15 Grammy Awards, 13 Guinness World Records, 1 billion albums sold, 2 stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, 13 US #1 hits and over 500 prestigious music and philanthropic awards. It's not hard to guess what we're talking about. In 2009, the icon of pop music, the master of incendiary rhythms, the genius of dance, the composer and the main musical provocateur of the 20th century, left us. The one and only Michael Jackson. Music magazine site invites you to remember the highlights of his career.
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 to Joseph Jackson and Katherine Skruse. In addition to Michael, the Jacksons had 5 sons: Jackie, Tito, Jermain, Marlon and Randy, as well as 3 daughters: Rebbie, La Toya and Janet. The entire large family huddled in a tiny house with 3 bedrooms. Michael's father, Joseph Jackson, or simply "Joe", was a crane operator. He had a boundless love for music and was even a member of the R&B group The Falcons, however, he never managed to achieve success in this field. But the whole district had heard about his tough temper and harsh principles in raising children. In one of his future interviews, Michael frankly admits that his father brutally beat him for the slightest offense, believing that by doing so he helps him grow up "disciplined." In addition, the failed musician has always tried to morally suppress his children, especially Michael. “My father kept saying that I had a huge, ugly nose, which made me feel like a freak,” Michael recalled in an interview with Oprah Winfrey in 1993. “And one night he climbed into our bedroom with my brothers with a terrible mask on his face. So he wanted to teach us to close the windows before going to bed. For the next three years, I woke up from nightmares in which I was kidnapped from my own bed ... "
In 1964, Michael joins the Jackson Brothers, the founder of which was the head of the family. Soon the group was renamed The Jackson 5, and the main vocals began to get more and more often 8-year-old Michael. It was then that the first success came to the group. The team became more and more popular thanks to the unique vocals of Jackson Jr.
In a few years, from a provincial band that performed at city holidays, The Jackson turned into superstars with more than 100 million albums sold and fame in all countries from the USA to Japan. The band's most famous song is still the canonical "I'll Be There".
Michael's first solo effort was Off the Wall, produced by 27-time Grammy Award winner Quincy Jones. One of the most beautiful compositions of this multi-platinum record was "She's Out Of My Life". In support of this single, a simple but very touching music video was filmed that won the hearts of a million American girls.
Many music critics called "Off the Wall" a beautiful end to the disco era. More aggressive music began to come into fashion. This trend has not bypassed Michael. He spent more than 2 and a half years in the studio with the producer of his first record. The result of their collaboration was the album "Thriller", the lead single of which was the song "The Girl Is Mine". The composition was the first collaboration between two legends - Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney.
A few months later, Jackson released his second single, "Billie Jean", to the public. An interesting fact: the future world hit was initially rejected by Quincy Jones as "not good enough." However, Michael's musical instinct did not let him down, and he persuaded the short-sighted producer to give the song a chance.
As a result, the song became one of the most successful singles not only in the career of the King of Pop, but throughout the history of the music industry. The composition took first place in several major music charts at once, including the Billboard Hot 100 and the UK-singles Chart. The next single, "Beat It", was officially released on Valentine's Day, February 14, 1983. The subsequent music video was the first in a string of "Michael Jackson mini-movie clips". And of course, the song easily topped the aforementioned Billboard Hot 100.
The single of the same name became a magnificent end to the “Thriller” era. The extended version of the album's video is approaching the mark of 115 million views on the popular YouTube video hosting.
Without exaggeration, this clip can be called "historical". The legendary choreography of this video spawned a phenomenon called “zombie-dance” (zombie dance), and the images invented by Michael remain relevant, finding their way into the work of many contemporary artists.
In 1985, Michael became one of the authors of the charity single "We Are the World", the purpose of which is to draw public attention to the problem of poverty in Africa. Such world stars as Lionel Richie, Tina Turner, Diana Ross, Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and, of course, Michael himself took part in the recording of the composition.
The success of the single exceeded all expectations. Four Grammy Awards, including Best Song of the Year. "We Are The World" became "number one" in more than ten countries, its sales exceeded the mark of 20 million copies, which made this single one of the best-selling singles in music history. All the money from the sale of the song was directed to help the starving children of African countries.
Michael's next big success was "Bad". As many as five singles of this LP managed to take the first line in the “Billboard Hot 100”, which is still an absolute record among male performers. But first things first. The album's first big hit was "Bad".
Many then expressed the opinion that this song was a kind of response to gossip and numerous detractors of Michael. And this version sounds quite convincing, given the interest in the press that year that the topic of "Jackson's changing skin color" was exaggerated.
The album "Bad" struck with its diversity. Incendiary dance hits here quite successfully coexisted with lyrical compositions. One of the most expressive songs of the whole album turned out to be “Man In the Mirror”.
Song after song, Michael became more and more brash and independent. He experimented with genres and, as it turned out, very successfully. His rock experiment "Dirty Diana" instantly won the top lines of the world music charts.
Jackson never stopped improving his dancing skills. And after the release of the music video for the track “Smooth Criminal”, millions of people were convinced that Michael has no equal in dancing.
The success of the album was phenomenal. Brilliant status in the US and platinum in all European countries has secured "Bad" as one of the most successful records in the world.
In 1988, Michael's autobiography, the book "Moonwalk", is published, which reveals previously unknown and sometimes shocking details of the star's childhood and youth. The memoir became a worldwide bestseller in less than a year, selling over 250,000 copies.
Spiteful critics argued that after such a successful album, Michael is unlikely to record something as talented. But Jackson, breaking all stereotypes, again released a brilliant album. The record "Dangerous" still has a cult status, supported by 50 million copies sold. The album was foreshadowed by a track called "Black Or White". The star guest of the music video for this song was the charming boy from the movie "Home Alone" Macaulay Culkin. "Black Or White" is considered an unspoken anthem for tolerance and equality.
In the music video for another hit by Jackson, the song “Remember the Time”, the role of the emperor was played by the famous comedian, Eddie Murphy. To date, this video has over 33 million views on YouTube.
One of the main hits of the album is the composition "In the Closet". It was after the video for this song that the aspiring model Naomi Campbell received worldwide recognition.
The album did not do without dance fighters. The track "Jam" became a major hit in the summer of 1992, conquering the dance floors of America and Europe.
The composition "Heal the World", the sixth single of the disc, became a kind of solo remake of the song "We Are the World". The lyrics of the song once again reminded people of the world's problems: wars, famine and AIDS.
In 1993, Michael was at the center of a disgusting scandal - he was accused of child molestation. The parents of a certain Jordan Chandler went to the police with a statement alleging that Jackson sexually harassed a 13-year-old boy. Such monstrous accusations seriously crippled the health of the artist. The result of the case was a settlement agreement, according to which Michael paid the Chandler family $ 22 million. In 2009, 16 years after the proceedings, the same Jordan Chandler admitted in an interview that he slandered the singer under pressure from his father, who later committed suicide. The lawsuit, troubled personal life and censure of the public could not but affect the work of Jackson. In June 1995 he released his most emotional and intense album, HIStory.
The album's lead single was a duet between Michael and his sister Janet, a song called "Scream", the music video for which was the most expensive in history. Its creation cost the singer about $ 7 million.
The album's second single, "You Are Not Alone", set a world record debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the years, music critics will call it "one of the most inspiring songs of all time."
In November 1995, one of the biggest and most important songs of Jackson's career, "Earth Song", was released. The song once again raised burning topics: deforestation, air pollution, extermination of rare species of animals.
Another acutely social single was the song “They Don’t Care About Us”. It can really be called scandalous, because the lyrics of the song clearly indicated the imperfection of the political system in the United States and the rest of the world. As a result, more than 80 million views on YouTube.
The final, sixth single was the composition "Stranger In Moscow".
In 1997, the remix album “Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix” was released, the title single of which was the song of the same name. In the music video for the track "Blood On the Dance Floor", Jackson showcased his consistently great dancing skills.
Michael's latest work was the album "Invincible". “You Rock the World” was chosen as the first single of the novelty.
Unfortunately, despite the success of the album, Jackson rather quickly curtailed the promotional campaign, limiting himself to three singles. The most favorite song for the fans was "Whatever Happens". The guitar parts in this song were performed by Carlos Santana himself.
Since 2002, Michael has disappeared from TV screens for the first time. Some close associates claimed that during this time period he recorded over a hundred songs for his grand comeback. In the spring of 2009, the first rehearsals of the "This Is It" tour began, which promised to be the most grandiose event in the history of music.
But the dreams of millions of fans were not destined to come true. On June 25, 2009, Michael's heart stopped forever. The official cause of the legend's death was a lethal dose of a drug called propofol. Online media (particularly Twitter) were the first to inform fans of the death of their idol. The news has become a nightmare for many millions of connoisseurs of Jackson's work. His death was the biggest shock to the public since the September 11 attacks. It was decided to honor the memory of the artist by many famous artists, but, perhaps, the troupe of the world-famous Cirque du Soleil did it best of all. In memory of Michael, a whole tour called “Michael Jackson The Immortal World Tour” appeared.
Michael Jackson is the greatest artist in the history of mankind. His incredible achievements will forever remain an unattainable bar for all his followers. Of course, his contribution to the development of modern pop music is simply invaluable! He became an idol for most of the mainstream artists of our time, such as Christina Aguilera, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Beyoncé and Lady Gaga. It is impossible to express in words the emotions that cover you while listening to timeless hits. His dance moves became the basis of modern choreography. And is it possible to tell the story of modern dance without mentioning Michael's trademark "moonwalk"?! All this makes Michael a unique artist, who never had, never has, and never will. But this is only a part of his merits - albeit a significant one, but still a part.
First of all, he was a man with a huge heart. His charitable foundations have kept millions of young children from starving in the underdeveloped countries of Africa. In total, for his creative work, he donated more than $ 300 million to charity, which no other person on the planet can boast of. But any amount, no matter how large they are, becomes insignificant against the backdrop of how selflessly Jackson lived his life, devoting himself to maintaining world peace.
They say that great people do not live long, because they put all their strength and emotions into creativity. Well, it really is. Michael lived a short but incredibly productive life. Of course, his good name will be remembered for a very, very long time, because such people are not born every day. Contemporaries of Michael Jackson should be infinitely happy that they lived at the same time as the legend.
Rest in peace, King. Everlasting memory.
short biography Name: Michael Joseph Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson
Date of Birth: August 29, 1958
Place of Birth: Gary, Indiana, USA
Date of death: June 25, 2009
A place of death: Los Angeles, California, USA
Genres: Pop
Biography Michael Joseph Jackson (born Michael Joseph Jackson; August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009) was an American pop singer, dancer, songwriter, philanthropist, King of Pop, and entrepreneur. One of the most successful performers in history, winner of 19 Grammy awards and dozens of other awards. 2 times listed in the Guinness Book of Records; Around 750 million copies of Jackson's albums have been sold worldwide. Michael Jackson has made a significant contribution to the development of popular music, video clips, dance and fashion.
Not only creativity, but also Jackson's personal life attracted the attention of the press: vitiligo disease, as a result of which Michael's skin became light; his plastic surgery; trials during which he was accused of child molestation but acquitted. Jackson died in 2009 as a result of a drug overdose, propofol in particular.
Childhood and The Jackson 5
Michael Jackson was born to Joseph and Katherine in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh of nine 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 Oprah Winfrey 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, Living with Michael Jackson (2003), while talking 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 band formed by their brothers Jackie, Tito and Jermaine, as understudies, playing conga 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 group 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, performing hits from Motown and "I Got You (I Feel Good) by James Brown 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.
The beginning of a solo career
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. 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 The Wiz (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 in 1979. The disco hit "Don't Stop "Til You Get Enough" and the slower track "Rock With You" topped the charts, and the album sold over 20 million copies. disco music.
Thriller
The album "Thriller" went down in history as the best-selling album in the world. Regarding this album, producer Quincy Jones stated in an interview with Time magazine:
"Black music has been forced to play second fiddle for a long time, but its spirit is the whole driving force in pop music that Michael connected with every soul in the world."
Released in November 1982, Thriller gave America seven singles:
"The Girl Is Mine" (No. 2, duet with Paul McCartney),
"Billie Jean" (No. 1, Grammy Award, the biggest hit of Jackson's entire career and one of the most sampled tracks in 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).
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 eight Grammy Awards (including Best Album of the Year) and seven American Music Awards (American Music Awards). In 1985, the album was declared by the Guinness Book of Records to be "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' The Greatest Hits (27 million). Thriller has sold a record 109 million copies worldwide.
Jackson and his producers capitalized on the burgeoning music television: his groundbreaking videos were among the first in constant rotation on MTV, which was only a year old at the time of the album's release. The disc's popularity was boosted, among many other reasons, by Jackson's performance at the 25th anniversary of Motown in March 1983, where he presented the world with a 14-minute video clip shot for the song "Thriller" in the spirit of a horror film. At the same concert, during the performance of "Billie Jean", Jackson first demonstrated his famous "moonwalk" - a dance move in which the dancer moves his feet forward, but at the same time moves back
eighties
Jackson and his entourage used the media attention to Michael for financial gain. In 1983, Michael signed a contract with Pepsi-Cola, under which he was supposed to star in their commercial. During filming, an accident occurred, due to which Jackson received a burn to the back of his head.
In 1984, Jackson again led the American charts, this time with the song "Say Say Say" recorded in a duet with Paul McCartney. 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, having made several test recordings with him, but the collaboration did not take place due to the employment of both musicians.
During the preparation of the new album, Jackson first took up a charity project. Together with Lionel Richie, he wrote the song "We Are the World" (We are the World), which was recorded with the participation of numerous pop stars, and also covered in German by the mother of punk rock Nina Hagen in 1987. The money from the sale of the single was transferred to help disadvantaged children in Africa.
The Jackson-Quincy tandem's third and final album, Bad, topped the Billboard 200 for six weeks and gave the world seven more hits, five of which climbed to the top of the Billboard Hot 100: Bad, I Just Can 't Stop Loving You", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". On Bad, Jackson and Quincy tried to follow the previous album's recipe for success (using stylish beats, smooth funk jazz and electric guitar), but on a much bigger scale. The album was sold with a circulation of 29 million copies.
Michael then embarked on his first tour as a solo artist, supporting the 15-country album Bad, which took up most of 1988. In 1987, Jackson starred in the 3D film Captain EO. The latter, with a budget of between $17 million and $30 million, was only 17 minutes long and at the time was the highest-grossing film in terms of length. This was Jackson's first appearance on the big screen.
In the 18-minute video for the album's title track, "Bad," it was easy to see the change in the singer's appearance. Despite the fact that his skin color was black throughout childhood, from 1982 he began to lighten, and became light brown. It became so noticeable that the whole press began to write about it, and not only the yellow ones. Jackson attributed this to the rare disease vitiligo and dispelled rumors that it was the result of intentional actions. In addition to lightening the skin, another reason for the change in the appearance of the singer was plastic surgery.
The nineties
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. In 1993, he was charged with corrupting an underage boy, but at that time the case was settled out of court and the parents withdrew the civil lawsuit.
In 1991, "Dangerous" was released, which was preceded by the premiere of a large-scale video clip for the single "Black or White" ("Black or White"). The video was allowed to air on MTV only after the exclusion of scenes in which Jackson breaks windows and imitates masturbation. 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" they included "Remember the Time", "In the Closet" and "Will You Be There". "Remember the Time" was filmed with a multimillion-dollar CGI video featuring Eddie Murphy and top model Iman as the pharaoh of Egypt and his wife.
Throughout the 1990s, Jackson's face changed dramatically, and his skin became completely white.
In 1995, the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future - Book I was released, which combined a disc of 15 new songs with a disc of the biggest hits. It was supposed to be the first part of a trilogy. In order to return the faltering popularity, the first single was released "Scream" - a duet of the singer with his sister, Janet Jackson, who also became a popular solo singer by that time. 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 7 million copies in the US (15 million worldwide). 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 first visited here in 1993), an ecological composition “Earth Song” and a composition in the style of a modern R&B "You Are Not Alone", written and produced for him by R. Kelly. In the video for "You Are Not Alone," Michael appeared semi-nude with his then-wife, Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley.
In 1997, an album of dance remixes for tracks from "HIStory" - "Blood on the Dance floor" was released. 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.
Performances in Russia
Michael Jackson first came to Moscow in September 1993. His concert was organized by the firm "Dessa" and cost her $ 1,000,000. The organizer of the tour is 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. During a 1993 visit, Jackson stayed at the Metropol Hotel.
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 former mayor of Moscow, Yuri Luzhkov, the head of the security service of the President of the Russian Federation, Korzhakov, and composer Igor Krutoy. During a 1996 visit, Jackson stayed at the Baltschug Kempinski Hotel.
Album Invincible
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" (Invincible), released in October 2001, contained 16 tracks, including the single "You Rock My World", which starred famous actors Marlon Brando and Chris Tucker in the video. The album was met with a mixed critical reception, and its 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 Oslo (Norway, January 26, 2001). Omer Bhatti, a close friend of Jackson, was a good friend of Benjamin Hermansen. Michael Jackson writes in a message:
“This album is dedicated to Benny Germansen. We must remember that a person can be judged not by the color of his skin, but by his personal qualities. Benjamin, we love you. Rest in peace".
To promote the album, a special celebration of the 30th anniversary of Michael Jackson's solo career was organized at Madison Square Garden in September 2001. Jackson appeared on stage alongside his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also included performances by Britney Spears, Mya, Usher, Whitney Houston, Tamia, Slash, Aaron Carter. The album spawned three singles, "You Rock My World", "Cry" and "Butterflys", the latter of which had no music video. "Unbreakable" was supposed to be released as a single, but due to several funding issues, Sony refused to release it.
In November 2003, Jackson released the 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.
Late 2000s
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.
On November 16, 2004, Michael Jackson released "Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection" Box Set" - a 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'n'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.
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 release of the first album called Michael is scheduled for December 14, 2010. It will consist of ten unreleased songs, including those recorded by Michael shortly before his death.
There will also be a game called "Michael Jackson the experience" and the entire videography of "Michael Jackson vision". Release date November 22-23, 2010
Personal life
Family
Michael Jackson has been married twice. From 1994 to 1996 he was married to Lisa-Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley. 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.
When Jackson was accused of child molestation and it became public, Jackson became dependent on Presley: he needed emotional support, and she was concerned about his health and addiction to relaxing drugs. 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 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. In October 1993, Jackson proposed to Presley over the phone: “If I asked you to marry me, would you do it?” They got married in the Dominican Republic in secret, denying it for almost two months. 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 divorcing her, Jackson married Debbie Rowe (a former nurse), with whom he has two children: a son, Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Sr. (born February 13, 1997) and a daughter, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson ( born April 3, 1998). Debbie Rowe and Michael Jackson divorced in 1999. The second son - Prince Michael Jackson II (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 photographers on Prince Street, almost dropped him from a height of 50 feet. After that, Jackson tried to hide his family from the press and fans: when they appeared in public, 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: Diana Ross, Brooke Shields, Elizabeth Taylor, Marlon Brando, Eddie Murphy, Chris Tucker, Macaulay Culkin, Lionel Richie, Stevie Wonder, Omer Bhatti.
Health and appearance
Michael's childhood was difficult. He and some of his siblings said they were abused and abused by their father. Beginning in the mid-1980s, Jackson's appearance began to change dramatically. He lost weight, his skin brightened, his nose and facial contours changed. The initial causes of skin lightening are vitiligo and systemic lupus erythematosus (which were diagnosed in Jackson in 1986), as well as the singer's use of cosmetics to mask skin blemishes. Surgeons believe he has had a rhinoplasty, forehead lift, cheekbone surgery, and thinned lips.
Mental health experts claimed he had the mind of a ten-year-old, while other doctors thought he suffered from body dysmorphic disorder. Deepak Chopra, a doctor and friend of Jackson's for 20 years, said: “The reason that he subjected himself to plastic surgery was the craving for self-mutilation and complete disrespect for himself”.
During the 1990s, it seemed that Jackson became addicted to prescription drugs, mainly painkillers and powerful sedatives, and his health began to deteriorate rapidly. He went into rehab in 1993 with the help of Elizabeth Taylor and Elton John, but the addiction remained.
Childhood and mental health
Jackson and some of his siblings have stated that they were physically and mentally abused from a young age by their father Joseph, which included continuous rehearsals, insults, and the use of derogatory names such as "big nose" for Michael; this treatment influenced the rest of Jackson's life. During one of the trials, Marlon Jackson recalled how Joseph held Michael by one leg upside down and inflicted many blows with his hand on the back and buttocks. Joseph often tripped the boys and pushed them. One night, when Michael was sleeping, Joseph went up to his room through the window. He put on a scary mask, entered the room and screamed. Joseph explained that this was how he taught the children not to leave the windows open at night. For years to come, Jackson had nightmares about being kidnapped from his bedroom. By the early 1980s, he was deeply unhappy; Jackson said: “Even at home I am lonely. I sometimes sit in my room and cry. It's so hard to find friends... I sometimes leave the house at night, only to find someone to talk to. But it all ends with me returning home.”
Jackson recalled how Joseph sat in a chair during rehearsal, holding his belt in his hand. And if the children did something wrong, then he beat them with this belt. In 2003, the father admitted that he beat his children. In November 2010, he confirmed this, but stated the following: “I don't think Michael was afraid of me. If he was afraid, it was that he might do something wrong, and I would reprimand him, but not that I would beat him. I never beat him, as many media wrote.
Michael Jackson was convicted of child molestation in 2003 and acquitted two years later. During the investigation, Jackson's biography was studied by Stan Katz, a professional psychologist, who also spent several hours with the accuser. According to John Randy Taraborrelli, Katz concluded that Jackson was stuck at the mental level of a ten-year-old. Some doctors have publicly expressed the opinion that the singer had body dysmorphophobia, a psychological disorder in which a person is overly concerned and preoccupied with a minor defect or feature of his body.
Vitiligo and lupus, treatment and consequences
Jackson's skin was swarthy in his youth, but from the mid-1980s, it became increasingly pale; this was, as many believed, due to the fact that Michael deliberately bleached his skin and changed facial features to look like a European. All this was widely covered in the media. According to John Randy Taraborrelli's biographical book, Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus in 1986. Vitiligo partially lightened his skin and made him sensitive to sunlight. The lupus was in remission, but sunlight may have aggravated it. To combat these diseases, Jackson used solaquine, tretinoin, and benoquine. He also used hydroxychloroquine, which was regularly injected directly into the scalp. Medicines with which he fought these diseases; cosmetics to hide blemishes on the skin - because of all this, he seemed very pale.
In February 1993, Jackson gave an unusually candid hour and a half interview with Oprah Winfrey, which was his first televised interview since 1979. During this interview, he stated that he never bleached his skin on purpose, publicly announcing for the first time that he suffers from vitiligo disease and is forced to use powerful cosmetics to even out skin color. The interview was viewed by 68 million Americans. After that, active public discussions began on the topic of an unknown disease at that time. An autopsy performed after Jackson's death confirmed that he suffered from vitiligo.
During the Australian leg of the HIStory World Tour, Jackson married his dermatologist's nurse, Debbie Rowe. They first met in the mid-1980s when Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo. Over the years, she treated his illness and provided emotional support, and the two formed a strong friendship before their relationship became romantic. The couple divorced in 1999, but they remained friends.
plastic surgery
The outlines of his face also changed; some surgeons believe that he underwent numerous surgeries to change his nose, forehead, lips, and cheekbones. According to Taraborrelli, in 1979 Jackson had his first rhinoplasty after breaking his nose while performing a difficult dance element. However, the operation was not entirely successful, and Michael complained of difficulty breathing. He was sent to Stephen Hofflin who gave him a second rhinoplasty in 1980. However, in a recent interview with Oprah Winfrey, Jackson's mother revealed that Michael deliberately and purposefully got his first nose job done. “One day he just got up and decided that he wanted to redo his nose, considering it too big. He left as soon as he decided to do so. When I asked where Michael was, it turned out that he was fixing his nose. Katherine Jackson said In his 1988 autobiography, Moonwalk, Jackson wrote that in addition to nose surgery, he also had a dimple in his chin and never had any more surgeries. However, his mother said that Michael had more than two plastic surgeries, but he was very shy about it: “I heard that people are addicted to plastic. I think that's exactly what happened to him. I told him that there were enough operations and asked why he couldn't stop. I even talked to his plastic surgeon and asked that when Michael comes, he only pretends to change something in his face.. Also, since 1986, Jackson has been a regular client of Arnold Klein, a dermatologist who specializes in skin injections and non-surgical cosmetic procedures.
In his book, Jackson attributed the changes to his face to puberty, a strict vegetarian diet, weight loss, hair changes, and stage lighting. He refuted the opinions of many that he had an operation on his eyelids. By 1990, the changes that were happening to Michael were already widely discussed by the public; relatives of the singer reported that by that time he had undergone about ten operations on his face. In June 1992, The Daily Mirror ran a front-page image of what was believed to be Michael Jackson's face, which was described as "horribly disfigured" by plastic surgery. Jackson sued the tabloid and they reached a settlement in 1998. In the highest court, the former editor of the publication said that there were no traces of plastic surgery on Jackson's face and publicly apologized to him.
Weight and drug dependence
Part of the reason for the changes in his face were periods of significant weight loss. Jackson lost weight in the early 1980s due to a change in diet and a desire to have a "dancer's body". By 1984, Jackson had lost 9 kilograms, bringing his weight to 48 kilograms with a height of 175 cm - at that time he had the smallest weight in his entire adult life. Witnesses reported that Jackson often experienced dizziness, and it is believed that he suffered from anorexia nervosa. In subsequent years, the musician recovered a little, but after being accused of child molestation in 1993, Jackson stopped eating, again losing a lot of weight. In late 1995, he was rushed to the hospital after collapsing while rehearsing for a television performance (which was later cancelled); an independent writer claims that the incident was caused by a stress-related panic attack, while doctors cited abnormal heart rhythms, gastrointestinal inflammation, dehydration, and malfunctioning of the kidneys and liver; In none of the hospitalizations, including this one, drugs were found in Jackson's system. The BBC reported that during his trial in 2005, the singer also suffered from stress-related illnesses and serious weight loss.
The biographer claims that in 1993, the artist agreed to the use of analgesics, diazepam, alprazolam and lorazepam, to deal with the stress caused by the allegation of child molestation brought against him. A few months later, according to the news, Jackson lost approximately 4.5 kg of weight and stopped eating. During the deposition in court, Jackson was very drowsy, unable to concentrate, and spoke indistinctly. He couldn't remember the release dates of his previous albums or the names of the people he worked with. It took him a few minutes to name some of his recent albums.
Jackson's health deteriorated to the point that he canceled the last leg of his world tour and flew with his girlfriend Elizabeth Taylor and her husband to London. At the airport, two friends supported him to keep him from falling; he was rushed to Elton John's manager's home and then to a clinic. At the entrance, he was searched for drugs; medicine bottles were found in the suitcase. He was placed on the fourth floor of the hospital in an intravenous ward to reduce his dependence on painkillers. A rep for the singer then told reporters that Jackson could barely move or talk. At the clinic, Jackson underwent group and individual therapy sessions. According to Taraborrelli, in January 2004, when the trial ended, Jackson became addicted to morphine and demerol.
After Jackson's death, a police investigation, directed primarily against Jackson's personal physician Conrad Murray, found that Dr. Jackson had used 19 different aliases, including "Omar Arnold", "Josephine Baker", "Fernand Diaz", "Paul Farance", "Peter Madonie, Faheem Muhammad, Roselyn Muhammad, Blanca Nicholas, Jimmy Nicholas, Bryan Singleton, and Frank Tyson while prescribing medication for Jackson. He, in turn, received doctor's prescriptions under the pseudonyms "Prince", "Michael Amir" and "Kai Chase" - these are the names of one of his sons, a representative and a former personal chef, respectively. Police during a search in Las Vegas of the home and office of Conrad Murray found a CD that mentioned the pseudonym "Omar Arnold". The use of pseudonyms by celebrity doctors is a common practice: it is done to keep the patient's medical history confidential and does not necessarily indicate drug addiction.
Child molestation allegations
Michael's fans held demonstrations in support of him during the allegations
Michael Jackson has been tried twice on charges of child molestation, both times boys.
In 1993, he was accused of molesting 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. Jordan was a fan of Jackson and often visited him at Neverland Ranch. According to the boy's father, the son confessed to him that the singer forced him to touch his genitals. The police investigated these allegations, during which Michael had to show his genitals to compare with what the boy described. As a result, the parties entered into a settlement: Jackson paid the Chandler family $ 22 million, and they withdrew the application.
Ten years later, in 2003, Michael was again charged with a similar charge. This time, the singer was accused of molesting 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo, also a regular guest at the Neverland Ranch. During their stay at the ranch, the children often slept in the same room as Jackson, and even on his bed. According to the prosecution, Jackson allegedly got Gavin drunk, which is already a crime under US law, and then masturbated with him. In addition, he allegedly often groped Gavin and other children.
On December 18, the police raided the Neverland Jackson estate, and on the 20th, the singer was arrested and released on bail a few hours later. Like the previous time, Jackson vehemently denied the accusation, stating that the Arvizo family was simply trying to engage in extortion. Michael's trial lasted from February to May 2005. More than 2,200 media outlets from around the world have accredited their journalists to cover the scandalous trial. The jury ruled that there was not enough evidence and Jackson was innocent.
Constant litigation led to the deterioration of Jackson's health, he even began to use painkillers to cope with stress. In addition, the court served to completely empty bank accounts: the services of the best lawyers in the United States cost more than $ 100,000,000.
After the singer's death in 2009, Jordan Chandler admitted that he slandered Michael Jackson, his father Evan Chandler (who later committed suicide) forced him to do this for the sake of money.
Religious views
Michael Jackson was not an open follower of any church, but showed interest in the religion of various denominations.
The Jackson family belonged to the Jehovah's Witnesses, and Michael was brought up in this organization. However, his relationship with the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses did not work out because of the strict rules that it imposes on its members. Jehovah's Witnesses condemned his provocative behavior on stage and his Thriller video, which were unacceptable to the organization's followers. Soon, Michael's sister La Toya Jackson was expelled from the organization for not attending their meetings. Michael, like all members of the organization, was forbidden to communicate with her, which was a blow to him. Michael violated the prohibition of the congregation elders and himself stopped attending the meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses. In 1987, it was announced that the Jehovah's Witnesses no longer considered Michael a member.
In recent years, Jackson began to take an interest in Islam. Michael's brother, Jermaine Jackson, is an open Muslim and often gave his brother books about the religion. Germain hoped that the passion for religion would protect Michael from nervous breakdowns and bad habits. In addition, Michael had connections with the African-American Nation of Islam. According to the former nanny of his children, Jackson often met with the leader of this organization, Louis Farrakhan.
On November 21, 2008, The Sun tabloid reported that Jackson allegedly changed his name to Mikael as a sign of his conversion to Islam at a shahada ceremony, "a promise to be faithful to the Quran", while visiting composer Steve Porcaro in Los Angeles. This information has never been confirmed by Jackson himself. Jackson's lawyer Londell McMillan denied the report, saying of him that "this is bullshit. This is a complete lie".
Jackson was also close to Andre Crouch, a Christian musician and gospel singer. Shortly before his death, the singer visited a Christian church with Crouch and sang several Christian songs. According to Crouch and his sister, Jackson asked them about Christian customs and commandments, but said nothing about wanting to be baptized himself.
Death, farewell ceremony and funeral
The death of Michael Jackson on June 25, 2009 at 21:26 UTC (14:26 local summer Pacific time, 1:26 Moscow time) occurred after he collapsed in a rented house in Los Angeles.
As the death of an icon of an entire era, it caused a huge reaction from Michael's fans around the world, influenced the work of many major sites and caused an explosion in sales of Jackson's albums.
On the morning of June 25, 2009, Michael collapsed while in a house he was renting in Holmby Hills, West Los Angeles. Jackson's personal physician, cardiologist Conrad Murray, later reported through his lawyer that he went up to the second floor and found Jackson in bed, no longer breathing, but with a weak pulse in the femoral artery. Murray began performing cardiopulmonary resuscitation. After 5-10 minutes, Murray decided to make a phone call, but there was no landline in the bedroom, and Murray did not want to call on a cell phone, because he did not know the address of Jackson's house. While Murray was looking for a security guard to use his phone to call emergency services, 30 minutes passed. At 12:21 p.m. local time, a 911 call was recorded. It was not Murray who called, but a home security worker.
Arriving 3 minutes and 17 seconds after the call, the doctors found Jackson no longer breathing with a cardiac arrest and performed cardiopulmonary resuscitation for 42 minutes. According to Murray's lawyer, a UCLA doctor ordered the medical team to give a direct injection of adrenaline into Jackson's heart. The lawyer noted that all the time while Jackson was at home, he still had a pulse. 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. The effect was not achieved. Death was pronounced at 14:26 local time
Stacy Brown, Jackson's biographer, said that Jackson became "very weak, very, very underweight" and that the family was very worried about it. Another biographer, Randy Taraborrelli, who knew Jackson for 40 years, said that Jackson had been addicted to painkillers for decades. Arnold Klein, Jackson's dermatologist, confirmed the fact that Jackson abused prescription drugs. At the same time, Klein examined Jackson three days before his death and, according to Klein, the singer “He was in very good physical condition. He danced for my patients. He was in a good psychological tone when we examined him, and in a very good mood..
Investigation
The coroners were investigating the cause of death. Michael's body was transported by helicopter to Boyle Heights, home of the Los Angeles coroner's office. An autopsy was performed on June 26 in the evening, after which the body was given to the family. However, the cause of death was not established. To clarify it, additional toxicological tests were required, which could take from 6 to 8 weeks. At the same time, the coroner noted that there were no signs of violence or signs of murder during the autopsy. The Jackson family later performed a second autopsy.
Despite the fact that initially there was no suspicion of murder, the day after Jackson's death, the Los Angeles Police Department began investigating an unusual and high-profile case. Because the LAPD did not restrict access to Jackson's home and it was freely visited by his relatives, some observers, such as lawyer Brown Harland, have criticized the actions of the police, believing that, due to the free access of unauthorized persons, the chain of custody could be broken.
On July 1, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) joined the investigation. The DEA, with the power to investigate issues normally protected by doctor-patient privilege, could examine all of Jackson's prescription medications. California Attorney General Jerry Brown said the DEA used CURES, a prescription database containing information about all prescribed drugs, doctors, doses and patients, to investigate. On July 9, William Bratton, LAPD chief, said the investigation was focused on murder or accidental overdose, but that full toxicology reports from the coroners should be awaited.
On August 24, the conclusions of a forensic medical examination were made public - death was due to an overdose of the potent anesthetic propofol. A number of other potent substances (lorazepam, diazepam, midazolam) were also found in the blood.
On August 28, the Los Angeles coroner announced that Michael Jackson's death would be qualified as a homicide.
Jackson's personal physician, cardiologist Conrad Murray, was born in 1953 in Grenada, lived for a long time in Trinidad and Tobago, emigrated to the United States in the 1960s. A 1989 graduate of Meharry Medical College in Nashville, Tennessee. Not certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine. In 1992, his firm went bankrupt, and later several lawsuits were filed against him for a total of $790,000. According to the Telegraph, Murray met Jackson in 2008 in Las Vegas, where Murray was treating his cold. According to People, the acquaintance happened in 2006, when Murray treated Jackson's children. Jackson insisted that AEG Live - the organizer of Jackson's planned concerts - hire Murray, and Murray lived with Jackson for two weeks preparing him for the concert program. Murray was supposed to accompany Jackson on his trip to the UK and was supposed to be paid US$150,000 a month, but the contract required Jackson's signature and was never signed by him.
Doubts were raised about the quality of Murray's CPR - Murray performed it not on the floor or other hard surface, but on a bed. As soon as the 9-1-1 operator heard that CPR was being performed on the bed, he immediately requested that the patient be moved to the floor. In response, Murray, through a lawyer, stated that the bed was very hard, in addition, he put his hand under Jackson's back. In addition, the lawyer stated that when the ambulance arrived, Jackson's blood was still circulating, there was a pulse, which means CPR was successful. A professor of cardiology at the Indiana University School of Medicine stated that “it is very difficult, if not impossible, to perform CPR on a bed. There is no leverage, no firm support, no neck extension.”. The professor also noted that it is impossible to support the back of the patient with one hand while performing CPR with the other hand, since "Even for an emaciated 50 kg person, you need two hands" to achieve the desired compression.
On July 29, 2009, the confession of a personal doctor became known that shortly before his death he injected Michael Jackson with the powerful painkiller propofol.
Michael Jackson left a son and a daughter from his marriage to Debbie Rowe - Prince Michael Joseph Jackson (b. 1997) and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson (b. 1998), as well as a son, Prince Michael Jackson II, born in 2002 year from an unknown surrogate mother.
He was also survived by brothers - Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Randy; sisters - Rebbie, Janet and Latoya; parents - Joseph and Katherine Jackson. On June 27, the Jackson family released a joint statement:
In one of the darkest moments of our lives, we find it hard to find words worthy of this sudden tragedy that we all face. Our beloved son, brother and father of three children passed away so unexpectedly, in such a tragic way and so quickly. This leaves us, his family, speechless and devastated to the point where communication with the outside world seems almost impossible at times.
We lost Michael forever, our pain cannot be expressed in words. But Michael wouldn't want us to give up now. So we want to say thank you to all of his loyal supporters and fans around the world, you are the ones that Michael loved so much. Please do not fall into despair, because Michael will live in each of you. Keep carrying his word, because that's exactly what he would like you to do. Keep going and his legacy will live forever.
Press and public gathered around UC Medical Center on June 25
The news of Jackson's death was first reported by TMZ.com, a Los Angeles-based celebrity tabloid. Jackson's death was pronounced at 2:26 pm, and 18 minutes later, at 2:44 pm, the website reported that "Michael Jackson died today at the age of 50." For more than an hour, TMZ.com alone reported on Jackson's death, and magazines and television were wary of reprinting this information for fear of spreading false information. Jackson's death was first confirmed by The Los Angeles Times at 3:15 pm PDT. Due to the large influx of visitors, the sites TMZ.com and The Los Angeles Times worked intermittently.
Immediately after the news of Jackson's death, MTV and BET began to broadcast only Michael Jackson clips and programs dedicated to Jackson. On MTV, the uninterrupted marathon of Jackson's clips continued for two days. Each clip was followed by a live broadcast from a makeshift studio in Times Square, where famous people in the pop industry called and expressed condolences. The American channels ABC, CBS, NBC on June 25 released prime-time specials dedicated to the death of Jackson and Farrah Fawcett. On June 29, TIME magazine published a special memorial issue about Jackson, which was the first such memorial issue since the issue of the September 11 attacks in 2001.
On June 25 and 26, Michael Jackson's death was devoted to 60% of all news releases in the United States. This detailed media coverage of Jackson's death has been criticized. The head of Venezuela, Hugo Chavez, said that CNN paid more attention to Jackson's death than to the political crisis in Honduras, and called such a news policy "deplorable". 70% of whites and 36% of blacks polled by the Pew Research Center felt that press coverage of Jackson's death was too detailed, and only three percent felt that coverage of Jackson's death was insufficient. The BBC received more than 700 calls from viewers complaining about too much news about Jackson.
Within hours of Jackson's death, sales of his records skyrocketed. His album Thriller climbed to number one on the US iTunes chart, while his other eight albums climbed to the top 40. In the UK, 14 of the top twenty spots on the Amazon.com chart were Jackson albums, with Off The Wall at number one. Sales of all Michael Jackson CDs and MP3s on Amazon.com increased 721 times on June 26. According to the vice president of Amazon.com, the online store sold out all the available discs of Michael Jackson and Jackson 5 in a matter of minutes after the news of Jackson's death.
In total, 415,000 Michael Jackson albums were sold in the United States in a week, which is 40% more than in the entire year before his death.
On the day of his death, condolences from the heads of Sony Corporation are posted on the official website. This appeal was on the site on June 25 and 26, then it was replaced with a bulletin board where everyone could post their message.
Jackson's death caused bitterness among his fans, who began to gather around the UC Medical Center and Michael's home in Holmby Hills. Fans also approached the Apollo Theater in New York. A small group of fans, including the mayor, crowded into Gary around the house where Jackson spent his childhood. Fans also gathered on the Hollywood Walk of Fame around Michael Jackson's radio commentator's star, as Michael Jackson's own star was unavailable due to the premiere of Bruno. In Russia, Jackson fans gathered outside the US Embassy in Moscow, attaching flowers and photographs to the embassy's fence.
Gary Taylor, head of Jackson's MJJcommunity fan club, said 12 fans committed suicide following the news of Michael's death.
US President Barack Obama, in a conversation with White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, called Michael Jackson a "musical icon", expressed condolences to the singer's family and fans, and also sent a letter to Jackson's family. In the US House of Representatives, Jackson was honored with a minute of silence.
Many celebrities reacted to Jackson's death. , who wanted to participate in one of Jackson's concerts in London, said she "couldn't stop crying" over Jackson's death. Elizabeth Taylor, a longtime friend of Jackson's, said her "heart and mind are broken" and that she "can't imagine life without him." Paul McCartney posted a message on his website saying that “It was an honor to spend time and work with Michael. He was a very talented guy with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever, and my memories of the time spent with him will be happy.". Brian May expressed his condolences on the death of Michael Jackson on the official website of the Queen group. Lisa Marie Presley, ex-wife of Michael Jackson, said that she was extremely amazed that exactly the same thing happened to Jackson that happened to her father Elvis Presley in 1977, as Michael himself predicted.
The news of Jackson's death quickly spread across the Internet, causing problems for many websites. Thus, the Google search engine perceived a large number of search queries for "Michael Jackson" as a hacker attack and from 14:40 to 15:15 PDT issued a warning to users that their "request looks like requests automatically sent by viruses and spyware." The number of messages about Jackson in the Twitter microblogging service rose to 100,000 per hour on June 25, as a result of which the service was temporarily unavailable. AIM, America Online's instant messaging service, has been unavailable for 40 minutes. America Online issued a special press release naming the day of Jackson and Farrah Fawcett's death "nodal day in the history of the Internet" and noted that they "never seen anything like it in scale or depth". The online encyclopedia Wikipedia was temporarily unavailable at approximately 3:15 pm PDT due to an influx of readers and active editing of articles. According to Keynote's calculations, the average download time for a 3-hour news post has doubled from four seconds to nine.
For many sites, the day of Jackson's death was a record in attendance. News michael jackson rushed to hospital on Yahoo! visited a record 800 thousand times in the first 10 minutes, and in general Yahoo! News was viewed by 16.4 million unique visitors in a single day, surpassing the previous US Election Day record of 15.1 million visitors. On June 26, Michael Jackson's article on the English-language Wikipedia was shown 5.9 million times, which was the most hit in the history of the encyclopedia.
Funeral
The farewell ceremony was held on July 7 at the Los Angeles Staples Center with a capacity of 20,000 people. 17,500 free tickets were randomly drawn among those who wished. The page on which they were accepted was shown 4 million times and an additional server was installed to process the requests. A total of 1.6 million fan submissions were accepted. On July 5, the computer selected 8750 people from the registrants, each of whom received two tickets. 11,000 ticket holders were allowed inside the Staples Center, while the remaining 6,500 people watched the ceremony from large outdoor screens. 3,200 police officers were assigned to keep order, the ceremony cost the budget of the city of Los Angeles from 1.5 to 4 million dollars.
A private farewell ceremony for Michael Jackson was held on July 7 at Forest Lawn Memorial Park. The coffin was later moved to the Staples Center, where a public ceremony was to take place.
Smokey Robinson began the service at 17:10 UTC after reading messages from Diana Ross and Nelson Mandela. While the gospel choir sang "Soon and Very Soon" by Andre Crouch, Jackson's coffin was brought into the hall. This was followed by a speech by Pastor Lucius Smith. Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz sang I "ll Be There, the Jackson 5 single, after which Queen Latifah said her word. Lionel Richie, Jackson's friend and co-author of "We Are the World", performed the song "Jesus is Love" by The Commodores. Berry Gordy, the founder of Motown Records, the record company where Jackson and his brothers began their career, gave a speech in which he called Jackson "the greatest worker in the entertainment industry that ever lived". These words were met with a standing ovation.
Then Stevie Wonder spoke and performed the song "Never Dreamed You "d Leave in Summer" and "They Won't Go When I Go". Kobe Bryant spoke about Jackson's humanitarian work, and Magic Johnson, who appeared in the episode in the video "Remember the Time ", talked about his relationship with Jackson. John Mayer played the song "Human Nature" on the guitar from the Thriller album. Brooke Shields spoke about the time spent with Jackson, read excerpts from The Little Prince and noticed that Jackson's favorite song was Charlie's "Smile" Chaplin, which was immediately performed by Jermaine, Jackson's older brother.
Martin Luther King's children, Martin Luther King III and Bernays King, said that Michael Jackson was the best at what he did. Sheila Jackson-Lee, member of the US House of Representatives from Texas, spoke of Jackson's "American history" and announced her intention to have him declared an international humanitarian through the House of Representatives. Asher approached the coffin and sang the song "Gone Too Soon", which Jackson himself sang in memory of Ryan White, a schoolboy who died of AIDS in 1990. After Usher, a clip from The Ed Sullivan Show in 1969 was shown, in which the Jackson 5 performed Smokey Robinson's Who's Loving You. After the video was shown, Smokey Robinson himself spoke about this performance of his song. After Robinson's story, this song was performed 12-year-old Shaheen Jafargoli of Britain's Got Talent Kenny Ortega was the next to mention Jackson, then several guests, along with the singers, including Michael Jackson's family and children, performed "We Are the World" and "Heal the World" .
After the concert, the Jackson brothers, Marlon and Jermaine, made small speeches and hugged. The concert ended with Michael Jackson's daughter, Paris Katherine Jackson, who tearfully said she loved her father, adding that he was "the best father you can imagine". The family removed the coffin from the stadium as "Man in the Mirror" began to play. During the performance, the spotlight illuminated the microphone stand, which was empty. Pastor Lucius Smith closed the service with a prayer at 19:48 UTC.
The farewell ceremony was broadcast in many countries of the world. In the United States, the farewell ceremony was broadcast by 19 television channels, and was also shown in 37 cinemas. In Russia, the live broadcast was made on the channels of Muz-TV, Euronews and MTV-Russia. The total global audience of the ceremony prior to the broadcast was estimated at 300 million to 1 billion people. These predictions turned out to be grossly overestimated. In total, 31 million people watched television broadcasts in the United States. By comparison, 33 million Americans watched Princess Diana's funeral, 23 million watched Ronald Reagan's, and 68 million watched Bill Clinton's August 1998 apology to the nation. In the UK, the total audience of the broadcast was 6.5 million people - 4.5 million viewers watched the broadcast on BBC Two (20% of the total audience of this timeslot), 1.2 million on Five and 900 thousand on Sky News. For Sky News, the broadcast audience was the largest since the early days of the Iraq War.
In addition to television, the ceremony was also broadcast on the Internet. The CNN website transmitted 9.7 million video streams on July 7, down from the record 27 million video streams on Barack Obama's inauguration day. UStream transmitted 4.6 million and MSNBC 3 million video streams. On the BBC website, the broadcast was watched by 8.2 million global unique visitors, which was the second most watched event for the BBC Online service after the inauguration of Obama.
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.
The King of Pop's final funeral took place on Thursday, September 3 at Glendale Forest Lawn Cemetery in suburban Los Angeles. The death certificate lists "murder" in the "cause" column.
On July 1, 2009, Michael Jackson's will, drawn up on July 7, 2002, was made public. According to the document, the entire fortune, estimated at that time at $500 million and almost entirely consisting of "non-cash, illiquid assets primarily from interest on the publishing rights catalog currently managed by Sony ATV and other interest"
2010 -
Filmography
1978 - Wizard / The Wiz - "Scarecrow" (first film role)
1986 - "Captain IO / Captain EO" - in the title role of Captain IO
1988 - "Moon Wanderer / Moonwalker" - plays himself
1996 - "Ghosts / Ghosts" - played five different roles (thanks to makeup); In 2006, this film was listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest video.
2002 - "Men in Black 2" - "Agent Em"
2004 - "Miss Robinson / Miss Cast Away" - Michael Jackson again plays a cameo role in this film, which lasts no more than 10 minutes
2009 - "That's it / This is it" - a musical documentary film directed by Kenny Ortega, created with the full support of the Jackson family.
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 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).
- Name: Michael (Michael)
- Surname: Jackson (Jackson)
- Date of Birth: 29.08.1958
- Zodiac sign: Virgo
- Eastern horoscope: Dog
- Place of Birth: Gary, Indiana, USA
- Date of death: 25.16.2009
- Occupation: singer, dancer, actor, pop legend
A legend is the only way to characterize this man. On the pop scene, he still has no equal and hardly anyone can surpass this brilliant artist. Michael Joseph Jackson became a legend of his time, a phenomenon, his name is forever inscribed in the history of the global pop industry.
Photo by Michael Jackson
Childhood under control
"Discipline" - under such a slogan Michael's childhood passed. His father Joseph Jackson was a strict, sometimes cruel man. He kept all his ten children under control, and for any offense the guys suffered both mentally and physically. Many years later, Michael admitted in an interview that his father's upbringing methods had a strong effect on him. So, for example, he could put on a scary mask and scare his son at night only so that he would not forget to close the window at night. Of course, this was reflected in the psyche of the child with a vengeance. At the same time, it was his father who played a big role in the formation of Michael.
The Jackson family was distinguished by their love of music, at one time his father even participated in the Falcons musical group, and his mother Katherine sang well. When the eldest sons independently mastered playing the guitar, the head of the family decided that it was necessary to create a group. This is how the group "The Jacksons" appeared, where Michael later joined. Dad, by the way, controlled every rehearsal, naturally, stimulating the children with a belt.
The creativity of the guys attracted a lot of listeners. In 1966, Michael became the lead singer of the group, which was then renamed The Jackson 5. By the beginning of the seventies, the five guys had already successfully toured not only in the Midwest. Having started their activities with performances as opening acts in clubs, they reached a new level in a few years. In 1970, several of the group's songs reached number one on the national Billboard Hot 100 chart.
Beginning of solo activity
Michael stood out from the quintet with a special manner of performance, dance, behavior on stage. Therefore, in a period when the popularity of the group was gradually declining, he did not lose heart, but took advantage of this moment and dedicated it to his solo albums. Meanwhile, the group in 1976 began to perform again under the name "The Jacksons". The new signed contract opened up new opportunities for the guys. Creative activity again began to boil, and by 1984 the band's discography was replenished with six more albums. Michael, on the other hand, began to develop a solo career, which was facilitated by his participation in the musical based on the work The Wonderful Wizard of Oz and acquaintance with director Quincy Johnson.
heyday
The eighties are called Jackson's "golden age". They were marked by resounding popularity and record success:
- the album "Off the Wall" (1979) sold over twenty million copies;
- the album "Thriller" (1982) became the best-selling album in history;
- 7 Grammy Awards for "Thriller" and 7 American Music Awards;
- "Thriller" entered the Guinness Book of Records.
It was during that period that the world saw the famous "moonwalk". To this day, it remains unsurpassed by anyone, no matter how they try to repeat it. At the same time, the newly formed MTV music channel launched Jackson's clips into rotation, which revolutionized the music world. Michael recorded duets with Paul McCartney, Lionel Richie. He donated a huge amount of money from his work to charity.
With grandiose concerts, Jackson performed for millions of people: his performances were a holiday, a great show. One of these concerts entered the Guinness Book of Records as having gathered more than five hundred thousand people. Another record took place after the release of the album "Bad": five songs topped the Billboard chart.
King of pop music
"The King of Pop" - that's how Elizabeth Taylor dubbed Michael Jackson in 1989. But incessant enthusiasm and a flurry of applause have the other side of the coin. Jackson tried more and more to retire, and even his father and brothers could not enter his guarded ranch without a pass, while the entrance was not limited for the singer's mother. The unprecedented success of the album "Thriller" required Jackson to "keep up the mark", so he had to work hard. Such a "hermit" life gave rise to endless rumors around the "king".
Continuing his unique musical procession, in 1991 the artist released the disc "Dangerous", and before that he presented a video for the legendary song "Black or White". Now the geography of his concert tours began to expand: the countries of Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa appeared on the lists. The inhabitants of these parts of the planet met their idol with delight. Michael got to Russia. In 1995, the king of pop presented a double album: HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I.
Jackson in Russia
1993 ... in the rain at the Luzhniki Stadium in front of an army of Russian fans, Michael Jackson gave his concert. Huge sums were spent on the organization of the concert by Dessa, and after a while the company went bankrupt. The stay in Moscow for Jackson and fans was also marked by the composition "Stranger in Moscow", which subsequently entered the album "History".
The next concert of the legendary artist took place in 1996, he performed at the Dynamo stadium.
modern time
The beginning of the new millennium was not the easiest for the brilliant singer, a scandal broke out around him related to the molestation of minors. Constant excitement, of course, affects the psyche, performance, however, Jackson never ceases to create, amaze and delight.
The album "Invincible" (2001) did not become as commercially successful as the previous one, but the work was done colossally. Chris Tucker, Carlos Santana participated in the recording, and later Jackson gathered stars at his benefit performance. On the 30th anniversary of musical activity at his concert, Jackson again collects the “five”, with which it all began, and the group “The Jacksons” again sings for fans.
After the scandal that erupted in 2003, Michael set about creating a single in memory of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. Despite the fact that the singer was acquitted on charges, many stars did not express a desire to participate in the recording of the composition.
The five-disc album "Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection", released in 2004, absorbed almost the entire period of Jackson's work. And in 2008, Michael worked on recording songs for the next disc. Then, of course, no one thought that this was his last opportunity to give millions of fans another album.
Personal life
Jackson's first wife was the daughter of Elvis Presley. Michael and Lisa-Maria decided to register their marriage in 1994 in the Dominican Republic. The whole action was a secret, and after a few months this news shocked the public and caused a mixed opinion.
Two years later, their union broke up. Despite the fact that the former spouses maintained a warm relationship, the divorce was not easy for Jackson. Debbie Rowe, a nurse he met at his doctor, helped him overcome depression. In 1996, the singer married for the second time, and already in 1997, Debbie gave birth to their first child, Prince Michael Jackson. A year later, they had a daughter, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson.
In 1999, this marriage also came to an end. But Jackson was able to experience the happiness of fatherhood again. In 2002, a surrogate mother, whose name remained a secret, gave birth to the artist's second son. They named him Prince Michael Jackson II. The singer tried to hide his children from the annoying press and prying eyes, and when they left, they even wore masks.
Scandals
Serious scandals flared up several times in the life of a pop idol, he was accused of child molestation.
In 1993, the case ended with the reconciliation of the parties. Jackson paid $22 million to Jordan Chandler's family, after which the conflict was settled. And the essence of the accusation was that allegedly Michael Jackson forced a thirteen-year-old boy to touch his genitals.
Ten years later, a scandal broke out again involving the king of pop, he was accused of a similar crime against Gavin Arvizo. This time, the proceedings ended with Jackson's acquittal. The singer himself claimed that the Arvizo family wants a repeat of a decade of history, when the Chandler family was able to get rich on this scandal.
Stories of accusations of pedophilia, of course, had a negative impact on Jackson's reputation. In 2005, he sold his Neverland ranch, where all the events allegedly took place. This estate was the embodiment of his dreams, in which he created everything that a child could dream of. But this fairy tale came to an end, Michael moved into a rented mansion.
After the death of the singer, the history of the past again made itself felt. In 2009, Jordan Chandler said that he made up all the accusations, and his father forced him to confess. In the autumn of the same year, the head of the family shot himself.
Changes in appearance
Fans began to notice changes in the appearance of their idol in 1987. Later, Jackson admitted that he was dependent on the genetic disease vitiligo, which is manifested by discoloration of skin areas. That is why the singer's skin "whitened" every year. With the help of a thick layer of makeup, he hid the flaws, and Michael denied talk that he was deliberately trying to turn into "white".
Jackson's facial features also gradually changed: cheekbones, nose, forehead, chin. The star admitted only a few operations, including on the nose. Many others were vehemently denied.
Death of the King of Pop
The news of the death of the greatest musician of our time instantly spread around the world on June 25, 2009. And the investigation began just as quickly. As it turned out, Jackson's personal doctor Conrad Murray found the singer almost lifeless in bed. Attempts to restore cardiac activity were unsuccessful and he called an ambulance.
Guilty of the death of the artist recognized his doctor. The investigation showed that death was due to an overdose of propofol. Murray was sentenced to four years in prison for manslaughter.
The death of Michael Jackson was a tragedy not only for his fans, but for all of humanity. Millions of people could not realize that the legendary artist was gone, because he became an integral part of his era.
Farewell to the pop king took place on July 7, 2009. The ceremony was broadcast live, it was attended only by relatives and friends of Michael. The life of the great artist came to an end, but his name went down in history forever. “From the moment I was born, my dad was the best father you could imagine. I love him so much…” said daughter Paris. The funeral took place only on September 3, 2009 at the Forest Line Cemetery in Los Angeles.
