mikayla.meyer

 Michael Jackson Biography

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary Indiana United States. He was the second youngest of 5 brothers and 3 sisters. Their mother taught them folk songs, and their father played guitar, so they were surrounded by music all the time. By the time Jackson was seven years old, him and his brothers had formed The Jackson 5, and he was doing most of the cerography. Michael became an instant child star with The Jackson 5. They had a series of hits: “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There” that all went number one. As they did more and more performances, Jackson emerged as an electrifying dancer. By the time he was 20 years old(1979), he felt as if he had outgrown his role as teen idol in his brothers’ group, and decided it was time to go solo. At first Jackson wasn’t sure if he could make a name for himself on his own. That year he came out with his first adult solo album, //Off The Wall//. Released during a recession in the music industry, the dance-oriented record sold approximately nine million copies worldwide, and had four top 10 singles including “Don’t Stop til You Get Enough,” and “Rock With You” (a new record for a solo album). Jackson’s new and flashy vocal style including gasps, hiccups, and squeals helped him win a Grammy in 1980. His album also featured many collaboration with Paul McCartney. After the great success of his album he once again went on tour with his brothers. In 1982 Jacksons next album, //Thriller//, had a huge impact on the music industry. The album became the biggest phenomenon in the history of recorded music. //Thriller// sold more than 40 million copies, and made a new record of seven top 10 singles (including “Billie Jean,” and “Beat It”), and won a record of eight Grammys. No one had reached such a great success since the times of Elvis Presley and The Beatles.

The music videos Jackson produced for //Thriller// set the standards for the decade in video choreography and cinematic storytelling. The success of the album helped break down barriers on MTV and radio for other black artists. Between 1983 and 1984 Jackson seemed to be everywhere from T.V.s’ to radios’ around the world. On top of all that he came out with a chart-topping duet with Paul McCartney, “Say Say Say.” In 1983 Jackson and Lionel Richie wrote what became one of the fastest selling singles of the decade, USA for Africa’s “We Are the World.” In 1986 his sister Janet Jackson started to have success with her own recording career. By then Jackson’s fans were restless for the follow–up album. When the new album //Bad// came out it was a great hit, but it was hard for Jackson to top his previous phenomenon album//. //Although it didn’t live up to //Thriller, Bad// did produce five number-one singles, and sold an impressive 20 million copies worldwide. Still, neither of the videos or singles seemed as fresh or new as //Thriller//. The tabloids and newspapers kept close reports on the star, so his once appealing androgynous appearance, shyness, and man child persona had become common knowledge. As he grew older, he’s behavior got increasingly bizarre. People started hearing about his fondness for children as playmates, his private petting zoo, his private amusement park, his shrines to Elizabeth Taylor, his obsession with Diana Ross, his rumored penchant for sleeping in a germ-free capsule, his lack of romantic relationships, his dream of playing Peter Pan, and all of his plastic surgery. In 1993 the father of a young boy who spent time at Jackson’s estate charged Jackson with sexually molesting his son. Though the charges were eventually dropped, this made a big impact on Jackson’s image and career. In 1994 Jackson married Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie. Some say it was an attempt to make a comeback after all that had happened. By then he had made an attempt to move on by releasing a new //HIStory// in 1995. The album did not do as well as expected, but the song “You Are Not Alone” became the first single in pop music history to enter the //Billboard// chart at number one.

The marriage was very short. In January of 1996 Lisa Marie filed for divorce. While everything was ending, Jackson subsequently married Debbie Rowe in Sydney, Australia, in November 1996. This shocked the public eye, and just prior to the wedding they announced Rowe’s pregnancy. She gave birth to their first child, a boy named Prince Michael Jackson Js., on February 13, 1997 in Los Angeles, California. Their second child, a daughter named Paris Michael Katherine Jackson arrived in 1998. Jackson’s marriage to Rowe ended in 1999 when the couple filed for divorce. In October 2001 Jackson released his first all-new album since 1991; //Invincible//. That same year he also did a relief benefit concert for the September 11th terrorist attacks at the RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. Jackson was a 3 time Hall of Famer. Since he was a member of the Jackson 5, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland, Ohio, on May 6, 1997 along with his brothers. He was inducted a second time as a solo artist in March of 2001. On November 11, 2004, he was inducted into the fist U.K. Music Hall of Fame, representing the 1980s. Jackson’s career continued to be overshadowed by accusations of child molestation. In February of 2003, a disturbing television documentary by British journalist Martin Bashir called //Living With Michael Jackson// was broadcasted. Jackson tried to defend himself by saying that letting young boys sleep in his bad was called loving. Later that year authorities charged Jackson to have molested a young boy who had visited his ranch and spent the night there several times. The charges were dropped with his 3 million dollar bail. In April 2004, the grand jury indicated that the 46-year-old pop star had charges of molesting the boy in the center of the trial, plying his with alcohol, and plotting to kidnap him and his family. The case remained in the public eye all through 2004. With all the leaking information, Jackson’s reputation got even worse. Jackson and five others planned to control and intimidate the accuser’s family to get them to go along with damage control efforts, including holding them against their will in Neverland. Jackson’s lawyers claimed the family were schemers, and were trying to steal his money. After seven days of trying to figure everything out, the jury excused Jackson of all 10 charges against himself. If he had been convicted he could have been sent to prison for nearly 20 years.   Although he wasn’t guilty in court, the trial had turned public opinion against him. Jackson was very overwhelmed with all that was going on so he “disappeared.” He stayed in the Western World with the king of Bahrain’s Son. However, Jackson’s problems did not end when he disappeared from the public view. His former wife, Debbie Rowe, sued him, claiming he was not making the payments he promised after the divorce in 1999. He was ordered to pay many fees, and to close his Neverland ranch since he was not paying his employees. Jackson’s first public appearance since the molestation trial was in 2006 at the World Music Awards in London. He was awarded a Diamond Award to commemorate the 25th anniversary of //Thriller//. Jackson planned on making a comeback in 2009 with a series of 50 concerts in London, called the “This Is It” tour, starting July of that year. On June 25th, 2009, a 911 call was placed from Jackson’s home. Later that day, the news broke out to the world that the mega star died in the UCLA Medical Center. It came to the conclusion that the death was a homicide. He was given many drugs such as midazolam, diazepam, lidocaine and ephedrine. His sudden death at age 50 was a worldwide event, since he had been dancing and practicing his music the night before his death. Michael Jackson made a huge impact on the world. People wonder if there will ever be anything like him again, The King Of Pop. I chose to write about Michael Jackson because I always thought he was a bad person, so I wanted to learn more about him. After reading and writing about him I started to appreciate him much more now that I know his perspective of everything he went through.

__Bibliography __  Authors Name: Keenan, Sheila Title of Book: __Scholastic book of Outstanding Americans__ Place of Publication: U.S.A. Publishing Company: Scholastic reference Year of Publication: 2003
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Authors Name: Daniel, Clifton Title of Article: 1961 Title of Encyclopedia: Chronicle Place of Publication: Mount Kisco N.Y. Publishing Company: Chronicle Publications Incorporated Year of Publication: 1987
 * __Encyclopedia __**

Authors Name: Wikipedia Title of Information/Article: Michael Jackson Title of Encyclopedia: Grolier Year of Publication: 2009 Publishing Company: Grolier Online Date accessed: September 25, 2009 : 
 * __Online Encyclopedia __**

Authors Name: (Not Given) Title of Information/Article: Michael Jackson Title of Original Publication: American Decades Publishing Company: Gale Year of Publication: 2009 Date accessed: September 30, 2009 <URL>: www.galenetgalegroup.com/>
 * __<span style="font-family: 'Bookman Old Style','serif'; font-size: 14pt;">Online Periodical __**