Born the seventh in a family of nine
children in Gary, Indiana, Jackson was launched into show business
when his father, a steel-mill worker by trade, assembled a singing
group called the Jackson Five with 5-year-old Michael and his four
older brothers. Initially, Joseph included Michael in the lineup as a
novelty, but it became immediately obvious that his wee son had
prodigious musical abilities: his voice possessed a maturity belied by
his young years, and his crowd-charming charisma superseded that of
most seasoned entertainers. Buoyed by the young prodigy's talents, the
Jackson Five moved quickly from local talent contests to a recording
contract with Motown. The group generated six top-five singles between
1969 and 1971 — including "I Want You Back" and
"ABC" — and would remain a hit-making machine throughout
the '70s. As if the pressure of fronting a chart-topping band weren't
enough for the adolescent, Jackson was soon tapped by Motown to do
solo recordings.
The label was assured it had a superstar in the making, when, in 1971,
Jackson's first on-his-own single, "I'll Be There," hit No.
4 on the charts. In addition to his work with his brothers, Jackson
recorded more hit solo singles — including "Rockin' Robin"
and "Ben" — and solo albums for Motown; in 1976, he and
the Jackson Five signed with Epic. During the late '70s, Jackson made
a brief foray into film, starring opposite Diana Ross in The Wiz
(1978), an African-American update of The Wizard of Oz. The project
was unexceptional, save for the fact that it introduced Jackson to
legendary producer Quincy Jones, who arranged and conducted the film's
score. Jones and Jackson collaborated on the singer's next solo
project, Off the Wall (1979), an album that transformed the child star
into an adult superstar.
Propelled by such No. 1 hits as "Don't Stop 'Til You Get
Enough" and "Rock With You," the disc sold ten million
copies and was barraged with critical praise for its barrier-busting
blend of soul and rock and its good-time boogie vibe. (Rolling Stone's
notoriously hard-to-please critic, David Marsh, proclaimed Off the
Wall "a masterpiece of modern record making.") It seemed
impossible that the ever-blossoming artist could top himself, but
that's exactly what he did with the 1982 release of a little record he
called Thriller. As history notes, the Jones-produced Thriller sold
upwards of 40 million copies (more than any album before or since) and
received critical kudos and an unprecedented eight Grammy awards.
The album charted a record six top-ten singles, beginning in November
1982 with the Paul McCartney duet, "The Girl Is Mine," and
ending a whopping 16 months later with the title track. Jackson
sustained Thriller's momentum with the help of music videos, which
were gaining rominence thanks to the newborn MTV network. Jackson's
brilliant song-and-dance videos for "Billie Jean,"
"Beat It," and "Thriller" not only helped pioneer
the medium (and break MTV's color barrier, for that atter), but they
drew praise from such esteemed hoofers as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.
Jackson hit a professional zenith in the summer of 1984, when he
reteamed with his brothers (then recording as the Jacksons) for the
aptly titled Victory tour. Though Jackson's next albums, Bad (1987)
and Dangerous (1991), both topped the charts and sold millions,
somehow, the excitement had ebbed. The lyrics, "It don't matter
if you're black or white," struck an ironic chord, considering
that the singer was obviously becoming ever more Caucasian-looking,
thanks to plastic surgery and gobs of make-up. His rapidly altering
appearance wasn't the only thing giving folks pause: perception of the
once unimpeachable entertainer shifted from a judgment of forgivable
eccentricity to one of downright weirdness as more stories of his odd
habits like the fact that he kept a coffin, white mannequins, and a
shrine to Elizabeth Taylor in his private quarters.
In 1993, Jackson consented to a rare interview with Oprah Winfrey. A
huge prime-time audience tuned in to hear Jackson discuss his evolving
appearance (which he attributed to a skin pigmentation deficiency and
"only two" plastic surgery procedures), his romantic life
(he named Brooke Shields as a girlfriend), and his Peter Pan-like
existence at his Neverland ranch and amusement park near Los Angeles.
The interview succeeded in making Jackson seem human.Jackson turned a
dramatic personal corner in May 1994, when he married Lisa Marie
Presley, Elvis's daughter, in a secret ceremony in the Dominican
Republic. Many saw this surprise move as a blatant P.R. bid to repair
a poor image; others found it touching and only fitting that modern
music's most prominent families be united in holy matrimony.
Jackson subsequently released an ambitious double album of past hits
and new songs called HIStory (1995). It received mixed reviews —
praise for the oldies, pans for the new tracks — and sales were
disappointing by Jacksonian standards, despite a publicity blitz that
went way over the top. The campaign included a prime-time interview
with Diane Sawyer of ABC News, during which Jackson and Presley
insisted that their marriage was real . All that good lovin' aside,
the union lasted but a scant 18 months. However, another marriage was
in the cards for Jackson. In November 1996, Jackson announced that his
friend Deborah Rowe (an assistant to his dermatologist) was carrying
his child. The couple denied all tabloid reports that Jackson was
merely renting Rowe's womb and that she was artificially inseminated.
As proof of their love, Jackson and Rowe were married in Australia not
long after the pregnancy became public knowledge. Three months later,
Rowe gave birth to Prince Michael Jackson Jr. Daughter Paris Mich
ael Katherine was born in the spring of 1998.
The couple announced their mutual decision to divorce in fall
1999.Jackson's 1997 album, the part-new, part-remix Blood on the Dance
Floor,suggested that the King of Pop is still hung up on his '80s
glory days. Four years later, Jacko was back with a new album,
Invincible, and a tribute concert in Madison Square Garden, in which a
range of celebrities — from Whitney Houston to a Marlon Brando —
helped him celebrate 30 years as a solo entertainer.
Even Michael's brothers turned out to honor their more-famous sibling,
although the event was not without its share of controversy and
sibling rivalry. In the aftermath of the horrific terrorist attacks of
Sept. 11, 2001, Jackson announced plans to record and release an
all-star "We Are the World"-like single, with the aim of
raising $50 million for the survivors and families of the victims. He
enlisted the likes of Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, and the
Backstreet Boys for the project.
Artist(Band):Michael Jackson
Its number of michael jackson's album seling
1. off the wall is 15 million
2. thriller is over 56 million(biggest seling album ever)
3. bad is 25 million
4. dangerous is 37 million
5. histoty is 15 x 2 cd is 30 million
6. blood on the dance floor is 7 million(biggest seling remix album)
7. invincible is 10 million(michael say in reuters)
