Life And Legacy Of Michael Jackson
“If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave this world knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with. ” - Michael J. Jackson
The world wasn’t ready for what they were about to witness. Michael Jackson was going to change the history of music and entertainment. Michael Jackson lived to be the most iconic performer of all time and had more number 1 hits than anyone else in the entertainment business. From winning 8 Grammys in one night to having an amusement park as a house, Michael Jackson did it all. Many people thought that The King of Pop was a bizarre man who bleached his skin and slept in oxygen chambers but the truth is, he didn’t do any of that. Michael Jackson was accused of many things he didn’t do and most of his life he had to deal with the terrible lies of the press. The King of Pop had a crazy life but what mattered the most to him was for the world to continue his legacy, his music, dance, short films, performances, art, poetry, and inventions.
On August 29, 1958, Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana. Michael Jackson had 9 siblings and they were all musically talented. With their musical talent, Joseph Jackson would create the Jackson 5. Before, The Jackson 5 was created, it was the Jackson 4 since Michael Jackson wasn’t yet in the band. Joseph Jackson decided that Michael’s brother Jermaine was the Lead singer because Joseph refused to listen to Michael Jackson sing. Until one day, Katherine begged Joseph to listen to him while young Michael was making his bed. From that day on, Michael Jackson was the lead singer of the group that was now the Jackson 5.
As a baby, Michael Jackson would often dance to the sound of the washing machine. Michael’s mom found this amusing until a couple of years later, when he could perfectly dance like James Brown at just 9 years old. Michael and his brothers were poor most of their early childhood, with only 2 bedrooms in the house and one bathroom, all 9 siblings would have to live in such a small home. Joseph Jackson needed money to support his family and working at a steel mill would not do the job. Joseph decided that he was going to form a band out of his children. Joseph made his children work hard and would sometimes even hurt them if they didn’t sing or dance perfectly. Michael Jackson was the star of the group and everyone knew it, even Joseph. Michael Jackson began his journey in the Jackson 5, making hit after hit on the radio, the Jackson 5 was now a worldwide known boy band. The Jacksons 5’s successes took them from a 2 bedroom home, to living in Las Vegas. The Jackson 5 was no longer a bubblegum pop boy band, but a successful band in the Motown Record Label. In 1979, Michael Jackson released his first solo album. This was a scary decision for Michael to make since Joseph didn’t want him to leave the band. Michael’s album “Off The Wall” was produced by Quincy Jones and became a huge success. Michael met Quincy Jones when he was casted as the scarecrow in the remake of “The Wizard of Oz” also known as the “Wiz. ” Some of the big hits were “Don’t stop till you get enough, Off The Wall, She’s Out Of My Life, and Rock With You. ” This was just the beginning of Michael’s solo career and he knew it.
Thriller was Michael’s 2nd solo album and this album changed the history of music. Michael Jackson worked hard on this album and made sure it was perfect. Michael was a perfectionist, 'I'm never pleased with anything, I'm a perfectionist, it's part of who I am. ' Thriller wasn’t just a good album, it was the best-selling album of all time. Thriller sold 100 million albums worldwide and his song “Thriller” was played on the radio number 1 for 30 weeks straight. Michael won 8 Grammys for it in one night. That’s the most Grammys anyone has won in one night. Just at 25 years old, Michael had done so much and more was yet to come.
Michael’s 3rd album “Bad” wasn’t as successful but it was also one of the best albums of all time. The album didn’t win a single Grammy and this upset Michael a lot. He even cried after because he was so upset that his hard work wasn’t awarded. In that album was Smooth Criminal, Bad, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You, and The Way You Make Me Feel. At this time, Michael was the biggest star at the time and with this came the price of fame. At this time, Michael’s appearance had changed a bit and people began to write lies about him in the press such as He bleached his skin, he sleeps in an oxygen chamber, he operated his nose 40 times. Michael Jackson’s skin turned white because he had a skin condition called Vitiligo which destroys the pigmentation of the skin. None of these things were true and these things that the media said about him hurt him, haunted him, and destroyed him.
In 1991, Michael Jackson’s album “Dangerous” was released and it was successful and it even won a Grammy, AMA Award, Soul Train Award, and a Billboard Music Award. Michael’s dancing was what captivated the public mostly at this time. By this time he had created and perfected moves. Some moves already existed and some he created himself such as the toe stand and the leg kick. Believe it or not, the Moonwalk was not created by Michael Jackson but by Jeffrey Daniels and taught to Michael Jackson By Michael “Boogaloo Shrimp” Chambers. He also performed at the Super Bowl in 1993 and the performance was legendary when he sang “Jam, Black or White, Billie Jean, and Heal The World. In this halftime performance, Michael was able to bring the world together by having everyone in the audience put up a sign and the mirage ended up looking like children from different races, countries, and religions holding hands and uniting.
Michael Jackson’s career became controversial in 1993 when he was accused falsely of molesting a young boy. Michael Jackson loved children and loved helping them and when he heard about this news, he broke down and cried. His life would never be the same after this and Jordy Chandler was the boy who accused Michael of this terrible lie. The young boy’s father was recorded saying, “This man is going to be humiliated beyond belief. He will not believe what is going to happen to him, beyond his worst nightmares. He will not sell one more record. If I go through with this, I will win big time. I will get everything I want. They will be destroyed forever…” This is real proof that Jordan Chandler’s father was an evil man who was only greedy for an innocent man’s money. Michael said once, “Lies run sprints, but the truth runs marathons. ” This was true and when Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009, Evan Chandler, the boy’s father, committed suicide some time later for lying and destroying Michael Jackson’s life.
Michael Jackson was a man who helped the world in many ways and he loved this planet dearly. Not wanting to harm anyone or kill, only to love and bring the world joy. Michael Jackson traveled the world to help people in need and help this broken planet. Michael Jackson was awarded by Nelson Mandela for being a passionate humanitarian. Michael Jackson won countless awards for humanitarian of the year and donated more than 500 million dollars to charity. He holds the Guinness world record for donated maximum amount of money as an entertainer. Michael Jackson was bashed for things he didn’t do and he just wanted to bring joy and happiness to the world. This energy he had attracted billions of people and that is why he was and still is the greatest entertainer of all time.
In 2009, the world would experience the biggest loss of all time. June 25, 2009, 2:23 p. m, Holmby Hills, Los Angeles, C. A, Michael Joseph Jackson, 49 years old, had died. The world stopped. People didn’t know how to react and couldn’t believe what happened. Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, had died. This day made people grieve and cry for a man who changed history. Everything stopped and even Twitter shut down because so many people were talking about this heartbreaking tragedy. Michael even had a tour coming up called “This Is It. ” Which was ironic because he never lived to perform again. The This Is It tour wouldn’t have been a normal tour. Michael Jackson was going to make this the best tour of all time. Michael Jackson died but his legacy never will.
