Life of Whacko Jacko

[LahoreEstate]

Saturday, June 27, 2009
By Shahab Ansari

Lahore

THE King of Pop Michael Jackson died of a heart attack at the age of 50 in Los Angles on Friday, just 16 days ahead of his concert scheduled in London titled “This is IT.”

The man who introduced a new dancing technique called ‘Break Dance’ was undisputedly accepted as the ‘King of Pop’ in the modern times. He kept on stunning the world with his unique video albums for decades. Although he had been singing since the age of 11, attracting millions of music lovers across the globe, he shot to unprecedented fame all over the world back in 1982 with his best selling album “Thriller” which also found a place in the Guinness Book of World Records with a sale of 65 million copies. Michael bagged 13 Grammy awards during his career.

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 at Gary in Indiana State, the US. His biggest hits included I Want You Back, Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White and Earth Song. He was loved and copied by the Pakistani youth. The Pakistani youth had a special affiliation and love for him, especially, the generations of the 80’s and 90’s due to his unique style of signing and dancing. Michael came closer to hearts of the Pakistani people with the news of his converting to Islam. Although this was never confirmed by him, he won millions of hearts in the country. His ‘Hamd-e-Bari-Taala’ in 2005 earned him an unprecedented fame among Muslims.

He joined brothers’ pop group, Jackson 5, in 1964. The groups first release, I Want You Back, in 1969 when Michael is just 11 years old. Over the next six years, the band gave a string of hits including ABC, The Love You Save and I’ll Be There.

Jackson released his masterpiece, Thriller, in 1982, considered to be the biggest-selling album of all time, selling 65 million copies worldwide. Seven of its nine tracks topped the music charts.

Wacko Jacko retreated to his Neverland ranch which had a zoo. He continued to prove his business acumen, securing the publishing rights to the Beatles’ back catalogue for $47.5 million and beating a bid from his old friend Paul McCartney.

In 1987 there were rumours of his plastic surgery and skin bleaching. But the press coverage did nothing to hurt the megastar’s popularity and his album “Bad” sold more than 30 million copies. Success of the album started his first solo tour. Prince Charles and Princess Diana attend one of the seven sell-out shows in Wembley.

In 1991 his released his album “Dangerous’, containing several hits, including Black and White, Remember The Time and the tabloid-baiting In The Closet.

The family of 11-year-old Jordy Chandler accused Jackson of molesting their son. The star denied the charges, but Los Angeles police raided his home while he is on tour in the Far East. He later reached an out-of-court settlement with the family for an estimated $20m.The following year, Michael married Lisa Marie Presley but the couple divorced 19 months later.

In 1995, he released History, which combined a CD of greatest hits with a disc of new material, much of which was a vitriolic response to the star’s recent woes. The following year, he appeared at the Brit Awards to perform number one single Earth Song.

In 1997, Jackson was inducted to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and, in a surprise move, married a nurse, Debbie Rowe, who was pregnant with his child, Prince Michael. The couple had a daughter, Paris Michael Katherine, the following year before divorcing in 1999. The singer retains custody of the children.

Invincible, the album released in 2001, barely lasted six weeks on the charts.

Police raided Jackson’s Neverland ranch in 2003 and, shortly afterwards, a warrant was issued for his arrest on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, Gavin Arvizo. The star surrendered himself to police and was arrested and handcuffed. A five-month trial in 2005 ended with Jackson found not guilty on all charges.

At a dramatic news conference in March this year, Jackson announced a series of 50 comeback and farewell concerts in London. He told a dramatic news conference: “This is it. I just want to say that these will be my final show performances in London.”

As many as 750,000 tickets for the shows sold out within days but in May and promoters said the first few dates would be postponed to allow more time for rehearsals. Miachel died in Los Angles on June 26, just two weeks ahead of his well awaited concert

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=185213