Three years since the unfortunate passing of the Moonwalker, his birthday on the 29th August will forever be an important date in Music history.Listening to the immortal songs on the music channels who have dedicated to playing michael's songs rekindles childhood memories of my failed attempts at trying to be just like him.
The Legend forever lives in the hearts of dancers and any person who loves music. The man brought a whole new level and style to pop making him one of the most iconic people ever to have shared the planet with us. Whether his sequined socks or signature fedora hat, the king
of pop carried them out with style. The Legendary moonwalker who sadly left us
3 years ago whose presence is felt even today in the hearts of music lovers and dancers
alike. His perfection, his talent and his utter disregard to growing up made
him a global icon.
Being born as the eighth child in a family of ten siblings,
living in a three room apartment only points out that he had his hardships as a
child before fame engulfed him. Though
he claimed his father’s strict disciplinary nature was a great part in his success,
it’s a fact that he had a very abusive childhood. His attitude to remain child-like throughout his adult life
is in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he
endured as a young child.
The success of Jackson
5 and the eventual downfall of the
Jacksons lead him to meet Quincy Jones, who decided to co-produce his first
solo album Off the Wall which for a
fact had Paul McCartney as one of the songwriters. Selling over 20 million
worldwide, the album was an apparent success. It also saw the beginning of his
series of rhinoplasty surgery (on his nose) after breaking his nose performing
a complicate dance move.
In 1984 he won seven Grammys and eight American Music Awards
(including the Award of Merit, the youngest artist to win it), making him the
most awarded in one night for both award shows. These awards were thanks to the album……………yep! You guessed it,
Thriller!
Released in late 1982, which was 1983's best-selling album worldwide
and became the best-selling album of all time in the United States, as well as the best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated 110 million copies
so far. It was the first album to
have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles,
including "Billie Jean", "Beat
It", and "Wanna Be Startin'
Somethin'"Thriller was certified for 29 million
shipments by the RIAA, giving it Double
Diamond status in the United States.
MJ filmed his pepsi ad in 1984 during which
he accidentally got his hair on fire suffering second degree burns to his
scalp. He underwent his third rhinoplasty and treatment for his scalp.
Eventually the next couple of years saw MJ losing skin tone and turning rather
pale and blotchy. He was diagnosed with lupus and vitiligo making him sensitive
to sunlight.
"Bad" is a song
by American songwriter and recording artist and musical inventor Michael
Jackson. "Bad" was released by Epic Records in
September 1987, as the second single from Jackson's seventh studio album of the
same name. The song was written, composed, and co-produced by Jackson, and
produced by Quincy. Jackson
stated that the song was influenced by a real life story he'd read about.
Jackson released his only
autobiography, Moonwalk,
which took four years to complete and sold 200,000 copies. Jackson wrote about
his childhood, The Jackson 5, and
the abuse he had suffered. He
also wrote about his facial appearance, saying he had had two rhino plastic
surgeries and a dimple created in his chin. He attributed
much of the change in the structure of his face to puberty, weight loss, a strict
vegetarian diet, a change in hair style, and stage lighting. Moonwalk reached the top position on The New York Times best sellers' list.
The Neverland Ranch naming after his
favorite fantasy character’s Peter Pan’s homeland was bought at a cost of
$17 million. He installed Ferris
wheels, a menagerie, and a movie
theater on the 2,700-acre (11 km2) property. A security staff
of 40 patrolled the grounds. In 2003, it was valued at approximately
$100 million 1989, his annual earnings from album sales, endorsements, and
concerts was estimated at $125 million for that year alone. Shortly afterwards,
he became the first Westerner to appear in a television ad in the Soviet Union.
His success resulted in his being
dubbed the "King of Pop". The
nickname was popularized by Elizabeth
Taylor when she presented him
with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, proclaiming him "the true king
of pop, rock and soul."President George
H.W. Bush designated him the
White House's "Artist of the Decade".
One of the most epic entries Jackson was at
the halftime show at Super
Bowl XXVII. The performance began with Jackson
catapulting onto the stage as fireworks went off behind him. As he landed on
the canvas, he maintained a motionless "clenched fist, standing statue
stance", dressed in a gold and black military outfit and sunglasses; he
remained completely motionless for a minute and a half while the crowd cheered.
He then slowly removed his sunglasses, threw them away and sang four songs:
"Jam", "Billie Jean",
"Black or White" and "Heal the World". It was the first
Super Bowl where the audience figures increased during the half-time show.Do check out the video. I promise it will blow your mind!
The moonwalker’s love for fame had become addictive making
him to leak out untruths to the media, making him seem crazy and also entitling
him Wacko-Jacko, this made him more of a mentally disturbed figure than a role model.
Further reports of child abuse during the 1994 Chandler family incident left
him permanently scarred after a strip search was ordered against him.
After his two failed marriages with Lisa Marie Presley daughter
of Elvis Presley and Debbie Rowe respectively and his next hit album Invincible
though lower relative to his earlier albums due to conflicts with Sony and
other issues including a new born child Prince Michael Jackson II(his third
child, the first two being Paris and Prince Joseph Jackson jr.) through a
surrogate mother along with another child abuse case against him left him
battered and moved to Persian Gulf of Bahrain.
In late 2008, Fortress
Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson used
as collateral for loans running into many tens of millions of dollars.
In March 2009, Jackson held
a press conference at London's O2 Arena and announced a series of comeback concerts titled This Is It. The shows would be Jackson's first major series of
concerts since the HIStory World Tour finished in 1997. Jackson suggested
possible retirement after the shows; he said it would be his "final
curtain call". Sadly The Moonwalker died before the tour and a documentary
film about the rehearsals titled Michael Jackson's This Is It was released. Even though it ran for a
limited two-week engagement, it became the highest grossing documentary or
concert movie of all time,
Michael Jackson was reported
to be one of the largest owners of property on the moon. In 2005, he
bought a 1,200 acre plot in the Lake of Dreams and owned a smaller parcel in
the Sea of Vapours. After his death, a crater on the moon was renamed Michael
Joseph Jackson by The Lunar Republic Society in Jackson's honor. The crater,
officially named Posidonius J, is located on an area of the moon known as the
Lake of Dreams, or Lacus Somniorum. The crater is 22 kilometers across and is
situated near Jackson's owned land. A spokesman for the society said: "The
official designation of a Lunar crater is a singular honour bestowed upon only
a select few luminaries. "Among those receiving this rare tribute over the
past century are Leonardo da Vinci, Christopher Columbus, Sir Isaac Newton,
Julius Caesar and Jules Verne , cool huh? The Moonwalker made his mark literally on the moon.
Despite the many controversies and allegations against Jackson, he will be remembered most for trying to make the world a better place through his music
