Michael Jackson

HIStory: Past,
Present & Future,
Book I
9
th
studio album
Released on June 16, 1995
Recorded between September 1994 March 1995
Genre: pop, R&B, rock
Label: Sony Musics Epic, MJJ Productions (1
st
album on
his own label)
Produced by: MJ, Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis, Dallas Austin,
David Foster, Bill Bottrell and R. Kelly
2 discs: 1
st
(HIStory Begins) compilation of his greatest
hits from 1979 forward; 2
nd
(HIStory continues) new
material
Themes: environmental awareness, isolation, greed,
injustice

Charts
(1995/1996/2009)
Peak Position
Australia 1
Austria Top 40 2
Belgium 1
Brazil Top 10 1
Canada 1
Mexico 9
UK 1
US 1
Spain 2
New Zeeland 1
France 1
Italy 1
Finland 3
Sweden 3
Background
Primarily directed at the
tabloid press
First album since he was
accused of child sexual
abuse
Starting in the late 1980s,
Jackson and the press had a
difficult relationship
In 1989, Jackson released
the song and music video
Leave Me Alone, a song
about his perceived
victimization at the hands of
the press
I will say I am particularly
upset by the handling of the
matter by the incredible,
terrible mass media. At
every opportunity, the
media has dissected and
manipulated these
allegations to reach their
own conclusions.
The album has been
described as being Jackson's
most personal
Background
Primarily directed at the
tabloid press
First album since he was
accused of child sexual
abuse
Starting in the late 1980s,
Jackson and the press had a
difficult relationship
In 1989, Jackson released
the song and music video
Leave Me Alone, a song
about his perceived
victimization at the hands of
the press
I will say I am particularly
upset by the handling of the
matter by the incredible,
terrible mass media. At
every opportunity, the
media has dissected and
manipulated these
allegations to reach their
own conclusions.
The album has been
described as being Jackson's
most personal
Controversy
The possibility that the lyrics
to "They Don't Care About Us"
contained antisemitism was
first raised publicly by The
New York Times on June 15,
1995
The publication highlighted
the lyrics, Jew me, sue me,
everybody do me/ Kick me,
kike me, don't you black or
white me and labelled them
slurs
His manager and record label,
described the lyrics as
brilliant, and said that they
were about opposition to
prejudice and taken out of
context
Spike Lee, who would direct
the music videos for They
Don't Care About Us, stated
that he felt there was a double
standard in the music industry,
commenting that the use of
the word nigger, in music,
does not cause controversy
(used by Notorious B.I.G. in
This Time Around)
Music Videos
They Don't Care About Us
helped bring awareness of
poverty and had positive
effects on the locations
The second version was
filmed in a prison with cell
mates; the video shows
Jackson handcuffed and
contains real footage of
police attacking African
Americans, the Ku Klux Klan,
genocide, execution, and
other human rights abuses
The music video for "Earth
Song" received praise for its
environmental recognition
Scream was a creative
influence on other music
videos such as the 1999
release of the award
winning No Scrubs by TLC;
this influence was also
present on the 2008 release
of Shawty Get Loose by Lil
Mama and Chris Brown
Promotion
Sony Music spent $30 million to promote
the album
They positioned statues throughout Europe
MJ embarked on the commercially
successful world concert tour, HIStory
World Tour (grossed a total of $163.5
million)
One of the most expensive music product
promotions ever
Prior to the album's release, the music
press were anticipating how well it would
sell
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