The King of Pop

"What is a genius? What is a living legend? What is a megastar? Michael Jackson - that's all. And just when you think you know him, he gives you more... There is no one that can come near him, no one can dance like that, write the lyrics, or cause the kind of excitement that he does. When I hear the name Michael Jackson, I think of brilliance, of dazzling stars, lasers and deep emotions. I think he is one of the world's biggest and greatest stars, and it just so happens that he is one of the most gifted music makers the world has ever known. I think he is one of the finest people to hit this planet, and, in my estimation, he is the true King of Pop, Rock and Soul." (Elizabeth Taylor)

Biography:

Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary (Indiana) on 29th of August in 1958 to Joseph and Katherine Jackson. He was the seventh of nine children.
Michael began his musical career at the age of five as the lead singer of the Jackson 5. The group performed at small clubs and bars around the Eastern USA. Michael and his brothers became local celebrities. Then one day Bobby Taylor and Gladys Knight discovered the Jackson 5 in 1968. Very soon after that the group was signed to Motown Records.

Joseph Jackson and his sons had to move to California. It wasn't an easy decision to make. Michael was sad, because his mother stayed in Gary with Randy and Janet.


The Jackson 5 became very popular. Their first four singles, "ABC", "I Want You Back", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" became number one hits. No other debut artist or group placed their first four singles at the top of the charts. The Jackson 5 performed all over the world and sold almost 100 million albums worldwide.
Finally, Katherine, Randy and Janet Jackson moved to California to live with the other family members. Michael was happier than ever.

Jackson 5 left Motown Records in 1976 to sign to Epic. The name of the group changed. From that year on, the boys were known as the Jacksons. They recorded several records before Michael started his amazing solo career.

Michael released "Off the wall" in 1979. It became a smash hit all over the world with four top ten singles. Two of the singles, "Don't stop 'til you get enough" and "Rock with you", reached #1. The album went on to sell an astonishing eleven million copies worldwide.

Still nobody could've believed that Michael's next solo album would become the biggest selling record of all time, releasing SEVEN top ten singles. "Thriller" was released on December 1st of 1982. It has sold over 51 million copies worldwide. "Billie Jean" was a smash hit reaching #1 all over the world. The video for the song became the first video featuring an African American performer to be played on MTV. Michael also showed his astonishing dance moves to the whole world for the first time. Since that, pop culture became a phenomenon. Michael Jackson became a musical and celebrity icon. He won eight Grammy Awards for "Thriller".



In 1984 Michael Jackson reunited with his brothers to do one more album. The album was called "Victory".
Next year Michael and Lionel Richie wrote a smash hit called "We are the world". The song was performed by 44 famous artists. It reached #1 all over the world.

In 1987, Jackson released his third solo album, "Bad" with a Martin Scorsese directed short film. Bad went on to have five number one singles and spawned an eighteen-month tour, which grossed more than two hundred million dollars. After his world tour, Jackson wrote his memoirs called "Moonwalker". Michael Jackson ended the 1980's by being named MTV�s "Artist of The Decade".



In the beginning of the 1990's Michael Jackson signed the largest contract with a recording label in history. However, scandal and tabloid gossip threatened to derail his career. In 1991 Michael recorded his fourth solo album, "Dangerous". He supported the album with a tour that took him to Eastern Europe for the first time.
During this time he launched his own charity, "Heal the World Foundation" that was dedicated to improving the lives of Children and the environment around the world.



Tabloid newspapers had spread stupid rumours about Michael since the 1980s. In 1993 Jackson�s career was interrupted by unfounded allegations of misconduct with a minor. He was never charged but the investigation caused a firestorm of adverse publicity and media intrusion into his life. People started to consider Michael Jackson as a paedophile. Michael noticed that the world was much crueller than he could've ever thought.

The media went crazy again in 1994, when Michael married Elvis's daughter Lisa-Marie Presley. Many people thought that the marriage was just an attempt to make people forget the allegations of molesting a child.


In 1995, Michael Jackson released his greatest hits album, "HIStory", that contained 15 original songs. The first single, "Scream" � a duet with his superstar sister Janet Jackson � debuted at #5 making it the first single to ever debut that high. The next single that Michael Jackson released from the History album was "You Are Not Alone", which debuted at #1 making Jackson the first artist to debut at the top of the charts in America. During this time, Jackson�s marriage to Lisa Marie Presley ended before he embarked on his HIStory tour in 1996. On November 14, 1996, Michael married Debbie Rowe and their first child "Prince" Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. was born on February 13, 1997.



Michael released his next album, "Blood on the dancefloor", in 1997. It included only five new songs, all other songs were remixes from "HIStory".
To support the album, Jackson produced the short film, Ghosts that played to theaters all over the world before it became a home video in the European and Asian markets.

Following his world tour, Michael and his current wife had another child April 3, 1998 named Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. The Jacksons ended their marriage in October 1999.



Michael's seventh album, "Invincible", was released in 2001. It reached #1 in several countries and showed that Michael is still the King of Pop.
Michael left his record label, Sony Music, in 2002.

In 2003, Michael's new compilation CD, "Number Ones", was released. It topped the UK album chart, but its success in the USA was not that good because Michael had to face new allegations of sexual misconduct. These allegations were presented by a boy named Gavin, who also appeared in Martin Bashir's infamous TV documentary "Living With Michael Jackson".

June 13th 2005: The jury found Michael Jackson NOT GUILTY of molesting Gavin Arvizo and of administering an intoxicating agent to him. The long court process understandably affected Michael's health, but it was worth it. As Tom Mesereau, the defence lawyer, noted: "Justice is done. The man is innocent. He always was."

Keep Michaeling!