How old was Michael Jackson. Michael Jackson

listen)) is an American entertainer, songwriter, dancer, composer, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. The most successful performer in the history of pop music, over 260 million albums sold worldwide, not counting singles, winner of 15 Grammy awards and hundreds of other awards. 13 times listed in the Guinness Book of Records; Around a billion copies of Jackson's albums have been sold worldwide. In 2009, he was officially recognized as an American Legend and Music Icon. Michael Jackson made a significant contribution to the development popular music, video clips , dance and fashion. Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 as a result of an overdose. medicines in particular propofol.

Biography

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, delivered blows to 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 confessed to suffering 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 endured as a child in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said that in childhood he often cried from a 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 has been performing in front of classmates at Christmas concerts since 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 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 1968 to 1968. Often they performed in a number of "black" clubs and places known as " Chitlin" circuit", Often warming up the audience before a striptease. In 1966, they won a local talent competition, performing with hits from Motown Records 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 hit number one on the US 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

Thriller

Jackson in 1988

"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"

• "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).
• "Baby Be Mine".
• "The Lady in My Life".

On October 29, 1988, the musical film "MoonWalker" 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 Heritage Award ceremony, actress Elizabeth Taylor in her speech called Michael Jackson "the true king of pop, rock and soul", that is, "the real king of pop, rock and soul music", and the unofficial title " the king of pop" stuck with Michael Jackson forever.

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 Pepsi commercials. At the request of the director, he lingered dangerously close to pyrotechnic devices. 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 transmitted to Michael through the maternal line, and disrupting skin pigmentation. 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 met 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. .

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 restrictions imposed by the contract, his name was not mentioned in the credits.

On November 26, 1991, the album "Dangerous" was released, the release of which was preceded by the premiere of a large-scale video clip for the single "Black or White" ("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). For "Remember the Time"A clip was shot with a multi-million dollar budget and computer special effects, in which the pharaoh of Egypt and his wife were portrayed by Eddie Murphy and top model Iman.

Throughout the 1990s, Jackson's face changed a lot, and his skin became completely white.

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 released was "Scream", a duet between the singer and 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 first visited here in 1993), an ecological composition “Earth Song” (five weeks on the first place in the UK) and the contemporary rhythm and blues composition "You Are Not Alone" (his thirteenth "number one" on the Billboard Hot 100), written and produced for him by R. Kelley. In the video for "You Are Not Alone", Michael appeared half-naked along with his first wife - Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley.

In 1997, the album "Blood on the Dance floor" was released: the soundtrack to the film "Ghosts" and a collection of dance remixes for 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.

Performances in Russia

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 featured 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, close friend 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. Jackson appeared on stage alongside his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also included performances by Britney Spears, Mýa, Usher, Whitney Houston, Tamia, "N Sync, Slash, Aaron Carter. A world tour was also planned to support the album, but due to the September 11 attacks, the tour was canceled. The album spawned three singles," You Rock My World", "Cry" and "Butterflies", 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 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, they were talking about 10 concerts at the stadium.

Clips and choreography

Jackson is also called the King of the music video. Steve Hay of Allmusic watched as Jackson turned the clip into a work of art through complex storylines, dancing, special effects and celebrity cameo appearances while breaking down racial barriers. Prior to Thriller, Jackson tried in vain to break into MTV, allegedly because he was African American. Pressure from CBS Records convinced MTV to start showing "Billie Jean" and then "Beat It", leading to a long-term partnership with Jackson and also helping other black musicians gain recognition. MTV staff denied racism in their shows or pressure to change their stance. MTV claims they played rock music regardless of race. The popularity of his videos on MTV helped put the relatively young channel on the line; Attention on MTV shifted towards pop and R&B. His performance on Motown: Yesterday, Today, Forever changed the scope of the live show on stage; "The fact that Jackson performed "Billie Jean" in sync is not extraordinary in itself, but the fact that it didn't change the impression of performing extraordinary, whether it was live or in sync, doesn't affect the audience," thus creating an era in which the artists recreate the imagery of the music video on stage. Short films like Thriller mostly remained unique to Jackson, while the dance group dance in "Beat It" was repeatedly imitated. Thriller's choreography has become part of global pop culture, being copied everywhere from Indian films to prison in the Philippines. The short film Thriller marked the rise of music videos and was named the most successful music video ever to enter the Guinness Book of Records.

In the 19-minute video for the song "Bad" - directed by Martin Scorsese - Jackson began to use sexual imagery and choreography not seen before in his work. From time to time he grabbed or touched the chest, torso and crotch. Asked by Oprah in an interview in 1993 about why he grabs his crotch, he replied, "I think it's subconscious," and he described it as something that wasn't planned, but rather something that was forced by the music. "Bad" received a mixed reception from fans and critics, with Time magazine calling it "infamous". The film also features Wesley Snipes, in future Jackson videos celebrities will often receive episodic roles. For "Smooth Criminal", Jackson experimented with an innovative "anti-gravity tilt" in his performances. This maneuver requires special shoes, for which he received US Patent #5255452. Although the video for "Leave Me Alone" was not officially released in the US, it was nominated for three Billboard Music Video Awards in 1989; he received the Golden Lion award the same year for the quality of the special effects used in his productions. In 1990, "Leave Me Alone" won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form.

He received the MTV Video Vanguard Award in 1988 and the MTV Video Vanguard Artist of the Decade Award in 1990 to honor his artistic accomplishments in the 1980s, and in 1991 the first award was renamed in his honor. "Black or White" was accompanied by a controversial music video, which premiered on November 14, 1991, simultaneously in 27 countries to an estimated audience of 500 million, the largest ever watched music video. The scenes shown have been interpreted as being sexual in nature, as well as depicting violence. The offending scenes in the final section of the 14-minute version were edited to prevent the video from being banned, and Jackson apologized. Along with Jackson, the video featured Macaulay Culkinn, Peggy Lipton and George Wendt. This work helped introduce morphing as an important technology in music videos.

Personal life

Family

Michael (under an umbrella) and his two children wearing masks

Michael Jackson has been married twice. From 1996 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 was chasing after her, he needed emotional support, and she was preoccupied with 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?" They married on May 26, 1994 in the Dominican Republic in secret, denying it for almost two months. The marriage took place at the home of local judge Hugo Alvarez Pérez in the city of 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" because, 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. 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.

He was on good friendly terms with Princess Diana.

Health

Since the mid-1980s, Michael Jackson's appearance has changed markedly. His skin was getting lighter. As Jackson himself said, the reason for his "whiteness" is a rare genetic disease of vitiligo, and there is a lot of evidence for this in photographs showing white milky spots on Michael's body. These changes were hidden with makeup. Jackson categorically denied the rumors that he was deliberately trying to turn into a white man.

According to some doctors, he underwent several nose surgeries, as well as forehead lifts, lip thinning, cheek surgeries, eyelid surgeries, and chin dimples. The singer himself stated that he only changed the shape of his nose 2 times, and also made a dimple on his chin. He categorically denied everything else, explaining the changes in appearance by growing up, a strict vegetarian diet. In the future, Jackson experienced problems associated with the consequences of operations.

In the early 2000s, Michael briefly appeared in public wearing a medical mask. Rumors began to circulate that Jackson's nose was collapsing and that he had to undergo plastic surgery to repair his nose. Later, Jackson appeared in public with a band-aid on his nose. The performer himself said that it was an anesthetic patch that he put on because of an allergy. Surgeon Arnold Klein subsequently confirmed that he operated on the singer's nose to restore Michael's ability to breathe.

Child molestation allegations

Michael's fans held demonstrations in support of him during the allegations. The inscription on the poster - "Michael is innocent"

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 Jordan refused to testify against Michael.

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 with 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 Neverland Jackson Manor, and on the 20th, the singer was arrested and released on bail a day 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 led to the complete devastation of 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.

Katherine Jackson (Michael's mother) was baptized in 1963 when Michael was five years old. The mother tried to raise Michael as a Jehovah's Witness and encouraged him to study the Bible, attend Christian meetings in Kingdom Halls, and preach. However, his relationship with the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses did not work out. Jehovah's Witnesses were shocked by his defiant behavior on stage and his video Thriller unacceptable to members of the organization.

By 1984, despite his immense fame, Michael Jackson continued to preach as a Jehovah's Witness, twice a week, maybe an hour or two. He also attended Christian meetings at the Kingdom Hall with his mother four times a week when he was in the city. He refused to eat blood, celebrate Easter and Christmas, which he regarded as "pagan holidays", and celebrate his own birthday.

However, in 1987, Jackson left the organization of Jehovah's Witnesses in response to disapproving reviews about the Thriller video. This, in particular, was facilitated by the fact that Michael's sister La Toya Jackson was expelled from the organization around the same time. Michael, like all other members of the organization, was forbidden to communicate with her on spiritual topics (you can talk about everyday topics in a forced situation), which was a blow to him. Michael violated this principle and, as a result, stopped attending meetings of Jehovah's Witnesses himself. In 1987, it was announced that Michael Jackson was no longer a Jehovah's Witness.

Michael's brother, Jermaine Jackson, is an open Muslim, and often gave his brother books about the religion. Germain hoped that his passion for religion would protect Michael from nervous breakdowns and bad habits.

Jackson was also intimately acquainted with Andre Crouch, a Christian musician and gospel singer. Shortly before his death, the singer visited with Crouch christian church and sang several Christian songs. According to Crouch and his sister, Jackson asked about their customs but said nothing about wanting to join their denomination.

Death, farewell ceremony and funeral

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 doctors' actions 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.

After death

Flash mobs (fan mobs)

Michael Jackson flash mob (fan mob)(English) michael jackson flash mob) - flash mobs in memory of Michael Jackson, arose after the death of Michael. Flash mobs in memory of Jackson, with their scale and frequency of conduction, went beyond the usual fan mobs and began a completely new, unique movement. These flash mobs are different from the usual ones, they do not correspond to the rules of the classic mob, just like the fan mob, the participants of this mob are dressed in Jackson's attributes and clothes, thereby copying his style. All choreography and movements copy the movements of Michael Jackson. The music of this flash mob must be selected from Michael's repertoire. Basically the choreography of this mob is taken from Jackson's original choreography, but is sometimes lightened or simply changed, as it is very difficult for non-professionals to repeat it.

Jackson was also awarded the "Outstanding Contribution to world culture» for contributions of hundreds of millions of dollars to the 39 charities and his own foundation Heal the World .

He was awarded (posthumously) at the "Muz-TV 2010 Prize" for his huge contribution to the global music industry. The prize was awarded to the sister of the singer Jackson, La Toya (LaToya Jackson).

In total, the singer has 395 awards.

Discography

Studio albums

Filmography

1. 1978 - Scarecrow / The Wiz
2. 1986 - "Captain IO / Captain EO"
3. 1988 - Moonwalker
4. 1996 - "Ghosts / Ghosts"
5. 2002 - "People in Black 2" - "Agent Em" (uncredited)
6. 2004 - "Miss Robinson / Miss Cast Away"
7. 2009 - "That's it / This is it"
8. 2011 - "Michael Jackson: The Life of a Pop Icon / Michael Jackson: The Life of an Icon"

Books

• Michael Jackson "Moonwalk" Publisher: William Heinemann, London, 2009
• Michael Jackson "Dancing the Dream" Publisher: DoubleDay, 1992

Literature

• N. Ya. Nadezhdin. Michael Jackson: "Thriller": Biographical stories. Moscow: Mayor, Osipenko, 2012. 192 p., Informal Biographies Series, 2000 copies, ISBN 978-5-98551-200-7

Michael Jackson in philately

Postage stamps and other philatelic materials from the British Virgin Islands, Saint Vincent Island, Angola, Burundi, Burkina Faso, Guinea and other countries are dedicated to Michael Jackson.

see also

• Hollywood Walk of Fame - list of honorees for contributions to the recording industry
• Mesoparapylocheles michaeljacksoni- extinct hermit crab, named after the singer in 2012

Notes

Links

	Michael Jackson at Wikimedia Commons
	Michael Jackson at Wikinews

• Official site (English)
• Official site (Russian)
• Michael Jackson video channel on a video hosting service

Michael Jackson was born in the American town of Gary, in a large family of nine children. As a child, he performed with his brothers in the Jackson 5, created by his father. Even then, the boy drew attention to himself with a peculiar manner of singing and unusual dance movements.

In 1978, Michael was offered to star in the film adaptation of the popular children's book The Wizard of Oz. During filming, Michael Jackson met music director Quincy Jones, who saw a huge talent in the young singer and became his producer. A year later, Michael Jackson's first solo album, Off the Wall, was released, selling more than 20 million copies.

Singer's Star Trek

In 1982, another record, Thriller, saw the light, which turned out to be “revolutionary” in the world of show business. So far, none of the popular performers has sung the way Michael Jackson sang. A video clip was shot for the album's main song of the same name, which is considered to be the beginning of the active development of the music video. Seven songs from this album turned into super hits, and the disc itself got into the Guinness Book of Records as “the best-selling album in the world.”

The peak of Jackson's popularity came in the mid-1980s. At one of the concerts in 1983, Michael Jackson walked for the first time with his famous "moonwalk". In 1984, he was awarded the Grammy eight times. Until 1992, the singer released two more records - Bad and Dangerous - which gave the world such super hits as The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, Black or White, Remember the Time, Will You Be There.

In ten years after 1993, three more records of the singer were released. This is a double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future - Book I, then Invincible, and Number Ones. In 2009, the king of pop promised to release a new disc, but never had time to do it.

Cause of Michael Jackson's death

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 as a result of an overdose of propofol administered to him by physician Conrad Murray. Later, the doctor was formally charged with manslaughter of the musician.

Michael Jackson's personal life

Michael Jackson has been married twice. The first time was on Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa Marie Presley. The marriage did not last long, from 1994 to 1996, but the stars remained friends. In 1996, Michael Jackson married former nurse Debbie Rowe. For three years of marriage, they had two children: a son, Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Sr., and a daughter, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson. Jackson's third child, Prince Michael Jackson II, was born via a surrogate mother.

Throughout his life, Michael Jackson has experienced many plastic surgeries, some of which he had to do because of a rare genetic disease - vitiligo. Jackson's skin began to lighten from the 80s. The singer denied that he intentionally wants to change his skin color: "I'm African American and I'm proud of it."

Jackson's health was undermined not only by frequent illnesses and operations. Michael Jackson was tried twice on charges of child molestation, in 1993 and 2003. In the first case, Michael Jackson paid the child's parents $22 million, after which they withdrew the application. As a result of the second process, Jackson was fully acquitted, but the services of the best lawyers led the performer to bankruptcy. By this time, Michael Jackson could no longer do without painkillers and sedatives.

Photo by Michael Jackson: Rex Features/Fotobank.ru

SHARES

The whole world mourned the death of Michael Jackson. Many did not believe in this death, suspected that Michael Jackson is not dead, A someone else died instead.

The Order of the Illuminati is involved in this worldwide deception.

Next will be presented an interview from a person who knows the whole truth about the "death" of Michael Joseph Jackson. This man is a secret society insider. In the media (media), this group is commonly referred to as the "Order of the Freemasons".
Found facts will also be provided that Jackson had a doppelgänger…

I know the truth and I will tell it!

I am a member of The Order myself and I know why the Illuminati helped Jackson deceive the world. I want as many people as possible to know the truth. After all, what Michael Jackson has already managed is a trifle compared to his far-reaching plans, which he is going to implement in this century.

Why did the Illuminati agree to Michael Jackson's plan?
Yes, because no one has ever been able to refuse him. Ask the people closest to him, and they will say: Michael always got his way.

Already 4 years ago, Michael Jackson conceived this plan. His intentions were as serious as ever. It was then, 4 years ago, that he met with a representative of our Order in Naples and offered to help him in the implementation of his plan. The pay that Michael Jackson promised for this was beyond anyone's expectations. Our Order does not need money, but the huge amount received for the execution of the order of Michael Jackson will allow the Order to work quietly on the solution of the Task, which we have been solving for at least 700 years.

The Order should not be accused of being promiscuous or being too accommodating. Just for money, the Order would not agree to a grandiose deception. However, in the hand of Michael Jackson was not only a sweet gingerbread, but also an iron whip. He hinted very transparently that he would not only generously pay for our consent, but would also do everything so that we could not refuse. If the leadership of the Order still refused, Michael Jackson promised to reveal to the whole world the secret that we carefully concealed during all 700 years of the existence of the Order. This would draw the unwanted attention of the Vatican to the activities of the Order. A similar nuisance already happened in the 1940s, when representatives of the German Nazis tried to make an alliance with the Illuminati. Rumors are circulating around the world about the alleged (and I emphasize the word, "alleged") Illuminati desire for world domination and the brutality involved. Hitler's agents tried to play on these legends, attributing other people's sins to the Order.

I have already said that I intend to tell the whole truth about the secrets of the Order. I will also tell you about the whereabouts of the allegedly deceased Michael Jackson. I am aware that my confessions will be followed by revenge from both Michael Jackson and revenge from The Order. I am breaking the silence that the Illuminati have kept for centuries. And I am aware of what can be expected of me. I don't know if Michael Jackson is capable of murder, but given the circumstances that led him to mount a grand conspiracy to deceive all of humanity, I wouldn't be surprised if he's already contemplating ways to take me out. So to speak, book me a ticket for a trip to the Neverland Ranch without a refund.

Neverland - Michael Jackson Villa
Fans of M. Jackson, of course, know that his villa in California is called "Neverland". This title magical land from the fairy tale "Peter Pan". In this country, children stop growing, which means they stop aging. This beautiful fairy tale there is a second, rather terrible, meaning. None of the fans of Michael Jackson think about this meaning. Well, tell me, when does the counting of human years stop? That's right, when people die.

Why staged an artificial death of Jackson?
Michael Jackson has been obsessed with the idea since childhood that he died as soon as he was born, and therefore that he is a vampire. This strangely combined with his fear of death, which many of his fans know about. It is known that Michael observed a strict regime, because he dreamed of living at least 150 years. He often feared that he would die early, like the legendary Elvis Presley. Michael's most unusual way of preserving his youth was his desire to sleep in special chambers, where high oxygen pressure was maintained.

In fact, one was conditioned by the other. Jackson was afraid of death because he never really lived. As a child, the joy of life was taken away from him. Jackson Sr. stubbornly and systematically pushed his son to success in show business, not allowing him to relax in games with peers and childish pranks. The creation of Neverland Ranch was Michael Jackson's attempt to regain the lost joy of childhood.

Jackson's father not only robbed his son of his childhood. He made his son a kind of "drug addict", instilling in him an obsessive desire for constant success on stage. Therefore, the huge wealth that show business brought to Michael Jackson did not satisfy him. Jackson did not see life, did not feel it. He was an outsider in this world. Such detachment gave rise to Michael's belief in his divinity, and - as a result - in inevitable immortality. He tried to achieve this immortality not only by scientific and technical means, but also by occult means.

Was Michael Jackson a Vampire?
Michael Jackson considered himself a vampire. Everyone knows that he underwent several facial skin grafts. He endured these painful operations not because he was ashamed of being black. He wanted to become like thousands of the living dead, who - he believed - still had not disappeared from the face of our planet.

On December 2, 1983, the Thriller clip was shown on MTV for the first time.

Filmed on the disc of the same name, Thriller is an attempt to shout to the soldiers of the vampire army. Michael hoped that if he became like them on the outside, he would change on the inside. "Thriller" was like an autobiography of Jackson, in which he laughed at death. But subconsciously he was afraid of death and was looking for the secrets of immortality. He hoped that after seeing the film, the living dead would feel his desperation and come to him.

And they came. One of the vampires led Michael Jackson to the Illuminati.
One way or another, this meeting had to take place. Jackson not only spent millions on pleasure. He spent hundreds of millions searching for immortality. These searches were bound to lead him to the Illuminati sooner or later. At one time, Hitler was looking for contacts with the Illuminati in order to build a thousand-year empire with their help. I have already mentioned this. The Illuminati were able to avoid Hitler's bloodhounds. But Jackson had more resources than the demon-possessed Fuhrer.

With money and threats, he achieved that he was admitted to the archives of the Order, which kept the secrets of millennia. He spent many weeks in the Illuminati archives. At this time, his three doubles constantly flashed in public. It was much easier to find doubles for Michael Jackson with his face, assembled from shreds of skin, as if plastic, than for other celebrities. It was this circumstance that prompted Michael Jackson to plan a fake death. It is about this plan that I will now tell.

Michael Jackson doppelganger photo

The truth about the fictitious death of Michael Jackson
Before leaving for a better world, he allowed himself an excessive load, which could well lead to cardiac arrest from the painkiller administered by the attending physician. As they say, in the hands of the attending physician died not at all the real michael Jackson, a Romanian doppelgänger Dimitri Dragucescu(Dimitrie Draghicescu), who was dragged into one of the biggest intrigues in show business.

Michael Jackson himself at that time calmly boarded a jet plane that took him to the South-East of the United States of America. This Romanian decided to be like two peas in a pop legend, for three years he underwent many plastic surgeries. He also learned to copy the manner of speech and style of behavior, not to mention the choreographic abilities. But still it was not the great Michael Jackson, but just his double, who was taken to the hospital.
Think for yourself, the person who called the emergency response service did not answer who is ill, and what is his name. In principle, even if the idol of millions died, then in 911 they would reliably hide this information from outsiders, besides, they have special sensors that react to the degree of excitement of the caller, thereby allowing you to find out about the reliability of the call. At that moment, there were no suspicions, but the person actually died, but it was unlikely that it was Michael Jackson.

Dimitri Dragucescu was mortally ill and knew that sooner or later his turn would come, so he agreed to play the role of the corpse of the Great King. In addition, the real Michael promised a generous reward to the family of the Romanian double, and he simply could not refuse such a luxurious way to leave. In fact, Jackson is alive, and he was absolutely healthy, because all his life he tried to keep himself in amazing shape, which would allow him to live not 50 years, but all 150. Most likely, the planned blackmail was successful, and now Michael Jackson is calm with looks at what is happening from the side with a smile. This man reached such heights in his life that several generations do not reach, he had everything that one could dream of. He was loved by millions, and he paid the same, and the series of scandals that was associated with the name of the singer is nothing more than a way to warm up attention to his person.

Michael Jackson's secret diary
After Michael's death, his close longtime friend allegedly found the singer's diary, in which he repeatedly mentioned a certain death plan, a staging that he wants to crank out. The diary stated that Jackson wanted to simulate his departure from this world from a heart attack. Also in his diary, Jackson writes that he was tired of his name being associated only with scandalous details of his life, he's fed up with all the hype, and he just wants to get away, rest. He goes on to describe such details that allegedly another King of the stage, Elvis Presley, who had problems with drugs, at one time also staged his death theatrically, although in fact, another person was in his place.

It is quite possible that Jackson decided in this way to get rid of all the problems at once and simply fool the world community. In confirmation of this, there are many facts that clearly show that Michael Jackson could not just disappear in an instant. In his diary, he writes that he is most likely simulating a heart attack that will occur from strong drugs.
He even chose the day when he would reveal himself to the world, lifeless. He wanted to choose either Christmas or New Year, but he hesitated. He further wrote that after that a completely different life would come, which would be more beautiful than the one that was before. He understood that he had a million-strong army of fans, which he would lose forever, but he did not know and could not imagine another way to get rid of all the pressing problems at once.

The close friend who found this manuscript was taken aback by the information it contained. He decided to give the diary to friends and relatives of the singer. As he correctly noted, this is not his thing, it does not belong to him. According to people close to Michael, the singer announced his intention to leave in 2008, but then no one took his words seriously. When the case turned out in this way, there was an immediate resonance in the media. This real project fraud which, if exposed, would be a powerful weapon against the superstar's identity. The legal consequences in this case will be more than serious. When this information was made public, ordinary people gladly accepted the fact that Michael Jackson may actually be alive, and that it was a prank. Ordinary people love him the way he is in his songs, his work and they don't care about what really happened. They believe that he didn't do it for money, not for insurance, to cover all his debts.

Doppelgänger Jackson's death
On June 25 last year, the world was stunned by the news that overnight eclipsed all others. Pop idol Michael Jackson has died. At first, no one believed this contradictory information, some even decided that it was nothing more than a duck or someone's bad joke. Many continued to believe that Jackson was alive and just hiding. Moreover, thousands of witnesses around the world unanimously claimed that they had seen the King of Pop.

In particular, his family behaved extremely suspiciously, on the basis of which, the journalists decided that death of michael jackson is not fiction. Then the whole world knew that death itself popular singer in the real world, really.
After reliable medical confirmation of death, the family of the deceased demanded a second autopsy to find out for sure whether it was really Michael. An autopsy showed that Michael Jackson died from a large dose of the painkiller Diprivan (another name in the medical world is "Propofol"), which was injected into him by his attending physician. The attending physician is found guilty of the death of the most popular singer in the world.
The best lawyers tried to drop the charge against the attending physician, but as it turned out, this was absolutely impossible. Nevertheless, some argue that death is nothing more than a very high-quality staging, and in fact, Jackson was an absolutely healthy person who would not have lived up to 50 years, up to 150 years.

Regarding his bankruptcy, this is also nothing more than a fiction, he still had huge financial resources and could afford a lot. One gets the impression that Jackson is sitting quietly somewhere in secluded place and with a smile on his lips watching what is happening. He achieved even more than he imagined, so why not indulge in such a small prank?
Perhaps he was tired of being popular, because popularity does not relieve loneliness, and apparently, Jackson was an unhappy person. Many did not understand him when he decided to have an operation and changed his skin color, but when the tragedy came to his house, it seemed that everyone who even disliked Michael began to mourn with those who considered him their idol.

When did the Michael Jackson lookalike die?
On June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, a staged death was performed. And on Thursday, September 3, at the Glendale Forest Lawn cemetery in the suburbs of Los Angeles, millions of people around the world watched how the funeral of the “King” took place, so how to regard the fact that he is alive or really went to another world? Nobody knows for sure.

What actually happened will remain a mystery to everyone, the key to which will be extremely difficult to find.

Perhaps this is one great performance, in which the King of Millions played the main role, and I must say he played it perfectly, forcing the whole world to believe in his sudden death. After all, judge for yourself how otherwise such a famous person could disappear without a trace, whose life in Lately became the subject of discussion throughout the globe, a certain stagnation was noticed in creativity, and here there is such a chance that you need to use it as soon as possible. After all, Michael Jackson disappeared immediately after the world tour, doesn't it seem suspicious or even mystical to you?

The golden lid of the coffin was closed, behind it it was not visible who was in the coffin.

Immediately after the announcement of the death of the great singer, all of him soared to the top of the charts, his album began to be bought up with tripled force, knowing about the debts that had accumulated a lot, Jackson and his entourage could well pull off such a scam. All statements about long-term illness and other health problems are nothing more than a myth. Jackson was in great shape and was not going to die, at least not so soon. More of such a genius may not appear on the stage, and if he does, how will the world react to him? Will he accept a new, yet unknown singer? Only time will give an answer to this question.

What do you think?

Trailer - That's it

Michael Joseph Jackson

On August 29, 1958, a boy was born into a poor and unremarkable African-American family of Joseph and Katherine Jackson, in the town of Gary, lost in the state of Indiana. He was the seventh child in a family that lived in a small house, so small it looked like a garage. The boy was named Michael. Thus, the greatest and most unsolved artist of the late twentieth century, Michael Jackson, was born.

Hundreds of biographies, books, studies have been written about the phenomenon of Michael Jackson, and none of them has been able to cover his entire image so far. In this short biography we won't be able to do it anymore. But still, let's try, for those who are just entering the magical world of the artist, to write a short biographical article. Based on it, it will be easier to understand Michael Jackson's autobiography "Moonwalk", and other books, interviews, stories of people who were friends and worked with him over the years.

Childhood in Gary, Indiana

The town of Gary, in which Michael was born, is a small settlement in Indiana, in the East Chicago area. 80% of the town's inhabitants are African Americans - simple workers living in poor houses and working at a local steel plant. And Michael's father, Joseph Jackson, worked at that time in the foundry at this plant. After Michael, two more children were born in the family, and six boys had to sleep in a tiny bedroom on three-story beds. The family barely made ends meet, but thanks to Michael's mother Catherine, a zealous Jehovah's Witness, the children grew up in an environment of strict rules, and the house was kept as tidy as possible. Children from infancy were taught to clean up on their own and take care of themselves.

Michael's house in Gary

In addition, music was constantly played in the house. “We sang a lot at home, mostly popular blues songs like ‘Mustang Sally’. Katherine and I loved to sing with the kids and she also played the piano and sometimes the clarinet. I could play some songs on my guitar too, and every spare minute we had we played R&B records, singers such as Little Richard, Chi-lites, Chuck Berry, The Temptations, Aretha Franklin, Fats Domino, Joe Tex, Big Maybell, The Impressions and Major Lance,” the father of the family, Joseph, later wrote in his book. It was he, according to Michael himself, who played a decisive role in his development as an artist - despite the fact that the relationship between father and son could hardly be called harmonious.

Joseph was not a timid man, with a strong temper and great ambitions. In his youth, he had to change many occupations - he visited, including the boxing ring, worked as a sleeper stacker, and picked cotton on the plantations of the South. "Someday I'll be at the top too, I promised myself," Joe later wrote in his autobiography. But it is unlikely that in his youth he could have imagined who would lead him to this peak, although show business clearly occupied his thoughts very much: the Falcons (Falcons) group he created with his friends played all over the city, and also performed in clubs and colleges of northern Indiana and Chicago.

The first memories of Michael's childhood do not describe his disposition in infancy in too much detail. Everyone agrees only that the baby has always been full of inextinguishable energy. Mother recalls how, at the age of two, he famously danced to the sound of a washing machine; older brother Jermaine - about how agile he was before he even learned to walk - so that it was impossible to change his diapers; father said that it was impossible to take his eyes off him for a second, otherwise he would disappear, and then he would be found under the table or under the bed.

Katherine Esther Scruse-Jackson

The film "The Jacksons - American Dream", based on the history of the creation of the Jackson 5, describes the legend of its origin. According to her, it all started with the fact that one of the eldest sons, Tito, quietly took his father's guitar to learn how to play. One day, the father found that his son was taking his instrument without asking. Tito was punished, and severely punished: Joseph did not differ in humanity in raising children. However, at the same time, he was surprised to see that Tito learned to play very well. According to his own version, Tito broke a string on the guitar. “What did you do?” I asked him calmly. Tito looked at me incredulously. He thought I would be angry now. “Well, show me what you can do,” I said. I could hardly hide my joy. And he really knew how to play. He taught himself the blues songs that I always played on the guitar. Like me, he played by ear. I didn’t show Tito right away how proud I was of him, but after a couple of days I came home and brought him a gift: a new red guitar!” Joe recalls.

From that moment on, the fate of the children was decided. The Falcons group gradually disappeared from the sight of its creator. Joseph created a musical group from older boys, with whom he rehearsed every day - for three hours or more. Michael was one of the younger brothers, at the time of the formation of the group he was about 5 years old. This little tomboy was not noticed for some time: at first he just played the bongos, which, according to his father and brothers, he really liked. It is curious that even as an adult, Michael remained an excellent percussionist, and also performed excellent beatboxing. But one day during the rehearsal, according to legend, Catherine's mother heard Michael sing. “Listen to how he sings,” she told her husband. And Joe heard.

Frontman of The Jackson Five

Little Michael

Everyone who remembers little Michael unanimously says that his talent was immediately visible. In his book Moonwalk, he talked about his first performance at a school concert: he sang the song "Climb every mountain" ("I will climb any mountain") from the musical "The Sound of Music". “The reaction of the audience when I finished singing shocked me. The hall burst into applause, people smiled, some stood up. The teachers were crying. I just couldn't believe my eyes. I gave them all happiness. It was such a wonderful feeling. But at the same time, I was a little embarrassed: I didn’t do anything special. I just sang like I used to sing at home every night,” Michael recalled. Life has confirmed: “I will climb any mountain” - this is really his motto.

Joseph was astute: once convinced of how great the gift of his young son was, he made Michael the frontman of the group. Thus was the beginning of the artistic career of Michael Jackson. At the age of five, he became one of the most gifted child artists of the twentieth century. But the same talent that made Michael the most famous artist on Earth began to limit his freedom from childhood.

From the age of five, the boy's life was subject to the most severe schedule of rehearsals and concerts. Over time, he, like his brothers, had to leave school: a teacher, Rose Fine, was specially hired to teach the boys, who traveled with the Jackson 5 group around the world. And there was simply no time left for things like socializing and playing with peers. So the theme of "lost childhood" has become one of the main "red lines" in the work, and in the whole life of the artist.

Motown Artist

In Moonwalk, he wrote: “I used to come home from school and, as soon as I left my books, I rushed to the studio. There I sang until late at night, in fact, when it was already time for me to sleep. Across the street from the studio<...>there was a park, and, I remember, I looked at the guys playing there. I looked at them and wondered - I just could not imagine such freedom, such a carefree life - and more than anything in the world I wanted to be so free that I could go out into the street and behave like them. So I had sad moments as a child. But this happens with all children who have become "stars". Elizabeth Taylor told me she felt the same way. When you work at a very young age, the world can seem terribly unfair. No one forced me to be little Michael the soloist - I chose it myself, and I loved it - but the work was hard. When we were recording for an album, for example, we would go into the studio right after school, and sometimes I would get a bite to eat and sometimes I wouldn't. There just wasn't time. I returned home exhausted, at eleven, or even at twelve at night, when it was long overdue to sleep.

All this was complicated by the tough and cruel disposition of the main mentor, and then the producer of the Jackson brothers - Joseph. The rudeness and rigidity of his father, his tendency to solve problems with a belt and shouting, affected the boys in different ways, but for Michael, a gifted child with a fine mental organization, it was especially difficult to endure. The father drilled his children “excellently”, he instilled in Michael for life the concept of the importance of discipline and hard work, without which no talent can be realized; however, a vulnerable child with a wild imagination needed not only a strict coach, but also a loving person. “He trained me as a showman, and under his guidance, I could not take a single wrong step. But what I really wanted was for him to be a dad. I wanted a father who would show me his love, ”Michael later said.

In adulthood, he managed to overcome childhood and youthful grievances, and Joe himself became softer over time, but nevertheless, the traumas experienced in childhood were never completely forgotten, and relations with his father remained tense until Michael's death. In many ways, this childhood tragedy of the artist-wunderkind repeated the fate of such geniuses as Paganini or Mozart, who were the same "star children" led by strict fathers. As an adult, Michael quickly found a common language with people with a similar fate - this is how his friendship with Elizabeth Taylor and tender attachment to the "girl star" of old Hollywood Shirley Temple began.

Jackson 5

In the meantime, the "Jackson Five" gained recognition in their city and surrounding areas in three or four years. Children performed wherever the opportunity presented itself - in schools, at different competitions talents that invariably won, in nightclubs and strip bars, where little Michael, already at the age of seven or eight, got acquainted with the whole “wrong side” of show business. It was not uncommon for a band to open up for strippers and then stay in the gym or come home in the dead of night, rehearsing and playing again the next day.

The next step was the conquest of Chicago. Everywhere the boys were successful - primarily due to the amazing baby soloist, who masterfully performed covers of the songs of Motown artists - the first "black" music label in the United States, which brought to light a whole galaxy of brilliant soloists and R&B groups. After some time, the group was invited to the oldest "black" musical theater in the United States - to the famous New York Apollo Theater in the heart of Harlem, the cradle of such world-famous famous talents like Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Jackie Wilson, Nina Simone, James Brown. The exacting and capricious New York audience was literally subdued: the triumph of the Jackson five was deafening. After that, the brothers were invited to television, to the David Frost show - but suddenly at the very last moment Joseph refused the invitation. The boys couldn't believe their ears when they heard about it, but the father explained, "They called from Motown."

Growing up. Motown and Epic

Jackson 5 on the cover of Life magazine

The Jackson Five were invited to audition for a famous label, and for many years this audition determined their fate. They joined the studio's star team at the very zenith of its history, when artists such as The Supremes (with Diana Ross), The Temptations, The Four Tops, singers Marvin Gaye, Martha Reeves, Gladys Knight, Smokey Robinson shone on stage and young child prodigy Stevie Wonder.

The main idols of young Michael were the famous black stars James Brown and Jackie Wilson. Sitting backstage for hours, Michael looked and looked at them while his brothers rested nonchalantly, and learned from these masters the art of keeping the audience's attention, absorbing their expression, assimilating dance techniques. Michael was a master at imitating his idols, and this touched the audience, but Michael's vocal talent was not just an object of affection. The boy, who had never studied music or vocals, sang his parts in the purest voice, easily memorizing any melody, one had only to sing it to him. Throughout his career, Michael Jackson remained "musically illiterate", that is, self-taught in everything. However, ignorance of the notes did not prevent him from composing music, and ignorance of vocal techniques did not prevent him from recording songs from the first take.

In the US, there are fans of Michael Jackson who are older than himself. These are the ones who made resounding success The Jackson Fives. All of America fell in love with these boys. The Jackson Five broke records in attendance The Beatles. They were the idols of a young audience, and the paparazzi began to hunt for them.

Michael, age 12 Michael's life has changed dramatically and forever. He became a superstar at the age of 11 and at the same time grew into the only artist in the history of music who, having matured, not only did not lose the love of the audience, but also multiplied the success of his childhood years.

In the early 1970s, thanks to the talent of the Jackson brothers and the tenacity of Joe, the whole family moved to live in California, where the Motown label also moved. The Jacksons collaborated with Motown for several more years, but then they parted ways, mainly because the brothers wanted to write their own songs, which Motown did not allow them to do. Michael, at the age of 16, discussed the termination of the contract with the management of the label. It should be noted that even at such a young age, when it came to business, Michael behaved decisively and uncompromisingly. As a result, the group moved to another label - Epic - and changed their name to The Jacksons. And little Michael, imperceptibly for everyone, has grown a lot.

17 years Describing his growing up in his autobiography, Michael recalls that it became a great stress for him. When you grow before your eyes whole country and you don't leave the covers of magazines, people want to see you the way they initially liked you, he said. A cute little boy with an Afro hairstyle, bright perky eyes and dimples on his cheeks was the favorite of millions. And as it turned out, no one recognized the thin teenager with youthful acne on his face. Sometimes in search of "little Michael" people passed him, and when they realized that Michael was standing next to them, they did not hide their annoyance.

Joseph also added fuel to the fire, pointing out to his son his huge wide nose, insisting that this feature was inherited from his mother. Both brothers and cousins ​​teased Michael - no one missed the opportunity to humiliate the favorite of the public. Perhaps the stress experienced in adolescence and youth was not the last factor that influenced the subsequent artificial changes in Michael's appearance. However, these changes are explained by many other things - both the state of his health, and his understanding of art as, among other things, the art of sculpting oneself and one's life to one's own taste.

Off The Wall. Thriller. Conquest of the summit

Michael, 21 Michael started his official solo career when he was 21 years old. He refused his father's services as a manager, terminated the contract with him and took control of his creative destiny in his own hands. His first solo album off the wall, which consisted of songs in the then popular disco style, was released in 1979 and was a phenomenal success - much more than the work of Michael and his brothers, released shortly before. This disc was recognized at that time as the most successful album by a black artist. in history. Many music critics, especially in America, still consider him the pinnacle of Michael Jackson's work.

However, Michael himself was not satisfied. The album received a string of awards but failed to win the music industry's most influential award, the Grammy Album of the Year Award. “I felt that my colleagues ignored me, and it was painful,” Michael later recalled. “This experience lit a fire in my soul,” he wrote in his autobiography. - I was only thinking about the next album and how I would create it. I wanted him to be truly great."

And he fully realized his idea. It is customary to talk about Michael's next album as the greatest achievement in the history of modern recording. Album Thriller received such a success that it is virtually impossible to repeat. The best-selling album, the Guinness book record holder, the peak, which was climbed by only one person and only once. The album took seven grammy awards at the 1984 ceremony, including the Album of the Year award, Michael's revenge was resounding.

In his cult film "Thriller" It was from this album that the triumphant march through the world of Michael Jackson's video clips began. To work on his musical films, Michael decided to invite filmmakers. He himself did not call his videos "video clips" - he called them "short films". And in general, he was right, because the video clip genre neither before Michael nor after him reached such perfection and sophistication.

In addition, Michael completely reinvented his own image. Moonwalk. Shiny glove. The famous black fedora hat... All these most recognizable features of Michael Jackson's appearance entered the world of popular music precisely in the era Thriller.

Michael invested his profits from record sales of the album in a strategically important acquisition. On the advice of his colleague Paul McCartney, he bought the ATV music catalog containing the rights to the songs of many famous performers(including, ironically, the songs of The Beatles themselves). Buying the catalog turned out to be a wise investment: Michael had the right to control where and how the songs from the catalog were used and throughout their later life received royalties each time these songs generated commercial revenue.

Michael is taken to the hospital with a burn

A succession of successes, however, was overshadowed by an accident. In 1984 on the set commercial for PepsiCo, a pyrotechnic explosion sent sparks to Michael's head and set his hair on fire. Michael's guard, Miko Brando, extinguished the flames with his hands, Michael was immediately taken to the hospital. He had severe burns on his skin. It took several operations to restore the scalp. The procedures were long and painful. Recovery dragged on for several years and was complicated by the appearance of keloid scars that grew and prevented normal hair growth. As Michael's nurse and future wife, Debbie Rowe, later said, he had to deal with this problem for decades. It was from that time that Michael began to wear a black hat so often - at first it performed a cosmetic function, and then became an integral part of the image.

bad. "Crazy Jacko" neverland

25 years after resounding success Thriller Michael again plunged into work: he rarely gave interviews, spoke little about his hobbies outside of music, and even more so about his private life. He carefully guarded his personal space. In addition, this was his PR strategy: he believed that in order to succeed, you need to intrigue the public and give it time to miss the "star", and not bother, an eyesore on television screens and secular parties. He carefully created a persona that made people guess and discuss him.

Thus, he soon became known as a strange "hermit", leading a reclusive life in the company of his animals (Michael had a small zoo at home). Rumors spread. Michael sometimes appeared in public either in the company of singer and actress Diana Ross, or accompanied by film actress Brooke Shields, or with Elizabeth Taylor. But in these appearances, romance could not be discerned, and Michael began to be accused of hiding his true sexual orientation. Some said he was gay. And when people noticed that Michael changed the shape of his nose and began to use makeup off the stage, the conviction that there was “something wrong” with him only grew.

Michael with Diana Ross, American Music Awards, 1980

However, many rumors were fueled by Michael and his manager Frank Dileo intentionally. They seemed to be playing with the press and public opinion - believing that they had the situation under control. So, rumors that Michael "sleeps in a pressure chamber" and that he bathes only in Evian water were deliberately spread. “It all depends on the rhythm and the right choice of moment,” Michael once explained his tactics of working with the public, as if talking about a real stage performance. - You need to clearly know what you are doing ... It's like a fever: people are waiting, waiting. It is very important to wait. Preserve, cherish this feeling... If you remain mysterious, people's interest will grow.

However, the game has gone too far. “Suddenly, in an instant, all of Jackson’s eccentricity, which only a few months ago was considered intriguing or completely insignificant, began to be called strange, wonderful and amazing,” writes Joseph Vogel in his book The Man in Music. - It became difficult for the artist to withstand ruthless attacks, interference in his life, annoying questions and attention.<…>He was isolated from the world more than ever. As soon as he left the house, a crowd of fans and paparazzi immediately attacked him.<…>Every aspect of an artist's life was viewed under a microscope. People wanted to know everything about him. Why does he have such a high voice? Did he take hormones? Did he have sex reassignment surgery? Is he homosexual? Is he asexual? Why does he live in seclusion and fairy tale surroundings? Why obsessed with animals and children? Why does he wear masks and costumes? Is he out of touch with reality? Is he even human?"

The already shy and isolated Michael almost completely stopped appearing in public. In the vacuum created by the artist's absence, gossip spread and multiplied. Soon, the label "Crazy Jacko" firmly stuck to him, and streams of fabrications poured out of the floodgates of human slander. Some of the stories seemed harmless if strange: rumors of a supposed "sanctuary" he had built in honor of Elizabeth Taylor, of Bubbles the chimpanzee, and even that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man.

Bad-period

“By 1987, for the public, the Jackson-man seemed to have ceased to exist,” writes Vogel. “He transformed into the creature they were trying to mold from him. Even those to whom he seemed perfectly normal noticed the effects. “One day in the studio I saw Michael sitting on the bathroom vanity, behind the control room,” says assistant engineer Russ Ragsdale. “He was sitting with his feet on the tabletop, his shoulder against the mirror, and he was almost in a trance, like an animal in a cage.”

The public opinion about the artist has changed so much that his new album Bad, despite the very strong material, a number of hits and strong worldwide sales, was recognized by the readers of the magazine " Rolling stone"The worst album ever." Later that year, during the Bad world tour, Jackson wrote a desperate letter to the press from his hotel room. It said, “As the old Native American saying goes, don't judge a man until he's walked two moons in his moccasins. Many people don't know me, so they write things like this, most of which are not true. I often cry because it hurts… Animals attack not out of anger, but because they want to live. And the same goes for those who criticize: they need our blood, not our pain ... But show mercy, because I have been bleeding for a very long time.

Michael in "Chaplin" image

In fact, Michael devoted most of his time to hard work. Unprecedented album success Thriller set an unattainable bar for him, which the artist, nevertheless, tried to surpass with each subsequent album. He carefully studied the weekly charts, tracked the latest and trends in modern music to know what resonates with the audience the most. He attracted the most talented producers and musicians to cooperate. When preparing the albums, Michael worked on dozens of songs, the best of which were then selected for the final tracklist. And he was constantly learning.

Michael Jackson was an avid reader and collected his own library, which eventually grew to 20,000 volumes. His collection included books on world art, history, biology and psychology. He was deeply interested in the biographies of the great people of the past and drew life lessons from their destinies. He was fond of auto-training techniques and developed programs for mentally targeting the result. In addition, he not only, like any American, loved movies and cartoons, but seriously studied cinema, admired Walt Disney and Charlie Chaplin.

Rich Gateway to Neverland During this period, Michael also purchased a new home, a picturesque 2,800-acre ranch two and a half hours from Los Angeles. He named the ranch "Neverland" - in honor of the fairy-tale land from his favorite story about Peter Pan. After moving from his parents' home to Neverland, Michael refurbished the ranch to his liking and turned it into a truly magical, fairy-tale place for guests - especially for children. “I wanted to create a place where there would be everything that I lacked in my childhood,” Michael said about Neverland. There appeared a zoo with exotic animals, an amusement park, a cinema, an arcade with video games and a railway with a real steam locomotive. Having equipped the ranch, Michael opened it to visitors. He invited friends, admirers and children from the surrounding schools to visit. Every few weeks, sick and needy children were brought in by bus to the ranch so they could spend the day in "fairytale land." The rural idyll of Neverland also gave Michael solitude and a sense of harmony with nature - the necessary components of creative inspiration.

Dangerous. Accusations and international scandal

Although the commercial success of the album Thriller Michael (like no one else to this day) failed to surpass, all his subsequent albums invariably ended up at the top of the charts. With the release of the album Dangerous and the world tour of the same name in 1992-93, Jackson expanded the geography of his performances, including the countries of Eastern Europe, Asia, Africa and Latin America. This elevated him to an already great global popularity to an unprecedented level. In the countries of the "third world" hysteria according to Michael Jackson was not inferior to the American and British. He won the title of famous person in the world - even in perestroika Russia. His arrival in Moscow with a Dangerous concert in September 1993 became one of the landmark events of the era of change for Russians.

But such fame, like a snowball, "wound" more and more rumors on the artist's reputation. It seemed that people could not find a place for themselves with curiosity, burning with the desire to find out what he eats, what he sleeps in, with whom he dine, what color are his socks, why is he wearing a hat, why is he white, why is there makeup on his face, why is there a bandage on his sleeve Who is his girlfriend, why are there children around him.

Michael and Oprah, 1993 In February 1993, for the first time in ten years, Michael decided to give big. The interview was intended to dispel the rumors around the star and lift the veil of mystery that hid him. true life. The world saw a fair-skinned man with high voice, with long black hair and makeup on his face, who sat in the living room of his luxurious mansion on the territory of a huge ranch with the magical name "Neverland" and answered questions that excited the public for almost an hour. Much of this interview was a revelation to the public. In particular, it was then that Michael first spoke about the fact that he suffers from a skin disease (vitiligo), as a result of which his skin loses its natural pigment and becomes light. The interview received a record high rating, with 85 million Americans watching it live, according to the network. It caused a new wave of interest in the artist's work and had a positive effect on Michael's image in the eyes of the townsfolk.

Unfortunately, the effect of the interview was short-lived. In the same 1993, the madness around the name of Michael Jackson reached a "boiling point". All the misunderstanding that has accumulated around his image, everything that attracted attention to Michael, all his resounding success and mega-popularity turned out to be nutrient medium for the most terrible accusation he himself could think of. In August, Evan Chandler, the father of the family with whom Michael became friends, filed a civil lawsuit accusing the artist of "inappropriate behavior" towards his minor son. The news that the King of Pop is a pedophile spread around the world in a matter of days.

It is difficult to imagine what Michael himself experienced during that period. According to his relatives and friends, the accusation was a terrible blow for him. After all, exactly what Michael considered his mission, the meaning of his life - helping children - was distorted and turned against him. His best aspirations and most important life principles were misinterpreted. When the global scandal broke out, Michael was on tour. Every evening he had to go on stage in different countries and cities, not knowing how the new audience would meet him and what the thousands of people who had gathered for the concert really thought about him. During a short visit to Russia, he wrote a poignant song about loneliness "Stranger In Moscow": "I wandered in the rain, hiding behind the mask of life, feeling like I was going crazy ..." Strong stress, coupled with an exhausting performance schedule, jet lag and pain from the operation transferred before the start of the tour, they made themselves felt - Michael's insomnia worsened, and he was forced to turn to painkillers and sleeping pills in order to maintain efficiency.

By November, his condition had become critical: the remaining dates of the Dangerous tour had to be canceled and Michael's girlfriend, Elizabeth Taylor, took him to a rehab clinic in London. Michael spent about a month there, restoring his health and strength.

Was there anything rational about the charges leveled against Michael? This was discussed a lot by both the singer's fans and his ill-wishers, but it is worth looking first of all at the facts. Evan Chandler, a dentist divorced from his wife and very modestly involved in his son's life, was a man of great ambition and dreamed of a career in Hollywood. When his son Jordan met superstar Michael Jackson, Evan was initially sympathetic to the friendship and even tried to form a friendship with Michael. However, Jordan began to spend more and more time with Michael, clearly seeing him as a father figure, and Evan, by his own admission, got jealous and felt that he was losing his son. Yes, and the boy's mother, June, sympathized with Michael more than her own ex-husband. In the summer of 1993, Evan, allegedly having received a confession from Geordie, first turned to Michael demanding money and threatening to start public scandal. In a published private telephone conversation, Evan admits that he has conceived a plan and his goal is to get his own or ruin Michael's career. He also says his son's interests in the case "do not matter." This probably explains why Evan did not file a police report, as a truly angry parent would, but instead tried to extort material compensation from Jackson. When Jackson refused to meet his terms, Chandler put his threats into action and filed a civil suit.

Michael proclaims his innocence on TV Michael Jackson has always vehemently defended his innocence. At first, he intended to fight for his honor to the end and did not agree to make concessions. However, the scandal undermined his health and jeopardized his career. The legal proceedings threatened to drag on for several years, which would have had a detrimental effect on music sales and the artist's public image. In addition, despite the fact that the Chandlers never went to the police, the Santa Barbara County Attorney, on his own initiative, opened an investigation with the intention of filing criminal charges against Michael. If he succeeded, Jackson would have to defend himself "on two fronts" at once. The situation was extremely stressful for Michael.

The last straw was the humiliating personal search to which Michael was subjected: he, a shy man who was extremely scrupulous about his public image, was forced to strip naked in the presence of investigators and doctors and photographed his genitals to compare with the description given by the boy. Soon after this traumatic event, Michael, succumbing to the persuasion of his advisers and the insurance company, agreed to a peace agreement with the Chandlers. "We wanted to leave this horror behind," he later explained in a TV interview. The amount his insurer paid out to Evan Chandler was $15 million.

Prime Time interview, 1995 Peace agreement with the Chandlers civil suit did not affect the investigation led by the prosecutor's office - and the investigation continued for several more months. However, there is no evidence or credible evidence that would point to criminal behavior Michael, the police did not find. The description given earlier by Jordan was not confirmed by the photographs, and Jordan himself did not want to testify against Michael. The two grand juries assembled on the matter ultimately declined to indict Jackson for lack of evidence.

Michael was left alone, but this scandal and the cash payment extremely negatively affected his reputation. PepsiCo, which sponsored his world tour, decided not to renew his contract. Many former friends suddenly disappeared from his life. And the question forever remained in the minds of the public: “If he was innocent, then why did he pay?”

HIStory. King of Pop and Princess of Rock. Second marriage and children

Michael himself publicly commented on these events only twice - in a statement of his innocence on TV and later in. However, personal experiences poured abundantly into his work: most of the new, released in 1995, became his response to the accusations. So, for example, in the song "This Time Around" Michael throws to unnamed offenders: "This time I will not let myself be stung, although you really want to get to me!" In the song “Money”, he accuses the enemy of self-interest: “You will do anything for money ...”, and in the song “D.S.” openly convicts the district attorney who started hunting him: "Tom Sneddon is a heartless person."

Michael and Lisa Marie Just a few months after the scandal subsided, the world was shocked by another unexpected news: Michael Jackson got married. Lisa Marie Presley, Elvis' daughter and heiress, has announced to the world that she is the legal wife of the King of Pop. "I am truly in love with Michael and want to dedicate my life to him," she said in a statement to the press.

At that moment, the general public did not know anything about the history of the relationship between Michael and Lisa Marie, so this news was received with skepticism by many. The young people were quick to accuse that the marriage was fictitious, that its purpose was to help Michael restore his reputation after the accusations and demonstrate his heterosexuality. Over time, however, it became increasingly clear that this was not the case.

Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley The first joint photo shoot Michael and Lisa met in 1992 through a mutual friend: Lisa wanted to offer Michael to produce her debut album. Later, she admitted that at the first meeting she was fascinated by Michael: he denied the rumors about himself and turned out to be completely different from what the press portrayed him. “I forgot that he was a superstar after 20 minutes - he was so open and simple with me,” she said. Michael and Lisa began to communicate often, and an affair began between them. At that time, Lisa was still married to her previous husband, Danny Keu, but this did not stop Michael from continuing courtship, and Lisa from accepting them.

Michael and Lisa Marie, February 1998 At first, the couple seemed really happy, but the marriage lasted only a year and a half - in early 1996, Lisa Marie filed for divorce. According to her, she could not live "in the ivory tower" built around Michael. She, like any woman, wanted attention and marital understanding - Michael was used to existing in the mode of public performance, played out by himself. The dissolution of the marriage was an impulsive decision (“a stupid move,” as Lisa Marie later called it). The couple's relationship continued for several more years after the divorce. Lisa did not hide the fact that she loved Michael for many years, and although the breakup left her bitterness and doubts about the reciprocity of these feelings, after Michael's death she admitted: "And he loved me as much as he could."

For Michael, a serious disappointment in marriage was the fact that Lisa Marie did not give birth to a child for him. Having grown up in a large family and seeing a source of inspiration in children, Michael really wanted to become a father, but Lisa, who already had two small children from her first marriage, was in no hurry to conceive, and the marriage ended up being childless.

Michael and Debbie A year and a half after the divorce of Michael Jackson and Lisa Marie Presley, it was reported that Debbie Rowe, a nurse and an old acquaintance of Michael, was expecting a child from him. Soon - in Australia during the HIStory world tour - Michael and Debbie got married. The news was met with even more criticism than Jackson's first marriage. Most people heard the name Debbie Rowe for the first time and knew nothing about her friendship with Jackson. “An unknown nurse of ordinary appearance is not a couple for a world-famous superstar,” the public reasoned. The marriage was again called fictitious, and this time it seemed that even Michael himself did not try to deny it.

Perhaps this relationship really was not built on romance, but Debbie Rowe was far from a random person in Michael's life. Michael met Debbie back in the early 80s at a dermatologist's appointment, where he underwent medical and cosmetic procedures to improve his skin condition. For more than a decade, Debbie has helped Michael cope with vitiligo, a disease that caused his skin to lose its natural pigment, as well as the effects of a burn received on the set of commercials. In the early 90s, when Michael underwent painful scalp surgery, Debbie lived with him for several weeks, helping him through the post-surgery period.

Michael with his first child, Prince Michael

Michael saw in Debbie a devoted friend, but she truly loved him and did not hide it. After noticing how Michael was worried about his failed marriage to Lisa Marie, Debbie offered to help him fulfill his most cherished dream - to become a father. And Michael gratefully accepted her offer. On February 13, 1997, Debbie gave Michael, probably the most precious gift in his life - she gave birth to his son Prince, and a year later - daughter Paris.

Shortly thereafter, the couple filed for divorce. The children stayed with Michael and Debbie only saw them occasionally. Many condemned the couple for this decision and blamed Debbie for abandoning her children. But according to her, this was the plan from the very beginning: she did not want to become a mother, but only wanted to give children to Michael, to make him happy. She gave birth to children for him.

Michael with his three children According to Michael himself, the appearance of children radically changed his life. The children gave her new meaning became his inspiration and support. From now on, they were more important to him than anything in the world, and even music faded into the background. According to all acquaintances, friends and colleagues of Michael without exception, he was an exemplary parent. He himself took care of his children from infancy: he changed their diapers, washed them, cleaned up after them, cooked for them, taught them good manners and engaged in their diversification. He studied parenting books and aspired to be the best father in the world. "My most A big dream— about Prince and Paris once saying about me: “He was the most best dad!” Michael confessed to his friend in a private conversation published later. Wherever he traveled, on whatever projects he worked, he always took care of the needs of his little ones and always found time for them.

In February 2002, Michael had a third child - a son, Prince Michael Jackson II. The kid received from his father affectionate nickname"Blanket", which stuck to him as the main name. Nothing was publicly reported about the boy's mother (as Michael's personal assistant later said in his memoirs, Blanket was born from a surrogate mother).

Invincible. Bashir film. New charges and trial

Action against Sony In the fall of 2001, the long-awaited new album of Michael Jackson was released Invincible. The release was accompanied by two shows in New York; there were rumors that Michael would go on tour again. However, the promotional campaign for the album was abruptly cut short when Sony Music stopped releasing music videos and media promotion of the album. Sony executives explained this by the fact that huge funds had already been invested in the album (only $ 30 million was spent on recording and mixing the songs), and sales did not pay off further costs. Michael, who had devoted several years of hard work to this project, was hurt and angry. He believed that Sony had sabotaged the promotion of the album and began to suspect that the label's management was plotting to leave him in debt and force him to sell his stake in the Sony/ATV catalog, a joint venture that Michael by this time owned half-and-half with Sony. Michael broke off relations with the head of the label, Tommy Mottola, and began to openly oppose Sony. Many fans of the singer supported him with protests. The album ultimately failed to live up to commercial expectations, and although Michael has since worked with Sony on several more releases, he has never forgiven the label for this betrayal.

Unfortunately, this betrayal was not the last and not the most difficult in the life of Michael Jackson. In 2003, Michael made another attempt to overcome the image imposed on him by the yellow press and find understanding among the general public. He invited British journalist Martin Bashir to make a documentary about his private life off stage. Relying on recommendations from friends, Michael trusted Bashir and agreed to give him unlimited access to his home and his life for eight months.

Michael in Bashir's film Bashir spent almost a year next to Michael. He communicated with his children, lived in Neverland, accompanied him on his travels. However, the film that ended up on the screens turned out to be not at all what Michael expected. Out of eight months of filming, Bashir carefully selected moments to illustrate the most controversial topics. Michael's lines were skillfully edited to add sensationalism to the film, the most innocent scenes being provided with ambiguous voiceovers. Michael was portrayed as an asocial, deranged individual with megalomania and paranoia, and a threat to his own and others' children. Relatives and friends did not recognize him in this film.

Many viewers and even celebrities criticized Bashir's film. Michael released a rebuttal program exposing the duplicity of the journalist. However, the damage has already been done. The most terrible consequence of the film was a new attempt to accuse the artist of inappropriate communication with a child. The film showed a teenager from a poor Hispanic family, whom Michael helped to cope with a severe cancer. The negative presentation of this story and Bashir's insinuations led to the fact that Michael's relationship with the boy's family deteriorated, and the boy's mother contributed to the initiation of a criminal case against Michael.

In the days of judgment. 2005 Santa Maria This time District Attorney Tom Sneddon (who failed to indict Jackson in 1993) got a formal charge filed. Michael was arrested and in front of the camera lenses was escorted in handcuffs to the police station. His Neverland Ranch was raided without ceremony by 70 police officers. All his plans for the implementation of new projects (including the creation of a designer clothing brand and producing films) were crossed out.

The investigation into the case lasted two years, after which the trial took place, which turned into a global media spectacle. Reporters were not allowed into the courtroom, and they, like a flock of vultures, surrounded the courthouse, filming Michael's daily arrival to and exit from the hearings. There were fans at the courthouse who supported the artist, and haters who shouted threats to him. Michael Jackson went through this three-month public ordeal with quiet dignity. According to the stories of his close associates, for him these were the hardest months of his life, a period of despair, during which he drew strength only from his children, the support of his fans and faith in God. On June 13, 2005, Michael was unanimously acquitted by a jury of fourteen counts.

Last years. This Is It

Although the jury found the artist innocent, this trial itself had a strong impact on his state of mind. According to relatives, Michael became more withdrawn, stopped trusting people, and preferred to avoid public appearances. Immediately after the end of the process, he left Neverland, saying that he could never live there again, and left the country. For the next year and a half, he and his children wandered around the world: for some time he visited the Prince of Bahrain, then he moved to a quiet estate in Ireland. And only in December 2006, he finally found the strength to return to his homeland.

By this time, his financial situation had become critical. Jackson did not release new music and had not performed for seven years, and his career seemed to have been consigned to oblivion. With no new sources of income, he increasingly lived in debt. By 2008, the size of his loans reached the value of the mortgaged property: Michael almost lost the Neverland Ranch and was on the verge of bankruptcy. The only way out of the situation was to return to the stage.

Announcement of concerts This Is It And in January 2009 a contract was signed with one of the largest concert promoters AEG Live for 10 concerts at the O2 arena in London. The concerts were called This Is It - "That's it." Michael announced them as his "last bow". According to eyewitnesses, he was forced to accept this contract. It was psychologically difficult for him to return to the stage - Bashir's film, the accusations and the trial had an extremely negative impact on his image: many people by that time considered Michael Jackson crazy, if not a criminal. He didn't know how the public would take him. However, contrary to fears, the demand for tickets was unheard of: within a day after the announcement, applications were received from almost a million people. The number of concerts hastened to increase to fifty.

The upcoming "marathon" of fifty performances and intensive preparation for it turned out to be a great stress for Michael. He was afraid that at the age of 50 he would not be able to withstand such a load, he was worried that he would disappoint the fans, that the show would fail. Too much was at stake. The insomnia that usually accompanied him on tour worsened. Michael was forced to resort to potent drugs to get enough sleep before rehearsals. His health deteriorated sharply, he lost weight - the team members who worked on the preparation of the show, and even the fans sounded the alarm. But the tragedy could not be prevented.

On the morning of June 25, 2009, a week before flying to London and three weeks before the start of the concerts, Michael Jackson died from an overdose of an anesthetic administered to him by his attending physician. Dr. Conrad Murray was subsequently found guilty of manslaughter of the artist and sentenced to four years in prison.

Fans see Michael off at the Apollo Theatre, New York Michael Jackson's death was an event that caused even more public outcry than his failed grandiose return to the stage. On June 25, 2009, the news of his death brought down the servers of Twitter and a number of news sites, unable to cope with the explosion of traffic as a result of this news. Google reacted to millions of search queries about Michael Jackson as a cyberattack. Wikipedia has registered a record number of visitors to a single article for the entire existence of the service. The artist's Facebook page gained 10 million subscribers in a matter of hours. The leaders of the Internet corporation America Online called the death of Michael Jackson "a significant milestone in the history of the Internet."

Many people, who were not even ardent fans of the artist, cried when they heard about his death. Others admitted that it was difficult for them to grasp the news: Michael Jackson became such a bright and integral part of modernity for his generation that it was difficult for people to imagine a world without him. By the globe a wave of tributes swept: from Stockholm to Taipei, from Mexico City to Hong Kong, young people took to the streets and danced to Michael's songs. Hundreds of obituaries, memoirs and articles appeared in the press and blogs, rethinking the personality and work of the "King of Pop". His songs, which were rarely heard on the radio during his later years, returned to heavy rotation. Documentary"This Is It", edited from rehearsal footage from canceled shows, broke box office records and received unanimous critical acclaim. Album Invincible voted by readers of the site Billboard was named the best album of the decade. A re-evaluation of Jackson's work began: people began to discover his lesser-known and commercially successful works.

Paris Jackson at the memorial service But perhaps the key event that marked the beginning of a new, eternal life for Michael Jackson was the words of his daughter Paris, uttered by her at the farewell ceremony, which was watched live by about a billion people. When Michael's family took the stage, his 11-year-old daughter suddenly, in a fit of emotion, asked for a microphone and, barely holding back tears, uttered into the hall and into the TV cameras the very words that Michael once dreamed of hearing: “From my very birth, dad was the best a father you could imagine. I love him so much…” This simple short panegyric did what Michael had been unable to achieve for many years – as if in an instant he allowed millions of people to throw off their blinders and finally see a person in the hero of the scandalous gossip column. Death, alas, took this man away, but it also freed his personality and genius from the burden of social prejudices.

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 Greatest Hits. The Eagles(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 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 had the rights to most songs The Beatles, 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, the guitarist said Queen Brian May, but the collaboration did not take place due to the employment 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 famous musicians 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 disrupts skin pigmentation. 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.

was installed in London new record- 504 thousand 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 at open area- The large 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 compilation 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 universal recognition came out 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, a remix album Immortal was released, consisting of remixes greatest hits Michael. 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 almost 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. Associated with this child scandalous story 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).