 
Nilma Dole
It’s difficult to imagine that legendary superstar Michael Jackson
has passed away. People like Dushyanth Weeraman who performed at the
recently concluded ‘Legends’ concert proved that the ‘MJ’ ideal will
still prevail even though the ‘King of Pop’ is gone.
From budding child star to internationally-renowned music symbol,
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009) was born in
Gary, Indiana to Joseph Walter “Joe” Jackson and Katherine Esther. Being
the seventh child of nine siblings in the Jackson family, he made his
stage debut in 1968 as the best known face of The Jackson 5.
The highlight of his career came from his album ‘Thriller’ that
remained in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 80 consecutive weeks, 37
at the peak with seven hit singles. Thriller went on to sell upwards of
109 million copies, making it the best-selling album of all time.
As Jackson’s 1982 album ‘Thriller’ was declared as the world’s
best-selling album of all time, four of his other solo studio albums are
among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987),
Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).
Despite being quite a controversial figure for his yearning to be
white-skinned, MJ had a charitable soul. MJ gave his excuse of wanting
to be white on a rare disease called ‘vilitigo’ or a chronic disorder
that causes de-pigmentation in patches of skin.
Jackson donated and raised money for beneficial causes via his
foundations, charity singles, and support of 39 charities. His personal
life included his often changing appearances and eccentric behaviour
that generated significant controversy which damaged his public image.
MJ was at the center of attention when he was accused of child sexual
abuse in 1993 but the criminal investigation was closed due to lack of
evidence and Jackson was not charged. MJ was also experiencing health
concerns since the early 1990s and certain reports pertaining to his
financial situation since the late 1990s.
Jackson’s first marriage was to Elvis Presley’s daughter Lisa-Marie
and then his second wife was dermatologist Deborah Jeanne Rowe, who bore
him two children using donated sperm: a son, Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr.
(a.k.a. Prince), and a daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson.
Divorcing from his second wife in 1999, Jackson’s third child, Prince
Michael Jackson II (a.k.a Blanket) was born in 2002 but the mother’s
identity was never known.
In 2005, Jackson was again in the limelight for being tried and then
acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges.
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll
Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness
World Records-including one for “Most Successful Entertainer of All
Time”-13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career, and
the sale of 750 million records worldwide. At the time of his death, he
was preparing for ‘This Is It’, a series of 50 concerts that would have
been held in London beginning July 13, 2009.
At one point, Jackson even was planning to buy a submarine to save
his family and himself from asteroids that might hit the Earth but fate
was to be deciding factor in his death where it was just a heart attack
that took his life. Today, he is the undoubted superstar that ever lived
being a household name world-wide. Long live the King of Pop!
 Off the wall
Released in August 1979 “Off The Wall” was Michael’s first solo album
as an adult artist. He wanted this album to be the best it could be. He
needed someone with great experience and had met Quincey Jones on the
set on the movie “The Wiz” and Quincey produced the album. Michael
wanted songs that were good for him to sing and that he could move to.
In came Rod Temperton who penned “Rock With You” a big hit, “Burn
This Disco Out” and the title track. During the sessions Quincey
approached Michael with “Girlfriend” saying how well suited that song
would be for him. “Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough” was the first song
Michael had written himself as a whole and became US No1 hit single.
Bad
 Released in 1987 Michael devoted two and a half years to recording
the follow up up to Thriller. Michael wrote all but 2 of the songs on
the album,“Man In the Mirror” a great self message song co-written by
Siedah Garrett who co sings on the love song “I Just Can’t Stop Loving
You” and “Just Good Friends” the duet with Stevie Wonder were the only
other tracks not written by Michael.
On the CD, new technology allowed space for an extra track “Leave Me
Alone” a simple message and along with the video gets the message across
of him wanting some privacy and trying to dispell some of the ludicrious
stories constantly surrounding the now global superstar.
The album has sold over 25 million copies.
Thriller
Ever since Michael was a young boy he had dreamed of recording the
biggest selling album of all time. Released in 1982 that album was
“Thriller”.
 Again Michael worked with Quincey Jones as producer and Rod Temperton
writing some of the songs including the title track. Quincey had kept
telling Michael they needed a great rock song on the album, Michael had
“Beat It” but Michael wasn’t confident enough in his own song writing at
this stage in his career, but eventually he played it to Quincy who
loved it.
Michael again collaborated with Paul McCartney and they came up with
“Say Say Say” which Paul had on his album and Michael had “The Girl Is
Mine” both hit singles.
The massive hit “Billie Jean” a song penned based on experiences
Michael and his brothers had from girl fans was a massive worldwide hit.
Sisters Janet and LaToya featured on back up vocals on “Pretty Young
Thing”. The album has sold over 50 million copies.
Dangerous
 The Dangerous album was released on November 26, 1991, and became the
fastest selling number one album, breaking the records by entering the
charts at #1 only 3 days after it’s release! The ‘Dangerous’ album
produced 9 singles out of it’s 14 tracks; “Black Or White”, “Remember
The Time”, “Jam”, “In The Closet”, “Heal The World”, “Who Is It”, “Will
You Be There”, and “Gone Too Soon”.
The “Black Or White” single made a
32-spot jump on the Pop singles charts. The album has sold over 21
million copies worldwide to date. allmichaeljackson.com
HIStory: past, present and future book I
 The HIStory album was released on June 20, 1995, and was Michael’s
first solo album to contain a greatest hits package along with new
tracks! In total the two-disc album contains 30 songs adding up to over
150 minutes of music! The second disc “HIStory Continues” of this album
contained 15 brand new songs, 12 of which were composed and written by
Michael himself.
The album was controversial, with many angry songs as well as had a
softer edge with ballads such as “You Are Not Alone”, “Earth Song”,
“Stranger In Moscow” and “Smile”. Shortly after it’s release the
‘HIStory’ album was pulled from the shelves due to the controversial
lyrics in the song “They Don’t Care About Us”, and new copies of the
album were released with a formal apology written by Michael to those
who may have been offended by the lyrics. It was a hit with world wide
sales of over 15 million.
 Invincible
On October 29, 2001 Michael Jackson’s latest album was released!
Titled, “Invincible”, the 16-track album was said to be Michael’s best
work since ‘Thriller’, and was expected to revolutionize the music
industry as we know it today.
Blood on the dance floor
 This 13 track album was released in May, 1997 and contained 5 new
songs in addition to 8 remixed tracks from the HIStory album.
The album ended up being widely successful around the globe with the
album and/or the title single reaching #1 in over 10 countries.
There were two singles released for this album. The first one ‘Blood
On The Dance Floor’ was released around the world, and the second single
‘History/Ghosts’ was released in Europe and Australia. To date the Blood
On The Dance Floor album has sold 4 million copies world wide. |
