Remembering the King of Pop

The Early YearsMoving past this story, Michael collaborated with
Michael Joseph Jackson was born to Josephfilm director Francis Ford Coppola to make an all
Walter Jackson and Katherine Esther on August3-D film of science fiction called "Captain EO." This
29th, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. Michael was childfilm would later be used primarily by Disney
number 7 of 9 with an upbringing in a strict homeStudios as part of their theme park attraction to
with the musical influence of his father who was athe Epcot Center for the next 8 years.
member of an R&B band named the Falcons,Admittedly, Michaels eccentric behavior became
which was also comprised of his uncle, Luthermore pronounced over the years, starting with
Jackson.the purchase of a chimpanzee he called "Bubbles".
At a very early age, Michael had memories ofThis gave plenty of fuel to the tabloids and one
being physically and emotionally abused by hisof Michael's mistakes was to continue to dispel
father and did not speak out about that abusethese stories that were being made up and ran in
until the early 90's when he was interviewed bythe weekly rags. Finally, Michael came to the
Oprah Winfrey. Later, Michael's brother Marlonrealization that he should no longer try to deny
substantiated the claims of abuse by their father.the stories because doing so would increase the
Michael was often physically abused by his fatherrags or tabloids capital and that is the last thing he
in ways of long hours in the studio rehearsing towanted to contribute to. When Michael made this
beatings and emotional abuse by being calleddecision, this did not stop the tabloids from
names. In addition to his claims of abuse, Michaelcontinuing to make up their own stories including
told accounts of a time where his father crawledan accusation that Michael purchased the remains
into the open bedroom window in the middle ofof the "Elephant Man", which Michael vehemently
the night wearing a mask to scare his children andcontinued to deny. Because of all of the bad
he screamed and ranted. Joe later stated that hetabloid press, Michael earned the nickname
did this to show his kids how unsafe it is to leave"Whacko Jacko", which he later began to resent
your bedroom window open at night making itand despise.
possible for a predator to come in and kidnap theIn the early 80's, Michael's physical appearance
children. This would later prove to be a verystarted making some drastic changes and his skin
traumatic experience for Michael as he recountedstarted to lighten up and this is where the tabloids
years of sleepless nights due to constantand press alike started to make claims that he
nightmares and claims that the mere sight of hiswas bleaching his skin. The sad truth behind what
father would make him vomit on severalwas causing this condition would later be
occasions. In later interviews, Michael stated thatdiagnosed in the mid 80's as vitiligo and lupus.
his father was so strict about their rehearsals andFortunately for Michael, he was able to remiss
performance that he would sit in a chair with afrom lupus but it was apparent that the vitiligo
belt in-hand and if they messed up, he would tearwas here to stay. Both of these diseases made
them up really bad.Michael very sensitive to the sun, compiled with
It could be easily stated that Michael got the startthe treatments he had to go undergo for both
to his famous career in 1964 at the age of 5conditions, this made his skin even lighter, almost
when he and his father would be a part of theresembling a Caucasian appearance. It seemed
group, "the Jackson Brothers" which was a bandthe more he tried to cover it up, the paler it
formed in conjunction with his brother's, Tito,made him look. Over the previous years, Michael
Jermaine and Jackie. Later, Michael would joinhad been becoming very conscious about his
doing back-up vocals for the band and dancingappearance and was later diagnosed as having
when he was 8, and then Michael along with hisdysmorphic disorder and in this disorder, people
brother Jermaine would take over the lead vocals,who suffer from it are not even aware of how
renaming the group the "Jackson 5."other people perceive them in a true light. They
Throughout the mid-60's the Jackson 5 would tourfeel as though everyone else is always judging
all throughout the Midwest tirelessly and later inthem negatively on a physical level, when in
1966, the band was awarded the win of a largeactuality, most people are not. This is one of the
local talent show when the band did a cover ofunderlying conditions of anorexia nervosa.
James Brown's "I Feel Good", which Michael tookDespite Michael's increasingly unhealthy set-backs,
over the lead vocals on.he knew that the music industry did not take a
Two years later, the Jackson 5 would make it torest or sleep while he was trying to deal with his
the big-time in 1968 with signing for the majorphysical issues and they were anxiously awaiting
record label, Motown Records. Even popular musicthe release of his next album, "Bad". Even then,
magazines like Rolling Stone were alreadyMichael was aware that it was going to be hard
recognizing the individual talents of Michael at suchto top "Thriller", the "Bad" album had a substantial
a young age. After several single billboard hitssuccess and an additional 7 hit song that topped
such as "ABC" and "I'll Be There", the Jackson 5the charts with 5 of those songs reaching the
wanted more creative control and Motown strictlynumber one spot. This portion of his success once
refused this creative control and so the Jackson 5again helped him gain the holder of another record
left the record label in 1975.of having the most singles hit number one from
Making a Movethe same album. He started a world tour
After the Jackson 5 left Motown, they werepromoting the "Bad" album in 1987 and finished
immediately signed to a new contract with CBSthis tour early 1989. Prior to going on tour, he had
Records in conjunction with what would later bespent the past 4 years working on an
called Epic Records. This move was followed byautobiography called "Moon Walk", which took us
several legal hearings and the group was forcedthrough his life story of his traumatic childhood,
to rename themselves, The Jacksons. Over thethe experience he had in the family band and he
next 8 years, the Jacksons continued touringalso recounted everything behind his plastic
internationally and released 6 more albums. Michaelsurgeries which he contributed mostly to puberty,
was not only the lead voice of The Jacksons, heweight loss and his dietary changes. The book
was also the primary songwriter for the group.was released in 1988, and in that same year,
Michael was cast as the scarecrow in the 1978Michael purchased some property on the outskirts
musical, The Wiz. The music created for The Wizof Santa Ynez in California which would later be
was composed by Quincy Jones who laterknown as "Neverland Ranch", once again showing
became very close friends and a business partnerhis eccentric side.
with Michael. During the filming of The Wiz, QuincyMichael was actually named the "King of Pop" by
agreed that he would produce Michael's next solohis long time friend, Actress Elizabeth Taylor,
album. This was the jumping off point for Michael,when she was the presenter for the "Artist of
if he was going to be an even bigger popthe Decade" award. Michael continued to donate a
sensation and world-wide entertainer Quincy waslot of funding to college funds and charity. The
the man who was going to make it happen. Inentire proceeds from "Man in the Mirror" for
1979, "Off The Wall" was released and cited asexample, went to charity.
being the first album ever to spin 4 top 10 hits.Starting a Family and the End to a Brilliant 30
This record has sales that are reported as 20years
million copies sold all over the world.For the sake of argument and out of respect for
At this point, Michael is 22 years old and in 1980,Michael's family, this article is not going to focus
was the recipient of many AMA awards as welltoo much on the allegations of child molestation
as Billboard Music Awards and Grammy's. Thisand court appearances that he had to face during
broke a record for Michael and the music industrythe early 90's and subsequent allegations. I am
as he was reported to have the highest royaltiesfocusing on the artist he was and the many
ever, earning 37% of the actual profit of eachcontributions he made to the music industry as
album sold. Michael felt great about the successwell as his life in general. I will note that because
and felt very secure about his future in the musicof the stress of the allegations and the health
industry, but he was determined to out-do himselfissues that Michael faced, he became very
on his next album. In 1982, Michael released hisdependent on pain killers and also dependent on
new album, "Thriller". His determination to out-dothe support of close friends to make it through
"Off The Wall" had paid off as "Thriller" would bethis period in his life.
the album that catapulted his career and alsoIn early 1993, Michael was reacquainted with Lisa
broke many musical records such as being theMarie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley. They
best selling album of all time. From that album,remained in constant contact and became very
there were 7 singles that topped the charts forclose and as more problems arose for Michael, he
80 weeks in a row and old over 190 million copies.became very dependent on Lisa for support and
To accompany the "Thriller" album, Michaelshe, thinking that she could save him from the
collaborated with John Landis to create aworld and himself, took to him quickly and began
documentary called "The Making of Michaelto fall in love with Michael. On 1994, Michael and
Jackson's Thriller", which would sell out quickly as aLisa were married after a phone proposal and
reported 350,000 copies being sold in the first 2they were wed in the Dominican Republic at a
weeks.private ceremony. Not much was truly known
Michael had reached the peak of his career and itabout the relationship by the general public, but
is often the belief of many people, that once youthe marriage was dissolved after 2 years and
get this high, there is nowhere to go but down.they remained close friends.
However, Michael was making money not onlyMichael returned focus to his career after all of his
with his music but other business ventures as well.legal matters had presumably been settled and
The merchandising of Michael Jackson memorabiliacontinued on with a world tour in 1996 for the
was off the charts and it was stated that healbum "HIStory", and ended the tour in the fall of
would be the next "Elvis", many times over. How1997. During his touring in Australia, Michael fell in
fortuitous considering that his first wife would belove and married his dermatology nurse, Deborah
the first child of the "King of Rock and Roll".Jeanne Rowe and they had a son named Michael
Going past the astounding record sales ofJoseph Jackson, jr. and a daughter they named
"Thriller", there were also many pop cultureParis Michael Katherine Jackson. The couple
changes made due to this album and within thedivorced in 1999 and the custody of the children
music industry as well. With the release of thiswas signed over to Michael. Deborah decided to
album, the impact that it had on the musicrelinquish custody of the children as an amicable
industry would be undying. I sincerely believe thatarrangement for the betterment of the children
no one could have predicted the enormousand they remained friends.
success and the contribution to change thatMichael continued with his business and music
"Thriller" and Michael would have on the industryventures releasing a new album in 2001,
as well as the American pop-culture as a whole."Invincible" which would also prove to be the
There were many different avenues of the musicmilestone of his 30 years as a solo artist. In
industry that benefited from the album, such ascelebration of this achievement, there was an
MTV. Even though MTV had basically made itsanniversary celebration at Madison Square and
debut and was quickly becoming part ofthere were several celebrity musical performers
mainstream TV, the coverage that MTV gave tothere to celebrate with him. "Invincible" sold over
the videos for "Thriller" would prove to be a wise10 million copies worldwide and became another
move on the part of the decision makers at MTV.successful notch on Michael's career achievement
The release of "Thriller" also paved the way forbelt.
new and upcoming artists that had a style andIn 2001, Michael decided to surrogate another child
flair that had never been touched before, artistsand the identity of the mother was never
like Prince. In so many different ways, Michaelreleased but Prince Michael Jackson II was born in
was almost single-handedly responsible for reviving2002. Following the birth of his third child, in 2005,
the music industry all together.Michael decided to relocate his residence to the
Michael was also solely responsible for introducingPersian Gulf. Sony continued to release new
a new style of dance to the world and mostcompilations of Michael's music from the 80's and
famously remembered for his signature90's with the release of "Visionary: The Video
"moonwalk." When he first performed theSingles". This was a 2-disc collection with one being
moonwalk, he was taking part of Motown's 25tha DVD of the videos and then the other disc was
anniversary television special which was beinga CD of the songs.
viewed by over 50 million people, which is whereIn celebration of the 25th anniversary of "Thriller",
the soon-to-be king of pop would be compared toMichael decided to release "Thriller 25" which was
greats such as Elvis and the Beatles. I was toomade up of original material from the album as
young to remember any of the performances bywell as some re-mixes along with a song never
Elvis or the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan show, butreleased. This album sold millions of copies in
Michael's performance at Motown's 25th wasseveral countries and in the U.S., almost 700,000
compared to those performances. I would justcopies were sold making this album the best
have to imagine that for Michael, that would haveselling album of 2008.
been a highlight in his career and a greatMichael was making a comeback and getting
compliment.ready for a 50-day performance in France to leg
Sadly, in 1984, while Michael was filming aup his career comeback and reportedly by people
commercial for Pepsi, his hair caught on firewho were working on the tour with him and his
caused by the pyrotechnics on the set and hefriends, he was noted as highly energetic and
suffered second degree burns from this accident.looking great.
The commercial was being filmed in front of aUnexpectedly by most, on June 25th, 2009,
very large crowd at the Shrine Auditorium in L.A.,Michael passed out in his home in the Holmby Hills
and Michael was rushed to the Brotman Medicalarea of L.A. His personal physician was with him
Center for treatment. Pepsi made a settlementand continued to attempt CPR until the fire
out of court with Michael for $1.5 Million dollarsdepartment and ambulance arrived. The L.A. Fire
which he then turned around and granted theDepartment received the 911 call just after noon
entire settlement to the Medical Center thatand upon arrival to the home, approximately 3
treated his injuries which allowed the Brotmanminutes after the 911 call, they arrived to see
Medical Center to be able to offer top-notchthat he was not breathing and that his physician
treatment and as a tribute to this charity, thewas performing CPR. The paramedics stated that
Medical Center renamed their burn center afterhe was in cardiac arrest at the time of their
Michael.arrival and was rushed to Ronald Reagan Medical
Michael was a firm believer in charity and as such,Center, where they continued to work on Michael
he was awarded by the then President of thefor over an hour.
United States, Ronald Reagan, for his efforts inMichael Joseph Jackson was pronounced dead
supporting charity and the rehabilitation of peoplearound 2:30 p.m. PDT on June 25, 2009. Michael
who needed assistance in alcohol and drugwas 50 years old and he is survived by his siblings
rehabilitation. As part of Michael's charitable nature,and 3 children. His family was reported to be at
he then decide to collaborate with Lionel Richie andhis side before he was pronounced dead and
write what was to become the best selling singlethere has been much speculation by the media as
of all time, "We Are the World". The proceeds ofto the cause of death. The medical staff reported
this single were sent to aid the poor in the U.S.that there was no foul play noted, however, the
and Africa. A total of 39 musical artists took partfamily is requesting, at this time a 2nd autopsy to
in the recording of "We Are the World", sellingaddress their unanswered questions. They are
over 20 million copies and most of the proceedsgrief stricken and cannot figure out why this
were sent to famine relief.happened.
As a child of the 80's, I can recall following all ofMany of us could look at Michael's history from an
Michael's triumphs and successes during this pointimpartial perspective and with a little bit of medical
in his career and he was already definable as theknowledge it would be easy to come to the
"King of Pop".conclusion that with his health issues and the
The Next Two Decadesaddiction to many prescription medications over
During the mid-80's, Michael started becoming thethe years, not to mention the rigorous work he
target of the media in a negative light. Theput himself through for his career and his fans, it
tabloids started running stories on Michael thatcould be a safe bet that he had damage to his
made claims that he slept in a hyperbaric chamberheart and other organs in his body and they just
in order to avoid aging. Michael denied all of thiscould not fight the demands of his life anymore.
obviously and easily dismissed any talk of it,Whether you were a fan or not of Michael, this
however, others who liked to believe the tabloidsreally was a shock to most people and all that
under the false pretense that the tabloids tell theanyone can do from this point is have hope for
ugly truth about celebrities and the lives they live,the family that is left behind. Having hope that
the story was far from dying off and in fact, tothey receive answers to their questions and that
this day, there is a good majority of people whothey can put Michael to rest and take care of his
still believe this story to be true.children, keeping his memory alive for them.