at the Staples Center. Jackson's coffin stood in front of the stage during the ceremony, broadcast live around the world, which was watched by about a billion people, but no information was released regarding the whereabouts of the body.
Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie, Mariah Carey, Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson and Shaheen Jafargoli performed Jackson's songs. Berry Gordy and Smokey Robinson gave eulogies, while Queen Latifah read We had him, a poem written for the occasion by Maya Angelou.
The Rev. El Sharpton received applause from the audience when he said to the Jackson children, “There was nothing strange about your father. It was strange what your father faced." Jackson's 11-year-old daughter - Paris Katherine - said with tears: "From the moment I was born, daddy has been the best father you can imagine ... I just wanted to say that I love him so much!".
There were reports that Michael Jackson was secretly buried on August 8 or 9, 2009 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in Los Angeles, but later it was reported that he would not be buried until September. Jackson's final funeral took place on Thursday, September 3 at Forest Lawn Cemetery in suburban Los Angeles.
Authorities in Los Angeles, meanwhile, are investigating the death of Michael Jackson. The Los Angeles coroner qualified the actions of the doctors as murder and did not rule out a trial against them. In November 2011, Conrad Murray was found guilty of manslaughter and was sentenced to 4 years in prison. He also lost his license to practice medicine.
Michael Jackson. Deadly Stab
Sony signed a contract with Michael's family for the release of ten new Jackson albums. These will include re-releases of some of the older albums and compilations of never-before-released songs.
The first of these albums was Michael, released already in 2010. It received mixed reviews from critics, but was generally acknowledged to be much better than expected. Four singles were released from the album, clips were shot for each. Michael himself is involved in them on frames-inserts from lifetime clips.
A year later, the Immortal remix album was released, consisting of remixes of Michael's greatest hits. This album served as the soundtrack for the Cirque du Soleil show "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour", which included numbers based on Jackson's songs and his dances. Choreographers who previously worked with Michael during his lifetime took part in the creation of the numbers.
In May 2014, Michael released his second posthumous studio album, Xscape. This album consisted of 8 songs, and one of them, the single Love Never Felt So Good, was made in two versions: a solo and a duet with Justin Timberlake (a video was shot for the second version). On May 18, 2014, an illusionary image of Jackson created using Pepper's Ghost technology (although most people prefer to call it a hologram for convenience) performed at the Billboard ceremony, "performing" the song from the Slave To The Rhythm album. Fan reaction has been mixed, with many believing that a body double was actually used.
Michael Jackson's personal life:
Michael Jackson has been married twice. From 1994 to 1996 he was married to Lisa-Marie Presley, daughter. They first met in 1975 during one of the celebrations at the MGM Grand Hotel, in the casino. Through a mutual friend, they met again in early 1993, and their relationship became serious. Every day they called up.
Michael Jackson & Lisa Marie Presley
When Jackson was accused of child molestation and it became public, Jackson became dependent on Presley: he needed emotional support, and Presley explained: “I believed that he did nothing wrong, and that he was innocent, I became closer to him. I wanted to save him. I felt like I could do it."
She soon persuaded him to settle the charges out of court, as well as the need for rehabilitation to restore health.
Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley in You Are Not Alone video
In October 1993, Jackson proposed to Presley over the phone, "If I asked you to marry me, would you?" They married on May 26, 1994 in the Dominican Republic in secret, denying it for nearly two months. The wedding took place at the home of local judge Hugo Alvarez Perez in Santo Domingo.
The wedding took place in the church of St. Stanislaus in the town of Altos de Chavon. The marriage has been called "semi-fictitious", as under the laws of the Dominican Republic, no woman can remarry unless three months have passed since the divorce. And Lisa Maria in those days only divorced her ex-husband.
Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley
Jackson and Presley divorced less than two years later, but remained friends. In 1997, Presley accompanied Michael, who was married to Debbie Rowe, on the HIStory tour.
In November 1996, after his divorce from Presley, Jackson married former nurse Debbie Rowe. The couple had two children: son Prince Michael Jackson I (born February 13, 1997) and daughter Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson (born April 3, 1998).
Debbie Rowe and Michael Jackson divorced in 1999.
Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe
The second son - Prince Michael Jackson II (Blanket) (born February 21, 2002) was born from a surrogate mother, whose identity is unknown. A scandalous story is connected with this child, when Michael, showing his fans on Prince Street, staggered a little and it seemed to many that Michael almost dropped him.
Jackson always tried to hide his family from the press and fans: when they appeared in public with their father, the children wore masks. Custody of the children after Jackson's death was taken by his mother, Katherine Jackson.
In life, good friends of Michael Jackson were: Whitney Houston, Diana Ross, Brooke Shields, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Eddie Murphy, Mark Lester, Chris Tucker, Macaulay Culkin, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Omer Bhatti.
In addition, Michael Jackson admired the talent of Freddie Mercury and attended Queen concerts.
Was on good terms with .
Michael Jackson discography:
1972 - Got to Be There
1972 - Ben
1973 - Music & Me
1975 - Forever, Michael
1979 - Off the Wall
1982 - Thriller
1987 - Bad
1991 - Dangerous
1995 - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
2001 - Invincible
2010 - Michael
2014 - Xscape
Filmography of Michael Jackson:
1978 - "Scarecrow / Wiz" (The Wiz)
1986 - "Captain IO" (Captain EO)
1988 - "Moonwalk" (Moonwalker)
1996 - "Ghosts" (Ghosts)
2002 - "Men in Black 2" - "Agent Em"
2004 - "Miss Robinson" (Miss Cast Away)
2009 - "That's it" (This is it)
2011 - "Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon" (Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon).
I welcome guests and regular readers of the site website. This article will focus on the famous singer, choreographer, dancer, philanthropist, the most successful musical artist. So, Michael Joseph Jackson first saw the light on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. He was the eighth of ten children of a blues guitarist and employee of a large industrial equipment company. Michael's childhood consists entirely of memories of his father's bullying, he demanded strict discipline from the children, which subsequently brought up purposefulness and composure in the king of pop.
Already at the age of five, Michael performs in front of the public, at the age of six he duplicates his older brothers in the family group "The Jacksons" (later renamed "The Jackson 5"), playing the Congo. After a while, he becomes a full-fledged soloist of the band, the musician brothers begin touring the Midwest, performing in nightclubs as an opening act.
In 1966, the Jacksons won a local talent competition and moved to a more serious level. After 3 years, their debut 4 singles reach the first places of the American hit parade. The audience is especially impressed by Michael with his specific movements and manner of actions during performances.
In 1973, the success of young musicians begins to fall, they break the contract with one and sign with another company. A couple of years later, 6 albums of the band are released, Michael and his brothers travel around the country with concerts. At the same time, the future pop idol begins work on his solo hits.
In 1978, Michael Jackson's musical film Wiz was released, which also starred Diana Ross.
Frame from the film "Wiz" (1978)
It was on the set of the musical that the performer met the famous music producer Quincy Jones, who would later produce the star's most popular albums. The first of these works - "Off the Wall" was released in 1979 and sold over 20 million copies.
Michael Jackson - Don't Stop "Til You Get Enough (1979)
Michael Jackson - She's Out of My Life (1980)
In November 1982, the premiere of the 6th record of the performer "Thriller" took place, which in a short time became the best-selling in history. The songs from the album became real hits and occupied leading positions in the world charts.
Five years later, the collection "Bad" was released, the songs from which were heard by all the youth of that time and not only. "Bad" was also a phenomenal commercial success.
At the end of 1991, Jackson's eighth album "Dangerous" was presented, breaking previous sales records. In this work, Michael experimented with sound, which was noticed and appreciated by authoritative critics.
The summer of 1995 marks the artist's ninth release "HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I".
Six years later, the 10th album was released, which is the last collection that was born during Michael's lifetime.
Of the interesting facts, the singer was involved in charity work, suffered from a rare genetic disease, vitiligo, which caused Jackson's white skin. Also, the performer was accused several times of child molestation, some of whom later admitted that they sued the artist in order to cash in on his wealth. Our hero tied the knot twice in his life.
In the summer of 2009, the singer died due to an overdose of drugs, one of which was sleeping pills. At that time, the singer was 50 years old. Despite his death, several posthumous albums by Michael Jackson were subsequently released, and the performer himself forever went down in history as the king of pop music.
Preview: photo by Alan Light (https://www.flickr.com/people/ [email protected])
: Scan from Ebony magazine, December 1974
: Michael Jacksonfan (Jackson 5 - Michael Jackson, taken from flickr.com/photos/ [email protected]/4031647258)
: Wikimedia Commons - Bernie Ilson, Inc., public relations, New York.
: Wikimedia Commons - The Jackson 5
: youtube.com, freeze frames
Stills from Michael Jackson music videos on YouTube
Michael Jackson's personal archive
Michael Jackson was accused of pedophilia and condemned for plastic surgery, they did not believe in the sincerity of his marriages and resented the frankness of the clips. But he was still loved and loved all over the world. Nine years have passed since his death, and people still sometimes “see” the singer in different parts of the world. Fake your own demise? It would be quite in the spirit of extravagant Michael.
Deprived of childhood
The seventh out of nine children in the family - this fact itself no longer implies an easy and carefree childhood. But the Jackson family was not just a large family. The father and founder of The Jackson 5, Joseph Jackson, was close to sadism in his methods of upbringing: he regularly beat the children, and he was especially strict with Michael - the man did not like his “downtroddenness” and unresponsiveness. 
It was his father who was to blame for the fact that the king of pop suffered from insomnia and nightmares all his life. One night, he climbed up the wall into the nursery wearing a Halloween mask. Thus, Joseph wanted to wean children from sleeping with open windows, but in the end only caused them psychological trauma. The success of The Jackson 5, where the five Jackson brothers, including Michael, sang, was largely due to iron discipline and fear of his father. As soon as you hit the wrong note in rehearsal, the belt came into play. Unsuspecting newspapers called the group "a phenomenon of our time", and eleven-year-old Michael cried quietly, looking out the window at peacefully playing peers. They did not need to prepare for concerts - they could remain just children.
Birth of a King
When the group's success began to decline, the grown-up soloists fired their father from the producers - the "five" broke up, and only Michael could achieve success on stage alone. On the set of The Wiz, he met music director Quincy Jones, who was embarking on a solo career as a promising artist.
The very first album "Off the Wall" becomes successful, but the real legend of Jackson will be called after the release of the record "Thriller".
A fourteen-minute video for the song of the same name, more like a short film, will set a whole new direction in the video music industry. He will be imitated, but no one will be able to repeat the success of Michael Jackson: nine months at the top of the Billboard 200 chart, seven Grammy awards!
Deprived of childhood, Michael created a reality for himself that he never had. But the real world constantly reminded of itself with completely non-childish problems.
One against all
On the set of a Pepsi commercial, Michael had a nuisance: at the request of the director, he lingered next to the pyrotechnic devices, he received severe burns to his face and head. This led to the first operations with serious consequences. While the burns healed, Jackson suffered from severe pain, which was helped by pills and sedatives. Due to the general stress, a rare hereditary disease has aggravated - vitiligo, a violation of the pigmentation of the skin. Over the years, the skin of the king of pop has become more and more light. In rare interviews, Michael explained about vitiligo and the need for makeup, but most believed in a louder version of what was happening - Jackson wants to become "white", change race!
Even his passion for charity has been turned inside out. Helping seriously ill children, Michael offered them a free vacation at his fabulous ranch. In 1993, someone Evan Chandler accused the singer of seducing his 13-year-old son Jordan.
Marriages that no one believed in
They knew each other since the seventies, and in the days of difficult trials often called up. At some point, Michael realized how important Lisa's support was to him. “What would you say if I asked you to marry me?” he asked during another telephone conversation. Lisa, after a short pause, agreed. By that time, she already had the experience of an unsuccessful marriage and two children. They got married with Michael in the Dominican Republic, away from the paparazzi, and kept everything a secret for two months. The reaction of the public was predictable: both were immediately accused of mutual PR, and Jackson was also accused of trying to improve his own reputation at the expense of his wife.
However, if he had selfish motives, then they consisted in something else. All the year and a half that the marriage with Lisa lasted, Michael persuaded her to give birth to a child. She, who saw in Michael a little boy in the body of an adult man, categorically refused. The dispute reached a dead end, as did their relationship. On January 18, 1996, Lisa filed for divorce, but nothing could stop Michael in his pursuit of fatherhood. Less than a year later, he married his dermatologist's assistant, Debbie Rowe. At the time of the wedding, she was already five months pregnant.
Jackson's dream came true: a healthy and trouble-free Deborah gave him a son, Prince Michael, and a daughter, Paris. And three years later, she fully accepted the terms of the divorce: the children remain with Michael, she also remains with a house in Beverly Hills and a settlement of $ 8 million. With Lisa-Marie Presley, they continued to communicate after the divorce. After Jackson's death, she admitted that Michael was her greatest love in life.
New accusations
In 2003, Michael Jackson hosted a British TV crew at his ranch. Talking about the children playing around, the singer drew attention to one of the boys: “And this is Gavin Arvizo. We really became friends with him. Sometimes we even sleep in the same bed, don't we, Gavin? And the other day, you know, we tried alcohol together! The sincere confession, said so, in passing, struck both fans and enemies of the star. Jackson was again accused of pedophilia, the star was defended by the best lawyers in America, who insisted on a psychiatric examination. She showed that Michael was not a pedophile, but he was not mentally healthy either.
Abuse from his father and early stage maturity meant that the 46-year-old singer had the development of a teenager and did not see anything reprehensible in letting a frightened child into bed.
He was acquitted again, but this time the singer earned not only another depression, but also serious financial problems. To fully pay off the lawyers, he even had to mortgage the ranch. Only new tours could improve the situation. In early 2009, Michael Jackson announced a series of concerts he would perform in London over the summer. The program was called This Is It Tour: the singer rehearsed a lot, honing his performance to perfection. 18 days before the first concert, everything was almost ready - except for Michael himself.
The legendary American singer Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana (USA). He was the seventh of nine children in the Jackson family.
At the age of five, Michael became a member of the Jackson 5 family band and soon took over as lead vocalist.
In 1968, the Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records and recorded such hits as I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save and I'll Be There.
The singer finally secured the status of the first star in the world show business - his composition Black Or White became a number one hit on both sides of the ocean.
In September 1993, a Michael Jackson concert took place in Moscow, at the Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Stadium.
Jackson released the double album HIStory, which paired a disc of 15 new songs with a biggest hits disc. The album has sold 7 million copies in the US (15 million worldwide).
In 1996, Jackson's second performance in Russia took place at the Dynamo Stadium in Moscow.
In 1997, an album of dance remixes for tracks from HIStory - Blood on the Dancefloor appeared in stores.
The album Invincible, released in October 2001, contained 16 tracks, including the single You rock my world, which featured the legendary actor Marlon Brando in the video. In the same year, Michael recorded the song What more can I give, the proceeds of which went to charity.
In the same year, the last live concert performance of the singer took place with the anniversary program Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary.
Michael Jackson's greatest hits album Number Ones was released in 2003. The only original track on this disc, One More Chance, spent three weeks at the top of the Billboard charts.
In 2004, Jackson released the anniversary edition of Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection, a five-disc collection of his biggest hits, demos, and an additional DVD of live recordings from the Dangerous tour.
In August 2008, Michael Jackson released an original studio album titled King of Pop. The collection consisted of compositions based on poems by the great Scottish poet of the 18th century, Robert Burns.
Jackson's album Thriller 25, released in February 2008 to mark the 25th anniversary of the release of the legendary Thriller album, was a great success. The new compilation includes nine original tracks from the old album, as well as remixes and a new song For All Time.
The disc reached number one on the charts in eight European countries, reached number two in the US and number three in the UK charts. In the US, 166,000 copies of this disc were sold.
The singer and his family lived in his own residence in Las Vegas.
The cause of the death of the King of Pop was an overdose of the powerful anesthetic propofol.
At the Staples sports and entertainment complex in Los Angeles, a memorial ceremony of farewell to Michael Jackson was held.
He was buried at Glendale Forest Lawn Cemetery near Los Angeles.
A US court has sentenced Michael Jackson's former personal physician Conrad Murray to four years in prison for manslaughter. According to investigators, Murray gave the musician an excessive dose of the drug propofol, which, in interaction with other drugs, including sedatives, caused the death of the singer.
During the creative career of Michael Jackson, the total circulation of his albums amounted to 750 million copies worldwide. Jackson's Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time, with four other albums (Off the Wall, Bad, Dangerous and HIStory) among the world's best-selling albums.
Michael Jackson has won over 350 music awards, including 15 Grammy Awards (14 for solo career and one for the Jackson 5).
Jackson is one of the few musicians to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice (as part of the Jackson 5 and as a solo artist).
Michael Jackson was included in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful artist of all time. Jackson's album Thriller was also included in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best-selling album of all time.
Throughout his life, Michael Jackson has undergone many plastic surgeries, some of which he had to do due to a rare genetic skin disease - vitiligo (characterized by the development of white spots). Jackson's skin began to lighten in the 1980s. The singer denied that he intentionally wants to change his skin color.
Jackson's health was undermined not only by frequent illnesses and operations. Michael Jackson was tried twice on charges of child molestation, in 1993 and 2003. The first case was closed for lack of evidence. 16 years after the scandal erupted, upon learning of the death of Michael Jackson, the person involved in the first case, Jordan Chandler, admitted that all his public accusations were groundless.
As a result of the second process, Jackson was fully acquitted.
Michael Jackson has been repeatedly sued by his business partners.
Michael Jackson has been married twice. The first time was on Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. The marriage did not last long, from 1994 to 1996, but the stars remained friends. In 1996, Michael Jackson married former nurse Debbie Rowe. During their three years of marriage, they had two children: a son, Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Sr. (born in 1997) and a daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson (born in 1998). Jackson's third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (born in 2002), was born by a surrogate mother.
Releases released after the death of the singer continue to be popular with his fans. According to Media Traffic, the singles collection of the singer This Is It became the leader of sales in the music industry in 2009, in 2011 the sales ratings were headed by the studio album Michael. Michael Jackson's second posthumous album Xcape was the best-selling album of 2014.
The material was prepared on the basis of information from RIA Novosti and open sources
Michael Jackson, a legendary performer who has remained at the top of the musical Olympus for decades, was born on August 29, 1958 in the small town of Gary (Indiana, USA).
Childhood
The parents of the future star also devoted their entire lives to music, but did not achieve such recognition as their son. However, Michael's father, a black blues performer, was popular among the locals. But his mother, in whose veins Indian blood flowed, preferred country style. And she not only sang beautifully, but also danced well.
In childhood
Young Katherine fell in love with Joseph Jackson without looking back and married him at a very young age - she was barely 19 years old. But the popular bluesman at home turned out to be completely different from what she used to see him on stage. In addition, he was a fierce opponent of abortion, so Katherine was almost always pregnant.
Michael was born the eighth in a row. By this time, the rigid “education system” in the Jackson family had already clearly manifested itself, where Joseph was an indisputable authority and could single-handedly execute and pardon. Often, physical punishments were also used, but more often the father publicly humiliated the children morally, believing that in this way tempers their spirit.
Unable to resist the barbaric educational methods of her husband, who often entertained himself by frightening children at night, Catherine found an outlet in the church. She began regularly attending meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses and forced the children to study the Bible as well, according to their traditions.
When Michael was six, Joseph had the good idea to create a musical ensemble from his own children. Moreover, most of them had pronounced artistic abilities and enjoyed playing musical instruments, of which there were several in the house.
But now the game is over, and the tough drill has begun. Waving a belt, the father forced them to rehearse to the point of complete exhaustion. At first, only the elders were unlucky. But a couple of years later, Michael and his brother Marlon were also included in the main team, which was now called the Jaksons 5.
His duties were dancing, backing vocals and playing the tambourine. And since 1966, Michael has been the soloist in the group.
Carier start
The pop star considers the beginning of her career to be the first tour that their family ensemble went on after winning the regional talent competition. About two years have passed on the road, and for Michael it was an excellent school of survival and work on stages of various levels.
Participation in a concert tour brought them some fame, but the money received for it was not enough for such a crowd, and even more so for their father. Then the boys adapted to earn extra money in strip clubs as an opening act. Their task was to provoke and turn on the audience before the start of the main show, and the boys did a great job with it.
Already in 1970, the Jackson group was known to everyone in the Southwest in the United States, and some of their songs began to sound in prestigious charts. By this time, Michael was very interested in dancing and came up with the very style that millions of his fans around the world later began to copy.
In the meantime, he remained an eccentric talented black boy, completely different from those who were already on the stage.
Solo career
The brothers were lucky - they managed to conclude a contract with one of the leading American recording studios. But the unbearable nature of the father and his greed cost them their careers. Already in 1973, a scandal erupted, which resulted in a break in relations between the Jackson team and the producers.
Not hurt, but rather benefited from this conflict, only 14-year-old Michael. Realizing that the boy has all the makings of a star and his own style of performance, the owners of the Motown studio signed an individual contract with him and released as many as four solo albums by the young singer in a few years.
In 1978, already a well-known performer, 20-year-old Michael first appears on the screens. The young artist got the role of the Scarecrow, which he performed with endless charm. While working, he met music producer Quincy Jones, who offered him cooperation and patronage.
In this creative tandem, Jackson's fifth solo album with the strange name “Off the Wall” is born. The title track from it and three more compositions, with the recording of which young Jackson was helped by Paul McCartney, broke into the top positions of music billboards and brought the singer a resounding success. The album has sold 20 million copies.
Music king
Everyone knew Jackson in the early 80s. His songs were heard in every home, and the release of the new album was eagerly awaited by millions of fans. And in 1984 he pleased the audience with the presentation of his new creation, for which he wrote several songs on his own.
The circulation of this album with the intriguing title "Thriller" around the world exceeded 100 million and became one of the best-selling in the history of pop music.
For the first time in US history, a black singer not only stayed on the top lines of the charts for several years and got on national television, but was also received by the President himself in the White House. And in the video for this super-successful album, Jackson for the first time walked his famous "Moonwalk", from which the whole world is still a fan.
In 1984, having earned millions on his songs, Jackson becomes a co-owner of the recording studio with which he works, and even later, he buys out a controlling stake. This led to a serious spat with Paul McCartney, who was actively involved in the promotion of the singer and also counted on high profits.
Since 1985, the singer has been involved in charity work. His first major act of goodwill was the $61 million he earned from "We are the World", a duet with friend Lionel Richie, to help poor African children. In the future, the singer regularly transferred large sums to help black kids.
In 1987, Jackson released his seventh album and went on a world tour. Countless crowds of fans gathered at each concert. It would seem that there is nowhere, but the popularity of the musician still continued to grow.
And in 1993 he first appeared in Russia, where he gave a solo concert in Luzhniki. The second and last time Jackson visited Moscow was in 1996, where the then mayor Luzhkov attended a concert at the Dynamo stadium and met the singer personally.
Until the early 2000s, the singer remained the recognized king of pop music. Until a scandal erupted over him. The singer was accused of child molestation. Although subsequently no evidence of this could be found, this affected the artist's career quite badly.
He was just preparing to release a song dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrin, in the recording of which other world stars were supposed to participate, but they refused to cooperate with him.
In 2008, a year before his death, the singer released his tenth anniversary album "King of Pop". And the one that he planned to present to the public in 2009 did not reach the viewer. On June 25, 2009, due to an overdose of drugs, the talented singer passed away prematurely.
He was buried on 09/03/2009 in the suburbs of Los Angeles, at the famous Forest Lawn Cemetery, where fans now constantly come to honor the memory of their favorite singer.
Personal life
Jackson was married twice. His first wife was the daughter of the famous musician Elvis Presley Lisa Maria. He met her for the first time in 1975, when he was 17, and little Lisa was only 8. But in 1993, they met again in London, during which they somehow immediately became close.
With Lisa Marie Presley
Less than a year later, the couple got married in a small church in the Dominican Republic. Moreover, Jackson made an offer to his beloved by phone. But they both found themselves quickly disillusioned with the marriage. Due to Michael's frequent travels, Lisa hardly saw him.
He was a real star, and she wanted peace and a cozy home. They divorced two years later, maintaining lifelong friendships.
With Debbie Rowe
