Michael Jackson: 1958-2009
Michael Jackson, the singer who became known as “The King of Pop” and perhaps once the most famous individual on the planet, has died suddenly. Adored by fans and ridiculed by critics throughout his life, Jackson’s story is one of highs and lows, leaving us reflecting on the damaging nature of celebrity.
With Thriller (1982), Jackson has easily the most successful album of all time with well over 100 million copies sold. No other musical release even comes close. At the time of the album’s record-breaking launch Jackson was 24 and already a veteran having toured and recorded from the age of six. The oddities of his adult life would often be attributed to the effects of a lost childhood.
The phenomenon of his success made him “The King of Pop” while the multiple accusations of child abuse and his eccentric character gave him the less complimentary tabloid moniker “Wacko Jacko”. Following the soaring successes of the 1980s, Jackson’s lifestyle was in the public eye as much as his music.
Despite all the controversy that surrounded him, armies of fans would follow him right up to his announcement this year of a string of comeback shows in London. The Jackson faithful are already calling 25 June “the day the music died”.
In person, Jackson was shy, quiet and retiring – all unlikely qualities for the most popular entertainer on the planet. His lack of adult social skills would also be attributed to his childhood, during which he would watch other kids playing from the windows of recording studios.
Born in Gary, Indiana, brothers Michael, Jermaine, Marlon, Jackie and Tito became The Jackson Five in 1966. Their father Joe Jackson was the creator of the band and a harsh disciplinarian who made the brothers rehearse long into the night. Following accusations that Michael had learnt to dance whilst dodging his father’s fists, Joe defended himself in 2003: "I whipped him with a switch and belt, [but] I never beat him. You beat someone with a stick."
Having broken out in the Midwest, the Michael-fronted brothers attracted the attention of Motown records. Their first major-label single, I Want You Back, reached number one in America (as would the following three singles) in 1969. The success of the band would further distance Michael from the life of a normal child. They recorded 13 albums for Motown between 1969 and 1975. And when not in the studio, they were on tour, reportedly playing up to 45 shows in 90 days across the US.
When The Jackson Five became The Jacksons in 1975, Michael (already the group’s primary songwriter) began to write and record solo material. His partnership with Quincy Jones, who he met on the set of film musical The Wiz, lead to the release of landmark albums Off The Wall (1979) and Thriller (1982) on Epic Records. A slew of awards ensued and the global phenomenon of Michael Jackson was launched. The fusion of R&B and guitar-driven rock snared both black and white music fans in hordes. Thriller was the number one record in the US for 37 weeks.
The album cover of Thriller was his last appearance in which he was perceptibly an African-American. He claimed his skin lightened over the following years as a result of the pigmentation disorder vitiligo, but rumours suggested he had bleached his skin. He also underwent evident plastic surgery. His nose slimmed down, a cleft appeared in his chin, his eyelids reputedly were lifted and his lips thinned. The distortion of his facial features would, like his strange behaviour and apparent asexuality, be put down to his difficult childhood, when his father had mocked the “ugliness” of his teenage skin problems.
As his appearance changed further, rumour began to circulate around his personal life. Fans heard that he slept in an oxygen tent and he began making public appearances wearing a gas mask. In 1993 he was accused of sexually molesting a thirteen-year-old boy, doing irreparable damage to his already shady perception in the public eye. A settlement out of court and a widely doubted marriage to Lisa Marie Presley would do little to redeem him.
The last decade of his life has been marred by further negative publicity. 14 million viewers in the UK watched the Martin Bashir documentary Living With Michael Jackson, in which the British journalist visited Jackson’s famous Neverland ranch. The programme might have been an opportunity for the star to burn away some of the clouds surrounding his personal life. Instead, his disclosures about sharing a bedroom with child “friends” would lead to court appearances over a further seven counts of child abuse. As ever, the Jackson faithful would stay at his side, campaigning outside court with banners that read “Innocent until proved innocent”.
Jackson’s music and phenomenal talent has endured far longer than the press frenzy that has surrounded his later years. And we should hope that his legacy will be a musical one. His three children and eight siblings survive him.
