Onto the music scene of the 80s came a young man who danced backwards. With ‘Moon Walk’ began the long walk of a musical giant, who with his amazing footwork made the music world sit up and take note.
Michael Joseph Jackson, the seventh son of an ordinary black steelworker, arrived in style and took the pop music world by storm. He was the first black artist to find stardom on MTV.
His long, illustrious walk was never on easy ground. The journey that started on August 29, 1958, from Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago, Illinois, ended on June 25, 2009, at his Bel Air home, off Sunset Boulevard.
He was born to Joseph Walter and Katherine Esther and debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11 as a member of The Jackson 5. He began a solo career in 1971.
Truly the ‘King of Pop’, as he was referred to, five of his solo studio albums are among the world’s best-selling records - Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and History (1995). A lot of the popularity of the then new TV music channel MTV is attributed to the magic of Michael Jackson.
He revolutionised the music video concept into an art form that found instant acceptance with the young followers of MTV.
His dramatic music videos, ‘Beat It’, ‘Billie Jean’ and ‘Thriller’ helped MTV to shoot to prominence and generated a huge fan following for MJ. The music video ‘Black or White’, where the relatively new technology of morphing was used to perfection, and ‘Scream’ cemented his place at the top of the musical charts at a time when the popularity of singers was going up and down like a yo-yo.
Another factor that made Michael Jackson an instant heartthrob of millions was his amazing footwork and body movements on stage. Especially unique and spectacular were his physically complicated dance techniques, ‘Moonwalk’ and ‘Robot’. The raw passion as he sang, his signature costumes, his unique hair style, all contributed to an image of an artist totally passionate, totally in love with music and this found resonance in the hearts of all his fans. He had a distinct voice and style and this influenced many hip-hop, pop and contemporary R&B artists.
He married Deborah Jeanne Rowe, and they have a son, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, also known as Prince, and a daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson.
He was briefly married to Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of yet another musical legend, Elvis Presley.
Jackson always made news, both good and bad, and was on a comeback trail after years of headlines about his child molestation charges, about his plastic surgery and his habit of wearing facemasks. The music world was eagerly looking forward to his 50 sell-out concerts at London’s 02 arena scheduled from July 2009 to March 2010. Sony BMG released a compilation album, ‘King of Pop’, in various countries to celebrate his 50th birthday and it is yet to be released in the US.
He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, twice became the ‘Most Successful Entertainer of All Time’, according to the Guinness Book of World Records, won 13 Grammy awards and 13 No 1 singles in his solo career which is a record in itself.
The music world has lost an artist who walked tall and left imprints on the hearts of music lovers all over the world. His inimitable style has surely left a huge musical void that will remain forever.
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