Michael Jackson - A Global Legacy
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an
African-American recording artist, entertainer and businessman. The seventh child of the
Jackson family, he made his debut as an entertainer in 1968 as a member of
The Jackson 5. He then began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group, and that successful career led to him being dubbed the "
King of Pop" in subsequent years. Jackson's 1982 album
Thriller remains the
world's best-selling album of all time, and four of his other solo
studio albums are among the world's best-selling records:
Off the Wall (1979),
Bad (1987),
Dangerous (1991) and
HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995).
In the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in American popular music and culture. He was the first African American entertainer to amass a strong crossover following on MTV, with videos such as "Beat It", "Billie Jean" and "Thriller"—widely credited with transforming the music video from a promotional tool into an art form—bringing fame to the relatively new channel. Videos such as "Black or White" and "Scream" made Jackson an enduring staple on MTV well into the 1990s. Beyond his success on television, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, with his elaborate stage performances. His distinctive musical sound and vocal style influenced many hip hop, pop music and contemporary R&B artists across several generations.
Jackson donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes through his Heal the World Foundation, charity singles, and support of 39 charities. Other aspects of his personal life, including his often changing appearances and eccentric behavior, generated significant controversy that damaged his public image. Though he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993, the criminal investigation was closed due to lack of evidence and Jackson was not charged. The singer had experienced health concerns since the early 1990s along with conflicting reports regarding the state of his finances since the late 1990s. Jackson married twice and fathered three children, actions which caused further controversy. In 2005, Jackson was tried and acquitted of different sexual abuse allegations and several other charges.
One of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, his other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—thirteen Grammy Awards, thirteen number one singles in his solo career, and the sale of 750 million records worldwide. At the time of his death, Jackson was preparing for This Is It, a series of 50 concerts that would have been held at The O2 arena in London, beginning July 13, 2009.
Michael Jackson 1st ever record signing for his new album "Invincible" Virgin Mega Store in Time Square New York City, New York November 7, 2001
Michael Jackson The 16th Annual Rock-n-roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony Waldorf Astoria Hotel New York City, New York March 19, 2001
Michael Jackson's 30th Anniversary Celebration - Show Madison Square Garden New York City, New York October 9, 2001
* List of Awards received by M.J. *
Michael Jackson was an American recording artist, songwriter, entertainer, and businessman. He debuted on the professional music scene at the age of 11, as a member of The Jackson 5, and began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group. Referred to as the "King of Pop" in subsequent years, five of his solo studio albums have become some of the world's best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).
Thriller has remained the biggest selling album of all time with reported sales of 109 million and a Recording Industry Association of America certification of 28 million units.
Through his group, solo, and family work, he became one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. Jackson's other achievements include 13 Guinness World Records—including one for "Most Successful Entertainer of All Time"—19 Grammy Awards, 22 American Music Awards, 12 World Music Awards and the sale of over 750 million units worldwide. Winning numerous awards for his humanitarian endeavors, the singer has been honoured by two Presidents of the United States. He has also been named as the artist of "the Decade", "Generation", "Century" and "Millennium" and was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002. He died on June 25, 2009 at age 50 after a cardiac arrest.
* M.J.'s Records and Achievements *
- Jackson had nine platinum singles in the United States, trailing only Elvis Presley (27) and Mariah Carey (10). Rihanna also has 9 platinum singles, which are only calculated by the RIAA for a fee, upon request.
- Jackson had 16 gold singles in the United States, behind only Elvis Presley (54), Madonna (26), The Beatles (24), Mariah Carey (23), Janet Jackson (21), Whitney Houston (18), Elton John (17) and The Temptations (17).
- Jackson's Thriller remained at number one for thirty-seven weeks, the longest-ever stay by a non-soundtrack album and second only to West Side Story.
- Thriller spent a record 80 consecutive weeks, more than a year and a half, in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. It was the first of only three albums to remain on the Top 10 for more than a year (along with Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill and Celine Dion's Falling into You).
- "Thriller" is the best-selling al bum in U.S. history, at 50 million.
- Thriller is the only album in the United States to have sold more copies than any other in two separate years, topping the sales charts in 1983 and 1984.
- Four of Jackson's albums, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, and Invincible, debuted at number one in the United States.
- Jackson was the first artist to have four Top 10 singles from one album (Off the Wall).
- Jackson was the first artist to have seven Top 10 singles from one album (Thriller), a feat matched only by his sister Janet and Bruce Springsteen.
- Jackson was the first artist to simultaneously have the number one album and number one single on Billboard's Pop Charts and Black Charts.
- Jackson was the first artist in the 1980s to have two simultaneous Top 5 hits ("Beat It" and "Billie Jean" on April 16, 1983).
- Jackson is the only artist to have five number one hits from one LP, Bad ("Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", and "Dirty Diana").
- Jackson had nine number one singles in the 1980s, more than any other artist during the decade.
- Jackson was the first artist to have a song debut as high as #5 on the Hot 100 ("Scream" in 1995).
- Jackson was the first artist to ever have a song debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 ("You Are Not Alone").
- Jackson's album Bad remained in the t op five of the Billboard 200 for 38 weeks, longer than any other album to date.
- Jackson has had 13 number-one singles on Billboard's Hot 100 singles charts, trailing only The Beatles (20), Mariah Carey (18) and Elvis Presley (17).
- Jackson had 28 top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, trailing only The Beatles (29), Elvis Presley (36), and Madonna (37).
- Jackson had 37 top 40 hits on the Hot 100.
- Michael Jackson had 13 number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts, and 1 number one collaboration, "Say Say Say", featuring Paul McCartney.
- Michael Jackson had 29 Top 10 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 charts.
- Michael Jackson had 13 number on e hits on the Billboard R&B charts.
- With 11.5 million copies, Michael Jackson is one of only eight musical acts that have sold more than 10 million singles in Britain.
- Jackson had 8 number one albums on the British charts, including billing him with the Jackson Five, and is tied with David Bowie for fourth place all time. (Madonna has 10, Elvis Presley has 11, and the Beatles have 15.)
- Jackson holds the record for the most Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart in one year, registering 19 in 2006.
- Jackson had 40 Top 10 hi ts in the UK Singles Chart.
- Jackson had 50 Top 40 hits in the UK Singles Chart.
- Jackson's Thriller and Bad' are the 8th- and 9th-highest-selling albums in UK history.
Besides Jackson, only
Queen, with the 1st- and 7th-best-selling albums, has multiple entries in the top twenty.
Michael Jackson had seven number one hits on the UK Singles Charts.
- Invincible, released in 2001, had the highest first week of sales for a foreign album in France, shifting 166,000 copies.
- Jackson had four diamond albums in France. They are Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory.
- Jackson had 22 top ten hits on the French Top 100 Singles charts.
- Jackson had 36 top 40 hits on the Top 100 Singles charts.
Michael Jackson had seven number one hits on the Top 100 Singles charts.
- Jackson had five albums in Germany that reached platinum status. They are Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, and Invincible.
- Jackson had 16 top ten hits on the German Top 100 singles charts.
- Jackson had 29 top 40 hits on the Top 100 singles charts.
Michael Jackson had two number one hits on the Top 100 singles charts.
- Jackson had 35 top 20 hits on the Top 20 Singles charts.
- Jackson had 29 top ten hits on the Top 20 Singles charts.
Michael Jackson had 20 number one hits on the Top 20 Singles charts.
- Jackson had three number one albums in Canada. They are Thriller, Bad, and HIStory.
- Jackson had five albums in Canada that were either platinum or multi-platinum sellers. They are Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, and HIStory. Thriller has been certified 2x Diamond in Canada.
- Jackson had three singles that earned at least one p latinum certification in Canada. They are "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Say Say Say."
- Jackson had 29 top 20 hits on the Top 50 Singles charts.
- Jackson had 20 top ten hits on the Top 50 Singles charts.
Michael Jackson had five number one hits on the Top 50 Singles charts.
- Jackson had eight albums in Australia that earned platinum or multi-platinum certifications. They are Off the Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, Invincible, Number Ones, and The Essential Michael Jackson.
- Jackson had 27 top 20 hits on the Top 100 Singles charts.
- Jackson had 20 top ten hi ts on the Top 100 Singles charts.
- Jackson had three singles that earned a gold certification in Norway. They are "Earth Song," "They Don't Care About Us," and "You Rock My World."
- Jackson had 21 top ten hits on the Top 20 Singles charts.
- Jackson has supported more charities tha n any other pop singer - 39 charitable organizations either with monetary donations through sponsorships of their projects or the participation in their activities. The charities involved include AIDS Project L.A., American Cancer Society, BMI Foundation, Inc., Childhelp USA, United Negro College Fund, YMCA - 28th Street/Crenshaw, The Sickle Cell Research Fund and Volunteers of America.
- David O. Selznick's 1940 Best Film Oscar for Gone with the Wind (USA, 1939) was bought by Jackson for $1,542,000 on June 12, 1999, at Sotheby's, New York City. The Academy Awards no longer permits such sales, all but ensuring that it will remain the most expensive Oscar.
- Jackson and Bubbles, a porcelain sculpture created by the artist Jeff Koons in 1988 sold for $5,616,750 at Sotheby's in New York City on May 15, 2001. The piece measures 106.7 x 179.1 x 82.6 cm (42 x 70.5 x 32.5 in) and is described as a mix of pop culture and high art. The sculpture shows Jackson reclining with his arm around his pet monkey. It is the most valuable sculpture by a living artist.
- Jackson's part-feature film, part-music video, Ghosts (USA, 1996), is 38 minutes long and was based on an original concept by horror writer Stephen King. Jackson plays five different roles in the video, directed by Stan Winston. It is the longest music video of all time.
- Jackson holds the record for most expensive music video ("Scream" in 1995 with sister Janet Jackson) cost reportedly over seven million U.S. dollars.
- On November 14, 1991, Michael Jackson’s music video, Black or White was broadcast simultaneously in 27 countries with an estimated audience of 500 million people. It is the largest audience ever to view a music video.
- In March 1991, Jackson signed a new record-breaking US$890 million contract by Sony. It is still the largest recording contract of all time.
- In 1986 Jackson signed a $15 million deal with Pepsi - it was the largest ever endorsement for product promotion.
- Jackson has the record for the two best-selling VHS music videos ever released ("Moonwalker" [1988] in first place, and "The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller" [1984] in se cond place).
- Jackson jointly holds the record for most Grammy Awards won in a single year. He won eight awards at the 1984 ceremony. This was equaled by Carlos Santana at the 2001 ceremony.
- Jackson jointly holds the record for most American Music Awards won in a single year, winning eight awards at the 1984 ceremony. This was equaled by Whitney Houston at the 1994 ceremony.
- Jackson jointly holds the record for the most World Music Awards won in a single year, with five awards at the 1996 ceremony (tied with Whitney Houston from the 1994 ceremony).
- Jackson holds the record for winning more B illboard awards than any other male artist, having 26.
- Jackson holds the record for winning more Billboard awards than any other artist in one year, grabbing 13 in 1983.
- Jackson has more music awards than any other artist in the history of music.
- Honored as artist of the decade by former President, George H. W. Bush in 1989 and another seven awards from others.
- Named "Artist Of The Century" at the Ame rican Music Awards ceremony in 2002.
- Jackson's "Bad World Tour" (1987–1989) was the highest-grossing tour ever at the time, with over $125 million earned. This record was later broken by the "Dangerous World Tour" (1992-1993) and later broken again by the "HIStory World Tour" (1996-1997), which is still the biggest tour ever in terms of international attendance (4.4 million tickets outside of USA).
- Michael Jackson is the only foreign artist to have sold more than 1,500,000 units in Turkey with all his albums (Off The Wall, Thriller, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, Blood On The Dance Floor and Invincible). Bad is the best-selling foreign album in Turkey with the sales of 560,000 units. HIStory is the best-selling double album by a foreign artist in Turkey with more than 145,000 units sold.
- Jackson's album "Thriller" (1982) is the best selling album of all time with more than 104 million copies.
- Would have been the biggest audience ever to see an artist in one city, from "This Is It" in 2009.
- Would have been the most amount of people to attend a series of arena shows, from "This Is It" in 2009.
- The fastest ticket sales in history, with 700,000 tickets sold in about four hours for the now-cancelled "This Is It" tour in 2009.
- Jackson is the third best selling artist of all time with over 750 million records sold. (First, second and fourth are as follows: 1. Elvis Pre sley, 2. The Beatles, 4. Bing Crosby)
- At one stage, Michael Jackson was one of the wealthiest entertainers in the world, with a fortune of more than $750 million.
- Jackson has been given 197 recognized awards.
- Jackson also became the first artist to sell 1 million downloads in a week.
