Michael Jackson began his music career alongside his fellow brothers and family members in the Jackson Five. His career began in 1964, aged only six. The group, led by Jackson’s father, worked hard touring many clubs and bars performing their mix of Motown hits. They gained the attention of record labels and in 1968 signed with Motown records. It was the youngest, baby-faced Jackson, that caught the eye of reviewers. Rolling Stone magazine wrote that Michael was a ‘prodigy’ with ‘overwhelming musical gifts’. Michael stood out for his exceptional enthusiasm and soft, infectious musical voice. The group produced four number one hit singles, including “I Want You Back“, ABC and “the Lover You Save.”By the late 1970s, Michael was increasingly looking to pursue a solo career. With the help of music producer, Quincy Jones, Michael produced the solo album ‘Off The Wall‘. The album was a great success, eventually selling over 20 million copies. The album gained much critical acclaim, and Michael secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry.
His second solo album, Thriller, launched Michael Jackson into a position as the most famous pop singer in the world. With little commercial advertising and promotion, Thriller rose to number one on album sales and remained at the number one spot for a total of 37 weeks. It gained one of many Guinness World Records for Michael Jackson, attaining 110 million global sales and 29 million sales in the US. Thriller included number one hits such as Beat It, Billie Jean.Despite achieving his goal to be a music performer, Michael’s childhood was far from happy. He was regularly beaten and threatened by his authoritarian father. This legacy of abuse left Michael scarred throughout his adult life.In March 1983, Michael Jackson performed live on Motown 25, ‘Yesterday, today, forever’, – a TV special. He performed his distinctive and memorable dance move – the Moonwalk. In the dance routine, he effortlessly moves backwards with seemingly keeping one leg perfectly straight. His performance made him a global icon of not just music, but dance. Michael Jackson pioneered the importance of music video in promoting a pop artist. This iconic performance has been compared to the famous Beatles’ appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.Jackson’s next albums were Bad (1987) and Dangerous (1991). His final album was Invincible (2001).By the late 80s, there was an increasing number of stories speculating on Jackson’s personal life, health and physical appearance. Michael Jackson underwent numerous operations of plastic surgery to fix his nose and add a dimple in his chin. During the 1980s, his skin started to lighten; this was due to a rare skin pigment disease, but it didn’t stop a wave of speculative press stories that he was bleaching his skin colour. The press covered a range of speculative stories about Michael Jackson, including imaginary stories Michael had invented himself .He married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994; it lasted two years though they remained friendly after the divorce. In 1996, he married Deborah Rowe in Sydney. Together they had two children. They divorced in 1999 and Rowe gave full custody of children to Jackson.Allegations of child abuse were first raised in the 1980s and re-appeared in the 1990s. This led to the trial of The People v Jackson on 31 Jan 2005, in Sante Maria, California. After five months of high publicity, Jackson was acquitted. Though the experience left him physically weak and emotionally stressed. He departed America for the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain.Towards the end of his life, he was increasingly plagued by money troubles and ill health. He increasingly became dependent on a variety of drugs, which was said to have contributed to his ill health and premature death. Despite concerns over finance, he is said to have made career earnings of $500m and had assets in Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalogue worth over $300m alone.Michael Jackson supported many charities. This included a burns charity in Culver City, California. This followed an incident where Michael Jackson was burnt in filming a Pepsi commercial in 1984.He also supported HIV / AIDS charities at a time when it was still unfashionable.In 1984, he received an award from President Ronald Reagan for his support of charities which help overcome alcohol and drug abuse.
From his 1984, Victory Tour he donated all funds (around $8million to charity)In 1985, he also co-wrote the charity single “We are the World” with Lionel Richie. It sold over 30 million copies, and the proceeds were sent to the poor in the US and Africa.He continued his charity work to the end of his life supporting charity concerts such as Aid for victims of Kosovo war.Michael Jackson and wife Debbie Rowe had two children through artificial insemination: Son Michael Joseph "Prince" Jackson Jr., born in 1997, and daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, born in 1998. When Rowe and Jackson divorced, Michael received full custody of their two children. Jackson would go on to have a third child, Prince Michael "Blanket" Jackson II, with an unknown surrogate.After Jackson's death in June 2009, his children were placed in the care of their grandmother, Katherine Jackson, as dictated in his will. In respect to their father's wishes, Prince, Paris and Blanket were largely kept out of the limelight. They stepped up to the mic in 2009 to speak to fans at their father's funeral, and again in January 2010 to accept a posthumous Lifetime Achievement Award for their father at the Grammys.
In July 2012, a judge temporarily suspended Katherine Jackson's guardianship of Prince, Paris and Blanket after she was erroneously reported missing by a relative. During this time, T.J. Jackson, son of Tito, received temporary custody of the children. Katherine's "disappearance" came shortly after a dispute between her and several members of the Jackson clan, who raised questions about the validity of Michael Jackson's will, pointed fingers at the Jackson matriarch and called for the executors of his estate to resign.It was soon discovered that the elderly woman wasn't missing, but had simply taken a trip to Arizona. On August 2, 2012, a judge restored Katherine Jackson as the primary guardian of Prince, Paris and Blanket, also approving a plan granting T.J. Jackson co-guardianship of the children.
Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50. Jackson suffered cardiac arrest in his Los Angeles home and was rushed to the hospital after his heart stopped and CPR attempts failed. He died later that morning.In February 2010, an official coroner's report revealed Michael Jackson's cause of death was acute propofol intoxication, or a lethal overdose on a prescription drug cocktail including the sedatives midazolam, diazepam and lidocaine. Aided by his personal physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, Jackson took the drugs to help him sleep at night. Murray told police that he believed Jackson had developed a particular addiction to propofol, which Jackson referred to as his "milk." Murray reportedly administered propofol by IV in the evenings, in 50-milligram dosages, and was attempting to wean the pop star off the drug around the time of his death.A police investigation revealed that Murray was not licensed to prescribe most controlled drugs in the state of California. The steps he had taken to save Jackson also came under scrutiny, as evidence showed that the standard of care for administering propofol had not been met, and the recommended equipment for patient monitoring, precision dosing and resuscitation had not been present. As a result, Jackson's death was ruled a homicide, and Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter on November 7, 2011, earning a maximum prison sentence of four years.Michael Jackson was one of nine children. His mother, Katherine Jackson, was a homemaker and a devout Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joseph Jackson, had been a guitarist who put aside his musical aspirations to provide for his family as a crane operator. Behind the scenes, Joseph pushed his sons to succeed. He was also reportedly known to become violent with them.
Joseph Jackson believed his sons had talent and molded them into a musical group in the early 1960s that would later become known as the Jackson 5. At first, the Jackson Family performers consisted of Michael's older brothers, Tito, Jermaine and Jackie. Michael joined his siblings when he was five years old, and emerged as the group's lead vocalist. He showed remarkable range and depth for such a young performer, impressing audiences with his ability to convey complex emotions. Older brother Marlon also became a member of the group, which evolved into the Jackson 5.Michael and his brothers spent endless hours rehearsing and polishing up their act. At first, the Jackson 5 played local gigs and built a strong following. They recorded one single on their own, "Big Boy," with the B-side "You've Changed," but the record failed to generate much interest.The Jackson 5 moved on to working as the opening act for such R&B artists as Gladys Knight and the Pips, James Brown, and Sam and Dave. Many of these performers were signed to the legendary Motown record label, and the Jackson 5 eventually caught the attention of Motown founder Berry Gordy. Impressed by the group, Gordy signed them to his label in early 1969.Michael and his brothers moved to Los Angeles, where they lived with Gordy and with Diana Ross of the Supremes as they got settled. The Jackson 5 was introduced to the music industry at a special event in August 1969, and the group later opened for the Supremes. Their first album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, hit the charts in December 1969, with its single, "I Want You Back," reaching No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart shortly afterward. More chart-topping singles quickly followed, such as "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There."
For several years, Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5 maintained a busy tour and recording schedule, under the supervision of Berry Gordy and his Motown staff. The group became so popular that they even had their own self-titled cartoon show, which ran from 1971 to 1972.Despite the group's great success, there was trouble brewing behind the scenes. Tensions mounted between Gordy and Joseph Jackson over the management of his children's careers, with the Jacksons wanting more creative control over their material. The group officially severed ties with Motown in 1976, though Jermaine Jackson remained with the label to pursue his solo career.Now calling themselves the Jacksons, the group signed a new recording deal with Epic Records. By the release of their third album for the label, 1978's Destiny, the brothers had emerged as talented songwriters.The overwhelmingly positive response to Michael Jackson’s 1979 solo album Off the Wall helped the Jacksons as a group. Triumph (1980) sold more than 1 million copies, and the brothers went on an extensive tour to support the recording. At the same time, Michael continued exploring more ways to branch out on his own.In 1983, Jackson embarked on his final tour with his brothers to support the album Victory.In the aftermath of his trial, Jackson's reputation was effectively destroyed and his finances were in shambles. He soon found refuge in his friendship with Bahrain's Prince Salman Bin Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, who helped the pop star pay his legal and utility bills, and invited him to his country as a personal guest.In Bahrain, the prince took care of the singer's expenses and built a recording studio for him. In return, Jackson allegedly promised to collaborate on a new album for Al-Khalifa's record label, write an autobiography and create a stage play. The completed work never materialized, however, and Jackson soon faced a $7 million lawsuit from his friend for reneging on his promises.
In even greater financial straits, Jackson defaulted on the $24.5 million loan owed on his Neverland Ranch in 2008. Unable to part with cherished keepsakes, including the crystal gloves he used in performances, Jackson sued to block the auction of some of his personal items from the home the following year.Around this same time, the largely reclusive Jackson announced that he would be performing a series of concerts as his "final curtain call." Despite all of the allegations and stories of odd behavior, Jackson remained a figure of great interest, as demonstrated by the strong response to his concert plans. Set to appear at the O2 Arena in London, England, beginning July 8, 2009, Jackson saw all of the tickets to his "This Is It" tour sell out in only four hours. Sadly, Michael Jackson would never get to experience the anticipated success of his comeback tour, as he died in June of that same year.
On July 7, 2009, a televised memorial was held for fans of the "King of Pop" at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles. While 17,500 free tickets were issued to fans via lottery, an estimated 1 billion viewers watched the memorial on TV or online. Michael Jackson's death resulted in an outpouring of public grief and sympathy. Memorials were erected around the world, including one at the arena where he was set to perform and another at his childhood home in Gary, Indiana.The Jackson family held a private funeral on September 3, 2009, at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Glendale, California, for immediate family members and 200 guests. Celebrity mourners included Jackson's ex-wife, Lisa Marie Presley, and actress Elizabeth Taylor.
A documentary of Jackson's preparations for his final tour, entitled This Is It, was released in October 2009. The film, which features a compilation of interviews, rehearsals and backstage footage of its star, made $23 million in its opening weekend and skyrocketed to No. 1 at the box office. This Is It would go on to make $261 million worldwide, becoming the highest grossing concert film of all time.In 2013, the Jackson family launched a wrongful death lawsuit against AEG Live, the entertainment company that promoted Michael Jackson's planned comeback series in 2009. They believed that the company had failed to effectively protect the singer while he was under Conrad Murray's care. One of their lawyers, Brian Panish, discussed AEG's alleged wrongdoing in the trial's opening statements on April 29, 2013: "They wanted to be No. 1 at all costs," he said. "We're not looking for any sympathy ... we're looking for truth and justice."Jackson family lawyers sought up to $1.5 billion — an estimation of what Michael Jackson could have earned to that point — but in October 2013, a jury determined that AEG wasn't responsible for the singer's death. "Although Michael Jackson's death was a terrible tragedy, it was not a tragedy of AEG Live's making," said company lawyer Marvin S. Putnam.since his death, Michael Jackson has been profiled in multiple biographies and inspired the creation of two Cirque du Soleil shows. His debts have also been settled thanks to his earlier investment in the Sony/ATV Music catalog, which includes the publishing rights for songs of such industry heavyweights as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift.Additionally, the King of Pop proved to have earning power that lasted well past his final days. In October 2017, Forbes announced that Jackson had topped the publication's list of top-earning dead celebrities for the fifth straight year, racking in a whopping $75 million. Biography courtesy of bio.com
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