Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

Date of Birth

29 August 1958, Gary, Indiana, USA

Date of Death
25 June 2009, Los Angeles, California, USA (homicide)

Birth Name
Michael Joseph Jackson

Nicknam
The Gloved One
Wacko Jacko
Jacko
King Of Pop
MJ
Smelly
Applehead
Mike

Height
5' 11" (1.80 m)

Mini Biography

American superstar Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, on August 29, 1958, and entertained audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joe Jackson, had been a guitarist but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Katherine (Scruse). Together they prodded their growing family's musical interests at home. By the early 1960s, the older boys Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964, Michael and Marlon had joined in.

A musical prodigy, Michael's singing and dancing talents were amazingly mature, and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of The Jackson 5. An opening act for such soul groups as the O-Jays and James Brown, it was Gladys Knight (not Diana Ross) who officially brought the group to Berry Gordy's attention, and by 1969, the boys were producing back-to-back chart-busting hits as Motown artists ("I Want You Back," "ABC," "Never Can Say Goodbye," "Got to Be There," etc.). As a product of the 1970s, the boys emerged as one of the most accomplished black pop/soul vocal groups in music history, successfully evolving from a group like The Temptations to a disco phenomenon.

Solo success for Michael was inevitable, and by the 1980s, he had become infinitely more popular than his brotherly group. Record sales consistently orbited, culminating in the biggest-selling album of all time, "Thriller" in 1982. A TV natural, he ventured rather uneasily into films, such as playing the Scarecrow in The Wiz (1978), but had much better luck with elaborate music videos.

In the 1990s, the downside as an 1980s pop phenomenon began to rear itself. Michael grew terribly child-like and introverted by his peerless celebrity. A rather timorous, androgynous figure to begin with, his physical appearance began to change drastically, and his behavior grew alarmingly bizarre, making him a consistent target for scandal-making, despite his numerous charitable acts. Two brief marriages -- one to Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley -- were forged and two children produced by his second wife during that time, but the purposes behind them appeared image-oriented. Despite it all, Michael Jackson's passion and artistry as a singer, dancer, writer and businessman are unparalleled, and it is these prodigious talents that will ultimately prevail over the extremely negative aspects of his seriously troubled adult life.

For it all to end on June 25, 2009, with his sudden death at age 50 of a drug-induced cardiac arrest, just as he was coming out of a four-year reclusive period and rehearsing for a sold-out London concert "comeback" in July, seems uncommonly cruel and tragic. Millions upon millions of dedicated fans will remember where they were "the day Michael died".

Michael Jackson albums discography

This article contains the albums discography of the American Pop Artist, Michael Jackson. It consists of 10 studio albums and a partial list of live albums, compilations, extended plays, soundtracks and remix albums. It does not include the re-issues, unless they are counted separately from the original albums in the charts. There are peak chart positions of 10 selected countries, with relative sales and certifications. Sales in bracket are uncertified. The countries selected are: United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom. In some countries there are back catalogue, mid price charts and genres charts, but they weren't reported in this page, because they are considered second-rate charts. There are also countries that changed their levels of certifications with the time.
Michael Jackson made his debut in 1964 with The Jackson Brothers (later The Jackson Five and subsequently The Jacksons), that raised the fame from the '70s until mid-'80s, when Jackson left the group. During his activity with the brothers, he began a solo career in 1971 with the single "Got to Be There" and in 1972, published his first studio album, with the same title, that peaked #14 in the Billboard 200. Always in 1972, published a second studio album titled Ben, that peaked at #5 and in 1973 and 1975, released respectively, Music & Me and Forever, Michael, that were commercial disappointment, peaking at #92 and #101. Music & Me had a moderate success outside the United States, peaking at #27 in Australia.
In 1979, he released his fifth studio album, Off the Wall, that topped the Australian chart and went in top 5 in several countries, including United States (#3) and United Kingdom (#5). The album went platinum very quickly in various countries and eclipsed the fame of his brothers. In 1982, he published Thriller, that topped several charts around the globe and became the world's best-selling album of all time. Similar success had also the three followers of Thriller: Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995). His last studio album, Invincible (2001), was a commercial failure compared to the previous albums.
During his life and posthumously, were published several compilations and re-issues of his works, and many of them had a good commercial success.