Michael Jackson Biography

Michael Jackson

(Gary, Indiana, 1958 - Los Angeles, 2009) American singer, pop star high eighties.Excellent dancer and vocalist, endowed with an unquestionable for his countless fans worldwide appeal, Michael Jackson also showed a talent for business related to the world of music and entertainment. His private life was a constant source of news-not always reflected positive- headlines with a profusion of magazines and other publications of general information.

Brother also pop star Janet Jackson and singer La Toya Jackson, little Michael was incorporated with only eight years The Jackson Five, the family group that at one time or another, were part of all the sons of the Jackson family. Its excellent aptitude for dancing and singing what soon became the lead singer of the family band. His childhood in Gary, however, it was difficult, if not traumatic; he suffered continuous abuse from his father, a fact that determined his unstable personality and self-demanding and partly explains his ambiguous attachment to childhood.

Backed by Diana Ross and other artists category, The Jackson Five experienced a meteoric rise: after a first single in 1967, Berry Gody hired for the Motown label, which until 1975 edited successive and successful singles, along with TV appearances and concerts, launched the group into stardom. Without going to disassociate themselves from their brothers, with whom he would share recordings and scenes, Michael Jackson began an individual path in 1971, when edited Got to Be There(1971), which was followed Ben (1972). Both albums came hard on the lists; with the song that gave title to the second album, Ben , he reached its first number one in the United States. With Motown record company still recorded two more albums (Music and Me , 1973, and Forever, Michael , 1975), less successful.

In 1975, after breaking up with Motown and Epic Records signing, The Jackson Five became known as The Jacksons. Although until 1985, and both his tours and concerts and studio recordings, the group could have the presence and contributions of its leader, Michael Jackson was increasingly concentrating on his solo career, especially after the fame he reported him Speaking at the Sidney Lumet film musicalthe Wizard (1978) a remake of the Wizard of Oz in which, playing the role of Scarecrow, she sang a duet with Diana Ross .

Although the film was not a blockbuster, its musical director, Quincy Jones , was fascinated by the talent of this young man of twenty years , and became the main architect of the meteoric career that would propel Michael Jackson to levels of popularity never views. The importance of backing Quincy Jones became evident with the results from the album Off the Wall (1979), which would give the new idol pop the not inconsiderable sum of five singles consecutive success with songs likeRock with You or Don ' t Stop 'Til You Get Enough . The album itself did not become number one, but exceeded eight million copies sold before the end of that year.

Since then they began to know some of the foibles and follies of Michael Jackson that would display throughout his career, as his personal religious ideas or the excessive attention paid to their health and physical appearance; They were, however, the years in which better focused his talents and energies in artistic creation. The success of Off the Wall led to a new collaboration with Quincy Jones Jackson, the result, after a long and intense work was Thriller , which was not released until 1982.

Characterized as a zombie in a fragment of Thriller (1982)

Thriller recorded an overwhelming success, soon going to be the record of a single artist's best - selling music history. Seven of its nine auparon songs as singles in both American and British lists, and two of their songs, Billie Jean and Beat It , accompanied by attractive videos, came to occupy the first place on the ranking of US sales. In England still achieved more fame with two songs sung with former Beatle Paul McCartney, The Girl Is Mine (included in Thriller ) and Say Say Say , who was part of the album McCartney Pipes of Peace (1983).

Michael Jackson proved his business acumen to devise creating a video to promote the song that gave title to the album and had not yet appeared as a single. To address hired John Landis, and produced, largely, paying out of pocket, because the record did not think it was necessary investment; responsible for the company believed, quite wrongly, that the disk was already at its limit sales. The emergence of video Thriller , with its innovative special effects and elaborate choreography, shook the usual market structures of music. The album rocketed to forty million copies, nearly doubling the previous video sales. The video itself in domestic format also achieved impressive sales, ceasing to be a mere instrument of promoting the album to become a business in itself.

After receiving eight Grammy Awards for Thriller , still he accompanied Michael Jackson to his brothers in promotional concerts penultimate album of the band,Victory (1984) and the final tour of The Jacksons in 1985, sponsored by a major soft drink company . Along with an impressive roster of established American artists ( Bruce Springsteen , Stevie Wonder , Ray Charles , Bob Dylan , Tina Turner , among others), the same year he participated in the recording of the single We Are the World (song written by Jackson himself and Lionel Richie), whose profits went to fight hunger and disease in Africa. This was not the first nor the last of altruistic projects that helped the singer; but his famous eccentricities, often deformed, and above all suspicion of pedophilia, why was never convicted, they would weigh then as a slab on its image, making us forget that no musical star gave humanitarian organizations many donations and collections concerts and albums like Michael Jackson.

And focused solely on his solo career, the artist continued to enjoy worldwide admiration and stratospheric sales. Two years later he released a new album, Bad(1987), almost identical commercial success of his previous album: five of the extracted singles from the album reached the top position in the charts. The following year he published his autobiography, Moonwalk (1988), and starredMoonwalker (1988), articulate film about a succession of musical numbers with video aesthetics. From this period dates the acquisition of the California farm that build their fantastic residence commanded, the famous ranch named Neverland ( "Never" as the island of Peter Pan where children did not grow), a large mansion surrounded by a amusement park, a zoo and a cinema.

In the nineties he appeared Dangerous (1991), promoted, like Bad , with a big international tour that brought his millions of fans around the world. Also extracted the first single from the album, Black or White , ranked first on the list; but two years after a scandal he broke about alleged pedophile inclinations of the singer, who avoided trial by a court settlement. Many years later, the late Michael Jackson, the alleged victim of abuse confess that, under pressure from his father, had made ​​false claims for compensation.

All this led to the suspension of some concerts and a retreat that left only to disclose his relationship with fellow singer Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley . They had married in secret in May 1994; the short - lived marriage ended in early 1996. In November of that same year, Michael Jackson remarried with Debbie Rowe, a nurse he had met fifteen years ago, with whom he would have a boy and a girl; the union also concluded early in 1999, retaining the father custody of the children.

Before mid-1995, Michael Jackson released HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I . This double album was a collection of fifteen of his greatest hits (on the first disc, entitled HIStory Begins ) while their fifth album study, for the second album, entitledHIStory Continues , contained fifteen other new songs, including Scream , he played a duet with his sister Janet Jackson, and You Are Not Alone , his umpteenth number one on the charts. In August, the idol participated in an Internet session, answering for about an hour, questions of all those who were able to access the service.Backed by an unprecedented advertising campaign and another world tour in 1996-1997, HIStory ended up being the best - selling double album in history.

After six years of silence (if the remix album is excepted Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix , 1997), the record label Sony Music announced the worldwide release of Invincible (2001), the new work of King of pop . Although the confrontation and subsequent breakup with Sony Music Singer limited its promotion, they continued counting copies sold in millions.

But two years later, Michael Jackson returned to star in a media scandalous episode: Santa Barbara police issued a warrant for his arrest for an alleged crime of child sexual abuse; Michael Jackson surrendered to authorities on November 20, 2003, and, despite the seriousness of the complaint, was provisionally released after posting bail of three million dollars. His ordeal did not end there, because in the spring of 2004 was again charged with child abuse, so had to go back to court. In June 2005, after a trial that lasted for five months, the sentence acquitted the singer of all charges.

A battered image, economic hardship and health problems marked his last years.The difficulties justice caused the closure of his residence, the famous Neverland ranch; to avoid media pressure, he moved to Bahrain, invited by the prince of this small country in the Persian Gulf. Jackson tried to solve their economic problems bythrowing recopilatorios as King of Pop (2008) and Thriller 25 (2008), a reissue ofThriller with some new songs, while preparing his return to the stage in a last attempt to relaunch his career. Finally, in March 2009 he announced a concert tour called This Is It , which was to begin in London in July of the same year. His unexpected death of a heart attack, just weeks before the start of the tour, sent shockwaves around the world.