Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in the relatively small town of Gary, Illinois. The Jackson family was an ordinary large family, where Mike became the eighth child. 

His father, Joseph Walter Jackson, worked as a crane operator, despite being a former boxer. His mother, Katherine Esther Jackson, worked at the then-largest department store chain called Sears. Despite this work, his mother was always interested in music and was fluent in piano and clarinet. His father also played in the band Falcons for extra income and passion for music. 

His methods of upbringing were quite common at the time, although this is no longer the norm. Joseph had great respect for discipline, and from childhood, he attached it to his children. This was especially noticeable during rehearsals. As Michael himself admitted, his father sat next to the belt and was punished for obedience or mistakes during rehearsals. Although the older children understood why their father had such an approach, it was tough to keep track of so many children, for Michael, who was still quite young, it was difficult to understand.  Parents' love for music quickly passed to their children, and in 1964 their father formed a kind of experimental group which later became known as Jackson 5. This group included Michael, Jermaine, Jackie, Tito, and Marlon. Pretty soon, Michael produced a beautiful voice, which allowed him to become one of the lead vocalists alongside Jermaine. 

Unexpectedly for themselves, their performances quickly gained popularity. The giant leap was given by the fact that in 1965 they were able to win a talent show. For the next two years, they will shoot in the Midwest, both in their native Illinois and other states. Such tours helped to gain the necessary experience and make many useful acquaintances, which in the future will help promote Jackson 5 to the general public. One such acquaintance was Bobby Taylor, a musician who quickly saw great potential in this group. He led the band to Motown Records, with whom the Jacksons would later sign a contract. This contract dramatically changed the family’s life and allowed them to move to Los Angeles.  

Jackson 5 first appeared on television in 1969. It happened at the Miss Black America Pageant contest, where the band performed a cover of the song It's Your Thing by The Isley Brothers. This performance became one of the keys for both the band and Michael. During this performance, many people who understood the show business well realized the great musical and career potential of the then young Michael. In 1970 one of the main hits of Jackson 5 was released - I Want You Back. The song instantly became an absolute hit and entered the US Billboard Hot 100, where it remained in first place for four weeks. Of course, this was not the only song that could climb to the top of this chart. There are also songs like I’ll Be There, ABC, and The Love You Save. During this period, Michael, despite his young age, became an idol of many. This allowed him to start his solo career without conscience, which will eventually become legendary.  

Michael released his debut album Got to Be There in 1972. Although it was only a debut album, it became a real sales hit and took third place in the US Billboard Top R & B / Hip-Hop Albums. Critics and listeners unanimously praised the album for both its musicality and Michael's beautiful voice. This initial success gave Michael confidence, and in the fall of that year, he released his second studio album called Ben. The reaction to this album was mixed. While the album was quite successful at home, it was received abroad worse than the first, although worse in this context does not mean bad. It's even hard to imagine, but only at the age of 14, Michael Jackson released his third solo album Music & Me, which became ambiguous even for himself. It's about different views on his album and studio. Because of this, after the release of this album, Michael's father terminated his contract with this studio and signed a new contract with Epic Records.  

Michael's fifth album, Off the Wall, was without exaggeration a breakthrough in his career. In this album, Michael’s special musical style began to stand out, along with more serious song themes, including loneliness, enlightenment, hedonism, and more. Critics around the world gave this album the highest scores, and even today Off the Wall is considered one of the best albums of all time.  

Of course, when we talk about Michael Jackson's success, we just can't help but mention his probably best album, and one of the best albums in the history of the industry - Thriller. This album was released in 1982, and it is difficult to overestimate the importance of the release of this album because even today Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. He not only consolidated the unique style of Michael Jackson but also set a bar for pop music, which few can still surpass. It was in this album that was released such hits like “Beat It”, “Billie Jean,” “Thriller”, “Human Nature”, and others. 

Thriller's popularity simply went beyond what was acceptable. In many countries worldwide, the album has long occupied the first place in popularity and sales. As many as 33 million copies have been sold in the United States alone, which means that in the United States alone, the album has gone 33 times platinum.  

It doesn't make sense to consider all of Michael's albums and awards now because it will take a lot of time, and in any case, it will not make sense. Everyone already knows that Michael Jackson was out of height. And even despite such popularity, there were still many negative moments in his life. Extreme popularity attracts extraordinary attention, which he did not like very much. For various reasons, periodic scandals have always haunted the artist, which negatively affected his physical and psychological health. Unfortunately, in 2009 the singer died. The cause was cardiac arrest, which may have been caused by an overdose of propofol. His death created such a stir that for a long time, the most famous websites and services began to noticeably get laggy. Among them were Google, Wikipedia, and Twitter.  

Although Michael is no longer with us, we can say without a doubt that his songs will be heard everywhere for a very long time, and his fame will not fade because legends never die.