Michael Jackson’s Life and Music Career

Michael Jackson’s Life and Music Career.
The late Michael Jackson is one of the world’s most beloved and highly celebrated entertainers of all time. His influence on his fans and lover of music, in general, has left a permanent mark on popular music and culture. The entertainer was born the 29th day of August 1958 and was a performer from the age of five. Michael Jackson was not only an entertainer but also a dancer, singer, and songwriter. According to Barnes’ New York Times journal article, he was born fifth in Joseph and Katherine Jacksons nine children family and grew up in a family of music lover. While their mother taught them folk and religious songs, their father, a steel plant worker, always anticipated becoming a successful musician. It is hard to forget that his 1983 album known as the thriller is the biggest seller till present after selling forty million copies (Brown & Geoff Brown, 17). It is through albums and videos that he created a reputation to be copied by millions of his fans.
After Jackson’s father had failed to realize his dream, he decided to do everything in his power to make his children successful. Even at their adult stages, he tried controlling their life to the extent that this struggle for the control of their music fortune brought relentless conflicts in the family. At some point in their life, the Jackson boys came up with a family band (the Jackson 5) that went all the way to becoming a success at amateur shows and talent contests in the Midwest (Barnes, 01).

Michael’s incredible musical talent was very evident from he was five. As a matter of facts, it is his dancing prowess and stage presence that made him the center of attraction in the group. Soon after, his fame and popularity started preceding him. In 1944, they were recognized by Motown recording artist Gladys Knight in New York performing at the Apollo Theater (Jones, 110). Later the same year, they were associated with singer Diana Ross.
By 1970, the Jackson 5 was topping every chart with its wave of popular hits such as “The Love You Save” and “I will Be There.” Each of them sold more than a million copies. Apart from appearing in numerous television specials, a Jackson Five cartoon series was issued (Barnes, 01). Michael’s charm was soon acknowledged by Gordy who released albums that featured him alone, and they sold as well as those of the group. As a result, the group had to cope with Michael’s change of voice as well as their countless family fights with each other and their father. Michael Jackson seemed to care about dancing more than anything else. He was single most popular American entertainer by 1983. Two years later, he joined Quincy Jones’ “We are the World” campaign to raise funds for poor Africans (Greenburg, 56). He won the Living Legend Award at the Grammy Awards ceremony as well as the Humanitarian of the Year trophy in 1993.
Despite his good work in the music industry, Michael Jackson was, however, in the limelight for major scandals. A good example is the 1993 scandal where he was accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy. Although he managed to settle the case out of court and insisted on his innocence, he lost a great deal of his reputation by costing him his endorsement. Also, his sexuality was put into question and that too damaged his public image. Greenburg (30) claims that two years later, one of the songs in his new album “They Don’t Care about Us” was said to contain lyrics that exhibited hatred for the Jewish people. His way of avoiding further criticism was changing the lyrics. Similarly, he sent a letter of apology to Rabbi Marvin Hier, who was the leader of Simon Wiesenthal Holocaust Studies Center and protested the lyrics (Jones, 49). However, these scandals also played a significant role in making Michael more famous.
Besides being accused of having sleepovers with boys at his home, Michael was followed by several other misfortunes in his career. While he was at his epitome of prosperity in his music career, he suffered severe injuries filming a commercial for Pepsi-Cola. Reportedly, his scalp suffered severe burns, and he had to undergo surgery.it is believed that his quest for plastic surgery began at that point. He later on dramatically altered his face, particularly his nose. In his article on the star’s biography, Sander says that the fascinating thing is that he was a shy and quiet person off-stage despite his stage dexterity. Jackson married the Rock legend Elvis Presley’s daughter Lisa Marie Presley in 1994. Many believed that the marriage was only an attempt to improve his public reputation and make certain his sexuality. By August 1996, the two divorced only for Michael Jackson to announce in November that he was about to be a father.
Debbie Rowe, Jackson’s long-time friend, was the child’s mother who he married later that month. Their son, Prince Michael Jackson Jr., was born on 13th February 1997 in LA, California. Years down the line, the couple had a daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. There were rumors that both children were conceived through artificial insemination (Greenburg, 07). Shockingly, Rowe divorced Jackson in 1999 and Jackson received full custody of the children. Michael Jackson also had a third son, Michael Jackson II with an unknown individual. The entertainer continued to fascinate many when he released another album in 1997, and it received exquisite reviews too (Barnes, 01). In 2000, he was sued by his promoter after he backed out of two scheduled concerts the New Year’s Eve. He was an ‘invincible’ Jackson better known as an odd person whose twists were reported in the scandals than as a performer.
Michael Jackson’s unsounded behaviors did not end there, as he would appear in public wearing surgical masks, not to mention he would hide the faces of his children under veils. The singer/entertainer was in the headlines for appearing not only confused but also disoriented on stage at an MTV awards show. A while after, there were criticisms all over for dangling his second son over a balcony while waving at fans in Berlin (Jones, 13). Although he argued that he did it innocently as the fans were asking to see his son, many would not forgive him and wanted Jackson’s son taken from him by the Child Protective Services. Michael Jackson died on the 25th June, 2009, of apparent cardiac arrest LA while he was 50. According to Sanders’ article, the news brought greatest grief and shock and it became obvious that despite the dishonor that had started following him, he was respected by all and sundry for his music.
Indeed, there is not a single artist who has come close to surpassing what he achieved in the first years of his adult solo career. It is incredible that the entertainer was a performer from he was at the age of five. He is celebrated not only for changing the balance in the pop world in a way that nobody had done before, but also being a young and black lad with the capability of breaking more barriers than anybody else (Brown & Geoff Brown, 17). His influence on his fans and lover of music, in general, has left a permanent mark on popular music and culture.
Work Cited
Barnes, Brooks. “A Star Idolized And Haunted, Michael Jackson Dies At 50”. Nytimes.com. N.p., 2009. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.
Brown, Geoff and Geoff Brown. Michael Jackson. 1st ed. London: Omnibus, 2009. Print.
Greenburg, Zack O. Michael Jackson, Inc. S.I: Atria Books, 2014. Print.
Jones, Jel D. Michael Jackson, the king of pop : the big picture : the music! the man! the legend! the interviews : an anthology. Phoeniz, AZ: Amber Books2, 2005. Print.
Sanders, Tom. “BIOGRAPHY: Michael Jackson Lifetime”. Lifetimetv.co.uk. N.p., 2016. Web. 13 Nov. 2016.