Michael Jackson: Biography and career of the legendary King of Pop

Biography and career of the King of Pop, from the Jackson Five to worldwide success with Thriller and the Bad World Tour, up to This is It.

Biography

Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in a very strict African American family devoted to music. According to several witnesses, the Jackson brothers, and in particular Michael, were often mistreated by their father, forced to relentless trials and victims of physical violence. Michael entered the world of entertainment at an early age: in 1964 his father included him in the newly formed complex with his older brothers Jackie , Tito and Jermaine , later called The Jackson Five . Their recording debut dates back to 1969, with the single I Want You Back .

To the enormous success with his brothers, Michael manages to complement his solo career by releasing his first four studio albums: Got to Be There and Ben in 1972, Music & Me in 1973 and Forever, Michael in 1975. The song Ben , extracted from the album of the same name, wins a Golden Globe and is nominated for the Oscars for Best Song as part of a film in competition. In the following years, Michael gains an increasingly predominant role within the family group, becoming their frontman and lead author. With Off The Wallin 1979, his fifth studio album, Jackson definitively established himself as a soloist, achieving extraordinary results in the music charts.

In 1982 he released his sixth studio album, Thriller – the best-selling record in music history, with 100 million copies to his credit globally – which changed the recording industry forever. In 1983 the single from the album, Billie Jean , was released, the video of which is the first of an African American artist broadcast on MTV (who until then had always refused to have black artists appear). In the same year, the broadcaster broadcasts the Thriller video – a milestone in music history – and, ever since, the singer and dancer is remembered as the inventor of modern music videos. To the American Music Awards 1984Michael Jackson sets a new record for victories, earning 8 awards out of 11 nominations, including the Award of Merit, becoming the youngest artist to ever receive the award at the age of 25. On January 29, at the 1984 Grammy Awards , Jackson won 8 awards out of 12 nominations. Shortly after, the documentary The Making of Thriller was released , which became the best-selling videotape in history at the time, with sales exceeding 10 million units. In January 1985 he wrote We Are The World with Lionel Richie , the benefit single recorded by the USA for Africa groupand intended to raise funds for the people of East Africa, victims of severe famines. With the release of the seventh studio album, Bad , from 1987, Michael Jackson also gives life to what in 2019 is chosen by Vivid Seats and Consequence as the ” best tour of all time ” by a solo artist: the Bad World Tour counts, in fact, a total of 123 concerts in 15 countries, almost 4.5 million spectators and receipts exceeding 125 million dollars. At the end of the 80s, Michael Jackson achieves the worldwide success that makes him in all respects The King of pop , thanks to his contribution in the world of music, dance (with the invention of theMoonwalk ), of fashion and entertainment.

The 90s saw the release of Dangeorus , the eighth studio album that also contained the hits Black or White and Heal the World . In 1993, at the Grammy Awards, he received the Grammy Legend Award given to him by his sister Janet, becoming the youngest artist to have received the award at 34. In 1995 it was the turn of the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future – Book I and two years later he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame together with his brothers . inserted as a solo artist. A few months after announcing his return to the stage, with the recidency showwhich would have started in 2009 and titled This is It (it would also have been his last performance), on June 25 Michael Jackson died in Los Angeles , of cardiac arrest following acute propofol poisoning, 18 days earlier. the beginning of the concerts.

Private life

In 1994 Michael Jackson married for the first time to Lisa Marie Presley , the only daughter of Elivs Presley . Their divorce took place in 1996, but the two returned to date between 1997 and 1999. His second marriage took place in 1996 to nurse Deborah Jeanne Rowe , with whom he had two children: Prince Michael Jackson (1997) and Paris. Michael Katherine Jackson (1998). On February 21, 2002, she had her third child, Prince Michael Jackson II , whom he nicknamed Blanket , conceived through in vitro fertilization, without ever declaring the identity of the surrogate mother.

Projects

• 1972 – Got to Be There (studio album)
• 1972 – Ben (studio album)
• 1973 – Music & Me (studio album)
• 1975 – Forever, Michael (studio album)
• 1979 – Off the Wall (studio album)
• 1982 – Thriller (studio album)
• 1987 – Bad (studio album)
• 1991 – Dangerous (studio album)
• 1995 – HIStory: Past, Present and Future – Book I (studio album)
• 2001 – Invincible (studio album)
• 2010 – Michael (posthumous studio album)
• 2014 – Xscape (posthumous studio album)

When did Michael Jackson first launch the moonwalk?

March 25, 1983 is considered the peak of his fame, when the singer and his brothers performed at the concert celebrating the 25th anniversary of the birth of Motown, the label that had launched them. On that occasion Michael Jackson launched the moonwalk for the first time, during the performance of Billie Jean. Chaos broke out among the audience in the hall.

What was Michael Jackson accused of in 1993?

During a stop on the Dangerous World Tour Michael Jackson was accused for the first time of sexual harassment of a minor: Evan Chandler, a dentist from Beverly Hills, accused him of sexual abuse of his son Jordan, then 13 years old.

What disease did Michael Jackson suffer from?

Michael Jackson suffered from Vitiligo, a skin disease in which melanin, the pigment responsible for skin color and which causes its loss, is no longer produced. For this reason, starting from 1984 he underwent some uniforming therapies, which made his skin white. In addition, he suffered from systemic or perhaps discoid lupus erythematosus.