King Of Pop

Michael Jackson August 29, 1958 - June 25th, 2009

Today a great Man passed away. The world will not be the same without him. I thought I would post about him and the impact he had on the world. I found this mini biography at IMDB.

Birth Name: Michael Joseph Jackson
Nicknames: The Gloved One ,King Of Pop, MJ

American superstar Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana in 1958 and has been entertaining audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joseph Jackson, had been a guitarist but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage to Katherine (Scruse). Together they prodded their growing family's musical interests at home.

By the early 60s the older boys Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964 Michael and Marlon had joined in. A musical prodigy, Michael's singing and dancing talents were amazingly mature and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of "The Jackson 5." An opening act for such soul groups as the O-Jays and James Brown, it was Gladys Knight who officially brought the group to Berry Gordy's attention, and by 1969 the boys were producing back-to-back chart busting hits as Motown artists.

As a product of the 70s, the boys had emerged as one of the most accomplished black pop/soul vocal groups in music history, successfully evolving from a Temptations-like group act to a disco phenomenon. Solo success for Michael was inevitable, and by the 80s he had become infinitely more popular than his brotherly group.

Record sales consistently orbited, culminating in the biggest-selling album of all time, "Thriller." A TV natural, he ventured rather uneasily into films, such as playing the Scarecrow in The Wiz (1978), but had better luck with elaborate music videos. In the 90s the down side as an 80s pop phenomenon began to show. Michael grew terribly child-like and introverted by his celebrity. A rather timorous, androgynous figure to begin with, his physical appearance began to change drastically and his behavior grew alarmingly bizarre, making him a consistent target for scandal-making, despite his numerous charitable acts.

Two brief marriages -- one to Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley -- were forged and two children produced by his second wife during that time, but the purposes were obviously image oriented. Despite it all, Michael Jackson's skills as a singer, dancer, writer and businessman are unparalleled, and it is these prodigious talents that will ultimately prevail over the extremely negative aspects of his seriously troubled life.

His trademarks were, but not limited to: The Moonwalk, A Single sequined white glove and He always wore white socks with black shoes. I know that we was eccentric, but he was a VERY talented man who influenced and paved the way for many artists.

This what he looked like when I was first introduced to him. I remember watching Thriller on MTV when I was little. I even had the dance memorized.

This photo is Classic Michael Jackson.

So is this one.

Dangerous was the first album that I bought with my own money. I was so proud of myself and would play it all day/every day.

This Album is by far the best Greatest Hits Album EVER by any Musician or Band!!!! I love it! My kids even have an appreciation for Michael's music. Sage & Aurora love to dance to Thriller, The Way You Make Me Feel and Smooth Criminal, and they like to slow dance with me to You Are Not Alone. He will truly be missed by The Parker Family.