(Vientiane History Special Author: East-West Lookout)
59 years ago today, on August 29, 1958, the legendary king of pop music, Michael Jackson, was born
A black brother who shows his head
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Indiana, USA. The family belongs to the African working class, ranking eighth out of ten siblings. His father was a steel mill worker who played in a rhythm blues band. In 1964, Jackson joined a band founded by his brothers called the Jackson Five.
From 1966 to 1968, the band toured the Midwest, often in black clubs. In 1968, the band signed to Motown Records. Between 1972 and 1975, Jackson released four solo albums with Motown Records, but with mediocre results.
In 1978, Jackson starred in the musical film The New Wizard of Oz, where he became acquainted with the famous music composer Quincy Jones. Soon, the two co-produced the album "Outside the Wall". In 1979, "Outside the Wall" became the first album to produce four top ten American singles, with global sales of more than 20 million. In 1980, Jackson won three American Music Awards, a Billboard Year-End Award, and a Grammy Award.
(Jackson (center) as a member of the Jackson Five, 1972)
Let the world shudder
In late 1982, the release of the album Thriller was an even greater success, earning Jackson 7 Grammy Awards and 8 American Music Awards. Thriller became the highest-selling album of all time in the United States and the highest-selling album in the world, with an estimated 65 million copies sold. (In March 2009, Thriller was recognized as having sold 29 million copies by the Recording Industry Association of America.)
The album Thriller held number one on the Billboard for 37 weeks and stayed in the top 10 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was also the first album to feature seven top 10 singles, including "Billy Jane", "Avoid", "Wanna Be Startin ' Somethin'" and so on. Jackson also released a 14-minute zombie-themed "Thriller" MTV that shocked the world.
Time magazine described Jackson this way: "A star of records, a star of radio, a star of rock music films." A man who saved the music business. A dancer with fantastic feet. a singer who breaks all barriers of taste, style and skin tone". The New York Times wrote: "In the pop world, there is only Michael Jackson and everyone else."
Can't stop the moonwalk
On March 25, 1983, Michael performed a legendary live performance with other Motown Records stars as an NBC television special titled "Motown Records 25th Anniversary: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow." The show aired on May 16 and received 47 million viewers.
During the performance, Jackson soloed "Billy Jane", wearing a special black jacket with sequins and a Rhine stone-encrusted golf glove, performed his signature moonwalk, and all the audience went crazy. Someone said, "I was stunned, it was like magic, Michael Jackson got into orbit and couldn't stop at all. ”
On January 27, 1984, Jackson shot an advertisement for Pepsi, during which fireworks burned Jackson, resulting in a second-degree burn on his scalp. Jackson was treated to cover up the scars on his scalp and soon had his third rhinoplasty surgery.
In 1985, his charity song "We Are the World", which featured caring for underprivileged children in the United States and Africa, was among the highest-selling singles in history, selling nearly 30 million.
(President Reagan and First Lady Nancy Reagan presented Jackson with awards, 1984)
Rumor-ridden freak Jack
Jackson grew up with a dark brown complexion, but gradually turned whiter, and rumors suggested he might have bleached his skin. But according to later biographies and autopsy reports, he actually had vitiligo and lupus erythematosus, so he was sensitive to sunlight and appeared very pale.
In 1986, it was reported that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow down aging, accompanied by photographs. Jackson bought a chimpanzee, which reportedly left him out of touch with reality. There are also reports that Jackson tried to buy the bones of "Elephant Man" Joseph Merrick. At first he thought the stories would increase his popularity, but later, the stories became more and more alarming and bizarre.
As a result, he got a nickname that he hated, "Jack the Weirdo". Jackson told his biographer, "Just tell people I'm an alien from Mars, tell them I'm a live chicken, and dance the witch dance at midnight." You say what people believe because you're a journalist. ”
"Soaring" to the world
In September 1986, Jackson filmed the 17-minute 3D film Captain Io, which aired at Disneyland and Epochate in Florida; in March 1987, it aired at Disneyland In Japan; and in 1992, it aired at Disneyland in Paris, which was a huge hit.
In 1987, Jackson released his first new album, Soaring, in five years. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Soar", "The Feeling You Give Me", "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana" became the number one singles, the album with the most number one singles on the Hot 100 chart. As of 2012, the album has sold around 30-45 million copies worldwide.
The Soaring World Tour began on September 12 of that year and ended on January 14 of the following year. The tour in Japan alone attracted 570,000 spectators. With 504,000 spectators at 7 performances at Wembley Stadium in the UK, the Guinness Book of World Records were set. During the tour, a total of 123 concerts were held, with a total audience of about 4.4 million.
In 1988, he published his only biography, Moonwalk, which sold 200,000 copies and topped the New York Times bestseller list.
(Jackson performed on his record-breaking Soaring World Tour in 1988.)
The Dream Manor of Healing World
In March 1988, he bought 11 square kilometers of land in California to build a private park at Dream Manor, which houses a Ferris wheel, a zoo, a cinema and more. In 1989, when Elizabeth Taylor presented him with the award, she declared himself "the true king of pop, rock and roll and spiritual music." The title of "King of Pop" is all the rage.
In 1991, he released his eighth album, Dangerous Journey, which first added rap to the album. As of 2013, the album had sold 7 million in the United States and about 30 million worldwide. The Dangerous Journey World Tour began on June 27, 1992, and ended on November 11, 1993. A total of 3.5 million people attended 70 concerts and earned more than $100 million.
In 1992, the Healing World Foundation was founded based on the song "Healing the World". Charities bring underprivileged children to Jackson's Dream Estate to enjoy the rides of the theme park.
In January 1993, Jackson appeared during the intermission of the 27th Super Bowl. At the beginning of the performance, Jackson jumped out from under the stage while fireworks bloomed behind him. He stood motionless, "clenched fists like a statue," dressed in gold and black, and sunglasses. He remained motionless for a minute and a half, and the audience continued to cheer. He then slowly took off his sunglasses, threw them into the crowd, and sang four songs: "Jam," "Billy Jane," "Black or White, and Healing the World."
(1992, Jackson's performance)
Sexually abused children with Elvis Presley's daughter
In the summer of 1993, Jackson was accused of sexually assaulting children by a 13-year-old boy and his father. In August, at Jackson's home, books and pictures of naked boys were searched. In December, Jackson was examined naked. The results of the examination showed that the 13-year-old boy correctly described Jackson's buttocks, short pubic hair, and genital organs with pink and brown spots with symptoms of vitiligo.
However, the investigation into the incident was inconclusive and no lawsuits were instituted. On January 1, 1994, Jackson and Chandler settled out of court for $22 million.
In May 1994, Jackson married Elvis Presley's daughter, and the sexual abuse of children brought the two together. Their wedding was held secretly in the Dominican Republic. The marriage lasted less than two years and ended with a friendly divorce settlement.
"History" of Marriage and Children
In 1995, he released the double album His History: Yesterday, Today, Tomorrow. The first album was titled History Begins, a collection, and the second, Titled History Continues, consisted of 13 new songs and 2 cover songs. The album is the best-selling multi-album of all time, with 20 million copies (40 million copies) sold worldwide.
The Historic World Tour began on September 7, 1996, and ended on October 15, 1997. Across 35 countries across five continents, it performed at 82 concerts in 58 cities, with a total of 4.5 million fans attending and a total revenue of $165 million.
During the tour, Jackson married longtime friend Dermatologist Nurse Debbie Rowie. On February 13, 1997, their first son was born. On April 3 of the following year, the daughter was born. In 1999, the two divorced amicably.
The re-sexual assault case of "Invincible"
In October 2001, the new album "Invincible" was released. In 2002, Jackson's third child was born, nicknamed "Blanket." The child's birth mother is unknown, and it is said that the child was produced through artificial insemination using his sperm with the surrogate mother.
Beginning in May 2002, Jackson allowed a documentary crew to follow him on filming. The documentary, titled Michael Jackson The Great, aired in March 2003. There is a controversial scene in the film about Jackson holding hands with a young boy and discussing the arrangement of accommodation.
In November 2003, Jackson was arrested and charged with 7 counts of sexual assault of children and 2 counts of alcohol administration in connection with the 13-year-old boy in the film. Beginning on January 31, 2005, Jackson's trial lasted five months. On June 13, Jackson was convicted of all charges.
In March 2006, Dream Manor was forced to close.
The historical moment of "That's It"
In March 2009, Jackson announced a comeback tour called "That's It." Jackson called it likely to be his "final curtain call." The concert was originally planned for 10 performances in London, followed by Paris, New York and Mumbai. The concert is scheduled to start on July 13, 2009 and end on March 6, 2010. Less than three weeks before the London premiere, tickets for all concerts were sold out.
However, jackson died on June 25, 2009, at his residence in Los Angeles. It has been confirmed that at the time of Jackson's death, propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam had been administered. His personal doctor was charged with manslaughter.
The news of Jackson's death quickly spread on the Internet, and Google was searched for "Michael Jackson" by millions of people, thinking that it had encountered a DDoS attack, so the search was shut down for 30 minutes. Wiki says nearly a million people visit Jackson's life in less than an hour, which is probably the most visited hour in Wikipedia's history.
AOL instant messaging paralyzed for 40 minutes. AOL called it "a moment of great significance in the history of the Internet" and said that "we have never seen anything like this in terms of breadth and depth." After the news spread, about 15 percent of Tweets, or 5,000 tweets per minute, mentioned Jackson. Jackson's death dominated the front page of The Sun for two weeks. The evening news of the three major television networks in the United States, ABC World News, CBS Evening News and NBC Evening News, reported jackson 34% of the time.
Jackson was buried on September 3, 2009, at Glendale Forest Lawn Memorial Park, California. Legendary superstar Jackson "That's It."
(Jackson's Cemetery)