Michael Jackson : A Powerful Source Of Inspiration

One of the things I always remember my uncle for is the fact that it was in his house, in the early eighties, that I saw the album (off the wall) of someone I later fell in love with; someone who later became the greatest musician of all time; the best dancer that ever lived; the most decorated and photographed entertainer ever and The King of Pop….MICHAEL JACKSON

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer and businessman. He was unarguably the King of Pop, and the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records.

The beginning...
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten children in an African American working-class family who lived in a small 3-room house in Gary, Indiana, an industrial city near Chicago. His mother, Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout Jehovah's Witness and his father, Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons. Jackson had three sisters: Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, and five brothers: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy.

 A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.

Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe. Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a boy. Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during incessant rehearsals, though he also credited his father's strict discipline with playing a large role in his success. 

Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had a fat nose on numerous occasions. In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance, his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain childlike throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.

In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing. When he was eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to The Jackson 5. The band toured the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "chitlin' circuit", where they often opened stripteases and other adult acts. In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of Motown hits and James Brown's "I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.

The coming years were to be more revealing of what Michael was made of. With Thriller (1982), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), History (1995), Invincible (2001)

All his videos are not the commonly found type of videos. They had a taste of originality and perfection embedded in them. Sometimes I wonder how long it took them to perfect the dance steps. Michael  meant perfection and his team had a tall challenge catching up with his pace of work. With such videos he shot for the Bad Tour (1987-1989), Dangerous World Tour(1992-1993) and the HIStory World Tour(1996-1997), all of which I later have, Michael swept me off my feet.

One thing ran through all of his videos – originality – aiming to do the extra ordinary. His songs were not just sing alongs, but songs with very deep messages and meanings. Michael once said “I don’t wanna be another canon on the assembly line.’’ With this at the back of his mind Michael set standards for other entertainers to follow. He refused to copy anyone.

Influence on people...

Today his dance step is being imitated and his songs are being remixed by other musicians. Jackson throughout his career transformed the art of the music video and paved the way for modern pop music. Daily Telegraph writer Tom Utley described Jackson in 2003 as "extremely important" and a "genius". For much of his career, he had an "unparalleled" level of worldwide influence over the younger generation through his musical and humanitarian contributions.  Jackson's music and videos, such as Thriller, fostered racial diversity in MTV's roster, helped to put the relatively new channel into public awareness, and steered the channel's focus from rock to pop music and R&B, shaping the channel into a form that proved enduring. Jackson's work continues to influence numerous hip hop, rock, pop and R&B artists, including Jennifer Lopez, Beyoncé, Mariah Carey, Mýa, Usher, Adam Lambert, Green Day, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears, Madonna, Alien Ant Farm, Ludacris, Ciara, and Sean P. Diddy Combs  among many others. BET described Jackson "as quite simply the greatest entertainer of all time" and someone who "revolutionized the music video and brought dances like the moonwalk to the world. Jackson’s sound, style, movement and legacy continue to inspire artists of all genres."

Allmusic's Steve Huey describes Jackson as "an unstoppable juggernaut, possessed of all the skills to dominate the charts seemingly at will: an instantly identifiable voice, eye-popping dance moves, stunning musical versatility and loads of sheer star power". In the mid-1980s, Time magazine's pop music critic, Jay Cocks, noted "Jackson is the biggest thing since The Beatles. He is the hottest single phenomenon since Elvis Presley. He just may be the most popular black singer ever". In 1990, Vanity Fair cited Jackson as the most popular artist in the history of show business. In 2007, Jackson said, "Music has been my outlet, my gift to all of the lovers in this world. Through it, my music, I know I will live forever." And indeed Michael lives forever.

As for his surgeries, Michael was human and never claimed to be otherwise. So I take it as one of the attributes of man - namely, having a negative aspect of ones' life. Since I cannot claim to be perfect, I do not have the right to judge him. However, his good deeds greatly outshine his misdeeds. 

Awards...

Michael Jackson was inducted onto the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1980 as member of The Jacksons and in 1984 as solo artist. Throughout his career he received numerous honors and awards, including the World Music Awards' Best-Selling Pop Male Artist of the Millennium, the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award and the Bambi Pop Artist of the Millennium Award. He was a double-inductee of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997 and later as a solo artist in 2001. Jackson was also inducted in several other hall of fames, including Vocal Group Hall of Fame (as The Jackson 5 member) in 1999 and the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002.

In 2010, Jackson was inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first (and currently only) dancer from the world of pop and rock 'n' roll. His awards include many Guinness World Records (eight in 2006 alone), 13 Grammy Awards (as well as the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award), 26 American Music Awards (including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s")—more than any artist—, 13 number one singles in the US in his solo career—more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era—and estimated sales of up to 750 million records worldwide, making him the world's best selling male solo pop artist. On December 29, 2009, the American Film Institute recognized Jackson's death as a "moment of significance" saying, "Michael Jackson's sudden death in June at age 50 was notable for the worldwide outpouring of grief and the unprecedented global eulogy of his posthumous concert rehearsal movie This Is It." Michael Jackson also received a Doctor of Humane Letters Degree from the United Negro College Fund and also an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Fisk University.

Awards loved Michael and he kept receiving and receiving.

Earnings...

Michael has twice been named as the "#1 Entertainer of the Year" on the Forbes list based on his earnings. In the last 25 years of Jackson's lifetime, it is estimated he made more than $300 million from his own music royalties and another $400 million from concerts. In the 1980s, Jackson became the biggest musical act in the world with Thriller alone making him $125 million. In 2002, Jackson stated he had made Sony several billion dollars throughout his career. 

Some analysts have speculated that his music catalog holdings could be worth billions of dollars.

This speculation however is contradicted by financial documents obtained by the Associated Press, which showed that as of March 31, 2007, Jackson's 50 percent stake in the Sony/ATV Music Publishing catalog (his most prized asset) was worth $390.6 million and Michael Jackson's net worth was $236 million. The catalog owns and controls many different record companies and has rights to more than 500,000 songs, including songs by The Beatles, Elvis Presley, Eminem, Akon, Shakira, Björk, Boyz II Men and Lady Gaga, among hundreds of others. The company is one of the largest music publishers in the world and is believed to generate up to $2.5 billion a year; The Beatles' hits alone bring in $30 million to $45 million a year. Jackson's other publishing firm, Mijac, which publishes songs written by Jackson himself and which used to be administered by competitor Warner/Chappell Music, is valued to be worth at least $450 million.

And sadly…his death...

On June 26, 2009, I heard the worst news of the year – that Michael Jackson passed away the previous day. Reports have it that Jackson died while in his bed at his rented mansion at 100 North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills district of Los Angeles. Attempts at resuscitating him by Conrad Murray, his personal physician, were unsuccessful. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 (PDT, 19:22 UTC), arriving three minutes later at Jackson's location. He was reportedly not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for more than an hour after arriving there at 1:13 (20:13 UTC). He was pronounced dead at 2:26 local time (21:26 UTC). Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief.

Till date, his death is still like dream. I watched his rehearsals for the O2 Arena concerts slated to take off on July 13, 2009 and end in March 2010. Its hard to believe that the supersonic dance moves I saw were those of someone who was very sick as reported by some sections of the media. Even at death, the King of Pop reigns on. His works can never die with him. Interestingly, he still makes millions of dollars even in death.  

Lastline...

Michael Jackson was very hardworking, creative and never satisfied with his levels of successes. This made him set very high standards for himself.  Three things made him and his works to be outstanding - RELEVANCE, PERFECTION, CREATIVITY and ORIGINALITY !!!

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