The Inspirational Michael Jackson Story

Michael Joseph Jackson - Born from 29th Aug 1958 to 25th Jun 2009 - Love him or hate him, Michael Jackson or MJ as he was affectionately known was the indisputable King of Pop and was one of the greatest, if not the greatest singer, dancer and entertainer the world has ever known.

Born as Michael Joseph Jackson in Gary, Indiana, The world first got a glimpse of this superstar when MJ appeared on TV with his siblings, then known as The Jackson Five in 1968.

Although still a member of The Jackson five, he launched his solo career in 1971. His popularity as a great singer and dancer kept on spreading until in his 1982 album, Thriller became the world's best selling album of all time.

Actually, the Thriller was only a precursor to 4 more of his chart busting albums - Off the Wall in 1979, Bad in 1987, Dangerous in 1991 and of course, HIStory in1995.

In the early 1980s, Michael went on to become the first African American entertainer to amass a legion of strong crossover fans following on MTV. The popularity of his music videos, such as Beat It, Billie Jean and Thriller transformed the music video from a promotional tool into a a truly professional art form.

In his heydays, Michael Jackson donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial and charitable causes through his foundations.

A sad chapter of his life was when he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. However, the criminal charges against the singer were dropped due to lack of evidence. Then in 2005, MJ was tried and acquitted of further sexual abuse allegations and several other charges. His life was a miserable shamble then.

On the professional front, he is one of the very few pop 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", 13 Grammy Awards, 13 number one singles in his solo career and the sale of 750 million records worldwide and they are still selling hot as I am writing this article in 2009.

Just prior his untimely demise, he was preparing for "This Is It" concert series of 50 concerts that was to be held in London beginning July 13, 2009 if not for his untimely demise.

Michael Jackson was said to have a very unhappy childhood. Jackson recounted several times that he was physically and emotionally abused by his father from a very young age and was forced to do incessant rehearsals, had whippings and name calling. But he also credited his father's strict discipline as playing a large part in his success as a top notched singer, performer and entertainer.

Michael Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said that during his childhood he often cried from loneliness and would sometimes start to throw up upon seeing his father.

In another high interview, the singer covered his face with his hand and began crying when talking about his childhood abuse. Jackson recalled that his father, Joseph Jackson sat on a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings rehearsed and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get at you".

In 1979, Jackson broke his nose during a dance routine and had a rhinoplasty surgery done. However, the nose job was not a complete success as he complained of breathing difficulties. He was referred to Dr. Steven Hoefflin, who performed Jackson's second rhinoplasty surgery and other subsequent aesthetic surgeries.

The entertainer's biggest moment was during the period of Thriller when his lawyer John Branca negotiated what he proudly announced then as the highest royalty rate ever in the music industry, approximately $2 per album. Meanwhile, MJ raked in more profits from The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, a documentary by himself and John Landis which sold over more than 300,000 copies at that time.

Furthermore, he went into merchandising his image in earnest, as Michael Jackson dolls and other novelties hit the world. His frenzied Japanese fans were reported to have snapped up everyone of his memorabilia from Tokyo to Hokkaido!

March 25, 1983, gave birth to the Moonwalk dance routine. He debuted this new dance form in live on the Motown 25's Yesterday, Today, Forever television special, both with The Jackson 5 and on his own singing "Billie Jean". His Moon Walk during the event were seen by more than 47 million viewers during its initial airing and drew comparisons to Elvis Presley's and the The Beatles' appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.

The New York Times gushed, "The moonwalk that Michael Jackson made famous is an apt metaphor for his dance style. How does he do it? As a technician, he is a great illusionist, a genuine mime. His ability to keep one leg straight as he glides while the other bends and seems to walk requires perfect timing".

However, the singer hit more bad patches when on January 27, 1984, while filming a Pepsi Cola commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, he suffered second degree burns to his head after pyrotechnics accidentally set his hair on fire. This freak accident happened in front of a full house during a simulated concert, the accident was the subject of heavy media reporting and elicited an outpouring of sympathy.

MJ's compassionate golden heart was seen again when he co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie, which was released worldwide to help the poor in Africa and the US. Jackson was also one of 39 music celebrities and singers who performed on the record. The single became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with 20 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief.

Another celebrity Jackson worked closely with was Paul McCartney and together, the duo had two hit singles "The Girl Is Mine" and "Say Say Say". But unfortunately, this partnership fell through after some business disagreements.

In 1986, the media ran a story claiming that Jackson slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow down the aging process. However, the report was not true as it was later known that Michael had disseminated the fabricated story himself. He was promoting his upcoming film Captain EO and wanted to promote a science fiction image of himself.

In 1988, some two years after he was diagnosed with vitiligo, Jackson bought and befriended a pet chimpanzee called Bubbles, an act which extended his eccentric persona. In 2003, the singer claimed that Bubbles shared his toilet and cleaned his bedroom. Then it was reported that Jackson bought the bones of The Elephant Man.