Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the "King of Pop," is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. He has three children: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (known as 'Prince'), Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, and Prince Michael Joseph Jackson II (known as 'Blanket').
Michael Jackson is widely regarded as one of the greatest entertainers and most popular recording artists in human history,[2] heralding and displaying complicated physical techniques, like the robot and the moonwalk, that have redefined mainstream dance and entertainment. His achievements in the music industry have included, among other things, a revolutionary transformation of music videos,[2] epitomized by 1983's "Thriller," often cited as the greatest music video of all time,[2] establishing high-profile album releases and sales as a new trend for record companies to generate profits,[3] dominating pop music during the 1980s,[4] and becoming the first black entertainer to amass a strong following on MTV while leading the relatively young channel out of obscurity.[5] Additionally, Michael Jackson has dabbled in various musical genres and collaborated with several other superstars in the music industry, occasionally also lending his talents to the work of other artists.[6] His distinctive style, moves, and vocals have inspired, influenced, and spawned a whole generation of hip hop, pop, and R&B artists, including Mariah Carey,[7] Usher,[8] Britney Spears,[7] Justin Timberlake,[9] Omarion,[10] Ne-Yo,[11] and Chris Brown,[12] among others. In November 2006, he was symbolically named the "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time" by Guinness World Records.[13]
Jackson began his musical career at the age of seven as the lead singer of The Jackson 5 and released his first solo recording, Got to Be There, in 1971 while remaining a member of the group.[14] He began a full-fledged solo career in 1979 and formally parted with his siblings in 1984.[15] In his solo career, Jackson recorded and co-produced the best-selling album of all time, Thriller, which has worldwide sales exceeding 104 million.[16] After Thriller, Jackson continued to release internationally chart-topping albums like Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), HIStory (1995), and Invincible (2001), his latest album of fully original material. Michael Jackson has received thirteen Grammy Awards[17] and charted thirteen number-one singles in the United States, more than any other solo male artist in the Hot 100 era.[6] In November 2006, the World Music Awards announced that Michael Jackson had sold over 750 million units worldwide,[18] making Jackson one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
From 1988 to 2005, Jackson lived on his Neverland Ranch property, where he built an amusement park and private zoo that was frequently attended by disadvantaged and terminally ill children. Rumours of sleepover parties received disparaging media coverage after it was revealed that children frequently slept in his bed or bedroom. These first came to light when he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. Michael Jackson's relationship with children was brought into the spotlight again in 2003 during the TV documentary Living with Michael Jackson. This resulted in Jackson being tried, and later acquitted, of more child molestation allegations and several other charges in 2005.
Biography
1958–1979: Early life and career
Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana. He was the second-youngest brother of seven and the eighth of ten children of Joseph and Katherine Jackson. The Jacksons were a working-class family from Gary, Indiana. Katherine, a Jehovah's Witness, raised the children in that faith, while their father Joe, who initially started studying with the Witnesses, eventually decided not to join. Jackson's father, a steel mill employee who often performed in an R&B band called "The Falcons" with his brother Luther, was a strict disciplinarian. Many of the Jackson children recall being spanked or whipped by Joe for misbehaving. Jackson showed musical talent early on and joined his brothers when they formed a group in 1964.
During this period, the boys toured Indiana extensively, and after winning a major local talent show in 1966 with a rendition of The Temptations' "My Girl," led by Michael, they began playing professional gigs in Chicago, Illinois and across the mid-eastern U.S. Many of these gigs were in a string of black clubs and venues collectively known as the "chitlin' circuit," and the young kids sometimes had to open for strip teasers and other adult acts in order to earn money. The young Jackson had taken co-lead singing duties with brother Jermaine when the group's name changed from "The Jackson Brothers" to "The Jackson 5" in 1966.
The group eventually auditioned for and signed a contract with Motown Records in 1968.[19] They hit stardom with their first four singles, "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There," which charted at number-one on the Billboard Hot 100, the first time ever a group had pulled off that feat. As a solo artist, Jackson released a total of four studio albums with Motown, among them Got to Be There in 1971 and Ben in the following year. These were released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise and produced successful singles such as "Got to Be There," "Ben," and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin."
The group's sales declined after 1973 and they chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input. In 1976, the group signed a new contract with CBS Records (first joining the Philadelphia International division and then Epic Records).[20] When this became apparent to Motown Records, they sued the group for breach of contract.
As a result of the legal proceedings, which were complicated further by the fact that Jermaine Jackson was married to the daughter of Motown president (Berry Gordy), the Jacksons lost the rights to use the "Jackson 5" name and logo and also Jermaine, who wanted to stay at Motown.[21] They changed their name to "The Jacksons," featuring youngest brother Randy in Jermaine's place, and continued their successful career, touring internationally and releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984, with Jermaine eventually re-joining in 1983, making them a sextet. From 1976 to 1984, Jackson was the lead songwriter of the group, laying down such hits as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)," "This Place Hotel," and "Can You Feel It." In 1978, Jackson starred as the scarecrow in The Wiz with former-label mate Diana Ross playing Dorothy.[22] The songs for the musical were arranged by Quincy Jones, who established a partnership with Jackson during the film's production and agreed to produce his first solo album in four years.
1979–1982: Off the Wall era
The cover of 1979's
Off the Wall. Although eventually becoming a major commercial success worldwide, the album never topped the
Billboard charts, peaking at #3.
Off the Wall, released in 1979, was a worldwide success story that made music history, becoming the first album ever to spawn four top-ten hits, including the number-one hits, "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You".[14] It reached #3 in the Billboard album charts, spending 48 consecutive weeks inside the Top 20. Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson jointly produced the album, with lyrics and music by Jackson, Heatwave's Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney, among others. The album signaled the arrival of a new Michael Jackson, one not reliant upon his brothers to further his career.[23] Off the Wall, buoyed by its catchy dance rhythms and avoidance of the "shallow excesses...of the period's disco,"[23] eventually sold some 20 million copies worldwide.[24] Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt the album should have made a much bigger impact and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release.
In January 1980, Jackson won his first awards for his solo efforts at the American Music Awards. He won "Favorite Soul/R&B Album" (for Off the Wall), "Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist" and Favorite Soul/R&B Single (for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough").[14] Later that month, he also won two Billboard Awards (for "Top Black Artist" and "Top Black Album").[14] On February 27, 1980, Jackson won a Grammy Award for "Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male" (for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough").[14]
More than twenty-five years after its release, Off the Wall remains one of the defining moments in Jackson's music career and began his domination as one of pop music's leading artists. In 2003, the TV network VH1 named Off the Wall the thirty-sixth greatest album of all time. Rolling Stone ranked it #68 in their list of the 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.
1982–1986: Thriller era
The cover of 1982's
Thriller.
Thriller became by far the biggest-selling album of all time with unprecedented worldwide sales reaching over 104 million copies.
In November 1982, the storybook for E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial was released. It included Jackson reading the story as well as one original song ("Someone in the Dark"). The album later won a Grammy for "Best Album for Children." On the first day of the following month, Jackson released his second Epic album, Thriller. It became the best-selling album in music history with album sales exceeding 104 million copies.
The album also became the first in history to spawn seven top-ten Billboard Hot 100 hit singles, including "Billie Jean" (which was the first music video by a black artist to receive regular airplay on MTV), "Beat It," and the album's title track, which was accompanied by a revolutionary music video. The thirteen-minute Thriller was critically acclaimed and massive airplay lead to it being packaged with the featurette Making Michael Jackson's Thriller on VHS, where it became the best-selling music home video ever.[25] Thriller spent 37 weeks at number-one and remained on the Billboard album chart for 122 weeks. It was eventually certified 27x Platinum in the United States.[26]
In 1983, whilst performing "Billie Jean" at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever concert Jackson debuted what can be regarded as his signature move: the moonwalk.[25] The performance sparked a new wave of interest in Thriller, which continued to sell well throughout the year. In 1983, he started a sponsorship deal with Pepsi-Cola, and, as part of the deal, he agreed to star in a commercial. While filming the commercial in front of 3,000 fans the following year, a fireworks display behind him malfunctioned, shooting a shower of sparks down upon the singer’s head and setting fire to his hair. Jackson was apparently unfazed by his blazing locks, calmly covering his head with his jacket while his brothers rushed to help. He suffered second-degree burns and later wore a hairpiece when collecting Grammys later that year.[27]
In February 1984, Jackson was nominated for twelve Grammy awards - of which he won eight[25] - breaking the record for the most Grammy Awards won in a single year.[28] Seven were for the critically acclaimed Thriller and the other for the E.T.: The Extra-terrestrial storybook. In 1984, he also won eight American Music Awards and the "Special Award of Merit" and three MTV Video Music Awards.
Jackson in a scene from the popular "
Billie Jean" music video. The song hit number one on the Hot 100 and stayed there for seven weeks in early 1983. It is widely regarded as one of the greatest songs Jackson ever wrote.
Thriller was a gigantic hit that made Michael Jackson the seminal icon of American culture at the time. At the age of 25, the New York Times called him a "musical phenomenon," further commenting that "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else."[29] Time magazine explained that "the fallout from Thriller has given the [music] business its best years since the heady days of 1978, when it had an estimated total domestic revenue of $4.1 billion."[30] Thriller also helped to bring music from African-American artists back into mainstream radio for the first time since the mid-1970s.[30]
The album also dominated much of the world's conscience in its heyday; as one Soviet high school senior put it, "His [Michael Jackson's] music is electrifying. His beat is the music of today."[30] The Kremlin disagreed with their citizen, denouncing Michael Jackson as a "great show-biz swindle known as 'The Thriller'" and accusing the singer of serving the Reagan administration by taking the American people's minds off the country's problems.[31] In May 1984, stores across the country started selling dolls of the superstar, who also became something of a sexual symbol, as he was described by Time magazine: "Undeniably sexy. Absolutely safe. Eroticism at arm's length."[30] Additionally, Michael Jackson's rhinestone glove and Thriller jacket became iconic aspects of his outfits, which American youth sported all too eagerly. As a sign of his stature at the time, Republican officials even considered inviting Jackson to their national convention in 1984, where they would renominate Reagan, but a change of plans left Ron Walker, the convention manager, stating that "We never thought we had a ghost of a chance."[32]
Jackson (middle) with the Reagans in 1984. This was Jackson's first trip to the White House; in his second six years later, he would meet with then
President George H. W. Bush.
After reuniting with his brothers, he helped to write the Victory album. He then performed and starred in the Victory Tour, which started on July 6, 1984 and lasted for five months.[25] That year, Jackson was invited to the White House and was personally thanked by President Ronald Reagan at a White House ceremony for allowing the song "Beat It" to be used in drunk driving prevention television and radio public service announcements.[33] Jackson continued his charity work in 1985 by co-writing with Lionel Richie the hit song "We Are the World", and singing a featured solo on the charity single. The record helped to raise money and awareness for the famine in East Africa and was one of the first instances where Jackson was seen as a humanitarian. The song also won a Grammy Award for "Song of the Year".[25] "We Are the World" became one of the top five best-selling singles of all time, selling over 20 million copies worldwide.
Controversy began when Jackson purchased shares in the ATV Music Publishing (a company which owned the rights to most of the Beatles' songs), making himself the majority shareholder. This move angered close friend and songwriter Paul McCartney, who had also made a bid for the company. Ironically, it was McCartney who advised Jackson on the merits of song ownership.[34] Their creative co-writing ended after this event. Following this controversial business deal, tabloid stories of Jackson sleeping in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to stall the aging-process, and an allegation claiming Jackson attempted to purchase the bones of the Elephant Man inspired the pejorative sobriquet "Wacko Jacko". The name "Wacko Jacko," which was first used by British media, would come to be detested by Jackson.[35]
In 1986, Jackson starred in the George Lucas-produced, Francis Ford Coppola-directed 3-D film Captain EO. The film lasted 17 minutes but had costs estimated at $17 million.[36] At the time, it was the most expensive film ever produced on a per-minute basis. In the USA, the Disney theme parks hosted Captain EO. Disneyland featured the film in tomorrow-land from September 18, 1986 until April 7, 1997. It was also featured in Walt Disney World in Epcot from September 12, 1986 until July 6, 1994. Two new songs featured in the film. These were "Another Part of Me", which later appeared on Bad, and "We Are Here To Change The World", which was officially released in 2004 on the box set Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection.
1987–1990: Bad era
The cover of 1987's
Bad.
Bad was probably the most anticipated album of all time, coming in the heels of Jackson's monster success with
Thriller. It did not reproduce the achievements of
Thriller, but it was still a major commercial success around the world, becoming the second biggest-selling album of all time for years.
In 1987, Jackson released Bad; his third album for the Epic record label, and final album with producer Quincy Jones.[25] He initially wanted to make the album 30 tracks long, but Jones cut this down to 10. According to Jones, Jackson wanted the title track to be a duet with Prince who later declined the duet. Jones said the reason given by Prince was that he thought the song would be a hit whether he was in it or not.[37] With the industry expecting another monster hit, the release was heavily anticipated as it was Jackson's first album in five years.[38] The album had over two million advance orders.[38]
In comparison to Thriller, Bad had lower sales but it was still a huge commercial success. It spawned seven hit singles,[25] of which five went to number-one: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Two decades after it was released, Bad still holds the record for generating more number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts than any other album. It went on to sell about 32 million copies worldwide and the RIAA eventually certified Bad at 8x Platinum.[39] Musically, Bad featured ballads and light-hearted songs combined with a panoply of darker-themed and somber material, epitomized by the last track on the album, "Leave Me Alone," which has Jackson venting against the constant attention he received from the press.[38]
In September 1987, Jackson embarked upon his first solo world tour, the Bad World Tour. The tour lasted sixteen months, in which he performed at 123 concerts, to over 4.4 million fans worldwide. Jackson insisted on a personal bus, plane and helicopter to be available to him all at the same time.[40]
Jackson hired film director Martin Scorsese to direct the video for the album's title track.[41] When the 18-minute music video debuted on TV, it sparked a great deal of controversy as it became apparent that Jackson's appearance had changed dramatically.[42] Although Jackson's skin color was a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, his skin had been becoming paler gradually since 1982, and had become a light brown color. This change became so noticeable that it gained widespread media coverage, with Jackson attributing the change to the disease vitiligo and some tabloids claiming that he was bleaching his skin.
Another significant reason for the change in appearance was the use of plastic surgery. Despite a number of surgeons' claims that Jackson had undergone multiple nasal surgeries as well as a forehead lift, thinned lips and cheekbone surgery,[43] Jackson wrote in his 1988 autobiography Moon Walk that he only had two rhinoplastic surgeries and the surgical creation of a cleft in his chin, while attributing puberty and diet to the noticeable change in the structure of his face.[44]
The success Jackson achieved during this period in his career led to him to be dubbed the "King of Pop",[45] a nickname which he continues to be referred to by fans and the media.[46] There are various conflicting reports as to the origin of the nickname. According to Jackson, it was conceived by actress and long-term friend Elizabeth Taylor when she presented Jackson with an "Artist of the Decade" award in 1989, proclaiming him "the true king of pop, rock and soul." In 1990, recognizing Michael Jackon's musical influence in the 1980s, the White House presented the singer with its own special "Artist of the Decade" award, personally delivered to Jackson by President George H. W. Bush, who made the following statement: "This is what we call a photo opportunity. I just wanted to welcome Michael Jackson here, who has been named Artist of the Decade. And he has a tremendous following. He does good work, what we call the Points of Light concept. I just wanted to bring him out here and officially welcome him to the White House once again."[47] Additionally, this period saw Jackson enjoy "a level of superstardom previously known only to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra."[48]
1991–1994: Dangerous era
The cover of 1991's
Dangerous. This period in his career witnessed a continuing and steady stream of large sales figures and Jackson's introduction as the "King of Pop."
In November 1991, Michael Jackson released Dangerous, which, at roughly 30 million copies worldwide,[24] registered sales figures similar to those of Bad. The biggest hit single in the United States from that album was "Black or White," which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and remained there for seven weeks. The single was accompanied by a controversial video, premiering as a simulcast on the Fox network, MTV and BET, which featured scenes construed as having a sexual nature as well as depictions of violent behavior. The offending scenes in the final half of the fourteen minute version of "Black or White" were edited out to prevent the video from being banned.[45] On November 14, 1991, the video for "Black or White" simultaneously premiered in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500 million people, the largest viewing ever for a music video.[6]
On February 10, 1992, MTV kicked off its first global sweepstakes with "My Dinner with Michael." Winners from around the world attended a dinner party hosted by Michael Jackson on the set of his "In the Closet" music video. Later that year, a biopic, The Jacksons: An American Dream, debuted on ABC; it was based on the true story of the rise of The Jackson 5. That same year, Jackson founded the "Heal the World Foundation" (named after his humanitarian single "Heal the World"). The charity organization brought underprivileged children to Jackson's Neverland Ranch, located outside Santa Ynez, California, to go on theme park rides which Jackson had built on the property after he purchased it in 1988.
The year 1992 also witnessed one of Jackson's most high-profile international visits: a trip to Africa in which he visited several countries, among them Gabon and Egypt.[49] This was the singer's second arrival on the continent, his first having occurred as a 14-year old with the Jackson 5.[49] His first stop to Gabon was greeted with a sizeable reception of more than 100,000 people in "spiritual bedlam," some of them carrying signs that read, "Welcome Home Michael."[49] In his trip to the Ivory Coast, Jackson visited the gold-mining village of Krindjabo, populated by the Agni tribe and located near the capital of Abidjan, and was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief.[49] He then thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed official documents formalizing his kingship, and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.[49] Jackson finished his stay in Africa by going to Egypt and promoting the Dangerous album.
In January 1993, Michael Jackson performed during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXVII. It drew one of the largest viewing audiences in the history of American television.[50] On The Oprah Winfrey Show in the same year, Jackson claimed that the change in his skin co
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