Biography
by Steve Huey
Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of
the '80s, and certainly one of the most popular recording
artists of all time. In his prime, Jackson was an
unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the tools to
dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly
identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning
musical versatility, and loads of sheer star power. His 1982
blockbuster Thriller became the biggest-selling album of all
time (probably his best-known accomplishment), and he was
the first black artist to find stardom on MTV, breaking down
innumerable boundaries both for his race and for music video
as an art form. Yet as Jackson's career began, very
gradually, to descend from the dizzying heights of his peak
years, most of the media's attention focused on his
increasingly bizarre eccentricities; he was often depicted
as an arrested man-child, completely sheltered from adult
reality by a life spent in show business. The snickering
turned to scandal in 1993, when Jackson was accused of
molesting a 13-year-old boy; although he categorically
denied the charges, his out-of-court settlement failed to
restore his tarnished image. He never quite escaped the
stigma of those allegations, and while he continued to sell
records at superstar-like levels, he didn't release them
with enough frequency (or, many critics thought,
inspiration) to once again become better known for his music
than his private life. Whether as a pop icon or a tabloid
caricature, Jackson always remained bigger than life.
Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958, in Gary,
IN. The fifth son of steelworker Joe Jackson, Michael
displayed a talent for music and dance from an extremely
young age. His childhood was strictly regimented; from the
start, he was to an extent sheltered from the outside world
by his mother's Jehovah's Witness faith, and his father was
by all accounts an often ill-tempered disciplinarian. Joe
began to organize a family musical group around his three
eldest sons in 1962, and Michael joined them the following
year, quickly establishing himself as a dynamic stage
performer. His dead-on mastery of James Brown's dance moves
and soulful, mature-beyond-his-years vocals made him a
natural focal point, especially given his incredibly young
age. Dubbed the Jackson 5, the group signed to Motown in
1968 and issued their debut single in October 1969, when
Michael was just 11 years old. "I Want You Back," "ABC,"
"The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There" all hit number one
in 1970, making the Jackson 5 the first group in pop history
to have their first four singles top the charts. Motown
began priming Michael for a solo career in 1971, and his
first single, "Got to Be There," was issued toward the end
of the year; it hit the Top Five, as did the follow-up, a
cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin." Later in 1972, Jackson
had his first number one solo single, "Ben," the title song
from a children's thriller about a young boy who befriends
Ben, the highly intelligent leader of a gang of homicidal
rats. Given the subject matter, the song was surprisingly
sincere and sentimental, and even earned an Oscar
nomination. However, the momentum of Jackson's solo career
(much like that of the Jackson 5) soon stalled. He released
his fourth and final album on Motown in 1975, and the
following year, he and his brothers (save Jermaine) signed
to Epic and became the Jacksons.
In 1977, Jackson landed a starring role alongside Diana Ross
in the all-black film musical The Wiz, a retelling of The
Wizard of Oz; here he met producer/composer Quincy Jones for
the first time. Encouraged by the success of the Jacksons'
self-produced, mostly self-written 1978 album Destiny,
Jackson elected to resume his solo career when his
management contract with his father expired shortly
thereafter. With Jones producing, Jackson recorded his first
solo album as an adult, Off the Wall. An immaculately
crafted set of funky disco-pop, smooth soul, and lush,
sentimental pop ballads, Off the Wall made Jackson a star
all over again. It produced four Top Ten singles, including
the number one hits "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and
"Rock With You," and went platinum (it went on to sell over
seven million copies); even so, Jackson remained loyal to
his brothers and stayed with the group.
No group could have contained Jackson's rapidly rising star
for long; however, there was still no sign (if there ever
could be) that his next album would become the biggest in
history. Released in 1982, the Quincy Jones-produced
Thriller refined the strengths of Off the Wall; the dance
and rock tracks were more driving, the pop tunes and ballads
softer and more soulful, and all of it was recognizably
Michael. Jackson brought in Paul McCartney for a duet,
guitarist Eddie Van Halen for a jaw-dropping solo, and
Vincent Price for a creepy recitation. It was no surprise
that Thriller was a hit; what was a surprise was its staying
power. Jackson's duet with McCartney, "The Girl Is Mine,"
was a natural single choice, and it peaked at number two;
then "Billie Jean" and the Van Halen track "Beat It" both
hit number one, for seven and three weeks respectively.
Those latter two songs, as well as the future Top Five title
track, had one important feature in common: Jackson
supported them with elaborately conceived video clips that
revolutionized the way music videos were made. Jackson
treated them as song-length movies with structured
narratives: "Billie Jean" set the song's tale of a paternity
suit in a nightmarish dream world where Jackson was a
solitary, sometimes invisible presence; the
anti-gang-violence "Beat It" became an homage to West Side
Story; and the ten-minute-plus clip for "Thriller"
(routinely selected as the best video of all time) featured
Jackson leading a dance troupe of rotting zombies, with
loads of horror-film makeup and effects. Having never really
accepted black artists in the past, MTV played the clips to
death, garnering massive publicity for Jackson and droves of
viewers for the fledgling cable network. Jackson sealed his
own phenomenon by debuting his signature "moonwalk" dance
step on May 16, 1983, on Motown's televised 25th anniversary
special; though he didn't invent the moonwalk (as he himself
was quick to point out), it became as much of a Jackson
signature as his vocal hiccups or single white-sequined
glove.
Showing no signs of slowing down, Thriller just kept
spinning off singles, including "Wanna Be Startin'
Somethin'," the airy ballad "Human Nature," and "P.Y.T.
(Pretty Young Thing)"; in all, seven of its nine tracks
wound up in the Top Ten, obliterating conventional ideas of
how many singles could be released from an album before it
ran its course. Thriller stayed on the charts for over two
years, spent 37 nonconsecutive weeks at number one, and
became the best-selling album of all time; it went on to
sell 25 million copies in the U.S. alone, and around another
20 million overseas. Naturally, Jackson won a slew of
awards, including a record eight Grammys in one night, and
snagged the largest endorsement deal ever when he became a
spokesman for Pepsi (he would later be burned in an accident
while filming a commercial). At the end of 1983, Jackson was
again on top of the singles charts, this time as part of a
second duet with McCartney, "Say Say Say." In 1984, Jackson
rejoined his brothers one last time for the album Victory,
whose supporting tour was one of the biggest (and priciest)
of the year. The following year, he and Lionel Richie
co-wrote the anthemic "We Are the World" for the all-star
famine-relief effort USA for Africa; it became one of the
fastest-selling singles ever.
Even at this early stage, wild rumors about Jackson's
private life were swirling. His shyness and reluctance to
grant interviews (ironically, due in part to his concerns
about being misrepresented) only encouraged more
speculation. Some pointed to his soft-spoken, still girlish
voice as evidence that he'd undergone hormone treatments to
preserve the high, flexible range of his youth; stories were
told about Jackson sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber to slow
the aging process, and purchasing the skeleton of John
Merrick, the Elephant Man (Jackson did view the bones in the
London Hospital, but did not buy them). Jackson bought a
large ranch in California which he dubbed Neverland, and
filled it with amusement park rides and animals (including
the notorious pet chimpanzee Bubbles), which only fueled the
public's perception of him as a somewhat bizarre eccentric
obsessed with recapturing his childhood. He also underwent
cosmetic surgery several times, which led to accusations
from the black community that his gradually lightening skin
tone was the result of an intentional effort to become
whiter; a few years later, Jackson revealed that he had a
disorder called vitiligo, in which pigment disappears from
the skin, leaving large white blotches and making direct
sunlight dangerous. One of the rumors that was definitely
true was that Jackson owned the rights to the Beatles'
catalog; in 1985, he acquired ATV Publishing, the firm that
controlled all the Lennon-McCartney copyrights (among
others), which wound up costing him his friendship with
McCartney.
During his long layoff between records, Jackson indulged his
interest in film and video by working with George Lucas and
Francis Ford Coppola on the 3-D short film Captain Eo. The
special-effects extravaganza was shown at the enormous
widescreen IMAX theaters in Disney's amusement parks for 12
years, beginning in 1986. Finally, Jackson re-entered the
studio with Quincy Jones to begin the near-impossible task
of crafting a follow-up to Thriller. Bad was released to
enormous public anticipation in 1987, and was accompanied by
equally enormous publicity. It debuted at number one, and
the first single, "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," with vocal
accompaniment by Siedah Garrett, also shot up the charts to
number one. Like Thriller, Bad continued to spin off singles
for well over a year after its release, and became the first
album ever to produce five number one hits; the others were
"Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," and
"Dirty Diana." Jackson supported the album with a lengthy
world tour that featured a typically spectacular, elaborate
stage show; it became the highest-grossing tour of all time.
Although Jackson's success was still staggering, there were
faint undercurrents of disappointment, partly because of the
unparalleled phenomenon of Thriller (Bad "only" sold eight
million copies), and partly because the album itself didn't
seem quite as exuberant or uniformly consistent when
compared to its predecessors.
Jackson took another long hiatus between albums, giving the
media little to focus on besides his numerous
eccentricities; by this time, the British tabloids delighted
in calling him "Wacko Jacko," a name he detested. When
Jackson returned in with a new album in late 1991, he'd come
up with a different moniker: "the King of Pop." Dangerous
found Jackson ending his collaboration with Quincy Jones in
an effort to update his sound; accordingly, many of the
tracks were helmed by the groundbreaking new jack swing
producer Teddy Riley. As expected, the album debuted at
number one, and its lead single, "Black or White," shot to
the top as well. Jackson courted controversy with the song's
video, however; after the song itself ended, there was a
long dance sequence in which Jackson shouted, grabbed his
crotch, and smashed car windows in a bizarre display that
seemed at odds with the song's harmonious message. With the
video given a high-profile, prime-time network premiere,
Jackson was criticized for the inappropriate violence and
the message it might send to his younger fans. However,
Jackson would not be the biggest story in popular music for
long. In early 1992, Nirvana's Nevermind symbolically
knocked Dangerous out of the number one spot; after the
alternative rock revolution, the pop charts would never be
quite the same. Jackson scored several more hits off the
album, including the Top Tens "Remember the Time" and "In
the Closet," but the aggressive "Jam" and the saccharine
"Heal the World" both performed disappointingly.
Jackson had long preferred the company of children over
other adults, and befriended quite a few, inviting them to
stay at his Neverland Ranch and enjoy the massive playground
he'd assembled over the years. In 1993, Jackson was accused
of molesting a 13-year-old boy who'd become a frequent guest
at Neverland. Predictably, there was a tabloid feeding
frenzy, and a mainstream media circus as well. In the court
of public opinion, the charges seemed all too plausible:
Jackson was near-universally perceived as a weirdo, and here
was a handy explanation for his heretofore asexual persona
and distaste for adult companions. Additionally, Jackson
entered rehab for a short time, seeking treatment for an
addiction to pain killers. Investigations were unsuccessful
in turning up any other boys who echoed the allegations, and
Jackson countersued his accusers for attempting extortion;
however, in spite of the fact that no criminal charges were
ever filed against Jackson, he settled the boy's family's
suit out of court in early 1995, paying an estimated 18 to
20 million dollars. Many felt the settlement was tantamount
to an admission of guilt, and when Jackson married Lisa
Marie Presley in 1994, the move was perceived as a desperate
ploy to rehabilitate his image; the marriage broke up just
19 months later, seemingly lending credence to the
charge.
In 1995, Jackson attempted to put the focus back on his
music by preparing HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book
1, a two-CD set featuring one disc of new material and one
of his greatest hits. The album debuted at number one, but
the format backfired on Jackson: his fans already owned the
hits, and the new album simply wasn't strong enough to
offset the added cost of the extra disc for many more casual
listeners. There were some encouraging signs -- the lead
single "Scream," a duet with sister Janet, debuted at number
five, setting a new American chart record that was broken
when the follow-up, "You Are Not Alone," became the first
single ever to enter the Billboard Hot 100 at number one.
But on the whole, HIStory was something of a disappointment.
Additionally, Jackson collapsed during rehearsals for an
awards show later that year, and had to be rushed to the
hospital; what was more, the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits
(1971-1975) was threatening to catch Thriller's American
sales record (it eventually did, and the two continued to
run neck and neck). There were signs that Jackson was
grasping at his self-proclaimed King of Pop status; the
cover of HIStory depicted an enormous statue of Jackson, and
he performed at the 1996 BRIT Awards dressed as a Messiah,
with children and a rabbi surrounding him worshipfully (Pulp
lead singer Jarvis Cocker stormed the stage to protest
Jackson's hubris during the middle of the song). The 1997
remix album Blood on the Dance Floor failed to even go
platinum, although remix albums historically don't perform
nearly as well as new material.
In late 1996, Jackson remarried, to nurse Debbie Rowe; over
the next two years, the couple had two children, son Prince
Michael Jackson, Jr. and daughter Paris Michael Katherine
Jackson. However, Jackson and Rowe divorced in late 1999. In
2001, Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of
Fame, and later held a massive concert at Madison Square
Garden celebrating the 30th anniversary of his first solo
record. Among many other celebrity guests, the show featured
the first on-stage reunion of the Jacksons since the Victory
tour. In the wake of September 11, Jackson put together an
all-star charity benefit single, "What More Can I Give." His
new album, Invincible, was released late in the year,
marking the first time he'd issued a collection of entirely
new material since Dangerous; it found him working heavily
with urban soul production wizard Rodney Jerkins. Invincible
debuted at number one and quickly went double platinum;
however, its initial singles, "You Rock My World" and
"Butterflies," had rather disappointing showings on the
charts, with the latter not even reaching the Top Ten. To
compound matters, the expensive "What More Can I Give"
single and video were canceled by Sony when executive
producer Marc Schaffel was revealed to work in pornography.
Jackson's camp tried to distance the singer from Schaffel,
and the various corporations that were attached to it
(McDonalds, Sony) claimed they had minimal involvement if
any with the song. Sony and Jackson began a press war in the
summer of 2002, starting with Jackson's claims that the
label asked for 200 million dollars to pay them back for
marketing costs. Although they had spent 55 million on his
disappointing comeback, Sony released a statement saying
that no such request had ever been made. Jackson stewed for
a few weeks before launching a press attack on Sony Music
chairman Tommy Mottola, calling him "devilish" and making
claims that he used racist language and held down black
artists. Many Sony artists, including Mariah Carey and Ricky
Martin, defended Mottola, but Jackson and his family
maintained that racism ended their professional
relationship.
From that point, Jackson's career took an extreme turn
toward the bizarre, starting with MTV's annual Video Awards.
When Britney Spears presented him with a birthday cake, an
offhand remark about being the artist of the millennium
inspired a rambling Jackson to accept a meaningless trophy
(which everyone presenting on-stage received) as an actual
Artist of the Millennium award. Next came accusations from a
promotional company over his promises of a tour and several
appearances that he then canceled. Jackson arrived in court
late, gave a drowsy testimony, and inspired gasps when he
removed a surgical mask to reveal his nose had caved in from
a botched cosmetic surgery. Only days later, German fans
were horrified when Jackson came to the balcony of his hotel
suite and briefly dangled his 11-month old baby Prince
Michael II (nicknamed "Blanket" by Jackson) over the edge
with one arm. Although he apologized the next day, claiming
he had gotten caught up in the moment, this only did more to
cement the King of Pop's public image as an out-of-control
millionaire. 2003 turned out to not be Jackson's year as in
November his Neverland Ranch was extensively searched by
police, whereby he was subsequently arrested on charges of
child molestation. That same month the single disc
retrospective Number Ones hit the stands with one new song,
"One More Chance". A year later - nearly to the day - the
four CD and one DVD box set The Ultimate Collection appeared
with numerous rarities including the original demo for "We
Are the World". In January 2005 his child molestation trial
began and by May he was acquitted on all counts. Jackson
soon relocated to the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain and
began working on new music including a charity single that
would benefit victims of Hurricane Katrina. The single never
appeared but the two disc The Essential Michael Jackson did
and in 2006 the strange box set Visionary was released
featuring 20 DualDiscs replicating 20 big hit singles with
their videos included on the DVD side. In early 2007 it was
announced that a comeback album was planned for late in the
year.
On the afternoon of June 25, 2009, while in the middle of
rehearsing for a series of 50 concerts, Jackson collapsed.
He was rushed to the UCLA Medical Center, where he was
pronounced dead at the age of 50. His death was later ruled
a homicide, the result of ingesting a lethal amount of
prescription drugs. Unsurprisingly, a slew of releases
ensued -- planned prior to and after Jackson's death --
including Motown's Michael Jackson: The Remix Suite and a
soundtrack for This Is It, the film based on
Jackson's rehearsals for the comeback concerts.
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