The Beginnings

Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana on August 29, 1958. His parents were Joseph Walter Jackson and Katherine Esther Scruse.  Jackson was born the seventh of nine children. Jackson was raised as a Jehovah’s Witness by his mother. Later in his years, Jackson stated that he was emotionally and physically abused by his father. In 1964 Jackson and 4 other brothers formed a band and the band was later named the JACKSON 5. The band toured the midwest from 1964-1968 and they often opened for adult acts at adult clubs. The band signed with MOTOWN RECORDS in 1968. The group recorded many hit singles including, “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, and “I’ll Be There”. The group later left MOTOWN in 1975. In June 1975, the group signed with Epic Records under a new name, the Jacksons. In 1977 Jackson left the group to work on his 5th solo album titled “Off The Wall”. The album was a success and Jackson established himself as an up and coming artist.

Thriller 1982-1985

Thriller was Jackson’s 2nd album under the EPIC label and his most successful to date. Thriller was released on November 30, 1982. Thriller quickly rose on the charts and sold huge amounts of copies. To date the album has sold 109 million copies and it is the best selling album in the world. Of the 9 songs on the album, 7 of them became singles and charted on the Billboard Hot 100. The title track “Thriller” has become an iconic song and the video was a breakthrough in music videos. The album helped him win 8 Grammys at the 1984 Grammy Awards. Jackson also had a friendship with Paul McCartney around this time, and together they created the hits “The Girl is Mine” and “Say, Say, Say”. McCartney and Jackson’s friendship ended after Jackson outbidded McCartney for the ATV catalog which holded thousands of songs, including many songs co written by McCartney and John Lennon for their group “The Beatles”.

1986-1990 Bad

Jackson had always had a dark complexion but starting in the 80’s his complexion started to grow paler and paler. Many people believed that Jackson was bleaching his skin. In the mid 80’s Jackson was diagnosed with Vitiligo and Lupus, 2 skin diseases that causes the skin to lose pigments and therefore grow pale. After his success, the tabloids started to go wild over stories of Jackson. Jackson was nicknamed “Wacko Jacko”. On August 31, 1987 Jackson released his 7th Studio album and 3rd Album with Epic, titled “Bad”. The album was less successful than his previous but it was still a financial success, selling 30 million copies to date. The album is the only album to date to have spawned 5 Billboard Hot 100 Number 1 Hits. The Bad album also spawned a world tour. The Bad World Tour started in September 1987 and grossed over 125 million dollars worldwide and earned Jackson a Guinness World Record.

1991-1993 Dangerous

In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65 million. Jackson released his eighth studio and 4th album with Epic Records Dangerous in 1991. To date, Dangerous has sold over 32 million copies worldwide. In the US, the album’s first single “Black or White” was the album’s biggest hit, climbing to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and staying at number 1 for seven weeks, with similar chart performances worldwide. The album’s second single “Remember the Time” spent eight weeks in the top five in the US, and reaching number three on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. In 1993, Jackson performed the song at the Soul Train Awards in a wheelchair, saying he had suffered an injury in rehearsals. In 1993 Jackson was accused of sexual molestation charges after 13 year old Jordan Chandler had said that the singer did inappropriate things to him. In January 1994, the Chandlers reached an agreement with Jackson for 22 million dollars and settled the lawsuit. In May 1994, Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of the late Elvis Presley, their marriage was short lived and many people thought it was a set up.

2000’s and Death

In 2003 Jackson was again charged for sexual molestation charges. Jackson went to trial in 2005 and was acquitted thereafter. After the trial Jackson started spending overwhelmingly and was soon in debt. Experts estimate that Jackson owed about 300 million dollars. Jackson’s famous Neverland Ranch was later foreclosed on. Prior to his death, Jackson was to perform 50 shows at London’s 02 Arena. The tickets went out for sale through the AEG live company and they broke new records as they sold out extremely fast.

Michael Jackson’s Death

In June 25, 2009 Jackson reportedly collapsed at his mansion at 100 North Carolwood Dr. in his Los Angeles home. His physician tried to revive Jackson but he was unsuccessful. L.A. paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 p.m arriving three minutes after at Jackson’s mansion. He was not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued both while heading to the UCLA medical center and continued for an hour after arriving at approximately 1:13 p.m. He was said to have been in cardiac arrest by the paramedics who attended him at his house.  Jackson was pronounced dead at approximately 2:26 p.m. local time. Rumors and news of Michael Jackson’s death broke web records, causing a web traffic jam and creating severe traffic flow to websites such as Google, Facebook, Twitter, MySpace, MSN, Yahoo, and Wikipedia. 

Legacy

Many people were shocked to hear of the news of Jackson’s death and vigils were performed by members of the public thereafter. His family rushed to the hospital and many of his famous siblings were with him there. The media had a field day after the news. Michael Jackson will live on as one of the most iconic performers of the 20th/21st Century. On July 7th, 2009 stars and fans gathered at the Los Angeles Staples Center for a memorial in Jackson’s name. Many A listers sang Jackson’s songs. His music will forever be heard and appreciated and we will always remember him for who he was “The King of Pop”

R.I.P. Michael Jackson. 

1958-2009