Michael Jackson- 1958 Gary, USA

Michael Jackson was born on 29th August in the year 1958 in Gary, Indiana. His full name was Michael Joseph Jackson. He was the seventh child in the family and had 5 brothers named Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Randy and 3 sisters Rebbie, Janet and La-Toya.

Michael began his career as a singer at the age of 5. At that tender age, he was the lead vocalist of the Jackson 5 that was formed in the year 1964 by the five Jacksons- Jackie, Jermaine, Tito, Marlon and Michael himself. At first, they performed in local clubs and bars in Gary Indiana. Thereafter, their talents got enhanced and they started competing in larger competitions. Jackson 5 was discovered by Bobby Taylor plus The Vancouvers in 1968. From then on, there was no looking back. They received an audition for Motown Records. Satisfied by the group, Motown founder Berry Gordy signed them up for his label. After that they shifted to California. Their initial music album there, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, hit the lists in December of that year. Its first single "I Want You Back" was the No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1970. More chart-topping singles came their way. Those were "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There." All these music videos were US No.1 hits. With the Motown, 14 s were recorded by Jackson 5 and 4 solo albums by Michael. When he was 13 years old, Jackson began a solo career in addition to working with Jackson 5. His first solo "Got to Be There" was an instant hit in the year 1971. The song featuring a ballad about a rat which was in his 1972 album, Ben, became his first solo No. 1 song. His solo album “Music and Me” came in the year 1973.

Till 1976 they remained with the Motown. They needed more artistic freedom. So they decided to leave it and signed up with Epic Records. The name Jackson 5 was now changed to The Jacksons. Jermaine continued with Motown as he married Gordy's daughter. Instead of Jermaine, Randy joined the Jacksons. The Jacksons recorded 6 hit albums from the year 1976 to 1984. Michael made his film debut in 1977 by playing the role of Scarecrow opposite Diana Ross in his movie 'The Wiz'. He, at that point of time got together with Quincy Jones who was managing the score of the film. Together with Quincy Jones he did "Off The Wall" in 1979 and he wowed the music world. He with his brothers wrote all the tracks of the 1978's “Destiny”. For the tracks "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough," "Rock with You," and the title track featured in “Off The Wall” he won the Grammy Awards. He also achieved fame for the ballad "She's Out of My Life."

1982’s 'Thriller' broke the record of the most selling album in the world. Over 50 million copies were sold all over the world. It had 7 single hits, which was a record yet again. For promoting his songs he employed music video with the latest technology and special effects. The 'Thriller' employed the advanced make-up artistes’ technology in addition to superb choreography. It was a 14 minute video. People liked it so much that 'The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller' became the highest selling home video around the world. The moonwalk performance he did on the 25th anniversary of Motown in 1983 was alone sufficient to prove him as a superstar.

His work on 'Thriller' and the narrative for the 'ET Storybook' won him 8 Grammy awards in 1984. On Dec 9, 1984 he announced his splitting from the Jacksons and going solo. His third solo album, 'Bad' was released in 1987. In 1988 he began his first solo world tour. He was named 'Artist of the Decade' in 1980. His fourth solo album; 'Dangerous' was released in 1991 under Sony Music. His second world tour began in 1992. He was the founder of 'Heal the World Foundation' that helped in improving the lives of children over the world. He is again a very good piano player and used piano pieces in his songs.

Michael married Elvis Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie Presley in 1994 but they got divorced after 19 months in 1996. His fifth solo album 'HIStory' was released in 1995. During his skin pigment disorder treatment he met a nurse named Debbie Rowe whom he married on November 14, 1996. Their son Prince Michael Joseph Jackson Jr. was born on February 13, 1997 and their daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson was born on April 3, 1998. 'Invincible' was released in 2001. "Cry"- the next single was released and did not feature Michael. This album did not do well as it had a poor music video. Another single album "One More Chance" was released in November, 2003 after which he announced a surprised comeback tour in March of 2009 at the O2 Arena in London. It was to begin in July, 2009. All the tickets were sold out within a few minutes after they were released. But destiny willed otherwise.

On 25th June in the year 2009 Michael Jackson died after he suffered cardiac arrest at his home. He was 50 years old at the time of his death. The Los Angeles County Coroner affirmed his death as a homicide which resulted because of the combination of drugs in his body. It was a sad day in the music world and we will all remember him for a long time to come.

Michael Jackson is still very popular among the millions of his fans worldwide. There are a great number of websites are available today where we can get the evergreen musical creations of the legendary artist Michael Jackson. Such websites provide an easy way to get close to his songs. We can have free download of mp3 songs, we can even download music videos, and instrumental versions of popular albums of MJ there. You can also watch the videos and shows of MJ on internet.