American singer (1958–2009)
For other uses, see Michael Jackson (disambiguation).
"King of Pop" redirects here. For other uses, see King of Pop (disambiguation).
Michael Jackson | |
|---|---|
Jackson in 1988 | |
| Born | Michael Joseph Jackson (1958-08-29)August 29, 1958 Gary, Indiana, US |
| Died | June 25, 2009(2009-06-25) (aged 50) Los Angeles, California, US |
| Cause of death | Cardiac arrest caused by acute propofol intoxication |
| Burial place | Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale, California, US |
| Other names | Michael Joe Jackson |
| Occupations |
|
| Spouses |
|
| Children | 3, including Paris |
| Parents | |
| Family | Jackson family |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Genres | |
| Instrument | Vocals |
| Discography | |
| Years active | 1964–2009 |
| Labels | |
| Formerly of | The Jackson 5 |
Musical artist | |
| Website | michaeljackson.com |
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his world record music achievements and publicized personal life made him a global figure. Through songs, stages, and fashion, he proliferated visual performance for singers in pop music, and popularized street dance moves including the moonwalk (which he named), the robot, and the anti-gravity lean. Jackson has an extensive fandom, which includes impersonators around the world.
As part of the Jackson family, Michael at age six made his public debut in 1964 with his older brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon, as a member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons). The Jackson 5 signed with Motown in 1968 and achieved worldwide success with Michael as lead singer. Jackson achieved solo stardom with the release of his fifth album Off the Wall (1979). He followed it up with Thriller (1982), the best-selling album of all time, which broke racial barriers with the music videos for its title track along with "Beat It" and "Billie Jean". These are also credited with transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool, as well as aiding the popularization of MTV. Jackson furthered his position as a global superstar with Bad (1987), the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Dangerous (1991) saw him venture into an array of artistic sounds, and became one of the most successful albums of the 1990s. HIStory (1995) produced "You Are Not Alone", the first song to debut at number one on the US Billboard Hot 100.
From the late 1980s, Jackson became a figure of controversy and speculation due to his changing appearance, relationships, behavior, and lifestyle. He was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend in 1993. In 2005, Jackson was tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges. While preparing for a series of comeback concerts, This Is It, he died in 2009 from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician Conrad Murray, who was convicted in 2011 of involuntary manslaughter. Jackson's death triggered reactions around the world, creating unprecedented surges of internet traffic and a spike in sales of his music. His televised memorial service, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, was estimated to have been viewed by more than 2.5 billion people.
Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 500 million records worldwide.[nb 1] He won numerous awards, making him one of the most-awarded artists in popular music. His accolades include 39 Guinness World Records, including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time, 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 26 American Music Awards, including the Artist of the Century and Artist of the 1980s, and six Brit Awards. He also received three presidential honors, including Artist of the Decade, and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. He had 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and was the first artist to have a top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. Jackson's inductions include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (twice), the National Rhythm & Blues Hall of Fame, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame (making him the only recording artist to be inducted).
Michael Joseph Jackson[3][4] was born in Gary, Indiana, on August 29, 1958.[5][6] He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, a working-class African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse), played clarinet and piano, had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. She was a Jehovah's Witness.[10] His father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a crane operator at US Steel and played guitar with a local rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income.[11] Joe's great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a US Army scout; family lore held that he was also a Native American medicine man. Michael grew up with three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet) and five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy).[11] A sixth brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.[14]
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father which included Jackie, Tito and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine.[15][16] Michael said his father told him he had a "fat nose",[17] and physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals. He recalled that Joe often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, ready to punish any mistakes.[10] Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Michael.[19] Katherine said that although whipping came to be considered abuse, it was a common way to discipline children when Michael was growing up.[20][21] Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon denied that their father was abusive and said that the whippings, which had a deeper impact on Michael because he was younger, kept them disciplined and out of trouble.[22] Michael said that during his youth he was lonely and isolated.
Later in 1965, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to the Jackson 5.[24] In 1965, the group won a talent show; Michael performed the dance to Robert Parker's 1965 song "Barefootin'" and sang the Temptations' "My Girl". From 1966 to 1968, the Jacksons 5 toured the Midwest; they frequently played at a string of black clubs known as the Chitlin' Circuit as the opening act for artists such as Sam & Dave, the O'Jays, Gladys Knight and Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where striptease shows were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances.[27] In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur night concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs for a Gary record label, Steeltown Records; their first single, "Big Boy", was released in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the Jackson 5 to Motown after they opened for Taylor at Chicago's Regal Theater in 1968. Taylor produced some of their early Motown recordings, including a version of "Who's Lovin' You".[31] After signing with Motown, the Jackson family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown executives decided Diana Ross should introduce the Jackson 5 to the public — partly to bolster her career in television — sending off what was considered Motown's last product of its "production line".[33] The Jackson 5 made their first television appearance in 1969 in the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of "It's Your Thing".[34]Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer".[35]
In January 1970, "I Want You Back" became the first Jackson 5 song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it stayed there for four weeks. Three more singles with Motown topped the chart: "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There".[36] In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large house at Hayvenhurst, a 2-acre (0.81 ha) estate in Encino, California. During this period, Michael developed from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973) and Forever, Michael (1975).[39] "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".
Michael maintained ties to the Jackson 5.[39] The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists".[41] They were frustrated by Motown's refusal to allow them creative input.[42] Jackson's performance of their top five single "Dancing Machine" on Soul Train popularized the robot dance.
The Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975, signing with Epic Records and renaming themselves the Jacksons.[45] Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time; Jermaine stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this time, wrote songs such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1978), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).[47]
In 1977, Jackson moved to New York City to star as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical film directed by Sidney Lumet, alongside Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross.[48] The film was a box-office failure. Its score was arranged by Quincy Jones, who later produced three of Jackson's solo albums.[51] During his time in New York, Jackson frequented the Studio 54 nightclub, where he heard early hip hop; this influenced his beatboxing on future tracks such as "Working Day and Night".[52] In 1978, Jackson unsatisfied with his nose, decided to have a rhinoplasty.[53] He was referred to Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's operations.
Jackson's fifth solo album, Off the Wall (1979), established him as a solo performer and helped him move from the bubblegum pop of his youth to more complex sounds. It produced four top 10 entries in the US: "Off the Wall", "She's Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You".[55] The album reached number three on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[56] In 1980, Jackson won three American Music Awards for his solo work: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".[57][58] He also won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".[59] In 1981, Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist.[60] Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Jackson recorded with Queen's lead singer Freddie Mercury from 1981 to 1983, recording demos of "State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This". The recordings were intended for an album of duets but, according to Queen's manager Jim Beach, the relationship soured when Jackson brought a llama into the recording studio,[64] and Jackson was upset by Mercury's drug use.[65] "There Must Be More to Life Than This" was released in 2014.[66] Jackson went on to record "State of Shock" with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album Victory (1984).[67]
In 1982, Jackson contributed "Someone in the Dark" to the audiobook for the film E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Jackson's sixth album, Thriller, was released in late 1982. It was the bestselling album worldwide in 1983,[68][69] and became the bestselling album of all time in the US[70] and the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated 70 million copies.[71][72] It topped the Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to produce seven Billboard Hot 100 top-10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It", and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'".
On March 25, 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, an NBC television special. The show aired on May 16 to an estimated audience of 47 million, and featured the Jacksons and other Motown stars.[74] Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean" earned him his first Emmy Award nomination.[75] Wearing a glove decorated with rhinestones,[76] he debuted his moonwalk dance, which Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years earlier, and it became his signature dance in his repertoire.[77] Jackson had originally turned down the invitation to the show, believing he had been doing too much television. But at the request of Motown founder Berry Gordy, he performed in exchange for an opportunity to do a solo performance.Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore called the performance "extraordinary". Jackson's performance drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and the Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.Anna Kisselgoff of The New York Times praised the perfect timing and technique involved in the dance.[80] Gordy described being "mesmerized" by the performance.[81]
At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, Thriller won eight awards, and Jackson won an award for the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook. Winning eight Grammys in one ceremony is a record he holds with the band Santana.[59] Jackson and Quincy Jones won the award for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical). Thriller won Album of the Year (with Jackson as the album's artist and Jones as its co-producer), and the single won Best Pop Vocal Performance (Male) award for Jackson. "Beat It" won Record of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance (Male). "Billie Jean" won two Grammy awards: Best R&B Song and Best R&B Vocal Performance (Male), with Jackson as songwriter and singer respectively.[59]
Thriller won the Grammy for Best Engineered Recording (Non Classical), acknowledging Bruce Swedien for his work on the album.[82] At the 11th Annual American Music Awards, Jackson won another eight awards and became the youngest artist to win the Award of Merit.[83] He also won Favorite Male Artist, Favorite Soul/R&B Artist, and Favorite Pop/Rock Artist. "Beat It" won Favorite Soul/R&B Video, Favorite Pop/Rock Video and Favorite Pop/Rock Single. The album won Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Pop/Rock Album.[83][84]Thriller's sales doubled after the release of an extended music video, Michael Jackson's Thriller, which sees Jackson dancing with a horde of zombies.[85][86]
The success transformed Jackson into a dominant force in global pop culture.[86] Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point, with about $2 for every album sold (equivalent to $6 in 2023), and was making record-breaking profits. Dolls modeled after Jackson appeared in stores in May 1984 for $12 each.[87] In the same year, The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, a documentary about the music video, won a Grammy for Best Music Video (Longform).[59]Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too."[87]The New York Times wrote "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".[88]
In November 1983, Jackson and his brothers partnered with PepsiCo in a $5