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For other people with the same name, see Michael Jackson (disambiguation)

Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958), also known as the "King of Pop", is an American musician whose successful music career and controversial personal life have been at the forefront of pop culture for the last quarter-century. Michael Jackson has been regarded as the most successful pop singer of all time with estimated accumulative record sales of over 300 million.

Michael Jackson began his musical career at the age of five as lead singer of The Jackson 5 and made his first solo recordings in 1971 as part of the Jackson 5 franchise. He began a full-fledged solo career in 1979 and formally parted with his siblings in 1984. Since then Jackson has recorded and co-produced the best-selling album of all-time (Thriller with approximate worldwide sales of 60 million), received thirteen Grammy awards and charted thirteen number-one singles in the US. Michael Jackson has been awarded numerous honors, including the World Music Award for "Biggest Selling Artist Of The Millennium". Michael Jackson is a double-inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and in 2001 as a solo artist.

Michael Jackson has been married twice and has three children. His first wife was Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of pop icon Elvis Presley, whom he married in 1994 and divorced less than two years later. His second wife was Deborah Rowe, with whom he has two children, Prince Michael I (born February 13, 1997) and Paris (born April 3, 1998). Jackson divorced Rowe in 1999 and she gave up her parental rights in 2001. In early 2002 he had a third child, Prince Michael II (better known as "Blanket") who was born through surrogacy.

From 1988 to 2005, Michael Jackson lived in a 2,600 acre (11 km²) property called Neverland Ranch located in Santa Ynez, California. Jackson, a huge Disney fan, named his ranch after the magical kingdom of Neverland from the children's story "Peter Pan". He has built an amusement park and private zoo on the ranch, and frequently welcomes sick and poor children there to visit and sponsors charity drives for children. He states that he likes to be surrounded by children because of their sense of innocence, which he feels he lost too soon. Jackson's relationships with children, both his own and others, have been controversial. His sleepover parties at Neverland have received widespread critical media coverage, especially after he revealed that he sometimes slept in the same bed with several unrelated children. In 1993 and again in 2003, Michael Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse, though was eventually tried and acquitted of the latter allegations in 2005.

Biography

Early beginnings: 1969–1980

Michael Jackson was born to Joseph and Katherine Jackson in Gary, Indiana. He was the seventh of nine children, including Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, LaToya, Marlon, Randy and Janet.

Joseph organized his children into a music group called "The Jackson 5". The group played local clubs and bars, building up a following and eventually signing a contract with Motown Records in March 1969. The Jackson 5 soon became national stars with their first four singles charting at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. Michael also released four solo albums and charted many hit singles as part of the Jackson 5 franchise including the hits "Got to Be There", "Ben", and a remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".

The Jackson 5's sales declined after 1973, and the group chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow the Jacksons creative control or input. In 1976, the group signed a new contract with CBS Records (first joining the Philadelphia International division and later moving over to Epic Records). Upon learning that the Jackson 5 had signed a contract with another label, Motown sued the group for breach of contract. As a result, they lost the rights to use the "Jackson 5" name and logo and changed their named to "The Jacksons". The newly named Jacksons, featuring youngest brother Randy in Jermaine's place, continued their successful career, touring internationally, and releasing six albums between 1976 and 1984.

In 1978, Michael Jackson starred as the scarecrow in The Wiz with former-labelmate Diana Ross playing Dorothy. The musical film's songs were arranged by famed producer Quincy Jones, who established a partnership with Jackson and agreed to produce his first solo album. Off the Wall, released in 1979, was a worldwide hit, and became the first album in history to spawn four top-ten hits, including "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You". The album went on to sell 20 million copies worldwide, establishing Jackson as a musical force without his brothers. After the success of Off the Wall, Jackson began work on his second solo album with Quincy Jones.

Success and controversy: 1982–1992

Michael Jackson's 1982 album Thriller became the best-selling album in music history with 60 million copies sold worldwide. In 1984, Thriller won seven Grammy awards. In that same year, Jackson also won a Grammy for the E.T. Storybook, breaking the record for the most Grammy awards won in a single year. The album spawned seven hit singles, including "Billie Jean" (which was the first music video by a black artist to receive regular airplay on MTV), "Beat It" and the album's title track which was accompanied by a revolutionary music video. The thirteen-minute "Thriller" was packaged with the featurette "Making Michael Jackson's "Thriller" and became the best-selling music home video ever. Thriller spent 37 weeks at number one and remained on the Billboard album chart for 122 weeks. It was eventually certified 26x Platinum in the United States.

During the 1980s Jackson's popularity escalated, performing "Billie Jean" at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever concert and debuting the moonwalk, reuniting with his brothers for the Victory album and tour, and co-writing the hit charity single "We Are The World" which helped raise money and awareness for famine in East Africa However, despite his fame and success Jackson was involved in many controversies during the eighties which tainted his public image. The controversies started in 1984 when Jackson burnt his scalp while filming a commercial for Pepsi-Cola. More controversy followed in 1985 when Jackson purchased co-ownership of Sony/ATV Music Publishing which owns rights to most of Elvis Presley's and The Beatles' songs. Recent reports claim Jackson may lose his ownership of the catalogue due to his personal financial problems. Following this controversial business deal, bizarre tabloid stories of Jackson sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber to stall the aging-process, and purchasing the skeleton of the Elephant Man inspired the pejorative nickname "Wacko Jacko".

In 1987, after starring in the George Lucas/Francis Ford Coppola 3-D film Captain EO, Jackson released Bad, his third and final album with producer Quincy Jones. Bad sold 29 million copies and spawned seven hit singles includuing the number ones "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". The album was supported by a world tour which lasted for over a year visiting 15 countries

Jackson hired film director Martin Scorsese to direct the video for the album's title track. When the 18-minute music video debuted on TV, it sparked a great deal of controversy as it was apparent that Jackson's appearance had changed dramatically. Although Jackson's skin color was a medium-brown color for the entire duration of his youth, his skin has lightened gradually since 1982, and is today a pale cream color. Jackson has attributed his changing skin color to vitiligo and denies rumors that he bleached his skin. Another significant reason for his change in appearance is use of plastic surgery. Despite a number of surgeons' claims that Jackson has undergone multiple nasal surgeries as well as a forehead lift, thinned lips and cheekbone surgery, Jackson wrote in his 1988 autobiography Moon Walk that he only had two rhinoplastic surgeries and the surgical creation of a cleft in his chin, while attributing puberty and diet to the noticible change in the structure of his face.

In 1991, Michael Jackson released Dangerous which went on to sell 29 million copies sold worldwide. The major hit from Dangerous was "Black or White", which was accompanied by a controversial music video featuring scenes of a sexual nature, violence and racism. The video was banned on most music-television channels until the scenes of violence and sex enacted by Jackson breaking windows and simulating masturbation were edited out of the video.

Allegations and further career: 1993–2002

Influenced by the hit Dangerous single "Heal The World", Jackson founded the "Heal the World Foundation" in 1992 . The charity organization brought under-privileged children to Jackson's Peter Pan-inspired Neverland Ranch, located outside Santa Ynez, California to enjoy the rides and amusements. Jackson had built on the property since he purchased it in 1988. He would also occasionally let children sleep-over at Neverland. This practice soon became frowned-upon when allegations of child sexual abuse were brought against Jackson. In 1993, Jordan Chandler, the son of former Beverly Hills dentist Evan Chandler, represented by civil lawyer Larry Feldman, accused Jackson of child sexual abuse. In 1994, Jackson settled out of court with the accuser for a reported USD 20 million and was not charged.

After the allegations were settled in 1994, Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley. The marriage was severely criticized by the media and lasted less than two years. Despite some comments questioning the validity of this union, Presley has always maintained that they both shared a married couple's life during their time together and were sexually active.

In 1995, Jackson released HIStory: Past, Present And Future - Book 1. The first disc, HIStory Begins, was a fifteen-track greatest hits album (in 2001, HIStory Begins was re-released on its own as Greatest Hits - HIStory Vol. I and sold 3 million copies), while the second disc, HIStory Continues, contained fifteen new songs. The double album has sold 18 million copies (36 million discs) to date.

To promote the album, Jackson embarked on the successful HIStory World Tour. On November 14, 1996, during the Australian leg of the tour, Jackson married his dermatologist's nurse Deborah Jeanne Rowe, with whom he fathered a son, Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. (who publicly goes by the name "Prince"), and a daughter, Paris Katherine Jackson. Jackson and Rowe were divorced in 1999. Jackson later said that Rowe wanted him to have the children as a "gift". The paternity of Michael Jackson's children has been heavily debated by the public. Because Michael is black and Rowe is white, the children are biracial. The children do not have any resemblance to Jackson in his childhood, and their skin is a milky white. This is not always uncommon in biracial children, when the white parent has the dominant genes. Michael has always maintained that his first two children were conceived naturally.

In 1997, Jackson released an album of remixes of hit singles from the "HIStory" album titled Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. Jackson also recorded five original songs which were put on the album ("Blood On The Dance Floor", "Is It Scary?", "Ghosts", "Superfly Sister" and "Morphine"). Of the new songs, three were released globally, including the title track which reached number-one in the UK. The album suffered lower-than-average sales compared to Jackson's standard, selling six million copies worldwide. Other single releases from the album included "Ghosts", and "Is It Scary?", which were songs based on a film Jackson created that year titled "Ghosts". The film, written by Michael Jackson and Stephen King and directed by Stan Winston, features impressive special effects and dance moves choreographed to original music written by Michael Jackson. Jackson dedicated the album to Elton John, who reportedly helped him through his addiction to painkillers.

Jackson's latest album Invincible was released in October 2001. The album debuted at number-one in thirteen countries and has since sold twelve million copies worldwide. The singles released from the album include "You Rock My World," "Cry," and "Butterflies". Just before the release of Invincible, Jackson informed Sony Music Entertainment head, Tommy Mottola, that he was not going to renew his contract, which was about to expire in terms of supplying the label with albums of full-new material for release through ER/SME. In 2002 all the singles releases, video shootings and promotions, concerning the Invincible album were cancelled. Due to this, Jackson made allegations about Sony not supporting its African-American artists. Jackson referred to Motolla as a "devil" and "racist" who used black artists for his own personal gain. Sony issued a statement stating that they found the allegations strange, since Motolla was once married to biracial pop star Mariah Carey. Carey seemed to be nonchalant about Jackson's claims on Larry King Live.

Trial and acquittal: 2003–present

In 2003, a controversial documentary titled Living with Michael Jackson and including exclusive interviews with Michael Jackson about his personal life was shown to an international television audience. British journalist Martin Bashir and his film crew filmed Jackson for 18 months, also capturing his controversial behaviour in Berlin, where he suspended his youngest son (Blanket, born in early 2002 through surrogacy) over a balcony railing in Berlin, Germany. One particular part of the documentary which stirred controversy and raised a significant level of concern showed Jackson holding hands with a 13-year-old cancer victim named Gavin Arviso and admitting to sharing his bedroom with Gavin (not in the same bed), and his bed (non-sexually) with other children. Jackson felt betrayed by Bashir and complained that the film gives a distorted picture. He fought back releasing his own documentary, filmed simultaneously by his own personal cameraman who caught Jackson's full explanations on the topics of plastic surgery, the "baby dangling" incident, and his relationships with children.

November of that year, Michael Jackson and Sony Records released a compilation of his number one hits on CD and DVD titled "Number Ones". The compilation was highly successful selling over six million copies worldwide. On the album's scheduled release date, while Michael Jackson was in Las Vegas filming the video for "One More Chance" (the only new song included in the "Number Ones" compilation), the Santa Barbara Sheriff's Department raided Neverland Ranch and arrested Michael Jackson on charges of child molestation. Jackson was accused of sexual abuse by Gavin Arviso, who appeared in the "Living with Michael Jackson" documentary earlier that year. The allegations later led to a 2005 trial in which Jackson was found not guilty of all charges.

The criminal case was tried in Santa Maria, California during the spring of 2005. On June 13, Jackson was acquitted of all ten charges, including four additional lesser ones. CNN later reported that two of the jurors, Ray Hultman and Eleanor Cook, believed he had committed child sex crimes in the past but there was not enough evidence to prove it, and announced impending books on their experiences in the trial. It has been reported that one of the jurors is taking legal action against the publisher of his book, claiming he was tricked into it.

After being acquitted of the child molestation charges, Jackson relocated to the Gulf island of Bahrain, where he reportedly bought a house formerly owned by a Bahrain MP. Jackson has spent his time in the Gulf writing new music, including a charity single dedicated to the victims of Hurricane Katrina titled, "I Have This Dream".

In 2006, allegations of sexual assault were leveled against Jackson by a man who claims Michael Jackson molested him, intoxicated him with drugs and alcohol, and forced him to undergo unnecessary cosmetic surgery. Michael Jackson's lawyer Thomas Mesereau, who successfully defended him against allegations of child molestation in 2005, said "the charges are ridiculous on their face. They will be vigorously defended."

Currently, Michael Jackson is traveling around Europe with close friends and family , and has just released Visionary - The Video Singles, a boxset made up of twenty of Michael Jackson's biggest hit singles with each single being released week by week of a five-month period. Brother Jermaine has stated the possibility of a reunion concert in Yerevan, Armenia, where the Jackson family is building an entertainment complex including a hotel, restaurant, and TV studio.

An appeals court ruled on February 15, 2006 that a lower court improperly terminated Deborah Rowe's parental rights to her two children with pop star Michael Jackson, opening the door to a possible custody battle between the singer and his ex-wife. The retired judge, Steven M. Lachs, acknowledged in 2004 that he failed to have state officials do an independent investigation into what was in the best interests of the children. Jackson's lawyer, Thomas Mesereau, who previously represented Jackson, is not representing Jackson in this case.

The possibility of a new Michael Jackson album became a reality on February 18, 2006 when Sheik Abdullah bin Hamad Al Khalifa told the Associated Press that the upcoming Katrina single is "a raindrop before the thunderstorm" and that "he is getting ready to come out with a lot of bells and whistles. He's so energized. It's explosive."

Music samples

Discography

Filmography

See also

References

1. Talk page Current best estimate total= 332, 850, 000
2. Michael Jackson - History 1970s November 6, 1971: Michael releases his first solo single "Got To Be There".
3. Neverland Valley - Victory Tour Interesting facts: At the last show of the tour Michael announced his split from The Jacksons
4. Guiness Records The best-selling album of all time is Thriller by Michael Jackson
5. MJInf.co.uk - Thriller Current Best Estimate World Sales: 60 million
6. Grammy Winners Jackson, Michael - Total: 13
7. Neverland Valley - Awards, List 2 World Music Awards: Biggest Selling Artist Of The Millennium
8. Rock hall page for Michael Jackson 2001 inductee: Jackson, Michael
9. IMDb bio for Michael Jackson Spouses: Lisa Marie Presley (1994-1996) (divorced), Debbie Rowe (1996-1999) (divorced) 2 children
10. IMDb bio for Prince Michael Jackson I DOB: 13 February 1997
11. IMDb bio for Paris Jackson DOB: 3 April 1998
12. Living with Michael Jackson transcript Jackson: "...I have slept in a bed with many children"
13. IMDb page for The Wiz Cast overview, first billed only: Diana Ross...Dorothy, Michael Jackson...Scarecrow
14. Michael Jackson - History 1970s August 5, 1979: Off The Wall, is released. It becomes the first album in history to spawn four top ten singles
15. MJInf.co.uk - Off The Wall Current Best Estimate World Sales: 20 million
16. Guiness Records At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards in 1984 Michael Jackson won eight Grammy award
17. Michael Jackson - History 1980s December, 1983: "Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller" is released and becomes the best-selling music home video ever
18. Michael Jackson - History 1980s December, 1982: Michael releases Thriller, which contains a record 7 Top 10 hits, including the #1 hits "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Thriller." The album spends 37 weeks at #1 and remains on the Billboard album chart for 122 weeks. It is eventually certified 26x Platinum in the United States.
19. Michael Jackson - History 1980s May 16, 1983: Michael performs the moonwalk for the first time
20. Michael Jackson - History 1980s January 28, 1985: "We Are The World" is recorded. The song was written by Michael and Lionel Richie.
21. BBC.co.uk - On This Day 1984: Michael Jackson burned in Pepsi ad
22. Jackson owns half of Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which includes most of The Beatles and Elvis Presley's hits.
23. Fox411 - Jackson Nears Financial Ruin Friday, December 16, 2005 by Roger Friedman
24. Allmusic.com Biography by Steve Huey
25. Michael Jackson - History 1980s August 28, 1987: Michael releases Bad
26. MJInf.co.uk - Bad Current Best Estimate World Sales: 29 million
27. Michael Jackson - History 1980s August 28, 1987: ...and spawns seven hit singles.
28. Michael Jackson - History 1980s September 12, 1987: Michael launches his Bad Tour on which he spends over a year visiting 15 countries
29. Neverland Valley - Bad Directed by: Martin Scorsese
30. Anomalies Unlimited - The HisTory of Michael Jackson's face 1987 age 29: people and the press are really talking now
31. Oprah interview Jackson: "I have a rare skin disorder called Vitiligo"
32. ABC News - Surgeon: Michael Jackson A 'Nasal Cripple' Feb. 8, 2003 by ABC news
33. Moonwalk by Michael Jackson, 1988 "I have had my nose altered twice and I recently added a cleft to my chin"
34. MJInf.co.uk - Dangerous Current Best Estimate World Sales: 29 million
35. Neverland Valley - Black or White Michael agreed to edit out the final 4 minutes of the video, and issued a statement
36. BBC News - On This Day 1993: Michael Jackson accused of child abuse
37. Prime Time interview(Real Player Required)
38. Michael Jackson - History 1990s June 16, 1995: Michael releases HIStory, a double album
39. http://www.mjinf.co.uk/HIStory/HIStory.htm MJinf.co.uk - Greatest Hits] HIStory Greatest Hits Vol 1 (disk 1 from HIStory) released in 2001 sold another 3 million
40. MJinf.co.uk - HIStory Current Best Estimate World Sales: 18 million units (36 million disks)
41. Michael Jackson - History 1990s September 7, 1996: Michael launches his HIStory Tour
42. Living with Michael Jackson transcript Jackson: wanted to do that for me as a present
43. Michael Jackson - History 1990s May 11, 1997: Michael releases Blood on the Dance Floor. The album contains 8 remixes from HIStory and 5 new songs.
44. The Official Charts - All the No.1s Blood On The Dance Floor, 3/5/1997
45. MJinf.co.uk - Blood Current Best Estimate World Sales: 6 million units.
46. IMDb page for "Michael Jackson's Ghosts"
47. Neverland Valley - Ghosts Based upon an original concept by Michael Jackson & Stephen King, Score Composed and Performed by Michael Jackson
48. Michael Jackson - History 2000s October 30, 2001: Michael releases Invincible. The album debut at #1 on charts in 13 countries
49. MJinf.co.uk - Invincible Current Best Estimate World Sales: 8 million units
50. Larry King Live with Mariah Carey(Real Player Required)
51. IMDb page for "Living with Michael Jackson"
52. Michael Jackson's statement Thursday, February 6, 2003 Posted: 6:03 AM EST (1103 GMT)
53. MJinf.co.uk - Number Ones Current best estimate: 6.5 million
54. Arrest warrant issued for Michael Jackson By Tracy Wilson, Steve Chawkins and Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, November 20, 2003
55. Jackson not guilty Tuesday, June 14, 2005 Posted: 5:23 PM EDT (2123 GMT)
56. Juror's Advice For The King Of Pop 14/06/2005 13:37:22, NY Daily News
57. Jackson Juror Sues Over Book Deal 11/09/2005 14:30, Contact Music
58. Gulf News 23 January 2006 - Archived
59. New Molestation Suit By TMZ.com staff (Jan 12)
60. Michael Jackson in Germany Saturday, 28 January 2006
61. MJ Visionary Full release list
62. Jackson Family Interested in Armenian Show Business February 06, PanArmenian.Net
63. Jackson's ex-wife's parental rights improperly terminated Thursday, February 16 - CNN (Seems to have AP sourcing)
64. Ninemsn - Jacko's ex-wife battles for kids custody Friday, February 17 - (A)AP
65. Post Chronicle - Back Off, Jacko! Deborah Rowe Spanks Michael Jackson Saturday, February 18 - Wire Reports
66. News Talk - Mesereau Will No Longer Represent Jackson Saturday, February 25 - Clear Channel News Network
67. Michael Jackson's Katrina Song Said Ready Saturday, 18 February 2006 - AP

External links

• Sony's Michael Jackson site - Official Sony website for Michael Jackson
• 2 Seas Records - Official website for Hurricane Katrina single
• Sony's Visionary site - Official website for the Visionary project
• Michael Jackson at IMDb
• Michael Jackson lyrics
• Ultimate Michael Jackson Stats Site - Michael Jackson's record sales and chart positions
• Rock and Roll Hall of Fame page on Michael Jackson
• Songwriters' Hall of Fame page on Michael Jackson
• The American Vitiligo Research Foundation Site
• Sony/ATV music publishing site

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