Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-2009) - American singer, songwriter, music producer, dancer, choreographer, actor, screenwriter, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. Most successful performer in the history of pop music, nicknamed "The King of Pop".
Winner of 15 Grammy awards and hundreds of prestigious awards, 25-time record holder of the Guinness Book of Records. The number of Jackson's records sold worldwide reaches 1 billion copies. Influenced the development of pop music, video clips, dance and fashion.
There are many interesting facts in the biography of Michael Jackson, which we will tell about in this article.
So, here is a short biography of Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson biography
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in the family of Joseph and Catherine Jackson, in the American city of Gary (Indiana). He was 8 out of 10 children born to his parents.
Childhood and youth
As a child, Michael was often physically and mentally abused by his tough-minded father.
The head of the family beat the boy many times, and also brought him to tears for the slightest offense or incorrectly spoken word. He demanded obedience and strict discipline from children.
There is a known case when Jackson Sr. climbed at night through the window into Michael's room, wearing a terrible mask. Approaching the sleeping son, he abruptly began to scream and wave his arms, which scared the child to death.
The man explained his act by the fact that in this way he wanted to teach Michael to close the window at night. Later, the singer admits that from that moment in his biography, he often had nightmares in which he was abducted from the room.
Nevertheless, it was thanks to his father that Jackson became a real star. Joseph founded the musical group "The Jackson 5", which included his five children.
For the first time, Michael appeared on stage at the age of 5. He had a unique singing style and also had excellent plasticity.
In the mid-60s, the group successfully performed throughout the entire Midwest. In 1969 the musicians signed a contract with the studio "Motown Records", thanks to which they were able to record their famous hits.
In subsequent years, the group gained even more popularity, and some of their songs were at the top of the American charts.
Later, the musicians re-signed a contract with another company, becoming known as "The Jacksons". Until 1984, they recorded 6 more discs, continuing to actively tour America.
Music
In parallel with his work in the family business, Michael Jackson has released 4 solo records and several singles. The most popular were such songs as "Got to BeThere", "Rockin 'Robin" and "Ben".
In 1978, the singer starred in the musical The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. On the set, he met Quincy Jones, who soon became his producer.
The following year, the famous album "Off the Wall" was released, which sold 20 million copies. Three years later, Jackson recorded the legendary Thriller disc.
An interesting fact is that this plate has become the best-selling plate in the world. It featured hits such as "The GirlIs Mine", "Beat It", "Human Nature" and "Thriller". For her, Michael Jackson was awarded 8 Grammy Awards.
In 1983, the guy records the famous song "Billie Jean", and then shoots a video for it. The video featured vivid special effects, original dances and a semantic plot.
Michael's songs are often played on the radio and shown on TV. The video clip for the song "Thriller", which lasted about 13 minutes, was entered in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful music video.
In the spring of 1983, Jackson's fans first saw his trademark moonwalk during the performance of Billie Jean.
In addition to the unlikely choreography, the artist used a synchronized dance performance on stage. Thus, he became the founder of pop performances, during which "video clips" were shown on the stage.
The following year, the pop singer, in a duet with Paul McCartney, performed the song Say, Say, Say, which immediately hit the top of the music charts.
In 1987, Michael Jackson presented a new 18-minute video for the song "Bad", on the shooting of which over $ 2.2 million was spent. Music critics reacted negatively to this work, in particular, because during the dance the singer visually touched his groin ...
After that, Jackson presented the video "Smooth Criminal", where for the first time demonstrated the so-called "anti-gravity tilt".
The artist was able to lean forward at an angle of about 45⁰, without bending his legs, and then return to his original position. It is worth noting that special footwear was made for this most complex element.
In 1990, Michael received the MTV Artist of the Decade award for his achievements in the 80s. An interesting fact is that next year this award will be renamed in honor of Jackson.
Soon the singer recorded a video for the song "Black or White", which was watched by a record number of people - 500 million people!
It was at this time that the biographies of Michael Jackson began to be called the "King of Pop". In 1992, he published a book called "Dancing the Dream".
By that time, 2 records had already been released - "Bad" and "Dangerous", which still featured many hits. Soon Michael presented the song "GiveIn To Me", performed in the genre of hard rock.
Soon, the American first visited Moscow, where he gave a big concert. The Russians were able to personally hear the legendary voice of the singer, as well as see his unique dances.
In 1996, Jackson recorded a song about the Russian capital "Stranger in Moscow", which he warned about back in Russia. In the same year, he flew to Moscow again, giving a concert at the Dynamo stadium.
In 2001, the disc "In vincible" was released, and 3 years later, a comprehensive song collection "Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection" was recorded. It featured the most popular songs Michael has sung over the past 30 years.
In 2009, the singer planned to record another disc, but did not manage to do it.
Not everyone knows that Jackson acted in films. In his creative biography, there are over 20 different roles. His first film was the musical Wiz, where he played the Scarecrow.
The last work of Michael was the tape "That's All", filmed in 2009.
Operations
Jackson's appearance began to radically change back in the 80s. His skin lightened every year, and his lips, nose, cheekbones and chin changed their shape.
Later, a dark-skinned young man with a flat nose and expressive lips turned into a completely different person.
The press wrote that Michael Jackson wanted to become white, but he himself claimed that his skin began to become lighter due to pigmentation disorders.
The reason for all this was the frequent stress that led to the development of vitiligo. In favor of this version, photographs with uneven pigmentation were presented.
The illness forced Michael to hide from the sunlight. That is why he usually always wore a suit, hat and gloves.
Jackson called the situation with the plastic face a necessity associated with serious burns to the head, received during the filming of the Pepsi commercial. According to the artist, he went under the surgeon's knife only 3 times: twice, when he corrected his nose and once, when he made a dimple on his chin.
The rest of the modifications should be considered solely in terms of age and the transition to vegetarian food.
Scandals
There were many scandals in the biography of Michael Jackson. The paparazzi watched every step of the singer, wherever he was.
In 2002, a man carried his newborn baby onto the balcony, throwing it over the railing, and then began to swing it to the delight of fans.
All the action took place at the height of the 4th floor, which led to a lot of criticism against Jackson. He later publicly apologized for his actions, recognizing his behavior as unworthy.
However, a much bigger scandal was caused by accusations of child molestation.
Back in the early 90s, Michael was suspected of seducing 13-year-old Jordan Chandler. The child's father said that the musician encouraged his son to touch his genitals.
During the investigation, Jackson had to show his penis so that the police could verify the testimony of the teenager. As a result, the parties came to an amicable agreement, but the artist still paid the victim's family an amount of $ 22 million.
Ten years later, in 2003, Michael was charged with a similar charge. Relatives of 13-year-old Gavin Arvizo stated that the man used to drink their son and other children, after which he began to touch their genitals.
Jackson called all these statements fiction and banal extortion of money. After a 4-month investigation, the court acquitted the singer.
All this seriously undermined Michael's health, as a result of which he began to use powerful antidepressants.
An interesting fact is that after Jackson's death, Jordan Chandler admitted that his father made him slander the musician for money, who then committed suicide.
Personal life
In 1994, Michael married Lisa-Maria Presley, the daughter of the legendary Elvis Presley. However, the couple lived together for less than two years.
After that, Jackson married nurse Debbie Rowe. In this union, the boy Prince Michael 1 and the girl Paris-Michael Catherine were born. The couple lived together for 3 years, until 1999.
In 2002, Jackson gave birth to his second son, Prince Michael 2, through surrogacy.
In 2012, the media reported that Michael Jackson had a relationship with Whitney Houston. This was reported by mutual friends of the artists.
Death
Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 due to an overdose of drugs, in particular propofol, a sleeping pill.
A doctor named Konrad Murray gave the singer an injection of propofol, and then left him. A couple of hours later, Konrad came to Michael's room, where he saw him already dead.
Jackson lay on the bed with his eyes and mouth wide open. The doctor then called an ambulance.
The medics arrived in less than 5 minutes. After the examination, they stated that the death of the man was caused by an overdose of drugs.
Soon, investigators began to investigate the case, admitting that Michael died due to the negligent actions of a doctor. As a result, Murray was arrested and sent to jail for a period of 4 years.
The news of the pop artist's death broke network records and overwhelmed search engine traffic.
Michael Jackson was buried in a closed coffin, which led to many versions that the artist allegedly did not really die.
For a time, the coffin stood in front of the stage during the ceremony, which was broadcast live around the world. An interesting fact is that about 1 billion spectators watched the ceremony!
For a long time, Jackson's burial site remained a secret. There were many rumors that he was allegedly secretly buried in the first half of August.
Later it was reported that the singer's burial was scheduled for early September. As a result, Michael's funeral took place on September 3 at Forest Lawn Cemetery, located near Los Angeles.
After the death of "King", sales of his discs have grown more than 720 times!
In 2010, Michael's first posthumous album, "Michael", was released, and 4 years later, the second posthumous album, "Xscape", was released.
Jackson Photos
