Written by George S. Clinton Jr and
Artie Wayne and immortalized by Michael Jackson is "Little Christmas
Tree". Originally released in 1973 on Mowtown Records, "Little Christmas
Tree" lives in the new "Ultimate Jackson 5" Christmas album available
now at Over 50 Music.com.
As surely as "I'll Be There" is played at
weddings and "Thriller" is a favorite at Halloween - "Little Christmas
Tree" is poised to be an everlasting tribute the life and work of
Michael
Michael Joseph Jackson[1] (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American
recording artist,
entertainer and
businessman. Often referred to as the
King of Pop, or by his initials
MJ,
[2] Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by
Guinness World Records. His contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with a much-publicized personal life, made him a global figure in
popular culture for over four decades.
The eighth child of the
Jackson family, he debuted on the professional music scene along with his brothers as a member of
The Jackson 5 in 1964, and began his solo career in 1971.
In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in
popular music. The music videos for his songs, including those of "
Beat It", "
Billie Jean", and "
Thriller",
were credited with breaking down racial barriers and transforming the
medium into an art form and promotional tool.
The popularity of these
videos helped to bring the then relatively new television channel
MTV to fame. With videos such as "
Black or White" and "
Scream"
he continued to innovate the medium throughout the 1990s, as well as
forging a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video
performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance
techniques, such as the
robot, and the
moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous
hip hop,
post-disco,
contemporary R&B, pop and rock artists.
Jackson's 1982 album
Thriller is the
best-selling album of all time. His other records, including
Off the Wall (1979),
Bad (1987),
Dangerous (1991), and
HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first
and only dancer from pop and rock music.
Some of his other
achievements include multiple Guinness World Records; 13
Grammy Awards as well as the
Grammy Legend Award and the
Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; 26
American Music Awards, more than any other artist, including the "Artist of the Century" and "Artist of the 1980s"; 13
number-one singles in the United States in his solo career, more than any other male artist in the
Hot 100 era; and the estimated sale of over 750 million records worldwide. Jackson won
hundreds of awards, which made him the most-awarded recording artist in the history of popular music.
[3]
Aspects of Jackson's personal life, including his changing
appearance,
personal relationships, and behavior, generated controversy. In the mid 1990s, he was
accused of child sexual abuse by two boys, but the cases was settled out of court for about $25 million and $2 million and no formal charges were brought.
[4]
Jackson constantly traveled the world attending events honoring his
humanitarianism and the 2000 Guinness Book of Records recognized him for
supporting 39 charities; more than any other pop star.
However in 1998,
Britain's Charity Commission shut down Jackson's charity Heal the
World, reportedly concluding that Jackson's actions had ruined the
charity's good name.
[5]
In 2005, he was
tried and acquitted
of further child sexual abuse allegations and several other charges
after the jury found him not guilty on all counts. While preparing for
his concert series titled
This Is It, Jackson
died of acute
propofol and
benzodiazepine intoxication on June 25, 2009, after suffering from cardiac arrest. The
Los Angeles County Coroner ruled his death a homicide, and
his personal physician was convicted of
involuntary manslaughter.
Jackson's death triggered a global outpouring of grief, and as many as
one billion people around the world reportedly watched his
public memorial service on live television.
[6] In March 2010,
Sony Music Entertainment
and Jackson's estate signed the largest music contract ever, with a
$250 million deal to retain distribution rights to his recordings until
2017, and to release seven posthumous albums over the decade following
his death.
[7]
| Michael Jackson |
|---|
Jackson at the White House in 1984 |
| Background information |
| Birth name |
Michael Joseph Jackson[1] |
| Also known as |
Michael Joe Jackson |
| Born |
August 29, 1958
Gary, Indiana, U.S. |
| Died |
June 25, 2009 (aged 50)
Los Angeles, California, U.S. |
| Genres |
R&B, pop, rock, soul, dance, funk, disco, new jack swing |
| Occupations |
Singer-songwriter, musician, composer, arranger, dancer, choreographer, record producer, actor, businessman, |
| Instruments |
Vocals, piano |
| Years active |
1964–2009 |
| Labels |
Motown, Epic, Legacy, MJJ Productions |
| Associated acts |
The Jackson 5, The Jacksons
Michael Jackson's signature |
Life and career
Early life and The Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
Jackson's childhood home in
Gary, Indiana, showing floral tributes after his death
Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, the eighth of ten
children in an African American working-class family who lived in a
small 3-room house in
Gary, Indiana,
[8] an industrial city near Chicago. His mother,
Katherine Esther Scruse, was a devout
Jehovah's Witness, and his father,
Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson, was a steel mill worker who performed with an R&B band called The Falcons.
Jackson had three sisters:
Rebbie,
La Toya, and
Janet, and five brothers:
Jackie,
Tito,
Jermaine,
Marlon, and
Randy.
[9] A sixth brother, Brandon, died shortly after birth.
[10]
Jackson had a troubled relationship with his father, Joe.
[11][12][13] Joseph acknowledged in 2003 that he regularly whipped Jackson as a boy.
[13]
Jackson stated that he was physically and emotionally abused during
incessant rehearsals, though he also credited his father's strict
discipline with playing a large role in his success.
[11]
Jackson first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in an interview with
Oprah Winfrey,
broadcast in February 1993. He admitted that he had often cried from
loneliness and he would vomit on the sight of his father. Jackson's
father was also said to have verbally abused Jackson, saying that he had
a fat nose on numerous occasions.
[14]
In fact, Michael Jackson's deep dissatisfaction with his appearance,
his nightmares and chronic sleep problems, his tendency to remain
hyper-compliant especially with his father, and to remain childlike
throughout his adult life are in many ways consistent with the effects
of this chronic maltreatment he endured as a young child.
[15]
In an interview with
Martin Bashir, later included in the 2003 broadcast of
Living with Michael Jackson,
Jackson acknowledged that his father hurt him when he was a child, but
was nonetheless a "genius", as he admitted his father's strict
discipline played a huge role in his success. When Bashir dismissed the
positive remark and continued asking about beatings, Jackson put his
hand over his face and objected to the questions. He recalled that
Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as he and his siblings
rehearsed, and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear
you up, really get you".
[16][17]
Jackson (center) as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1972
In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed
by brothers Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing
congas and
tambourine.
Jackson later began performing backup vocals and dancing.
When he was
eight, Jackson began sharing the lead vocals with his older brother
Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to
The Jackson 5.
[9] The band toured
the Midwest extensively from 1966 to 1968, frequently performing at a string of black clubs known as the "
chitlin' circuit", where they often opened
stripteases and other adult acts.
In 1966, they won a major local talent show with renditions of
Motown hits and
James Brown's "
I Got You (I Feel Good)", led by Michael.
[18]
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs, including "
Big Boy", for the local record label
Steeltown in 1967, before signing with Motown Records in 1968.
[9] Rolling Stone
magazine later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with
"overwhelming musical gifts," writing that he "quickly emerged as the
main draw and lead singer."
[19]
The group set a chart record when its first four singles ("
I Want You Back", "
ABC", "
The Love You Save", and "
I'll Be There") peaked at number one on the
Billboard Hot 100.
[9] Between 1972 and 1975, Michael released four solo studio albums with Motown, among them
Got to Be There and
Ben, released as part of the Jackson 5 franchise, and producing successful singles such as "
Got to Be There", "
Ben", and a remake of
Bobby Day's "
Rockin' Robin".
The Jackson 5 "became a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists... five working-class black boys with
afros and
bell bottoms, and they really didn't have to trade any of that stuff in order to become mainstream stars."
[20]
The group's sales began declining in 1973, and the band members
chafed under Motown's strict refusal to allow them creative control or
input. Although they scored several top 40 hits, including the top 5
disco single "
Dancing Machine" and the top 20 hit "
I Am Love", the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975.
[21]
Source: Wikipedia
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