Michael+Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson, born in 1958, spent majority of his lifetime as an active member of the entertainment industry. Known as the King of Pop, Jackson is “...recognized as the most successful entertainer,” by the World Guinness Records. To this day, Jackson plays a big influential role in many people’s lives. Other entertainers try to sing music in Jackson’s genre. Other people still listen to Jackson’s music. People now and then still learn the dance moves made famous by Jackson. toc

Early Years and Jackson 5
On August 29th 1958, Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana. He was the eighth child out of ten children. As a kid, Jackson was verbally and physically abused by his father, Joe Jackson. But, according to Jackson, this abuse was what lead him up to being successful. At the age of five, Jackson joined the Jackson Brothers as the backup singer and musician. At the age of eight, Jackson was handed the role of the main vocal. Also during this time, the band name was changed to Jackson 5.



Solo Career - Thriller
Between 1972 and 1975, Jackson released several solos ranging from //Got to be There// and //Ben.// Even though Jackson had his own solos, he was still considered part of the Jackson 5. In 1975, the Jackson 5 resigned from Motown and signed with Epic Records. Jackson released his first solo album under Epic Records in 1979, known as //Off the Wall.// This album sold over 20 million copies worldwide and included four U.S. Top 10 Hits. In 1982, Jackson came out with his biggest solo album ever, //Thriller.// The album was the “Best Selling Album” worldwide in the year of 1983. It also was, and still is, the “Best Selling Album of All Time” in the U.S. //Thriller// sold over 100 million copies worldwide and was Top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 80 consecutive weeks and topped it for 37 weeks. //Thriller// left such a huge impact that two years after it was released, dolls that represented Jackson were put out into the market. Also, in 2009, the music video for Thriller was chosen by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry; it was the first music video ever to be chosen.



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Marriage and Children
During his lifetime, Jackson got married twice. Along with these marriages, he had a grand total of three children. In 1994, Jackson committed to his first marriage to Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley. The two got married in the Dominican Republic and denied their marriage for two months. This marriage though, didn’t last long; it lasted for less than two years before they settled for divorce. Not too long afterwards, Jackson married his friend Deborah Jeanne Rowe. At the time of their marriage, Rowe was estimated to have been six months pregnant with their first child. In February of 1996, Jackson’s first child, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., was born. A little bit more than a year later, their second child, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson, came about in April of 1998. In 2002, Jackson’s third child, Prince Michael Jackson, also known as Blanket, was born. Although the mother is unknown, Jackson has stated that Blanket was the result of artificial insemination.





Late Years, Death and Memorial
In 2006, Jackson was rumored to have signed contracts with Two Seas Records and later on Sony. It was later proven wrong when Jackson was seen in a recording studio located in Ireland. Jackson’s recordings were unknown until he invited an //Access Hollywood// crew into the studio. It was then when Jackson’s recordings were revealed; he was recording an album written by Will.I.Am of Black Eyed Peas. Three years later in March of 2009, Jackson announced that he would be having a concert that consisted of his best hit songs. The concert was name //This is It//. This concert was the Jackson’s first major concert ever since his "HIStory World Tour" in 1997. Jackson hinted at possible retirement after this concert tour. //This is It// came to an abrupt stop on June 25th 2009. During the afternoon of June 25th, Jackson was found suffering from cardiac arrest in his mansion. Calls for the paramedics were made alongside many attempts of C.P.R. were made to try to stimulate Jackson’s breathing again. When C.P.R. didn’t work, Jackson was brought to the Ronald Reagan U.C.L.A. Medical Center. It was there where Jackson was pronounced dead. It was stated that he passed away one hour after his arrival at the medical center. Not too long afterward, Jackson’s memorial took place. On July 7th, 2009, as many as 31 million Americans watched the memorial of Jackson, whether it was through television or live broadcast on the Internet. Some people even attended the actual memorial held in the Staples Center in Los Angeles.



Trademarks
Jackson was, and still is, known for many certain things. Such things include the moonwalk, a white one-hand glove, red leather jacket along with many others. The main one, of course, is being the King of Pop. The moonwalk became popular when Jackson first performed it on stage. During a performance of //Billy Jean// on March 25, 1983//,// Jackson carried out the moonwalk, astonishing millions of viewers. This later became known as Jackson’s signature move. It also became one of the most famous dance moves in history. Jackson’s single glove trend started when he went to the bathroom before filming a commercial. While in the restroom, Jackson dropped one side of his glove into the toilet bowl. No matter his efforts, Jackson couldn’t get his glove back to its regular condition, so Jackson was stuck with only one glove for his commercial; thus, the trend became famous since then. Of course, Jackson wasn’t always known as the King of Pop. It wasn’t until 1989, when Elizabeth Taylor presented Jackson the Train Heritage Award. It was then that Taylor stated that Jackson was the true king of pop, rock and soul. This is what started the nickname of King of Pop.

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<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">**Fashion**
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Michael Jackson’s fashion was influenced by many other celebrities. Specific celebrities included Gene Kelly and Prince Charles. Inspired by Gene Kelly, Jackson made famous high waist pants along with suspenders. This outfit was often seen in Jackson’s music videos, such as Jackson’s //Thriller//. This fashion was also often seen on models for Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren. During the beginning of Jackson’s solo career, Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren were experiencing a time of prosperity. Klein produced a line of women’s clothing alongside their original line of men’s clothing. Many of the women in Jackson’s music videos were often seen wearing the fashion seen on Calvin Klein and Ralph Lauren models. Also, seen in much of Jackson’s music videos and performances was the royalty look. This look was inspired by Prince Charles. When the royalty look first appeared on Jackson, Prince Charles had recently proposed to Princess Diana. Prince Charles and Princess Diana were the main headline of many newspaper articles and news at the time. Seeing this news for some time, Jackson took the royalty look and added his own little spice to it. Jackson started wearing a royal top with regular jean pants. This style was soon adopted by many Americans and became Jackson’s own personal look. This look was often linked to Jackson’s title as the “King of Pop.”



<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">**Economic Growth**
<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> Not only did the U.S.A. economy experience a growth during this time, but so did Michael Jackson. In 1982, Jackson’s most famous album //Thriller// was released. Not too long afterwards, Ronald Reagan took office. Many people were excited about this, for they knew he would be able to raise the economy with Reaganomics. Reaganomics was the term used to describe the economic policies that were promoted during Reagan’s presidency. Just like the policies being brought out, Jackson’s music and fame was rising and coming to the surface. Jackson’s popularity rise took place after his album //Thriller// was released. This album included his most famous songs such as //Billy Jean, Beat It// and //Thriller.// These three songs were one of the first songs by African American artistes to be featured on MTV. MTV at the time was being more open-minded and accepted more on demand music no matter who the artist was. Just like MTV, Reagan along with the rest of the American population was open to Reaganomics. Not only were they open to Reaganomics, they also accepted many other viewpoints and tried to view the world from a positive viewpoint. Any new viewpoint challenged people to take new chances and try new things. One of the chances took place when Reagan tested out his “Trickle-down Economics.” This act consisted of giving money to the bigger and richer companies and people in hopes that prices of goods will later go down due to the raise in the money for the company. One of the richer people included Jackson. The act of the “Trickle-down Economics” was supposed to raise Jackson’s salary in hopes of Jackson’s albums going on sale for a cheaper price than the times before this.



<span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 18px;">**Pop Culture**
<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">Michael Jackson played a key role in the pop culture of the 1980’s. The biggest piece of pop culture that affected Jackson was MTV. Jackson was one of the first African American artists to have their music video showed on MTV. Jackson’s music videos were greatly disagreed upon at the beginning of his career because he was African American. This changed during the 80’s due to //Thriller.// Due to popular demand, //Thriller// was presented on MTV. Not only was //Thriller// showed, but Jackson’s other music videos such as //Billy Jean// and //Beat It//. These music videos contributed to MTV’s variety of artists’ music videos, including Madonna. MTV was a new device that allowed artists to promote their music. Through MTV, many citizens got allowed an easy access to the new hit music of the U.S.A. With the help of MTV promotions, Jackson’s album //Thriller// was the most sold about 110 million copies worldwide. Also broadcasted on MTV was Jackson’s moonwalk. The first showing of the moonwalk by Jackson was a phenomenon. Many fans and other artists attempted and learned the moonwalk. As a result of this, it was shown in the scene of //Back to the Future.// <span style="font-family: Verdana,Geneva,sans-serif; line-height: 0px; overflow: hidden;">



<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11px;">Keefe, Sherry. //Spin: the story of Michael Jackson//. Greensboro, N.C.: Morgan Reynolds, 2011. Print. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11px;">"Michael Jackson." //The Internet Movie Database//. Amazon, n.d. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001391/bio>. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11px;">"Michael Jackson - The King of Pop." //Michael Jackson | The Official Michael Jackson Site//. Sony Music Entertainment, n.d. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.michaeljackson.com/us/home>. <span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; font-size: 11px;">"Michael Jackson Biography." //Biography. True Story//. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 May 2011. <http://www.biography.com/articles/Michael-Jackson-38211>. //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Michael Jackson: This Is It //<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">. Dir. Kenny Ortega. Perf. Michael Jackson. Sony Pictures, 2010. Film.