求关于Michael Jackson英文的生平介绍
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michael jackson的英文简介~
Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, USA), is an African-American singer, songwriter, and record producer, who has gone on to become the most successful artist in black music history (More Info) and one of the most successful popular music singers of all time. He is also known as "The King of Pop" or the "King of the Music Video". Jackson's successful career has gained him legions of devoted fans, yet he has been dogged by media fascination with his changing physical appearance and what some perceive as an eccentric lifestyle, which has led the tabloid press to dub him "Wacko Jacko" (which Jackson says he finds hurtful).
He is a generous children's friend, but he has also repeatedly been accused of sexual abuse of children and is, as of March 2005, on trial for alleged child molestation and other offenses. He denies the charges. The trial is in Santa Maria, California.
Jackson, who rose to fame in childhood as the lead singer of the Motown act The Jackson 5, has received numerous music industry awards including 18 Grammys. Estimates of his album sales worldwide range from 200 million to well over 300 million. His ''Thriller'' video is considered one of the greatest music videos of all time and a large step forward in artistic quality for music videos. MTV and ''Rolling Stone'' magazine recently named four of his songs ("Billie Jean" #5, The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" #9, "Beat It" #23, and "Rock with You" #82) among the 100 greatest pop songs of all time.
His hit album ''Thriller'' is the biggest-selling album of all time worldwide with over 50 million copies sold. The album is also the best-selling album containing all-original material in terms of domestic US sales--26 million copies sold. It is second to The Eagles' greatest hits collection ''Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)'', which has sold 28 million copies.
Personal background
Jackson was born the seventh of nine children in Gary, Indiana to Joseph Jackson and Katherine Jackson. The entire family--including older siblings Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine Jackson|Jermaine, LaToya, and Marlon, and younger siblings Randy and Janet--lived in a tiny two-bedroom house, and Jackson's father Joseph Jackson earned a meager living working in a steel mill. Jackson and his sister LaToya both claimed that their father was cruel and physically abusive to his children. Jackson broke down and wept during a television interview when asked about this, and said that even as an adult just meeting his father often made him physically ill.
At the behest of their mother Katherine, the Jackson children were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses and practiced door-to-door evangelization. Jackson continued to do so after becoming famous, but then in disguise. His career and flamboyant style led to friction with congregation elders. At one point, his sister LaToya was shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses, and in 1987, he formally left the religion. It was said that in 2003 he embraced Nation of Islam.
Due to Joseph Jackson's strict religious beliefs, the Jackson kids were kept locked in their house while he worked the night shift. However, the children would sneak out of the house to their neighbours where they practiced singing and playing music. Eventually, Joseph found out about their musical abilities and decided to capitalise upon it in order to leave Gary for sunny Los Angeles.
Jackson has been living at his 11 km² (2600 acres) Neverland Ranch in Santa Ynez, California, named after the magical kingdom featured in the children's story ''Peter Pan''. In December 2003, he said that after it had been searched by police (see below), it no longer felt like a home, and is now a house he just visits. He now lives in Beverly Hills in a $70,000-a-month rented home.
Jackson feels a strong connection to both children and animals. He says that they do not give the complications that adult people often do, like negatively judging him, and betraying him.
He says that, like Peter Pan, he does not want to grow up. He says he compensates for his "lost childhood", during which he always had to practice and perform. Neverland contains a small zoo and amusement park. About once a week he has been inviting a bus full of (especially sick and poor) children there to have a day of fun.
His favorite pastimes include playing with children, e.g. having water balloon and water gun fights, and having rides with them in his golf carts (which children are often allowed to drive themselves), small steam train, and the other rides of the amusement park, and having long telephone conversations with young friends. He has had sleepovers in the past with children (who have reportedly been primarily boys), but stated in 2005 that he now feels that it violates a social norm in the eyes of many people, and places him in a vulnerable position with regard to suspicions and allegations of sexual abuse. He has publicly stated he will no longer have them with children not related to him.
Jackson kept a chimpanzee, Bubbles, in Neverland, which he valued highly, treating him more like a friend than a pet. Bubbles was moved from the ranch after reaching maturity because adult chimpanzees are very strong and can be dangerous.
He is a vegetarian. He likes climbing trees; he has written several songs sitting in his favorite tree at Neverland, which he calls Giving Tree, because, he says, it is so inspiring.
Jackson's celebrity friends have included Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Rick James, Usher, Marlon Brando, comedians Steve Harvey and Chris Tucker and actress Elizabeth Taylor and former child actors Emmanuel Lewis and Macaulay Culkin. Both Taylor and Culkin are godparents to Prince Michael and Paris. He is also friends with paranormalist Uri Geller. He has also been friends with rabbi Shmuley Boteach, with whom Jackson founded the now defunct "Heal the World" and "Heal the Kids" foundations. (For the related song and video "Heal the World" see below.) Michael is also the godfather of Lionel Richie's adopted daughter Nicole Richie.
It has been rumored that Jackson has used extensive plastic surgery to modify his appearance, although he claims to have had only three operations: Two rhinoplastic surgeries (the first of which he claims was to repair a broken nose resulting from a dancing accident in 1978, and the second to correct imperfections in the first surgery) and the surgical creation of a cleft in his chin (Jackson often omits mentioning the cleft when listing his cosmetic surgery, but he confirms the surgery in his 1988 autobiography ''Moon Walk''). Some critics have characterized his plastic surgery and purported "skin bleaching" as an attempt to hide his African-American ancestry. Jackson has insisted, however, that he only uses heavy makeup to mask the effects of vitiligo, a condition that causes white patches on the skin.
Jackson's extensive use of plastic surgery has now caused increased concerns for possible cartilage and nose collapse. Surgeons agree that Jackson's nose structure could easily collapse during an altercation.
Jackson marriages and children
In 1994 Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley; the marriage lasted less than two years, ending in divorce. In 1996, he married Debbie Rowe, with whom he had a son, Prince Michael, and a daughter, Paris Katherine. They were divorced in 1999. Rowe later said that she let Jackson have the children as a "gift".
Around February 2002 Jackson had another son, Prince Michael II, also called "Blanket", with a surrogate mother whose identity has not been disclosed. In late 2002, Jackson stirred up controversy while staying in a hotel in Berlin by briefly suspending him over the edge of the railing of a balcony. In what Jackson explains as a security measure against kidnapping, the children's faces are masked or veiled when they are in public.
In December 2003 Jackson's parents promised they would look after the three children if they were taken away from their son. Reportedly the children have been interviewed by social workers. In March 2004 it was confirmed there was an unspecified family matter between Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe, to be handled in mediation. In July 2004 news was released that Jackson is to be the father of quadruplets, via artificial insemination. The mother is said to be a "struggling actress". Jackson however, strongly denied the allegations.
Rumours in 2003 claimed that Jackson had another son, seventeen-year-old Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., who apparently has an almost identical resemblance to Jackson as a young man.
The Jackson 5 and Motown
Five of the Jackson brothers, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine Jackson|Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, formed the Jackson 5, an R&B musical act, in the mid 1960s. With Michael as the lead singer, the group built up a following and a buzz by playing at clubs and bars throughout the Midwest, and even winning an Amateur Night competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. It is alleged that they were beaten and abused by their father if they performed poorly. The Jackson 5 signed their first recording contract with the local Steeltown label in 1967, and had a regional hit with "Big Boy".
The Jackson 5 were discovered by both Gladys Knight & the Pips and Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, who brought them to Motown Records in 1968. Label head Berry Gordy bought out the Jackson 5's Steeltown contract and signed the group to Motown in March 1969. Gordy then moved the Jackson family to California, and proceeded to turn them into international stars. In fall 1969, The Jackson 5 were presented to the public by Diana Ross and were officially launched as the next big Motown act. The group's first four singles, "I Want You Back" from 1969, and "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" from 1970 all became #1 hits in the US. Later hits included "Mama's Pearl" & "Never Can Say Goodbye" (1971), "Lookin' Through the Windows" (1972), "Get It Together" (1973) and "Dancing Machine" (1974). Most of the Jackson 5 hits were produced by The Corporation, a collective of songwriters and record producers including Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, and Deke Richards.
With Motown Records, the Jackson 5 made 14 albums, and Michael also recorded four albums as a solo artist. Among Michael's early solo hits were "Got to Be There" (1971, his solo debut); and "Rockin' Robin", "I Wanna Be Where You Are", and the #1 hit "Ben" (all 1972).
The Jacksons and Epic Records
In 1976, the Jackson brothers signed a deal with CBS Records, first joining the Philadelphia International division and later moving over to Epic Records. The new deal with CBS provided more creative freedom and larger royalies that they were not allowed at Motown. By leaving Motown behind, they lost the rights to use the "Jackson 5" name and logo. Additionally Jermaine, who had married Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, opted to remain at Motown for a full-time solo career. Now known as The Jacksons, and featuring younger brother Randy in Jermaine's place, the brothers continued their successful career, touring internationally and releasing 6 albums between 1976 and 1984. Hits during this period included "Enjoy Yourself" & "Show You The Way To Go" (1976), "Find Me A Girl" (1977), "Blame It On The Boogie" (1978), "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" (1979), "Can You Feel It?" & "Heartbreak Hotel" (1980) and "Torture" & "State of Shock" (1984).
Jackson starred in the film ''The Wiz'' alongside mentor Diana Ross in 1978. It was here that he met Quincy Jones, the music producer for ''The Wiz'', who would later produce Michael's three most acclaimed solo albums, ''Off the Wall'', ''Thriller'' and ''Bad''. ''Off the Wall'', released in 1979, produced a record four Top 10 hits and sold seven million copies in the United States.
Solo career
Michael Jackson's 1979 album ''Off the Wall'' was a worldwide hit and spawned the #1 hit singles and music videos "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". A ballad, "She's Out Of My Life" reached the top 10 in 1980.
In the 1980s, Jackson released a progression of solo albums of slickly-produced synthesizer-heavy pop. In what was perhaps the "Golden Age" of the video clip, some of Jackson's videos were virtually short films with considerable plots, impressive special effects, and featuring Jackson's distinctive dance style.
His ''Thriller'' album was released in 1982, produced 7 Top 10 hit singles, broke records and quickly became the world's best selling album (as of 2003 it has sold over 50 million copies). The "Billie Jean" music video, released to promote ''Thriller'', became the first video by a black artist to be aired on MTV, and the "Thriller" short film, included with ''The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller'', became the world's best selling home video at the time.
"Billie Jean" and "Thriller", as well as "Beat It", were the three music videos released from the album, and have since become three of MTV's most significant videos in history, placing highly on several MTV and VH1 countdowns, and receiving substantial airplay on MTV2 to this day. The album's other singles were "Human Nature" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", both of which were also hits, despite neither having music videos.
While performing "Billie Jean" during the ''Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever'' special on television on May 16, 1983, Jackson publicly performed the moonwalk (later his signature dance move) for the first time, stunning TV audiences. In January 1984 at the American Music Awards, Jackson was nominated for 9 awards and won a record 8 awards (tied by Whitney Houston's ''The Bodyguard'' soundtrack in 1994). In February at the Grammy Awards Jackson was nominated for 12 awards and won a record-breaking 8 awards (now equaled by Carlos Santana's 1999 ''Supernatural'') – 7 for ''Thriller'' and 1 for his narrative on ''The E.T. Storybook''. In May, ''Thriller'' was certified by the Guiness Book of Records as the biggest selling popular music album of all time. In addition in 1984, he was also awarded the H. Claude Hodson Medal of Freedom at the NAACP Image Awards, feted at the White House by President Ronald Reagan with the Presidential Special Achievement Award and in November was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"We are the World" to ''Dangerous''
Inspired by Band Aid, he was instrumental in organizing the single "We Are the World" (co-written with Lionel Richie) in 1985. "We Are the World" was sung by 44 different singers including Harry Belafonte, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder and sold 7 million copies in the United States, becoming the best selling single of all time (eclipsed by Elton John's "Candle In The Wind" in 1997), to raise money for USA for Africa – a charity working to raise awareness about and help starving people in Africa.
Jackson starred in the George Lucas/Francis Ford Coppola 3-D film ''Captain Eo'' in 1986, which was shown in Disney theme parks until 1998. Minute for minute it is the most expensive film ever produced, costing an estimated US $30 million to make. The film contained the songs "We Are Here To Change The World" and "Another Part Of Me".
In 1987, Jackson released ''Bad'' and began his first solo world tour. He performed to sold out audiences at each concert. The following year Jackson released a silly, playful movie entitled "Moonwalker" and a serious, personal autobiography titled ''Moon Walk''.
''Bad'' was another smash success for Jackson. Its singles and music videos "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man In The Mirror", "Dirty Diana", "Another Part Of Me", "Smooth Criminal" and "Leave Me Alone" provided Jackson with another string of hits. The album's only relatively unsuccessful single, "Liberian Girl", remains to this day as one of Jackson's least seen music videos and least heard singles. Nonetheless, he made history by becoming the first artist to generate 6 number one singles off of one album. Of the 7 singles released in the USA, the first 5 went to "#1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts", "Another Part Of Me" peaked at #11 ("#1 on Billboard's R&B charts") and "Smooth Criminal" went to #7. However, despite the success, many industry members were surprised about Bad's sales. While Thriller moved 25 million in America, Bad "only" moved about 8 million. Michael actually hoped Bad would do BETTER than Thriller.
Jackson was awarded a record breaking $890 million contract by Sony and released an album ''Dangerous'' in 1991. During the ''Dangerous'' world tour Jackson announced the creation of his Heal the World Foundation. ''Dangerous'' contained the singles and music videos "Who Is It", "Give In To Me", "Gone Too Soon" (a tribute to young AIDS victim Ryan White), and "Will You Be There", which would later become the theme song to the movie ''Free Willy''. But the album's most successful and memorable singles and videos were "Jam", "Remember The Time", "Black Or White", "In The Closet", and "Heal The World". As was becoming the standard for Jackson, the album's music videos were among the most costly, creative, and innovative of their time. "Give In To Me" featured Slash from Guns n' Roses in its video. The video for "Heal The World", to correspond to Jackson's charity of the same name, featured children and adults from throughout the world. "Will You Be There" showed Jackson singing in front of scenes from ''Free Willy''. Several of the other videos had complex storylines and dance sequences, and featured cameo appearances by celebrities. The video for "Jam" showed Jackson and Michael Jordan playing basketball and dancing together, while "Remember The Time" was set in a Egyptian palace and starred Eddie Murphy as the king of the palace who was trying to entertain his wife, played by Iman. Magic Johnson played the king's chief guard. Jackson's singing and dancing is the thing that finally makes Iman's character happy, in the seven-minute long video. Jackson and Naomi Campbell played lovers in "In The Closet". Again, Michael had high hopes, and planned to sell 100 million copies of Dangerous. But after a relatively small stay in the top 10, the album fell out and sold 7 million in the US and 29 million worldwide. This was hardly bad, but it was certainly nowhere near 100 million.
''Black Or White''
Of all the album's groundbreaking and popular videos, "Black Or White" probably remains the most aired and most remembered today. The original video is over ten minutes long, and premiered simultaneously on November 14, 1991, on MTV, VH1, BET, and ABC, becoming one of the most-watched music video premieres in history. The original video begins with Macaulay Culkin playing a young Jackson fan whose father (played by George Wendt) tells him to turn his music down. Culkin's character, instead, decides to bring his speakers into the living room and cranks the speakers to full blast, which sends the father flying through the roof, in a manner somewhat similar to that used in an earlier Twisted Sister music video. He ends up landing in the middle of some exotic location. The music to "Black Or White" then starts, and Jackson proceeds to take viewers on a trip around the world, from country to country and culture to culture. As the song ends, the video features a morphing effect, whereby the faces of several different people of different ethnicities' (including Tyra Banks and voice actor Cree Summer) are morphed one into another, as a symbol of global unity. Although this was ''not'' the first music video to feature morphing technology — former 10cc members Godley & Creme used morphing even more extensively in the 1985 video to their song "Cry", though in a less technologically polished way — it was the first exposure many people had to the technolog
Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958), also known as the "King of Pop" and "Wacko Jacko", 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.[1]
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.[2] He began a full-fledged solo career in 1979 and formally parted with his siblings in 1984.[3] Since then Jackson has recorded and co-produced the best-selling album of all-time[4] (Thriller with approximate worldwide sales of 60 million[5]), received thirteen Grammy awards[6] 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".[7] 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.[8]
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.[9] His second wife was Deborah Rowe, with whom he has two children, Prince Michael I (born February 13, 1997)[10] and Paris (born April 3, 1998).[11] 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.[12] 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.
Michael Jackson The Legend....
(mjjsource.com)
Updated: 2005-03-17 15:52
Michael Jackson is a singer, songwriter, dancer and celebrity icon with a vast catalog of hit records and countless awards to his credit. Beyond that, he has transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since. As a solo performer, he has enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known only to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra.
Jackson became an instant star at age 11 as the cherubic frontman in Motown's phenomenally successful family act, the Jackson 5.
But that band of brothers, who kicked off their Motown tenure in 1969 with the unprecedented feat of four consecutive #1 singles, was just a prelude to the heights he would scale as a solo artist in the Eighties with the success of Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. Those three albums, and their accompanying videos, sent Jackson into a high celebrity orbit. He has been proclaimed "the biggest-selling artist of all time," "the single most awarded entertainer the world has ever known," "the most popular artist in the history of show business," and, not so modestly, "the world's most famous man" and of course, "The King of Pop."
Michael Jackson was groomed as a solo star while still a member of the Jackson 5. In 1971, having barely turned thirteen, Jackson released a successful string of solo singles that included "Got to Be There," "Rockin' Robin" and "Ben" (a #1 ballad sung to a rat). In 1978, Michael appeared in the film version of The Wiz, where he met musical director Quincy Jones, who would become the producer of his best-known albums. The first of these, Off the Wall (1979) introduced Michael Jackson to the world as a vibrant, poised young adult bursting with talent and ideas. It yielded chart-toppers in "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You."
However, it was Thriller that broke all records, revitalizing and revolutionizing the music business. Released in November 1982, Thriller yielded a staggering seven hits: "The Girl Is Mine" (#2) "Billie Jean" (#1), "Beat It" (#1), "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (#5), "Human Nature" (#7), "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (#10) and "Thriller" (#4). The album received sales boosts with Jackson's electrifying performance on the May 1983 Motown 25th Anniversary Special, where he premiered his gravity-defying "Moonwalk," and the year's-end release of the 14-minute mini-movie based on the song "Thriller." The latter is considered the most important video clip in music history. Jackson employed the burgeoning medium of music video to maximum advantage, as his revolutionary videos became fixtures on MTV, which was only a year old at the time of Thriller's release.
Thriller topped the charts for nine months (37 weeks) and remained in Billboard's album chart for more than two years (122 weeks). Jackson won eight Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards for Thriller. In 1985, it was proclaimed the Best Selling Album of All Time by the Guinness Book of Records. As of July 2001, Thriller has sold 26 million copies in the U.S., making it the second best-selling album in history behind the Eagles' Greatest Hits (27 million). Worldwide, Thriller has sold 51 million copies. Beyond the numbers, how important was Jackson's record-shattering feat? As producer Quincy Jones told Time magazine, "Black music had to play second fiddle for a long time, but its spirit is the whole motor of pop. Michael has connected with every soul in the world."
In 1985, Jackson helped to topple another sales record. As the coauthor of and performer on "We Are the World" - a benefit single for the USA for Africa charity, recorded with a cast of music stars - Jackson had a big hand in what became the top-selling single up to that point in history.
Michael Jackson didn't quit the Jackson 5, even at the height of his stardom, yet his solo career obviously took precedence. Still he showed family loyalty by joining his brothers for the Jacksons' 1984 Victory album and tour. In fact, Michael never toured as a solo artist until after the release of Bad (1987), when he undertook a 15-country juggernaut that occupied much of 1988. Bad was #1 for six weeks and launched another seven hits, including five that topped the charts: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," and "Dirty Diana." Bad's canny use of urban beats, smooth jazz-funk and rock guitar in the service of some of the sharpest black pop ever recorded reaffirmed Jackson's peculiar genius and star quality. But some of its songs also hinted at the pressures that lay beneath the surface of his unfathomable superstardom.
Jackson's every move was reported and analyzed by the media, and his quirks became headlines for a period of years. Some of his behavior engendered real controversy, driving him to exile abroad or behind the walls of the fantasy-filled Santa Ynez, California, estate he called "Neverland." All the while, Jackson continued to make arresting music in the Nineties, working with cutting-edge artist-producers from the hip-hop arena. Dangerous appeared late in 1991 and was preceded by an extended video for its leadoff single, "Black or White." Topping the charts for seven weeks, "Black or White" became Jackson's biggest hit since "Billie Jean." Dangerous, like Thriller and Bad, was the source of seven more hit singles. In addition to "Black or White," they included "Remember the Time" (#3), "In the Closet" (#6) and "Will You Be There" (#7).
In 1995, he issued HIStory: Past, Present and Future - Book I, a double album that paired 15 new songs with a greatest-hits disc. Its first single, "Scream," was a duet with sister Janet Jackson set to a high-tech groove. He scored his thirteenth #1 hit in 1995 with "You Are Not Alone," written and produced by urban R&B star R. Kelly. The album debuted at #1 and sold 7 million copies (15 million worldwide), maintaining the multi-platinum standard set by Bad (8 million U.S., 25 million worldwide) and Dangerous (7 million U.S., 27 million worldwide) - awesome numbers all, paling only next to Thriller's historic and unbeatable figures.
Invincible, released in October 2001, featured 16 tracks including the debut single "You Rock My World" and the popular radio hit "Butterflies." This time teaming up with producers including Rodney Jerkins, Teddy Riley, R. Kelly, and Dr. Freeze, Jackson's eclectic musical style is again showcased in tracks such as the opening "Unbreakable", the Latin-inspired "Whatever Happens (featuring Carlos Santana on guitar), and the Andrae Crouch gospel choir on the haunting track "Speechless". In November of 2003, Jackson released the Greatest Hits compilation 'Number Ones'. The 18 song collection included 16 previously released tracks spanning Jackson's career from Off The Wall through Invincible, a live version of his #1 hit "Ben", and the new single "One More Chance." As of the end of 2004, sales for 'Number Ones' had risen above 6 million worldwide.
Most recently, on November 16, 2004, Michael Jackson released 'Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection' Box Set. This deluxe 5-disc display book box set - containing 57 tracks of hit singles and 13 previously unissued recordings spanning 1969 to 2004, plus an unreleased 1992 live concert DVD - marks the most extensive presentation of his artistry ever assembled in one package.
Michael Jackson was born in Gary, indiana, USA from August 29, 1958 to June 25, 2009.
（迈克尔·杰克逊，1958年8月29日-2009年6月25日，出生于美国印第安纳州加里市。）
American singer, songwriter, dancer, performer, philanthropist, musician, humanitarian, pacifist, charity founder.
（美国演唱家、词曲创作人、舞蹈家、表演家、慈善家、音乐家、人道主义者、和平主义者、慈善机构创办人。）
Jackson is the seventh child in the family.
（杰克逊是家族的第七个孩子。）
He made his professional music debut in 1964 as a member of the Jackson 5 with his brother.
（他在1964年作为杰克逊五人组的成员和他的兄弟一起在职业音乐舞台上初次登台。）
In 1968, the band released their first album, Big Boy, in collaboration with a local record company.
（1968年乐队与当地的一家唱片公司合作出版了第一张唱片《Big Boy》。）
His solo career began in December 1971 with the release of his first single, Got to be there.
（1971年12月，发行了个人首支单曲《Got to be there》，标志着其个人独唱生涯的开始。）
扩展资料
迈克尔·杰克逊演艺记录：
1960年代中期，杰克逊和四个哥哥在父亲的组织下成立了杰克逊五兄弟，这个组合以迈克尔为主唱。
1972年11月起，杰克逊五兄弟开始了国际性巡回演出，包括伦敦、西德、意大利、法国、印度、日本、澳大利亚、非洲等地。迈克尔在摩城唱片，共发行了4张个人专辑。
1978年，迈克尔与戴安娜·罗斯一起出演电影《新绿野仙踪》，并结识了电影的音乐制作人昆西·琼斯。
参考资料来源：百度百科-迈克尔·杰克逊
hi、楼主！ Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958–June 25, 2009)was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5 and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums are among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979)， Thriller (1982)， Bad (1987)， Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995)。
In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music and the first African-American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos airing on MTV, such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and Thriller-credited for transforming the music video into an art form and a promotional tool-helped bring the relatively new channel to fame. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV in the 1990s. With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists。
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records-including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"-13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career-more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era-and the sales of over 750 million albums worldwide. Cited as one of the world’s most famous men, Jackson’s highly publicized personal life, coupled with his successful career, made him a part of popular culture for almost four decades。 忘采纳！thankyou！
Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, USA), is an African-American singer, songwriter, and record producer, who has gone on to become the most successful artist in black music history (More Info) and one of the most successful popular music singers of all time. He is also known as "The King of Pop" or the "King of the Music Video". Jackson's successful career has gained him legions of devoted fans, yet he has been dogged by media fascination with his changing physical appearance and what some perceive as an eccentric lifestyle, which has led the tabloid press to dub him "Wacko Jacko" (which Jackson says he finds hurtful).
He is a generous children's friend, but he has also repeatedly been accused of sexual abuse of children and is, as of March 2005, on trial for alleged child molestation and other offenses. He denies the charges. The trial is in Santa Maria, California.
Jackson, who rose to fame in childhood as the lead singer of the Motown act The Jackson 5, has received numerous music industry awards including 18 Grammys. Estimates of his album sales worldwide range from 200 million to well over 300 million. His ''Thriller'' video is considered one of the greatest music videos of all time and a large step forward in artistic quality for music videos. MTV and ''Rolling Stone'' magazine recently named four of his songs ("Billie Jean" #5, The Jackson 5's "I Want You Back" #9, "Beat It" #23, and "Rock with You" #82) among the 100 greatest pop songs of all time.
His hit album ''Thriller'' is the biggest-selling album of all time worldwide with over 50 million copies sold. The album is also the best-selling album containing all-original material in terms of domestic US sales--26 million copies sold. It is second to The Eagles' greatest hits collection ''Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)'', which has sold 28 million copies.
Personal background
Jackson was born the seventh of nine children in Gary, Indiana to Joseph Jackson and Katherine Jackson. The entire family--including older siblings Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine Jackson|Jermaine, LaToya, and Marlon, and younger siblings Randy and Janet--lived in a tiny two-bedroom house, and Jackson's father Joseph Jackson earned a meager living working in a steel mill. Jackson and his sister LaToya both claimed that their father was cruel and physically abusive to his children. Jackson broke down and wept during a television interview when asked about this, and said that even as an adult just meeting his father often made him physically ill.
At the behest of their mother Katherine, the Jackson children were raised as Jehovah's Witnesses and practiced door-to-door evangelization. Jackson continued to do so after becoming famous, but then in disguise. His career and flamboyant style led to friction with congregation elders. At one point, his sister LaToya was shunned by Jehovah's Witnesses, and in 1987, he formally left the religion. It was said that in 2003 he embraced Nation of Islam.
Due to Joseph Jackson's strict religious beliefs, the Jackson kids were kept locked in their house while he worked the night shift. However, the children would sneak out of the house to their neighbours where they practiced singing and playing music. Eventually, Joseph found out about their musical abilities and decided to capitalise upon it in order to leave Gary for sunny Los Angeles.
Jackson has been living at his 11 km² (2600 acres) Neverland Ranch in Santa Ynez, California, named after the magical kingdom featured in the children's story ''Peter Pan''. In December 2003, he said that after it had been searched by police (see below), it no longer felt like a home, and is now a house he just visits. He now lives in Beverly Hills in a $70,000-a-month rented home.
Jackson feels a strong connection to both children and animals. He says that they do not give the complications that adult people often do, like negatively judging him, and betraying him.
He says that, like Peter Pan, he does not want to grow up. He says he compensates for his "lost childhood", during which he always had to practice and perform. Neverland contains a small zoo and amusement park. About once a week he has been inviting a bus full of (especially sick and poor) children there to have a day of fun.
His favorite pastimes include playing with children, e.g. having water balloon and water gun fights, and having rides with them in his golf carts (which children are often allowed to drive themselves), small steam train, and the other rides of the amusement park, and having long telephone conversations with young friends. He has had sleepovers in the past with children (who have reportedly been primarily boys), but stated in 2005 that he now feels that it violates a social norm in the eyes of many people, and places him in a vulnerable position with regard to suspicions and allegations of sexual abuse. He has publicly stated he will no longer have them with children not related to him.
Jackson kept a chimpanzee, Bubbles, in Neverland, which he valued highly, treating him more like a friend than a pet. Bubbles was moved from the ranch after reaching maturity because adult chimpanzees are very strong and can be dangerous.
He is a vegetarian. He likes climbing trees; he has written several songs sitting in his favorite tree at Neverland, which he calls Giving Tree, because, he says, it is so inspiring.
Jackson's celebrity friends have included Quincy Jones, Diana Ross, Rick James, Usher, Marlon Brando, comedians Steve Harvey and Chris Tucker and actress Elizabeth Taylor and former child actors Emmanuel Lewis and Macaulay Culkin. Both Taylor and Culkin are godparents to Prince Michael and Paris. He is also friends with paranormalist Uri Geller. He has also been friends with rabbi Shmuley Boteach, with whom Jackson founded the now defunct "Heal the World" and "Heal the Kids" foundations. (For the related song and video "Heal the World" see below.) Michael is also the godfather of Lionel Richie's adopted daughter Nicole Richie.
It has been rumored that Jackson has used extensive plastic surgery to modify his appearance, although he claims to have had only three operations: Two rhinoplastic surgeries (the first of which he claims was to repair a broken nose resulting from a dancing accident in 1978, and the second to correct imperfections in the first surgery) and the surgical creation of a cleft in his chin (Jackson often omits mentioning the cleft when listing his cosmetic surgery, but he confirms the surgery in his 1988 autobiography ''Moon Walk''). Some critics have characterized his plastic surgery and purported "skin bleaching" as an attempt to hide his African-American ancestry. Jackson has insisted, however, that he only uses heavy makeup to mask the effects of vitiligo, a condition that causes white patches on the skin.
Jackson's extensive use of plastic surgery has now caused increased concerns for possible cartilage and nose collapse. Surgeons agree that Jackson's nose structure could easily collapse during an altercation.
Jackson marriages and children
In 1994 Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley; the marriage lasted less than two years, ending in divorce. In 1996, he married Debbie Rowe, with whom he had a son, Prince Michael, and a daughter, Paris Katherine. They were divorced in 1999. Rowe later said that she let Jackson have the children as a "gift".
Around February 2002 Jackson had another son, Prince Michael II, also called "Blanket", with a surrogate mother whose identity has not been disclosed. In late 2002, Jackson stirred up controversy while staying in a hotel in Berlin by briefly suspending him over the edge of the railing of a balcony. In what Jackson explains as a security measure against kidnapping, the children's faces are masked or veiled when they are in public.
In December 2003 Jackson's parents promised they would look after the three children if they were taken away from their son. Reportedly the children have been interviewed by social workers. In March 2004 it was confirmed there was an unspecified family matter between Michael Jackson and Debbie Rowe, to be handled in mediation. In July 2004 news was released that Jackson is to be the father of quadruplets, via artificial insemination. The mother is said to be a "struggling actress". Jackson however, strongly denied the allegations.
Rumours in 2003 claimed that Jackson had another son, seventeen-year-old Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr., who apparently has an almost identical resemblance to Jackson as a young man.
The Jackson 5 and Motown
Five of the Jackson brothers, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine Jackson|Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, formed the Jackson 5, an R&B musical act, in the mid 1960s. With Michael as the lead singer, the group built up a following and a buzz by playing at clubs and bars throughout the Midwest, and even winning an Amateur Night competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. It is alleged that they were beaten and abused by their father if they performed poorly. The Jackson 5 signed their first recording contract with the local Steeltown label in 1967, and had a regional hit with "Big Boy".
The Jackson 5 were discovered by both Gladys Knight & the Pips and Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers, who brought them to Motown Records in 1968. Label head Berry Gordy bought out the Jackson 5's Steeltown contract and signed the group to Motown in March 1969. Gordy then moved the Jackson family to California, and proceeded to turn them into international stars. In fall 1969, The Jackson 5 were presented to the public by Diana Ross and were officially launched as the next big Motown act. The group's first four singles, "I Want You Back" from 1969, and "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" from 1970 all became #1 hits in the US. Later hits included "Mama's Pearl" & "Never Can Say Goodbye" (1971), "Lookin' Through the Windows" (1972), "Get It Together" (1973) and "Dancing Machine" (1974). Most of the Jackson 5 hits were produced by The Corporation, a collective of songwriters and record producers including Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, and Deke Richards.
With Motown Records, the Jackson 5 made 14 albums, and Michael also recorded four albums as a solo artist. Among Michael's early solo hits were "Got to Be There" (1971, his solo debut); and "Rockin' Robin", "I Wanna Be Where You Are", and the #1 hit "Ben" (all 1972).
The Jacksons and Epic Records
In 1976, the Jackson brothers signed a deal with CBS Records, first joining the Philadelphia International division and later moving over to Epic Records. The new deal with CBS provided more creative freedom and larger royalies that they were not allowed at Motown. By leaving Motown behind, they lost the rights to use the "Jackson 5" name and logo. Additionally Jermaine, who had married Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, opted to remain at Motown for a full-time solo career. Now known as The Jacksons, and featuring younger brother Randy in Jermaine's place, the brothers continued their successful career, touring internationally and releasing 6 albums between 1976 and 1984. Hits during this period included "Enjoy Yourself" & "Show You The Way To Go" (1976), "Find Me A Girl" (1977), "Blame It On The Boogie" (1978), "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground)" (1979), "Can You Feel It?" & "Heartbreak Hotel" (1980) and "Torture" & "State of Shock" (1984).
Jackson starred in the film ''The Wiz'' alongside mentor Diana Ross in 1978. It was here that he met Quincy Jones, the music producer for ''The Wiz'', who would later produce Michael's three most acclaimed solo albums, ''Off the Wall'', ''Thriller'' and ''Bad''. ''Off the Wall'', released in 1979, produced a record four Top 10 hits and sold seven million copies in the United States.
Solo career
Michael Jackson's 1979 album ''Off the Wall'' was a worldwide hit and spawned the #1 hit singles and music videos "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". A ballad, "She's Out Of My Life" reached the top 10 in 1980.
In the 1980s, Jackson released a progression of solo albums of slickly-produced synthesizer-heavy pop. In what was perhaps the "Golden Age" of the video clip, some of Jackson's videos were virtually short films with considerable plots, impressive special effects, and featuring Jackson's distinctive dance style.
His ''Thriller'' album was released in 1982, produced 7 Top 10 hit singles, broke records and quickly became the world's best selling album (as of 2003 it has sold over 50 million copies). The "Billie Jean" music video, released to promote ''Thriller'', became the first video by a black artist to be aired on MTV, and the "Thriller" short film, included with ''The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller'', became the world's best selling home video at the time.
"Billie Jean" and "Thriller", as well as "Beat It", were the three music videos released from the album, and have since become three of MTV's most significant videos in history, placing highly on several MTV and VH1 countdowns, and receiving substantial airplay on MTV2 to this day. The album's other singles were "Human Nature" and "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", both of which were also hits, despite neither having music videos.
While performing "Billie Jean" during the ''Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever'' special on television on May 16, 1983, Jackson publicly performed the moonwalk (later his signature dance move) for the first time, stunning TV audiences. In January 1984 at the American Music Awards, Jackson was nominated for 9 awards and won a record 8 awards (tied by Whitney Houston's ''The Bodyguard'' soundtrack in 1994). In February at the Grammy Awards Jackson was nominated for 12 awards and won a record-breaking 8 awards (now equaled by Carlos Santana's 1999 ''Supernatural'') – 7 for ''Thriller'' and 1 for his narrative on ''The E.T. Storybook''. In May, ''Thriller'' was certified by the Guiness Book of Records as the biggest selling popular music album of all time. In addition in 1984, he was also awarded the H. Claude Hodson Medal of Freedom at the NAACP Image Awards, feted at the White House by President Ronald Reagan with the Presidential Special Achievement Award and in November was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
"We are the World" to ''Dangerous''
Inspired by Band Aid, he was instrumental in organizing the single "We Are the World" (co-written with Lionel Richie) in 1985. "We Are the World" was sung by 44 different singers including Harry Belafonte, Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder and sold 7 million copies in the United States, becoming the best selling single of all time (eclipsed by Elton John's "Candle In The Wind" in 1997), to raise money for USA for Africa – a charity working to raise awareness about and help starving people in Africa.
Jackson starred in the George Lucas/Francis Ford Coppola 3-D film ''Captain Eo'' in 1986, which was shown in Disney theme parks until 1998. Minute for minute it is the most expensive film ever produced, costing an estimated US $30 million to make. The film contained the songs "We Are Here To Change The World" and "Another Part Of Me".
In 1987, Jackson released ''Bad'' and began his first solo world tour. He performed to sold out audiences at each concert. The following year Jackson released a silly, playful movie entitled "Moonwalker" and a serious, personal autobiography titled ''Moon Walk''.
''Bad'' was another smash success for Jackson. Its singles and music videos "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man In The Mirror", "Dirty Diana", "Another Part Of Me", "Smooth Criminal" and "Leave Me Alone" provided Jackson with another string of hits. The album's only relatively unsuccessful single, "Liberian Girl", remains to this day as one of Jackson's least seen music videos and least heard singles. Nonetheless, he made history by becoming the first artist to generate 6 number one singles off of one album. Of the 7 singles released in the USA, the first 5 went to "#1 on the Billboard Hot 100 charts", "Another Part Of Me" peaked at #11 ("#1 on Billboard's R&B charts") and "Smooth Criminal" went to #7. However, despite the success, many industry members were surprised about Bad's sales. While Thriller moved 25 million in America, Bad "only" moved about 8 million. Michael actually hoped Bad would do BETTER than Thriller.
Jackson was awarded a record breaking $890 million contract by Sony and released an album ''Dangerous'' in 1991. During the ''Dangerous'' world tour Jackson announced the creation of his Heal the World Foundation. ''Dangerous'' contained the singles and music videos "Who Is It", "Give In To Me", "Gone Too Soon" (a tribute to young AIDS victim Ryan White), and "Will You Be There", which would later become the theme song to the movie ''Free Willy''. But the album's most successful and memorable singles and videos were "Jam", "Remember The Time", "Black Or White", "In The Closet", and "Heal The World". As was becoming the standard for Jackson, the album's music videos were among the most costly, creative, and innovative of their time. "Give In To Me" featured Slash from Guns n' Roses in its video. The video for "Heal The World", to correspond to Jackson's charity of the same name, featured children and adults from throughout the world. "Will You Be There" showed Jackson singing in front of scenes from ''Free Willy''. Several of the other videos had complex storylines and dance sequences, and featured cameo appearances by celebrities. The video for "Jam" showed Jackson and Michael Jordan playing basketball and dancing together, while "Remember The Time" was set in a Egyptian palace and starred Eddie Murphy as the king of the palace who was trying to entertain his wife, played by Iman. Magic Johnson played the king's chief guard. Jackson's singing and dancing is the thing that finally makes Iman's character happy, in the seven-minute long video. Jackson and Naomi Campbell played lovers in "In The Closet". Again, Michael had high hopes, and planned to sell 100 million copies of Dangerous. But after a relatively small stay in the top 10, the album fell out and sold 7 million in the US and 29 million worldwide. This was hardly bad, but it was certainly nowhere near 100 million.
''Black Or White''
Of all the album's groundbreaking and popular videos, "Black Or White" probably remains the most aired and most remembered today. The original video is over ten minutes long, and premiered simultaneously on November 14, 1991, on MTV, VH1, BET, and ABC, becoming one of the most-watched music video premieres in history. The original video begins with Macaulay Culkin playing a young Jackson fan whose father (played by George Wendt) tells him to turn his music down. Culkin's character, instead, decides to bring his speakers into the living room and cranks the speakers to full blast, which sends the father flying through the roof, in a manner somewhat similar to that used in an earlier Twisted Sister music video. He ends up landing in the middle of some exotic location. The music to "Black Or White" then starts, and Jackson proceeds to take viewers on a trip around the world, from country to country and culture to culture. As the song ends, the video features a morphing effect, whereby the faces of several different people of different ethnicities' (including Tyra Banks and voice actor Cree Summer) are morphed one into another, as a symbol of global unity. Although this was ''not'' the first music video to feature morphing technology — former 10cc members Godley & Creme used morphing even more extensively in the 1985 video to their song "Cry", though in a less technologically polished way — it was the first exposure many people had to the technolog
Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958), also known as the "King of Pop" and "Wacko Jacko", 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.[1]
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.[2] He began a full-fledged solo career in 1979 and formally parted with his siblings in 1984.[3] Since then Jackson has recorded and co-produced the best-selling album of all-time[4] (Thriller with approximate worldwide sales of 60 million[5]), received thirteen Grammy awards[6] 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".[7] 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.[8]
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.[9] His second wife was Deborah Rowe, with whom he has two children, Prince Michael I (born February 13, 1997)[10] and Paris (born April 3, 1998).[11] 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.[12] 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.
Michael Jackson The Legend....
(mjjsource.com)
Updated: 2005-03-17 15:52
Michael Jackson is a singer, songwriter, dancer and celebrity icon with a vast catalog of hit records and countless awards to his credit. Beyond that, he has transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since. As a solo performer, he has enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known only to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra.
Jackson became an instant star at age 11 as the cherubic frontman in Motown's phenomenally successful family act, the Jackson 5.
But that band of brothers, who kicked off their Motown tenure in 1969 with the unprecedented feat of four consecutive #1 singles, was just a prelude to the heights he would scale as a solo artist in the Eighties with the success of Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. Those three albums, and their accompanying videos, sent Jackson into a high celebrity orbit. He has been proclaimed "the biggest-selling artist of all time," "the single most awarded entertainer the world has ever known," "the most popular artist in the history of show business," and, not so modestly, "the world's most famous man" and of course, "The King of Pop."
Michael Jackson was groomed as a solo star while still a member of the Jackson 5. In 1971, having barely turned thirteen, Jackson released a successful string of solo singles that included "Got to Be There," "Rockin' Robin" and "Ben" (a #1 ballad sung to a rat). In 1978, Michael appeared in the film version of The Wiz, where he met musical director Quincy Jones, who would become the producer of his best-known albums. The first of these, Off the Wall (1979) introduced Michael Jackson to the world as a vibrant, poised young adult bursting with talent and ideas. It yielded chart-toppers in "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You."
However, it was Thriller that broke all records, revitalizing and revolutionizing the music business. Released in November 1982, Thriller yielded a staggering seven hits: "The Girl Is Mine" (#2) "Billie Jean" (#1), "Beat It" (#1), "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (#5), "Human Nature" (#7), "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (#10) and "Thriller" (#4). The album received sales boosts with Jackson's electrifying performance on the May 1983 Motown 25th Anniversary Special, where he premiered his gravity-defying "Moonwalk," and the year's-end release of the 14-minute mini-movie based on the song "Thriller." The latter is considered the most important video clip in music history. Jackson employed the burgeoning medium of music video to maximum advantage, as his revolutionary videos became fixtures on MTV, which was only a year old at the time of Thriller's release.
Thriller topped the charts for nine months (37 weeks) and remained in Billboard's album chart for more than two years (122 weeks). Jackson won eight Grammy Awards and seven American Music Awards for Thriller. In 1985, it was proclaimed the Best Selling Album of All Time by the Guinness Book of Records. As of July 2001, Thriller has sold 26 million copies in the U.S., making it the second best-selling album in history behind the Eagles' Greatest Hits (27 million). Worldwide, Thriller has sold 51 million copies. Beyond the numbers, how important was Jackson's record-shattering feat? As producer Quincy Jones told Time magazine, "Black music had to play second fiddle for a long time, but its spirit is the whole motor of pop. Michael has connected with every soul in the world."
In 1985, Jackson helped to topple another sales record. As the coauthor of and performer on "We Are the World" - a benefit single for the USA for Africa charity, recorded with a cast of music stars - Jackson had a big hand in what became the top-selling single up to that point in history.
Michael Jackson didn't quit the Jackson 5, even at the height of his stardom, yet his solo career obviously took precedence. Still he showed family loyalty by joining his brothers for the Jacksons' 1984 Victory album and tour. In fact, Michael never toured as a solo artist until after the release of Bad (1987), when he undertook a 15-country juggernaut that occupied much of 1988. Bad was #1 for six weeks and launched another seven hits, including five that topped the charts: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," and "Dirty Diana." Bad's canny use of urban beats, smooth jazz-funk and rock guitar in the service of some of the sharpest black pop ever recorded reaffirmed Jackson's peculiar genius and star quality. But some of its songs also hinted at the pressures that lay beneath the surface of his unfathomable superstardom.
Jackson's every move was reported and analyzed by the media, and his quirks became headlines for a period of years. Some of his behavior engendered real controversy, driving him to exile abroad or behind the walls of the fantasy-filled Santa Ynez, California, estate he called "Neverland." All the while, Jackson continued to make arresting music in the Nineties, working with cutting-edge artist-producers from the hip-hop arena. Dangerous appeared late in 1991 and was preceded by an extended video for its leadoff single, "Black or White." Topping the charts for seven weeks, "Black or White" became Jackson's biggest hit since "Billie Jean." Dangerous, like Thriller and Bad, was the source of seven more hit singles. In addition to "Black or White," they included "Remember the Time" (#3), "In the Closet" (#6) and "Will You Be There" (#7).
In 1995, he issued HIStory: Past, Present and Future - Book I, a double album that paired 15 new songs with a greatest-hits disc. Its first single, "Scream," was a duet with sister Janet Jackson set to a high-tech groove. He scored his thirteenth #1 hit in 1995 with "You Are Not Alone," written and produced by urban R&B star R. Kelly. The album debuted at #1 and sold 7 million copies (15 million worldwide), maintaining the multi-platinum standard set by Bad (8 million U.S., 25 million worldwide) and Dangerous (7 million U.S., 27 million worldwide) - awesome numbers all, paling only next to Thriller's historic and unbeatable figures.
Invincible, released in October 2001, featured 16 tracks including the debut single "You Rock My World" and the popular radio hit "Butterflies." This time teaming up with producers including Rodney Jerkins, Teddy Riley, R. Kelly, and Dr. Freeze, Jackson's eclectic musical style is again showcased in tracks such as the opening "Unbreakable", the Latin-inspired "Whatever Happens (featuring Carlos Santana on guitar), and the Andrae Crouch gospel choir on the haunting track "Speechless". In November of 2003, Jackson released the Greatest Hits compilation 'Number Ones'. The 18 song collection included 16 previously released tracks spanning Jackson's career from Off The Wall through Invincible, a live version of his #1 hit "Ben", and the new single "One More Chance." As of the end of 2004, sales for 'Number Ones' had risen above 6 million worldwide.
Most recently, on November 16, 2004, Michael Jackson released 'Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection' Box Set. This deluxe 5-disc display book box set - containing 57 tracks of hit singles and 13 previously unissued recordings spanning 1969 to 2004, plus an unreleased 1992 live concert DVD - marks the most extensive presentation of his artistry ever assembled in one package.
