THIS IS HISTORY OF MICHEAL JACKSON IS THE HISTORY OF A FAMOUS ICON THAT CAN NEVER BE FORGOTTEN
Jackson's childhood home in
Gary, Indiana, pictured in March 2010 with floral tributes after his death
Michael Joseph Jackson
[7][8] was born in
Gary, Indiana, near
Chicago, on August 29, 1958.
[9] He was the eighth of ten children in the
Jackson family, a working-class
African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. His mother,
Katherine Esther Jackson (
née Scruse), played clarinet and piano, had aspired to be a
country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at
Sears to support the family. His father,
Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, a former boxer, was a steelworker at
U.S. Steel. Joe played guitar with a local
rhythm and blues band, the Falcons, to supplement the family's income. His father's great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a
Native American medicine man and
US Army scout. Michael grew up with three sisters (
Rebbie,
La Toya, and
Janet) and five brothers (
Jackie,
Tito,
Jermaine,
Marlon, and
Randy). A sixth brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after birth.
Michael had a troubled relationship with his father.
[17] Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped him.
[19] Michael said his father told him he had a "fat nose",
[20] and regularly physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals. He recalled that Joe often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed, ready to physically punish any mistakes.He later credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success.
[17]
Katherine Jackson stated that although whipping is considered abuse in more modern times, it was a common way to discipline children when Michael was growing up.
[23][24] Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon have said that their father was not abusive and that the whippings, which were harder on Michael because he was younger, kept them disciplined and out of trouble.
[25] In an interview with
Oprah Winfrey in 1993, Jackson acknowledged that his youth had been lonely and isolating.
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father which included Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing
congas and
tambourine.
[27] In 1965, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to
the Jackson 5. The following year, the group won a talent show; Michael performed the dance to
Robert Parker's 1965 song "
Barefootin'" and singing lead to
The Temptations' "
My Girl". From 1966 to 1968 they toured the
Midwest; they frequently played at a string of black clubs known as the "
chitlin' circuit" as the opening act for artists such as
Sam & Dave,
the O'Jays,
Gladys Knight, and
Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where
striptease shows were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances.
[30] In August 1967, while touring the
East Coast, the group won a weekly amateur night concert at the
Apollo Theater in
Harlem.
Jackson (center) as a member of the Jackson 5 in 1972
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including their first single "
Big Boy" (1968), for
Steeltown Records, a Gary record label, then signed with
Motown in 1969. They left Gary in 1969 and relocated to Los Angeles, where they continued to record for Motown.
Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer."
[34] The group set a chart record when its first four singles—"
I Want You Back" (1969), "
ABC" (1970), "
The Love You Save" (1970), and "
I'll Be There" (1970)—peaked at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100. In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large house on a two-acre estate in
Encino, California. During this period, Michael transitioned from a child performer into a
teen idol. As he emerged as a solo performer in the early 1970s, he maintained ties to the Jackson 5. Between 1972 and 1975, Michael released four solo studio albums with Motown:
Got to Be There (1972),
Ben (1972),
Music & Me (1973), and
Forever, Michael (1975).
[37] "
Got to Be There" and "
Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did a cover of
Bobby Day's "
Rockin' Robin".
The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black
crossover artists".
[39] Their sales began to decline in 1973, and the members chafed under Motown's refusal to allow them creative input. They made the top five single "
Dancing Machine" in 1974, then left Motown in 1975. Jackson's performance of "Dancing Machine" on
Soul Train popularized the
robot dance.
In June 1975, the Jackson 5 signed with
Epic Records, a subsidiary of
CBS Records, and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time; Jermaine stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this time, wrote songs such as "
Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1979), "
This Place Hotel" (1980), and "
Can You Feel It" (1980).
[27]
Jackson's fifth solo album,
Off the Wall (1979), co-produced by Jackson and Jones, established him as a solo performer. The album helped Jackson move from the
bubblegum pop of his youth to more complex sounds. Songwriters for the album included Jackson,
Rod Temperton,
Stevie Wonder, and
Paul McCartney.
Off the Wall was the first solo album to generate four top 10 entries in the US: "Off the Wall", "
She's Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "
Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "
Rock with You".
[50] The album reached number three on the
Billboard 200 and sold over 20 million copies worldwide.
[51] In 1980, Jackson won three
American Music Awards for his solo work: Favorite Soul/R&B Album, Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".
[52][53] He also won
Billboard Year-End awards for Top Black Artist and Top Black Album, and a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In 1981 Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist.
[54] Jackson felt
Off the Wall should have made a bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release. In 1980, he secured the highest
royalty rate in the music industry: 37 percent of wholesale album profit.
Jackson recorded with
Queen singer
Freddie Mercury from 1981 to 1983, recording demos of "
State of Shock", "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This".
[57] The recordings were intended for an album of duets but, according to Queen's manager
Jim Beach, the relationship soured when Jackson brought a
llama into the recording studio,
[58] and Jackson was upset by Mercury's drug use.
[59] The songs were released in 2014.
[60] Jackson went on to record "State of Shock" with
Mick Jagger for the Jacksons' album
Victory (1984),
[page needed] and Mercury included the solo version of "There Must Be More To Life Than This" on his album
Mr. Bad Guy (1985).
[62] In 1982, Jackson contributed "Someone in the Dark" to the
storybookfor the film
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. The song, produced by Jones, won a Grammy for Best Recording for Children for 1983.
[63]
Jackson's sixth album,
Thriller, was released in late 1982. It earned Jackson seven more Grammys
[63] and eight American Music Awards, and he became the youngest artist to win the Award of Merit.
[64] It was the best-selling album worldwide in 1983,
[65][66] and became the best-selling album of all time in the US
[67] and the
best-selling album of all time worldwide, selling an estimated
66 million copies.
[68] It topped the
Billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and was in the top 10 of the 200 for 80 consecutive weeks. It was the first album to have seven
Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "
Billie Jean", "
Beat It", and "
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'". In December 2015,
Thriller was certified for 30 million shipments by the
RIAA, one of only two albums to do so in the US.
[4] A year later, it was certified at 33× platinum, after
Soundscan added streams and audio downloads to album certifications.
[70][nb 3] Thriller won Jackson and Quincy Jones the Grammy award for Producer of the Year (Non-Classical) for 1983. It also won Album of the Year, with Jackson as the album's artist and Jones as its co-producer, and a Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male, award for Jackson. "Beat It" won Record of the Year, with Jackson as artist and Jones as co-producer, and a Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, award for Jackson. "Billie Jean" won Jackson two Grammy awards, Best R&B Song, with Jackson as its songwriter, and Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male, as its artist.
[63] Thriller also won another Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical in 1984, awarding
Bruce Swedien for his work on the album.
[72] The AMA Awards for 1984 gave Jackson an Award of Merit and AMAs for Favorite Male Artist, Soul/R&B, and Favorite Male Artist, Pop/Rock. "Beat It" won Jackson AMAs for Favorite Video, Soul/R&B, Favorite Video, Pop/Rock, and Favorite Single, Pop/Rock.
Thriller won him AMAs for Favorite Album, Soul/R&B, and Favorite Album, Pop/Rock.
[64][73]
Jackson had the highest royalty rate in the music industry at that point, about $2 for every album sold, and was making record-breaking profits. The videocassette of the documentary
The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller sold over 350,000 copies in a few months. Dolls modeled after Jackson appeared in stores in May 1984 for $12 each.
[77] J. Randy Taraborrelliwrites that "
Thriller stopped selling like a leisure item—like a magazine, a toy, tickets to a hit movie—and started selling like a household staple." In 1985,
The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Longform.
[63] Time described Jackson's influence at that point as "star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style and color too".
[77] The New York Times wrote that "in the world of pop music, there is Michael Jackson and there is everybody else".
[79]
On March 25, 1983, Jackson reunited with his brothers for
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, an NBC television special. The show aired on May 16, 1983, to an estimated audience of
47 million, and featured the Jacksons and other Motown stars.
[80] Jackson's solo performance of "Billie Jean" earned him his first
Emmy nomination.
[81] Wearing a black-
sequined jacket and a golf glove decorated with
rhinestones, he debuted his
moonwalk dance, which
Jeffrey Daniel had taught him three years earlier.Jackson had originally turned down the invitation to the show, believing he had been doing too much television; at the request of Motown founder
Berry Gordy, he performed in exchange for time to do a solo performance.
Rolling Stone reporter Mikal Gilmore called the performance "extraordinary". Jackson's performance drew comparisons to
Elvis Presley's and
the Beatles' appearances on
The Ed Sullivan Show. Anna Kisselgoff of
The New York Times writing in 1988 praised the perfect timing and technique involved in the dance.
[85] Gordy described being "mesmerized" by the performance.
[86]
In November 1983, Jackson and his brothers partnered with
PepsiCo in a $5 million promotional deal that broke records for a celebrity endorsement. The first Pepsi campaign, which ran in the US from 1983 to 1984 and launched its "New Generation" theme, included tour sponsorship, public relations events, and in-store displays. Jackson helped to create the advertisement, and suggested using his song "Billie Jean" as its
jingle with revised lyrics.
[87] Brian J. Murphy, executive VP of branded management at TBA Global, said: "You couldn't separate the tour from the endorsement from the licensing of the music, and then the integration of the music into the Pepsi fabric."
[87]
On January 27, 1984, Michael and other members of the Jacksons filmed a Pepsi commercial overseen by
Phil Dusenberry,
[88] a
BBDO ad agency executive, and
Alan Pottasch, Pepsi's Worldwide Creative Director, at the
Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson's hair on fire, causing
second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated the $1.5 million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center in
Culver City, California; its Michael Jackson Burn Center is named in his honor. Jackson signed a second agreement with Pepsi in the late 1980s for $10 million. The second campaign had a global reach of more than 20 countries and provided financial support for Jackson's
Bad album and 1987–88 world tour.
[87] Jackson had endorsements and advertising deals with other companies, such as
LA Gear,
Suzuki, and
Sony, but none were as significant as his deals with Pepsi.
[87]
On May 14, 1984, President
Ronald Reagan gave Jackson an award for his support of charities that helped people overcome alcohol and drug abuse, and in recognition of his support for the
Ad Council's and the
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's Drunk Driving Prevention campaign. Jackson donated the use of "Beat It" for the campaign's public service announcements.
[91]
Jackson inside the White House with the Reagans
The
Victory Tour of 1984 headlined the Jacksons and showcased Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. It was the last tour he did with his brothers. Following
controversy over the concert's ticket sales, Jackson held a press conference and announced that he would donate his share of the proceeds, an estimated
$3 to 5 million, to charity. His charitable work continued with the release of "
We Are the World" (1985), co-written with
Lionel Richie,
[94]which raised money for the poor in the US and Africa.
[95] It earned $63 million,
[95]and became one of the
best-selling singles of all time, with 20 million copies sold.
[96] It won four Grammys for 1985, including Song of the Year for Jackson and Richie as its writers.
[94] The American Music Awards directors removed the charity song from the competition because they felt it would be inappropriate, but the AMA show in 1986 concluded with a tribute to the song on its first anniversary. The project's creators received two special AMA honors: one for the creation of the song and another for the
USA for Africa idea. Jackson, Jones, and promoter Ken Kragan received special awards for their roles in the song's creation.
[94][97]
Jackson collaborated with Paul McCartney in the early 1980s, and learned that McCartney was making $40 million a year from owning the rights to other people's songs.
[95] By 1983, Jackson had begun buying publishing rights to others' songs, but he was careful with his acquisitions, only bidding on a few of the dozens that were offered to him. Jackson's early acquisitions of
music catalogs and song copyrights such as the
Sly Stone collection included "Everyday People" (1968),
Len Barry's "
1-2-3" (1965), and
Dion DiMucci's "
The Wanderer" (1961) and "
Runaround Sue" (1961).
In 1984
Robert Holmes à Court announced he was selling the
ATV Music Publishing catalog comprising the publishing rights to nearly 4000 songs, including most of the Beatles' material.
[100] In 1981, McCartney had been offered the catalog for £20 million ($40 million).
[95][102] Jackson submitted a bid of $46 million on November 20, 1984.
[100] When Jackson and McCartney were unable to make a joint purchase, McCartney did not want to be the sole owner of the Beatles' songs, and did not pursue an offer on his own.
[102] Jackson's agents were unable to come to a deal, and in May 1985 left talks after having spent more than $1 million and four months of
due diligence work on the negotiations.
[100] In June 1985, Jackson and Branca learned that
Charles Koppelman's and
Marty Bandier's The Entertainment Company had made a tentative offer to buy ATV Music for $50 million; in early August, Holmes à Court contacted Jackson and talks resumed. Jackson's increased bid of $47.5 million was accepted because he could close the deal more quickly, having already completed due diligence.
[100]Jackson also agreed to visit Holmes à Court in Australia, where he would appear on the
Channel Seven Perth Telethon.
[103]Jackson's purchase of ATV Music was finalized on August 10, 1985.
[95][100]
Jackson's skin had been medium-brown during his youth, but from the mid-1980s gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread media coverage, including rumors that he had been
bleaching his skin. According to Taraborrelli, in 1984 Jackson was diagnosed with
vitiligo, which causes white patches on the skin, and had also been skin bleaching. He said that Jackson was diagnosed with
lupus, which was in
remission. Both conditions made Jackson's skin sensitive to sunlight. The treatments for his condition further lightened his skin, and, with the application of pancake makeup to even out blotches, he could appear even paler. Jackson said that he used makeup to control the patchy appearance of his skin, but never purposely bleached his skin. He said that he could not control his vitiligo.
[108]
In his autobiography, Jackson stated he had had two
rhinoplasties and no other facial surgery, other than having had a
dimplecreated in his chin. He said he had lost weight in the early 1980s because of a change in diet and a desire for "a dancer's body". Witnesses reported that he was often dizzy, and speculated he was suffering from
anorexia nervosa. Periods of weight loss became a recurring problem later in his life. During the course of his treatment, Jackson became friendly with his dermatologist,
Arnold Klein, and Klein's nurse
Debbie Rowe. Rowe later became Jackson's second wife and the mother of his first two children. Klein also gave him medical and business advice.
[111]
In 1986, the
tabloids ran a story claiming that he slept in a
hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow aging, and was pictured lying in a glass box. The claim was untrue, and widely cited tabloid reports state that Jackson spread the story himself.
[112] When Jackson bought a chimpanzee named
Bubbles from a laboratory, he was reported as being increasingly detached from reality.
[113] It was reported that Jackson had offered to buy the bones of
Joseph Merrick (the "Elephant Man") and, although the story was untrue, Jackson did not deny it. He initially saw these stories as opportunities for publicity, but stopped leaking them to the press as they became more sensational. The media then began fabricating stories.
[112][116] These stories inspired the nickname "Wacko Jacko", which Jackson came to despise.
[8][117]
Jackson (center) performing in 1988
Jackson's first album in five years,
Bad (1987), was highly anticipated, with the industry expecting another major success.
[123] It produced nine singles, with seven charting in the US. Five of them ("
I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "
Bad", "
The Way You Make Me Feel", "
Man in the Mirror", and "
Dirty Diana") reached number one on the
Billboard Hot 100, the most number-one Hot 100 singles from a single album.
[124] It won the 1988 Grammy for Best Engineered Recording – Non Classical and the 1989 Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "
Leave Me Alone".
[63][72] Jackson won an Award of Achievement at the American Music Awards in 1989 after
Bad generated five number-one singles, became the first album to top the charts in 25 countries and the best-selling album worldwide in 1987 and 1988.
[125][126]By 2012, it had sold between 30 and 45 million copies worldwide.
[127][128]
In 1988, Jackson released his autobiography,
Moonwalk, which took four years to complete. It sold 200,000 copies
[132] and reached the top of
the New York Times bestsellers list. He wrote about his childhood, the abuse from his father, and the Jackson 5, and attributed his changing facial appearance to
puberty, weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hairstyle, and stage lighting. Jackson released a film,
Moonwalker, which featured live footage and short films starring Jackson and
Joe Pesci. Due to financial problems, the film was only released theatrically in Germany; in other markets it was released
direct-to-video. It debuted at the top of the
Billboard Top Music Video Cassette chart, and stayed there for 22 weeks, until it was displaced by
Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues.
Jackson wore a gold-plated military style jacket with belt during the
Bad era
In March 1988, Jackson purchased 2,700 acres (11 km
2) of land near
Santa Ynez, California, to build a new home,
Neverland Ranch, at a cost of $17 million.
[136] He installed several carnival rides, including a
Ferris wheel,
carousel, movie theater and zoo.
[136][137][138] A security staff of 40 patrolled the grounds.
[137] Shortly afterwards, he became the first Westerner to appear in a television advertisement in the
Soviet Union.
Jackson became known as the "
King of Pop"; when
Elizabeth Taylor presented him with the Soul Train Heritage Award in 1989, she called him "the true king of pop, rock and soul," President
George H. W. Bush designated him the White House's "Artist of the Decade".
[141] From 1985 to 1990, Jackson donated $455,000 to the
United Negro College Fund,
[142] and all profits from his single "Man in the Mirror" went to charity. His rendition of "You Were There" at Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th birthday celebration won Jackson a second Emmy nomination.
[81]
In March 1991, Jackson renewed his contract with Sony for $65 million, a record-breaking deal,
[144] beating
Neil Diamond's renewal contract with
Columbia Records.
[145] In 1991, he released his eighth album,
Dangerous, co-produced with
Teddy Riley.
[146] It was certified seven times platinum in the US, and by 2008 had sold 30 million copies worldwide.
[147][148] In the US, the first single, "
Black or White", was the album's highest charting song; it was number one on the
Billboard Hot 100 for seven weeks and achieved similar chart performances worldwide.
[149] The second single, "
Remember the Time", spent eight weeks in the top five in the US, peaking at number three on the
Billboard Hot 100 singles chart. At the end of 1992,
Dangerous was named the best-selling album of the year worldwide and "Black or White" the best-selling single of the year worldwide at the
Billboard Music Awards. Jackson was also named best-selling artist of the 1980s.
[151] In 1993, he performed "Black or White" at the
Soul Train Music Awards in a chair, saying he had suffered an injury in rehearsals. In the UK, "
Heal the World" sold 450,000 copies and spent five weeks at number two in 1992.
Jackson founded the
Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to use the theme park rides, and sent millions of dollars around the globe to help children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. That July, Jackson published his second book,
Dancing the Dream, a collection of poetry. The
Dangerous World Tourran between June 1992 and November 1993, having grossed
$100 million; Jackson performed to 3.5 million people in 70 concerts.
[153] He sold the broadcast rights to the tour to
HBO for $20 million, a record-breaking deal that still stands.
Jackson helped draw public attention to
HIV/AIDS, which was controversial at the time. Following the death of AIDS spokesperson
Ryan White, he pleaded with the
Clinton administration at
Bill Clinton's inaugural gala to give more money to HIV/AIDS charities and research.
[155][156] Jackson visited Africa; on his first stop in Gabon he was greeted by more than 100,000 people, some of them carrying signs that read "Welcome Home Michael".
[157] During his trip to
Ivory Coast, Jackson was crowned "King Sani" by a tribal chief.
[157] He thanked the dignitaries in French and English, signed documents formalizing his kingship, and sat on a golden throne while presiding over ceremonial dances.
[157]
In January 1993, Jackson performed at the
Super Bowl XXVII halftime show in Pasadena, California. The NFL sought big-name talent to keep ratings high during halftime following dwindling audience figures.
[158][159] It was the first Super Bowl whose half-time performance drew greater audience figures than the game. The performance began with Jackson catapulting onto the stage as fireworks went off behind him, followed by four songs: "
Jam", "Billie Jean", "Black or White", and "Heal the World". Jackson's
Dangerous album rose 90 places in the album chart after the performance.
Jackson gave a 90-minute interview to Winfrey on February 10, 1993, his second television interview since 1979. He spoke of his childhood abuse at the hands of his father; he believed he had missed out on much of his childhood, and said that he often cried from loneliness. He denied tabloid rumors that he had bought the bones of the Elephant Man, slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber, or bleached his skin, and stated for the first time that he had vitiligo. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its release.
In January 1993, Jackson won three
American Music Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album (
Dangerous), Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Remember the Time"), and was the first to win the International Artist Award of Excellence.
[160][161] In February, he won the "Living Legend Award" at the
35th Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles.
Dangerous was nominated for Best Vocal Performance (for "Black or White"), Best R&B Vocal Performance ("Jam") and Best R&B Song ("Jam"), and Swedien and Riley won the award for Best Engineered – Non Classical.
[72]
In June 1995, Jackson released the double album
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The first disc,
HIStory Begins, is a
greatest hits album (reissued in 2001 as
Greatest Hits: HIStory, Volume I). The second disc,
HIStory Continues, contains 13 original songs and two cover versions. The album debuted at number one on the charts and has been certified for seven million shipments in the US.
[170] It is the best-selling multi-disc album of all time, with 20 million copies (40 million units) sold worldwide.
[149][171] HIStory received a Grammy nomination for
Album of the Year.
The first single released from
HIStory was "
Scream/Childhood". "Scream", a duet with Jackson's youngest sister Janet, protests the media's treatment of Jackson during the
1993 child abuse allegations. The single had the highest debut on the
Billboard Hot 100 at number five, and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals". The second single, "
You Are Not Alone", holds the Guinness world record for the first song to debut at number one on the
BillboardHot 100 chart.
[173] It sold well and received a Grammy nomination for "Best Pop Vocal Performance".
In late 1995, Jackson was rushed to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for a televised performance, caused by a stress-related
panic attack. In November, Jackson merged his ATV Music catalog with Sony's music publishing division, creating
Sony/ATV Music Publishing. He retained ownership of half the company, earning $95 million up front as well as the
rights to more songs.
[175][176] "
Earth Song" was the third single released from
HIStory, and topped the
UK Singles Chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995; it sold a million copies, making it Jackson's best-selling single in the UK. When the
Anti-Defamation League and other groups complained that the lyrics of "
They Don't Care About Us" were
antisemitic, Jackson released a version with revised words.
[177] In 1996, Jackson won a Grammy for Best Music Video, Short Form for "Scream" and an American Music Award for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.
[63][178]
Jackson promoted
HIStory with the
HIStory World Tour, from September 7, 1996 to October 15, 1997. He performed 82 concerts in five continents, 35 countries and 58 cities to over 4.5 million fans, his most attended tour. It grossed
$165 million. During the tour, in Sydney, Australia, Jackson married Debbie Rowe, a dermatology nurse, who was six months pregnant with his first child. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister
Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998. Rowe later stated that she had never had sex with Jackson.
[168] Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, and Rowe conceded custody of the children, with an $8 million settlement. In 2004, after the
second child abuse allegations against Jackson, she returned to court to reclaim custody. The suit was settled in 2006.
[182]
From October 1997 to September 2001, Jackson worked on his tenth solo album,
Invincible. The album cost
$30 million to record, not including promotional expenditures.
[185] In June 1999, Jackson joined
Luciano Pavarotti for a
War Child benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show raised a million dollars for the
refugees of Kosovo, FR Yugoslavia, and additional funds for the children of Guatemala.
[186] Later that month, Jackson organized a series of "Michael Jackson & Friends" benefit concerts in Germany and Korea. Other artists involved included
Slash,
The Scorpions,
Boyz II Men,
Luther Vandross,
Mariah Carey,
A. R. Rahman,
Prabhu Deva Sundaram,
Shobana,
Andrea Bocelli, and Luciano Pavarotti. The proceeds went to the
Nelson Mandela Children's Fund, the
Red Cross and
UNESCO.
[187] From August 1999 to 2000, he lived in New York City at 4
East 74th Street.
[188] At the turn of the century, Jackson won an American Music Award as Artist of the 1980s.
[189] In 2000,
Guinness World Records recognized him for supporting 39 charities, more than any other entertainer.
[190]
In September 2001, two
30th Anniversary concerts were held at Madison Square Garden to mark Jackson's 30th year as a solo artist. Jackson performed with his brothers for the first time since 1984. The show also featured artists including
Mýa,
Usher,
Whitney Houston,
NSYNC,
Destiny's Child,
Monica, Luther Vandross, and Slash. After 9/11, Jackson helped organize the
United We Stand: What More Can I Give benefit concert at
RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C. on October 21, 2001. Jackson performed "
What More Can I Give" as the finale.
The release of
Invincible was preceded by a dispute between Jackson and his record label, Sony Music Entertainment. Jackson had expected the licenses to the masters of his albums to revert to him in the early 2000s, after which he would be able to promote the material however he pleased and keep the profits, but clauses in the contract set the revert date years into the future. Jackson discovered that the attorney who had represented him in the deal had also been representing Sony. Sony had been pressuring him to sell his share in its music catalog venture, and he feared that Sony might have had a
conflict of interest, since if Jackson's career failed, he would have had to sell his share of the catalog cheaply.Jackson sought an early exit from his contract.
Invincible was released on October 30, 2001. It was Jackson's first full-length album in six years, and the last album of original material he released in his lifetime. It debuted at number one in 13 countries and went on to sell 6 million copies worldwide, receiving double-platinum certification in the US.
[147][149] Sales for
Invincible were lower than Jackson's previous releases, due in part to the record label dispute and the lack of promotion or tour, and its release at a bad time for the music industry.
[193]
On January 22, 2002, Jackson won his 22nd American Music Award for Artist of the Century.
[194] Later that year, an anonymous
surrogate mother gave birth to his third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (nicknamed "Blanket"), who had been conceived by
artificial insemination. On November 20, Jackson briefly held Blanket over the railing of his Berlin hotel room, four stories above ground level, prompting widespread criticism in the media. Jackson apologized for the incident, calling it "a terrible mistake".
[195]
Jackson alleged in July 2002 that Sony Music chairman
Tommy Mottola was a "devil" and "racist" who did not support his African-American artists, and only used them for his own gain. He charged that Mottola had called his colleague
Irv Gotti a "fat
nigger".
[196] Sony refused to renew Jackson's contract, and claimed that a
$25 million promotional campaign had failed because Jackson refused to tour in the US.
[185]
Following a documentary made in 2002 and screened in 2003 in which Jackson discussed his practice of sharing a bed with young boys, he was
arrested and tried for child molestation. He was acquitted in June 2005.
[168] After the trial, he largely withdrew from public life.
[197]
On November 17, 2003, three days before his arrest, Sony had released
Number Ones, a compilation of his songs on CD and DVD. In the US, the album was certified triple platinum by the RIAA; in the UK it was certified six times platinum for shipments of at least 1.2 million units.
[147][198]
In March 2006, Jackson failed to make repayments on a $270 million loan secured against his music publishing holdings, which were making him
$75 million a year.
[199] Bank of Americasold the debt to
Fortress Investments. Sony proposed a restructuring deal which would give them a future option to buy half of Jackson's stake in their jointly-owned publishing company, leaving Jackson with a 25% stake.
[176] The main house at Neverland Ranch was closed as a cost-cutting measure.
[200] Jackson agreed to a Sony-backed refinancing deal in April 2006; the details were not made public.
[201]
In early 2006, it was announced that Jackson had signed a contract with a
Bahrain-based startup, Two Seas Records; nothing came of the deal, and Two Seas CEO
Guy Holmes later stated that it had never been finalized.
[202][203] That October,
Fox News entertainment reporter Roger Friedman said that Jackson had been recording at a studio in rural
County Westmeath, Ireland. It was not known at the time what Jackson was working on, or who had paid for the sessions, since his publicist had recently issued a statement claiming that he had left Two Seas.
[203][204]
In November 2006, Jackson invited an
Access Hollywood camera crew into the studio in Westmeath, and
MSNBC reported that he was working on a new album, produced by
will.i.am.
[149] During his period in Ireland he sought out
Patrick Treacy for cosmetic treatment after reading about his experience with HLA fillers and his charitable work in Africa.
[205] Treacy became Jackson's personal
dermatologist.
[206]Jackson performed at the
World Music Awards in London on November 15, 2006, and accepted a Diamond Award for selling over
100 million records.
[149][207] He returned to the US in December 2006 to attend
James Brown's funeral in
Augusta, Georgia, where he gave one of the eulogies, calling Brown his "greatest inspiration".
[208]
In 2007, Jackson and Sony bought another music publishing company,
Famous Music LLC, formerly owned by
Viacom. This deal gave him the rights to songs by
Eminem and
Beck, among others.
[209][210] In March 2007, Jackson gave a brief interview to the
Associated Press in Tokyo in which he said he had no regrets about his lifelong career.
[211] That month, Jackson visited a US Army post in Japan,
Camp Zama, to greet over 3,000 troops and their families.
[212][213]
In September 2007, Jackson was still working on his next album, which he never completed.
[214] In 2008, Jackson and Sony released
Thriller 25 to mark the 25th anniversary of the original
Thriller. Two remixes were released as singles: "
The Girl Is Mine 2008" (with will.i.am), based on an early
demo version of the song without Paul McCartney, and "
Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' 2008" (with Akon).
[215] For Jackson's 50th birthday, Sony BMG released a series of greatest hits albums,
King of Pop. Different versions were released in various countries, based on polls of local fans.
[216] King of Pop reached the top 10 in most countries where it was issued, and also sold well as an import in other countries, including the US.
[217]
An aerial view of part of Jackson's 2,800-acre (11 km
2) Neverland Valley Ranch near Los Olivos, California, showing the rides
In late 2008, Fortress Investments threatened to foreclose on Neverland Ranch, which Jackson had used as collateral for loans running into tens of millions of dollars. Fortress sold Jackson's debts to
Colony Capital LLC. In November, Jackson transferred Neverland Ranch's title to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, a joint venture between Jackson and Colony Capital LLC. The deal cleared Jackson's debt and earned him an additional
$35 million. At the time of his death, Jackson still owned a stake in Neverland/Sycamore Valley.
[218][219] Jackson arranged to sell a large collection of memorabilia through
Julien's Auction House. The auction was scheduled to take place between April 22 and 25, 2009. An exhibition of the lots opened on April 14, but Jackson canceled the auction.
[197]
In March 2009, at a press conference at London's
O2 Arena, Jackson announced a series of comeback concerts titled
This Is It. The shows were to be his first major tour since the HIStory World Tour finished in 1997. Jackson suggested he would retire after the shows. The initial plan was for 10 concerts in London, followed by shows in Paris, New York City and
Mumbai. Randy Phillips, president and chief executive of AEG Live, predicted that the first 10 dates would earn Jackson £50 million.
[220] The London residency was increased to 50 dates after record-breaking ticket sales: over one million were sold in less than two hours.
[221] The concerts were to run from July 13, 2009 to March 6, 2010. Jackson rehearsed in Los Angeles in the weeks leading up to the tour under the direction of choreographer
Kenny Ortega. Most rehearsals took place at the
Staples Center, owned by AEG.
[222]
Fans placed flowers and notes on Jackson's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on the day of his death.
On June 25, 2009, less than three weeks before the first show was due to begin in London, with all concerts sold out, Jackson died from a
cardiac arrest.
[223] Conrad Murray, his personal physician, had given Jackson various medications to help him sleep at his rented mansion in
Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Paramedics received a
911call at 12:22 pm
Pacific time (19:22 UTC), and arrived three minutes later.
[224][225]Jackson was not breathing and
CPR was performed.
[226] Resuscitation efforts continued en route to
Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for more than an hour after arriving there at 1:13 pm (20:13 UTC), but were unsuccessful.
[227][228] He was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm Pacific time (21:26 UTC).
[229][230]
Jackson had taken
propofol,
lorazepam, and
midazolam;
[231] his death was caused by a propofol overdose.
[232][228] News of his death spread quickly online, causing websites to slow down and
crash from user overload,
[233] and putting unprecedented strain
[234] on services and websites including
Google,
[235] AOL Instant Messenger,
[234] Twitter, and
Wikipedia.
[235] Overall,
web traffic rose by between 11% and 20%.
[236][237] MTV and
BET aired
marathons of Jackson's music videos.
[238] Jackson specials aired on television stations around the world.
[239] MTV briefly returned to its original music video format,
[240] and aired hours of Jackson's music videos, with live news specials featuring reactions from MTV personalities and other celebrities.
[241]
Jackson's tomb in the Holly Terrace of the Great Mausoleum, Forest Lawn Glendale
Jackson's memorial was held on July 7, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, preceded by a private family service at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park's Hall of Liberty. Tickets to the memorial were distributed via lottery; over 1.6 million fans applied for tickets during the two-day application period. The 8,750 recipients were drawn at random, and each received two tickets.
[242] The memorial service was one of the most watched events in
streaminghistory,
[243] with an estimated US audience of 31.1 million.
[244]
Mariah Carey, Stevie Wonder, Lionel Richie,
John Mayer,
Jennifer Hudson, Usher, Jermaine Jackson, and
Shaheen Jafargholi performed at the event. Berry Gordy and
Smokey Robinsongave eulogies, and
Queen Latifah read "We Had Him", a poem written for the occasion by
Maya Angelou.
[245] Al Sharpton received a standing ovation with cheers when he told Jackson's children, "Wasn't nothing strange about your daddy. It was strange what your daddy had to deal with. But he dealt with it anyway."
[246] Jackson's 11-year-old daughter Paris Katherine, speaking publicly for the first time, wept as she addressed the crowd.
[247][248] The Rev. Lucious Smith provided a closing prayer.
[249] Jackson's body was entombed on September 3, 2009, at
Forest Lawn Memorial Park in
Glendale, California.
[250]
The first posthumous Jackson song, "
This Is It", co-written in the 1980s with
Paul Anka, was released in October 2009. The surviving Jackson brothers reunited to record backing vocals.
[272] On October 28, 2009, Sony released a documentary film about the rehearsals,
Michael Jackson's This Is It.
[273] Despite a limited two-week engagement, it became the highest-grossing documentary or concert film ever, with earnings of more than
$260 million worldwide.
[274] Jackson's estate received 90% of the profits.
[275] The film was accompanied by a
compilation album of the same name.
[276] At the
2009 American Music Awards, Jackson won four posthumous awards, two for him and two for his album
Number Ones, bringing his total American Music Awards to 26.
[277][278]
On March 16, 2010, following a surge in sales after Jackson's death,
Sony Music Entertainment, spearheaded by its
Columbia/Epic Label Group division, signed a $250 million deal with the Jackson estate to extend their distribution rights to Jackson's back catalog until at least 2017; it had been due to expire in 2015. It was the most expensive music contract for a single artist in history.
[279][280] They also agreed to release ten albums of previously unreleased material and new collections of released work.
[279][281] In late 2010, Sony released the first posthumous album,
Michael and the promotional single "
Breaking News". Some doubt was cast upon whether the voice on some tracks was genuinely Jackson's.
[282]
In 2017, Sony Music Entertainment extended its deal with the estate,
[292] and in July 2018, Sony/ATV bought the estate's stake in EMI for $287.5 million.
[293]
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