One of His Best Performances

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XPrZ6ufdxSo

These are all images of Michael Jackson’s sketches, as well as an image of him creating this art.

Michael Jackson

(August 29, 1958 ~ June 25, 2009)

Early Life

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, to Katherine Jackson, a pianist, singer, and homemaker, and Joseph Jackson, a crane operator and guitar player, who later quit his job to be the manager of his sons’ band. The family of 11 (nine children and two parents) lived in a very small home in Gary Indiana on 2300 Jackson Street (yes, really…). Michael started showing signs of talent as a baby. Katherine claims that Michael was unlike other babies in that he did not move in an uncoordinated manner as most babies do. He started singing and dancing as if he were an older man in a child’s body. Five year old Jackson was soon able to join his brothers and created the Jackson 5, with Michael as the lead singer.   Joseph always dreamed of becoming a musician, so when he couldn’t pursue his dreams, he lived it through his sons, doing whatever it took to make them successful. The Jackson brothers faced beatings insurmountable times while rehearsing. They HAD to get it right; Joseph was a perfectionist. Michael later claims that it was abuse that he and his brothers suffered from their father, and it continued to haunt Michael even as an adult. 

As you can see in this video, Michael Jackson is literally brought to tears just reminiscing his youth. 

Michael also was not able to have the childhood that most children do, because he had to focus on his career and performing. He rarely had time to have fun and enjoy life. The group performed everywhere, even at nightclubs, which forced premature exposure on young Jackson. As the band’s popularity grew, and the boys performed at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, Motown artist, Gladys Knight and Billy Taylor discovered the Jackson 5.  Later Diana Ross became associated with the band, and with her help, the group signed with Motown. Berry Gordy, head of Motown tookover the manager job from Joseph.  Because Berry began to act like a father figure to Michael, and Michael gained a likening to Berry,  the jealousy of Joseph grew. 

This is an image of Michael with two of his brothers and Diana Ross. 

Career

By the 1970s, the Jackson 5 were topping charts with hits like, “ABC”, “The Love You Save”, and “I’ll Be There”, each of which sold over a million copies. The group also appeared on TV to perform and take part in interviews; a Jackson 5 cartoon was also created. Berry began to notice Michael’s appeal and decided to release solo albums with him; these albums did as well as the Jackson 5 albums. In 1978, Michael Jackson starred in the movie, The Wiz, an African American version of The Wizard of Oz, as the scarecrow. He performed a duet with co-star Diana Ross (Dorothy), “Ease On Down The Road”, which was the only hit from the movie. This is when Michael began to put more focus to his dancing. He later created an autobiography titled Moonwalk, after the dance he made popular, and dedicated the book to one of his dance inspirations, Fred Astaire.

While working on the Wiz, Jackson met producer, Quincy Jones, who helped Michael release his Off The Wall album in 1979; this album sold 10 million copies, but was not his most successful album. Thriller was the most successful album, and still is today, selling 45 million copies. This album solidified Michael as a solo artist, and the music videos for the songs like “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” helped break racial barriers on the radio and MTV. His music videos were more like short  films, as he put a lot of thought and work into everything that he did; he felt that music tells a story, so the music videos should too. Michael was an innovator; his music videos were unlike any one else’s and it was something that most had not ever seen before.

By 1983, Michael was already the most popular entertainer in the Nation. In 1985, Michael Jackson paired with Quincy Jones again to release the single, “Heal The World”, which raised funds for the needy in Africa (You can learn more about this on the Non-Musical page). Michael Jackson continued to get awards for his achievements, and it seemed like he was on top of the world, until 1993, where his world would be turned upside down. 

Controversy

In 1993, a 13 year old boy accused Michel Jackson of sexually molesting him. The case was settled out of court, but cost Michael a film deal and his endorsement with Pepsi co. (over 20 million dollars). Michael’s public image was severely damaged, but that was not the end of it.  This sparks the further slander and libel to Michael JAckson’s name. More accusations follow, and Michael Jackson is eventually arrested and his home, Neverland (Very large ranch that had many activities including a movie theater, zoo, amusement park, and many others; underprivileged children were invited often) is raided, but no incriminating evidence was found against Michael. The seemingly last case ended on June 13, 2005 (The day fans termed Victory Day), when Michael was found not guilty by a jury, as there was no evidence that he committed these crimes.

In 2013, former witness and supporter of Michael, Wade Robson, claims that he lied under oath and that he was actually abused by Michael Jackson. James Safechuck made a similar claim stating that he had been abused by Michael in his young years; Robson and Wade sue Jackson’s estate. The claims were turned down by the Judge, because the claims were made too late after the alleged abuse occurred and they had no credibility. Unsatisfied, Robson and Safechuck partner with filmmaker Dan Reed in 2019, to release the two-part, four-hour documentary, Leaving Neverland on HBO, describing how the two men met Michael, what happened to them, and the effect that the alleged abuse had on their lives. This film further tarnished Michael’s legacy as establishments ceased playing MJ songs and even stores retracted their Michael Jackson-inspired clothing. The film was a hit, as it was the most viewed program on HBO in a while, but it has recently received backlash because there have been disparities in facts from the documentary. Wade Robson claimed that Michael Jackson molested him on the train at Neverland between 1988 and 1992, but the train station was not built until 1994, also James’ mother claimed she was dancing when she found out that Michael had died in 2009, after having been told by her son that he was molested by him, but also according to her, James told her he had been molested in 2013, which was after Michael passed away. All of the allegations seem as though they are money inclined.

Michael has also been known for bleaching his skin (which has been verified not true because he had a skin disease, which destroys the pigmentation in his skin), having numerous plastic surgeries, sleeping in a oxygen chamber, and just being eccentric. Michael grew to hate tabloids and even made a song called, “Tabloid Junkie”, urging people not to believe the lies and the image that media has portrayed him in. Here are some of the lyrics:

Personal Life

Michael Jackson grew to be a very private person, he felt that he could not trust anyone because the people that he did trust all went against him. He married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley in 1994, but they divorced two years later. Michael later married old friend Debbie Rowe, who he had his first two children with, Prince, born in 1997, and Paris, born in 1998. The couple divorced in 1999, and Michael gained full custody of the children. 

Death by Homicide

Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 of cardiac arrest in his home after being found unresponsive in his bed. He received a fatal dose of propofol by his physician, Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011. Jackson was also said to be addicted to drugs, mostly stemming from suffering severe burns from the Pepsi commercial he took part in. Michael died eighteen days before his final tour called This Is It, was scheduled to begin. This show, in Michael’s style was going to be amazing, innovative, and a concert experience never expereinced before. 

Michel has been able to release albums and videos even in his death, as the documentary This Is It, and the albums “Xscape” and “Scream” have been released after his passing. His music has also been sampled and is still being sampled today. Despite his controversial lifestyle, Michael Jackson is the greatest entertainer of all time because his impact on the world has been like none other before his time, at his time, and the people after him. 

Michael Jackson even had a hologram of him perform after his death.