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Michael Joseph Jackson

(August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

was an American recording artist,entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of theJackson family, he debuted on the professional music sceneat the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group.Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, five of his solostudio albumsare among the world's best- selling records:

(1979),

(1982),

(1987),

(1991) and

(1995).In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular musicand the firstAfrican-Americanentertainer to amass a strongcrossover following onMTV. The popularity of hismusic videosairing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and

Thriller

—credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool— helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as therobotand themoonwalk . His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced manyhip hop, popandcontemporary R&Bartists. One of the few artists to have been inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fametwice, his other achievementsinclude multiple

Guinness World Records

—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—13Grammy Awards,13number one singlesin his solo career—more than any other male artist in theHot 100 era — and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world's most famous men, Jackson's highly publicized personal life, coupled with hissuccessful career , made him a part of popular culturefor almost four decades.Jackson died on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50.

Biography1958–1975: Early life and The Jackson 5

Michael Joseph Jackson was born inGary, Indiana(an industrial suburb of Chicago, Illinois) to a working-class family on August 29, 1958.

[3]

The son of Joseph Walter "Joe"andKatherine Esther (néeScruse),

[3]

he was theseventh of nine children. His siblings areRebbie, Jackie, Tito,Jermaine, La Toya,Marlon,RandyandJanet.

[3]

Joseph Jackson was a steel mill employee who often performed in an R&B band called The Falcons with his brother Luther.

[3]

Jackson was raised as one of Jehovah's Witnessesby his devout mother.

[3]

From a young age Jackson was physically and mentally abused by his father, enduring incessant rehearsals,whippings and name-calling. Jackson's abuse as a child affected him throughout his grown life.

[4]

In one altercation —later recalled by Marlon Jackson—Joseph held Michael upside down by one leg and "pummeled him over andover again with his hand, hitting him on his back and buttocks".

[5]

Joseph would often trip up, or push the malechildren into walls.

[5]

One night while Jackson was asleep, Joseph climbed into his room through the bedroomwindow. Wearing a fright mask, he entered the room screaming and shouting. Joseph said he wanted to teach hischildren not to leave the window open when they went to sleep. For years afterward, Jackson suffered nightmaresabout being kidnapped from his bedroom.

[5]

Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in a 1993 interview withOprah Winfrey. He said that duringhis childhood he often cried from loneliness and would sometimes get sick or start toregurgitateupon seeing hisfather.

[6][7][8][9]

In Jackson's other high profile interview,

Living with Michael Jackson

(2003), the singer covered hisface with his hand and began crying when talking about his childhood abuse.

[5]

Jackson recalled that Joseph sat in achair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you."

[10]

Jackson showed musical talent early in his life, performing in front of classmates and others during a Christmasrecital at the age of five.

[3]

In 1964, Jackson and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothersJackie, Tito and Jermaine—as backup musicians playingcongasandtambourine, respectively. Jackson later began

performing backup vocals and dancing; at the age of eight, he and Jermaine assumed lead vocals, and the group'sname was changed toThe Jackson 5.

[3]

The band touredthe Midwestextensively from 1966 to 1968. The bandfrequently performed at a string of black clubs and venues collectively known as the "chitlin' circuit", where theyoften opened for stripteasesand other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motownhits andJames Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.

[11]

The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "Big Boy", for the local record labelSteeltownin 1967 and signed withMotown Recordsin 1968.

[3]

Rolling Stone

magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with"overwhelming musical gifts", noting that Michael "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer" after he began to dance and sing with his brothers.

[12]

Though Michael sang with a "child's piping voice, he danced like agrown-up hoofer and sang with the R&B/gospel inflections of Sam Cooke,James Brown,Ray CharlesandStevie Wonder ".

[12]

The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("I Want You Back ", "ABC", "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the

Billboard

Hot 100.

[3]

During The Jackson 5's early years,Motown's public relations team claimed that Jackson was nine years old—two years younger than he actually was —to make him appear cuter and more accessible to the mainstream audience.

[13]

Starting in 1972, Jackson released atotal of four solo studio albums with Motown, among them

Got to Be There

and

Ben

. 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 began declining in 1973, and the band members chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or input.

[14]

Although the group scored several top 40 hits, including thetop 5discosingle "Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.

[14]

1975–1981: Move to Epic and

Off the Wall

The Jackson 5 signed a new contract withCBS Recordsin June 1975, joining the Philadelphia InternationalRecords division, later Epic Records.

[14]

As a result of legal proceedings, the group was renamed The Jacksons.

[15]

After the name change, the band continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and1984. From 1976 to 1984, Michael Jackson was the lead songwriter of the group, writing hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "This Place Hotel" and "Can You Feel It".

[11]

In 1978, Jackson starred asScarecrowin the film musical

The Wiz

[16]

The musical scores were arranged byQuincyJones, who formed a partnership with Jackson during the film's production and agreed to produce the singer's nextsolo album

Off the Wall

[17]

In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a complex dance routine. His subsequentrhinoplastysurgery was not a complete success; he complained of breathing difficulties that would affect his career.He was referred toDr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty and other subsequentoperations.

[18]

Jones and Jackson jointly produced

Off the Wall

. Songwriters included Jackson,Heatwave'sRod Temperton, Stevie Wonder andPaul McCartney. Released in 1979, it was the first album to generate four US top 10 hits, including the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You".

[19]

Off the Wall

reached number threeon the

Billboard

200and has since been certified for 7 million shipments in the US and eventually sold over 20million copies worldwide.

[20][21]

In 1980, Jackson won three awards at theAmerican Music Awardsfor his soloefforts: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Male Soul/R&B Artist and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop'Til You Get Enough".

[19]

That year, he also won

Billboard

Music Awardsfor Top Black Artist and Top Black Albumand a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance (for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough").

[19]

Despite itscommercial success, Jackson felt

Off the Wall

should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined toexceed expectations with his next release.

[22]

In 1980, Jackson secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry:37% of wholesale album profit.

[23]

1982–1985:

Thriller

Motown 25

, We Are the World and business career

In 1982, Jackson contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial

; the record won a Grammy for Best Album for Children.

[24]

That year Jackson issued his second Epic

album,

Thriller

. The album remained in the top 10 of the

Billboard

200for 80 consecutive weeks and 37 of thoseweeks at the peak position. It was the first album to have seven

Billboard

Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "BillieJean", "Beat It" and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".

[25]

Thriller

was certified for 28 million shipments by theRIAA,giving itDouble Diamondstatus in the US.

[21][26]

It is often cited as the best-selling album of all time, with worldwide sales between 47 million and 109 million copies.

[27][28][29]

Jackson's attorneyJohn Brancanoted that Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point;approximately $2 for every album sold. He was also making record breaking profit from compact discs or the saleof

The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller

; a documentary produced by Jackson andJohn Landis. Funded byMTV, the documentary sold over 350,000 copies in a few months of sale. The era saw the arrival of novelties likedolls modeled after Michael Jackson, that appeared in stores in May 1984 at a price of $12.

[30]

Thriller

retains a position inAmerican culture. Biographer J. Randy Taraborrelliexplains, "At some point,

Thriller

stopped sellinglike a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple."

[31]

Gil Friesen, president of A&M Records, said "the whole industry has a stake in this success".

[30]

Thriller

raised theimportance of albums, but multiple hits also changed notions about the number of singles to release.

[32]

Time

magazine explained that "the fallout from

Thriller

has given the [music] business its best years since the heady daysof 1978, when it had an estimated total domestic revenue of $4.1 billion".

[30]

Time

summed up

Thriller'

s impact as a"restoration of confidence" for an industry bordering on "the ruins of punk and the chic regions of synthesizer pop".The publication described Jackson's influence at that point as "Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescueteam for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on thestreet. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".

[30]

The New York Times

called him a"musical phenomenon", saying that "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybodyelse".

[33]

According to the

The Washington Post

Thriller

paved the way for other acts such asPrince.

[34]

On March 25, 1983, Jackson performed live on the

Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever

television special, bothwith The Jackson 5 and on his own singing "Billie Jean". Debuting his signature dance move—themoonwalk —his performances during the event were seen by 47 million viewers during its initial airing, and drew comparisons toElvis Presley's and theThe Beatles'appearances on

The Ed Sullivan Show

[35]

The New York Times

said, "Themoonwalk that he made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is agreat illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seemsto walk requires perfect timing".

[36]

Jackson suffered a setback on January 27, 1984. While filming aPepsi Colacommercial at the Shrine Auditoriumin Los Angeles, Jackson suffered second degree burns to his scalp after pyrotechnics accidentally set his hair onfire. Happening in front of a full house of fans during a simulated concert, the incident was the subject of heavymedia scrutiny and elicited an outpouring of sympathy.

[37]

PepsiCo settled a lawsuit out of court, and Jackson gavehis $1.5 million settlement to the "Michael Jackson Burn Center" which was a piece of new technology to help people with severe burns.

[37]

Jackson had his third rhinoplasty shortly afterward and grew self conscious about hisappearance.

[18]

On May 14, 1984, Jackson was invited to theWhite Houseto receive an award presented by American PresidentRonald Reagan. The award was given for Jackson's support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol anddrug abuse.

[38]

Jackson won eight awards during the1984 Grammy Awards. Unlike later albums,

Thriller

did nothave an official tour to promote it, but the 1984Victory Tour , headlined by The Jacksons, showcased much of Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans.

[39]

He donated his $5 million share from theVictory Tour to charity.

[40]

Jackson co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" withLionel Richie,which was released worldwide to aid the poor in Africa and the US. He was one of 39 music celebrities who performed on the record. The single becameone of the best-selling singles of all time, with nearly 20 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated tofamine relief .

[41]