Six years after his death, Michael Jackson’s sounds are still rocking
the airwaves. His music and dance moves are still influencing the pop
charts worldwide with musicians like P-Square emulating a mixed
influence. While there are those who believe that Justin Timberlake – JT
took the baton from Michael Jackson, Justin’s renditions which include
“Love Never Felt So Good”, success from the song have mostly served in
reinforcing an already prime legacy.
The media around the world dubbed
MJ as the “King of Pop” and have catalogued his music career which was
dedicated to the transformation of the art of music, music videos and
paved the way for modern pop music.
Through his career, he inspired both
young and older generations through his musical and humanitarian
contributions, music and videos, such as Thriller, were reported to have
fostered racial diversity in music channels across the globe.
Family
The young Michael Jackson or MJ as he is fondly remembered, owed his
vocal technique in large part to Diana Ross. Diana was said to be a
mother figure to him, whom he idolised. Uniquely, MJ was known to
dictate his lyrics into a sound recorder, and when recording, he would
sing the lyrics from memory. The talented MJ sang from childhood, and
over time, his voice and vocal style changed, noticeably descended from
boy soprano to high tenor as he grew. Jackson had a troubled
relationship with his father, Joe. In an interview with Martin Bashir,
later included in the 2003 broadcast of Living with Michael Jackson, MJ
had acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child. In 2003,
MJ’s dad, Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Jackson as a boy.
Joe was also said to have verbally abused his son, often saying that he
had a “fat nose.” Speaking openly about his childhood in an interview
with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993, Jackson acknowledged
that his youth had been lonely and isolating but credited his father’s
strict discipline with playing a large role in his success. In May 1994,
MJ married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis and Priscilla
Presley whom he knew since 1975. Despite not having children with Lisa,
MJ went on to have three children, Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson,
Prince Michael Jackson II, and Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr.
Scandal
Like most celebrities, MJ made headlines from his globally publicised
personal life, and this has cemented his legacy in popular culture hall
of fame. Aspects of MJ’s personal life, including his changing
appearance, personal relationships, and behaviour, generated
controversies. Of note include Jackson’s skin which had been a
medium-brown colour for the entire duration of his youth, but starting
in the mid-1980s, it gradually grew paler. The change gained widespread
media coverage, including rumours that he might be bleaching his skin.
Despite various claims, MJ was also diagnosed with vitiligo in his
autopsy.
In the mid-1990s, he was accused of child sexual abuse, but the civil
case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount and no formal
charges were brought. Also, Choreographer Wade Robson alleged on “The
Today Show” that Jackson “performed sexual acts on me and forced me to
perform sexual acts on him” for seven years, beginning from when Robson
was seven years old. Robson had previously testified in defence of
Jackson at the singer’s 2005 child molestation trial. In 2005, he was
tried and acquitted of further child sexual abuse allegations and
several other charges after the jury found him not guilty on all counts.
On November 20, 2002 MJ brought his infant son onto the balcony of
his room at the Hotel Adlon in Berlin, as fans stood below, holding him
in his right arm, with a cloth loosely draped over the baby’s face. The
baby was briefly extended over a railing, four stories above ground
level, causing widespread criticism in the media. He later apologised
for the incident, calling it “a terrible mistake.”
Recognition
Michael received numerous accolades during his life, which include
his induction into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of
Fame as the first and only dancer from pop and rock music, multiple
Guinness World Records, 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, the
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 26 American Music Awards, 13
number-one singles in the United States during his solo career and
estimated sales of over 400 million records worldwide. Though artistes
are regularly inducted into the American Rock and Roll Hall of fame,
Michael is among the few artistes to have been inducted into the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame twice. Michael’s 1982 album Thriller is still
stated as being the best-selling album of all time. Even here in
Nigeria, music lovers, like on air personality, Godwin Aruwayo, ‘First
Voice’ from Naija FM said, “Everything about it inspired and still
inspires me. It’s 100 per cent thinking outside the box.” The other
notable albums include, Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous
(1991), and History (1995), which are ranked as his world’s best-selling
albums.
Legacy
MJ’s first posthumous song was released by his Estate and was titled
“This Is It” which Jackson co-wrote in the 1980s with Paul Anka. On
October 28, 2009, a documentary film about the rehearsals titled
‘Michael Jackson’s This Is It’ was also released and though it ran for a
limited two-week engagement, it purportedly became the highest grossing
documentary or concert movie of all time, earning more than $260
million worldwide. On May 13, 2014, Epic Records released an album of
eight songs of unreleased materials culled from past recording sessions
under the title, Xscape. The album ‘Xscape’ earning digital sales of
over 100,000 copies in its first week, the success of the song made
Michael the first artiste in the history of Billboard’s Hot 100 chart to
score Top 10 hits in five different decades, going back to the ’70s.
The album had wide spread appeal and had wide commercial impact. It
features nine never-before-released tracks, updated by top producers of
today, like Rodney Jerkins and StarGate.
Media
In 1988, MJ released his only autobiography, Moonwalk, which
allegedly took four years to complete and sold 200,000 copies. In it, MJ
wrote about his childhood, the Jackson 5, and the abuse he had
suffered. He also wrote about his facial appearance, saying he had had
two rhinoplastic surgeries and a dimple created in his chin. He
attributed much of the change in the structure of his face to puberty,
weight loss, a strict vegetarian diet, a change in hair style, and stage
lighting. Moonwalk reached the top position on The New York Times
bestsellers’ list. The musician then released a film called Moonwalker,
which featured live footage and short films that starred MJ and Joe
Pesci. He has also a bestselling collection of poetry titled, Dancing
the Dream. BET was reported to have described Jackson “as quite simply
the greatest entertainer of all time and someone who revolutionised the
music video and brought dances like the moonwalk to the world. Jackson’s
sound, style, movement and legacy continues to inspire artistes of all
genres.
Charity
Jackson founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992. The charity
organisation brought underprivileged children to Jackson’s ranch to
enjoy theme park rides that Jackson had built on the property. The
foundation also sent millions of dollars around the globe to help
children threatened by war, poverty, and disease. After his death, The
Jackson Family Foundation in conjunction with Voiceplate presented
“Forever Michael”, an event bringing together Jackson family members,
celebrities, fans, supporters and the community to celebrate and honour
his legacy. A portion of the proceeds were presented to some of
Jackson’s favourite charities. Katherine also introduced her new book
“Never Can Say Goodbye”.
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