Fans go crazy for Michael Jackson's 61st birthday

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Michael Jackson being celebrated worldwide
Published By: Jennifer Okundia

29th August, 2019

Michael Jackson being celebrated worldwide

In what would have been a day to celebrate Michael Jackson’s 61st birthday today, if he was still alive, fans are not forgetting about their hero ever.

Birthday shout outs in different forms, world wide are pouring in for the legendary musician who made us see music in wa different way but died a bit too early.

The King of Pop is being shown love in different countries and cities. In Vegas, stores are selling items like T- Shirts with his name on it and any item that would make us remember MJ.

American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Dubbed the “King of Pop”, Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest entertainers. Jackson’s contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.

The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He began his solo career in 1971 while at Motown Records, and in the early 1980s, became a dominant figure in popular music. His music videos, including those for “Beat It”, “Billie Jean”, and “Thriller” from his 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. Their popularity helped bring the television channel MTV to fame. Bad (1987) was the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles.

He continued to innovate throughout the 1990s with videos such as “Black or White” and “Scream”, and forged a reputation as a touring artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized complicated dance techniques such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His sound and style have influenced artists of various genres.

SEXUAL ABUSE

In August 1993, Jackson was accused of child sexual abuse by a 13-year-old boy, Jordan Chandler, and his father, Evan Chandler. Jordan said he and Jackson had engaged in acts of kissing, masturbation and oral sex. Jordan’s mother initially told police that she did not believe Jackson had molested her son; however, her position wavered a few days later.

Evan was recorded discussing his intention to pursue charges, which Jackson used to argue that he was the victim of a jealous father trying to extort money. Jackson’s older sister La Toya accused him of being a pedophile, which she later retracted. Police raided Jackson’s home in December and found books and photographs featuring young boys with little or no clothing. The books were legal to own, and Jackson was not indicted. Jordan Chandler gave police a description of Jackson’s genitals. A strip search was made, and the jurors felt the description was not a match.

In January 1994, Jackson settled with the Chandlers out of court for $25 million. The police never pressed criminal charges. Citing a lack of evidence without Jordan’s testimony, the state closed its investigation on September 22, 1994.

HEALTH, MARRIAGES AND TOURS

Jackson had been taking painkillers for his reconstructive scalp surgeries, administered due to the Pepsi commercial accident in 1984, and became dependent on them to cope with the stress of the sexual abuse allegations. On November 12, 1993, Jackson canceled the remainder of the Dangerous Tour due to health problems, stress from the allegations and painkiller addiction. He thanked closed friend Elizabeth Taylor for support, encouragement and counsel. The end of the tour concluded his relationship with Pepsi-Cola which sponsored the tour.

In late 1993 Jackson proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. They married in La Vega, Dominican Republic in May 1994 by civil judge Hugo Francisco Alvarez Perez. The tabloid media speculated that the wedding was a publicity stunt to deflect Jackson’s sexual abuse allegations and jump-start Presley’s career as a singer. Their marriage ended little more than a year later, and they separated in December 1995.

Jackson promoted HIStory with the HIStory World Tour, from September 7, 1996 to October 15, 1997. He performed 82 concerts in five continents, 35 countries and 58 cities to over 4.5 million fans, his most attended tour. It grossed $165 million. During the tour, in Sydney, Australia, Jackson married Debbie Rowe, a dermatology nurse, who was six months pregnant with his first child. Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. (commonly known as Prince) was born on February 13, 1997; his sister Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson was born a year later on April 3, 1998.

Jackson and Rowe divorced in 1999, and Rowe conceded custody of the children, with an $8 million settlement. In 2004, after the second child abuse allegations against Jackson, she returned to court to reclaim custody. The suit was settled in 2006.

Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 350 million records worldwide; Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, with estimated sales of 66 million copies worldwide. His other albums, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world’s best-selling. He won hundreds of awards (more than any other artist in the history of popular music), has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, and is the only pop or rock artist to have been inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame.

His other achievements include Guinness world records (including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time), 15 Grammy Awards (including the Legend and Lifetime Achievement awards), 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist), and 13 number-one US singles (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era). Jackson was the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. In 2016, his estate earned $825 million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes.

DEATH

On June 25, 2009, less than three weeks before the first show was due to begin in London, with all concerts sold out, Jackson died from a cardiac arrest. Conrad Murray, his personal physician, had given Jackson various medications to help him sleep at his rented mansion in Holmby Hills, Los Angeles. Paramedics received a 911 call at 12:22 pm Pacific time (19:22 UTC), and arrived three minutes later. Jackson was not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued en route to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center, and for more than an hour after arriving there, but were unsuccessful, and he was pronounced dead at 2:26 pm Pacific time (21:26 UTC).

Jackson had taken propofol, lorazepam, and midazolam; his death was caused by a propofol overdose.

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