Michael Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was a American singer, songwriter, actor and dancer. One of the most famous and successful musicians of his time. He was referred to as “The King of Pop” and considered to be one of the biggest and most influential entertainers in the history of pop music.
Jackson 5 were picked up by Motown Records in 1969 and had a string of pop-chart number-one singles. Jackson’s early solo records “Got to Be There”, “Rockin’ Robin” and “Ben” were critically acclaimed and commercially successful, but his solo career on Motown ended in 1975, when he signed to Epic.
Jackson’s debut album on his new label was a career-reviving smash as well as an indicator of things to come. Off the Wall, produced by Quincy Jones, was a tight collection of funky pop ballads, two of which became number one hits. Jackson collaborated with Jones again on his 1982 album, Thriller, which eventually became the biggest selling studio album in history (which by 2006 was being quoted as having sold over 100,000,000 copies.). Thriller also revolutionized the music-video industry with its inventive, high-budget videos for the singles “Thriller” and “Beat It”.
His long-awaited follow-up to Thriller, Bad arrived in 1987 and produced four number one singles, but sold less than a quarter of the number of copies of its predecessor.
Although the ’90s began on a relatively positive note for Jackson, he would never again regain the critical or commercial heights of his ’80s heyday. His fourth studio album on Epic, Dangerous, was knocked off the number one spot by Nirvana’s sophomore album, Nevermind, but still sold over 30 million albums world wide. A retrospective 2-disc set, HIStory: Past, Present & Future offered hits from the past, as well as new material which sees Jackson at his most angry and emotional.
Jackson’s personal life was often written about by the tabloids, and still is today over six years since his death. He was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. Even though that wasn’t true, Jackson paid the accuser $25 million. After this there was no trial. In 2003 Jackson was charged with child sexual abuse by Garvin Arvizo. In 2005 Jackson was found not guilty of all charges. Jackson died of an overdose of propofol on June 25, 2009 after having a cardiac arrest. Jackson’s doctor was convicted of involuntary manslaughter. On July 7 there was a memorial service for Jackson. It was on television and 2.5-3 billion people watched it. This made it the most watched funeral ever.
Jackson wrote other well-known songs such as “Bad”, “Black or White”, “Heal the World” and “Earth Song”. He is known for popularizing dance moves such as the robot and the moonwalk. He won a lot of awards and broke many records. He is often cited as the biggest star since Elvis Presley.
Artists who have been influenced by Michael Jackson: Usher, Ne-yo, Chris Brown, Madonna, Celine Dion, Beyonce, Justin Bieber, Whitney Houston, Jay-Z, Justin Timberlake, Bruno Mars, Jason Derulo, The Weeknd, Lady Gaga, Mariah Carey, Britney Spears and many others singers and celebrities
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