Happy Birthday Michael

HAPPY 51st BIRTHDAY

Michael Joseph Jackson
(August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)

Here are a few of the reasons why Michael was so great....

This undated photo provided by the Vered Gallery in East Hampton, N.Y., shows Andy Warhol's "Michael Jackson 1984," a 30-by-26-inch painting of the pop star in a red jacket from his 1980s "Thriller" days. The Vered Gallery in East Hampton, has sold the Andy Warhol portrait. Gallery co-owner Janet Lehr did not reveal the final bid price, but did say it was above a million dollars. (AP Photo/Vered Gallery, File)


On March 25, 1983, he performed live on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special, both with The Jackson 5 and on his own singing "Billie Jean". Wearing a distinctive sequined glove, he debuted his signature dance move, the moonwalk, which former Soul Train dancer and Shalamar member, Jeffrey Daniel had taught him 3 years before.

Unlike later albums, Thriller did not have an official tour to promote it, but the 1984 Victory Tour, headlined by The Jacksons, showcased much of Jackson's new solo material to more than two million Americans. He donated his $5 million share from the Victory Tour to charity.

He also co-wrote the charity single "We are the World"in 1985 with Lionel Richie, which was released worldwide to aid the poor in the U.S. and Africa. It became one of the best-selling singles of all time, with nearly 20 million copies sold and millions of dollars donated to famine relief.



Jackson starred in the 3-D film Captain EO, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. It was the most expensive film produced on a per-minute basis at the time, and was later hosted in Disney theme parks. Disneyland featured the film in its Tomorrowland area for nearly 11 years, while Walt Disney World screened the film in its Epcot theme park from 1986 to 1994

The Bad World Tour began on September 12 1989. He broke a Guinness World Record when 504,000 people attended seven sold-out shows. He performed a total of 123 concerts to an audience of 4.4 million people, and gained a further Guinness World Record when the tour grossed him $125 million. During the trip he invited underprivileged children to watch for free, and gave donations to hospitals, orphanages, and other charities.


One of Jackson's most acclaimed performances came during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXVII. As the performances began, Jackson was catapulted onto the stage as fireworks went off behind him. As he landed on the canvas, he maintained a motionless "clenched fist, standing statue stance", dressed in a gold and black military outfit and sunglasses; he remained completely motionless for several minutes while the crowd cheered. He then slowly removed his sunglasses, threw them away and began to sing and dance.


Jackson gave a 90-minute interview to Oprah in February 1993, his second television interview since 1979. He denied tabloid rumors that he bleached his skin, stating for the first time that he had vitiligo. The interview was watched by an American audience of 90 million, becoming the fourth most-viewed non-sport program in U.S. history. It also increased awareness of vitiligo, a relatively unknown condition. Dangerous re-entered the album chart in the top 10, more than a year after its original release.


History, released in 1995 is the best-selling multiple-disc album of all-time, with 20 million copies (40 million units) sold worldwide. "You are not alone" was the second single released from History; it holds the Guinness World Record for the first song ever to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

The memorial was held on July 7, 2009, in Los Angeles. Some unofficial reports claimed a worldwide audience as high as one billion people. The U.S. audience was estimated to be 31.1 million, an amount comparable to the estimated 35.1 million that watched the 2004 burial of President Ronald Reagan, and the estimated 33.1 million Americans who watched the 1997 funeral for Princess Diana

*info courtesy of Wikipedia