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Andreal Williams
November 7, 2014
Dr. Witherspoon
English 101-18

Michael Jackson: King of Pop

Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. Launching his career at
the age of five, he quickly shot to superstardom while in the Jackson Five. After years of
working with the group he went on to become the internationally famous award-winning solo
pop sensation we know today. Michael Jackson has completely revolutionized the music
industry and has transcended pop music through the training he received as a child, his
innovative dance moves and the expansion of his career.
The Jackson 5 would not have been the talented group we know today if it was not for
their father, Joseph Jackson. Having already been a guitarist in his early years he knew what it
took to be successful in the industry. At first, the Jackson Family consisted of Michaels older
brothers, Tito, Jermaine and Jackie. At the ripe age of five years old Michael became the lead
vocalist. He showed remarkable range and depth for such a young performer, impressing
audiences with his ability to convey complex emotions (Michael Joseph Jackson). The brothers
spent countless hours of rehearsing and cleaning up their act. Joseph Jackson was also
reportedly violent with them many times. All the hard work would eventually pay off. They
went from performing at local gigs to opening for R&B artist such as Gladys Knight and the Pips,
James Brown, and Sam and Dave (Michael Joseph Jackson). In 1968, Berry Gordy, founder of
Motown signed them to his label (Michael Joseph Jackson). Their first album, Diana Ross

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Presents the Jackson, hit the charts in December of 1969 (Michael Joseph Jackson). The first
single I Want You Back, hit number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in January 1970 (Michael
Joseph Jackson).
Anyone with the slightest appreciation for dance probably has the King of Pop at the top
of their list. Michael Jackson will always be remembered as the pop music genius but, he was
the true definition of dance. Jackson transcended boundaries between street dancing and
dancing as a high-culture art form in a way no one had before (Smith). The dance move that
sparked a rave back then and today is the famous moonwalk. One cannot talk about Michael
Jackson without talking about the moonwalk. He presented the dance during a performance of
Billie Jean on the May 16, 1983, TV special Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever in
celebration of the labels 25th anniversary (Michael Jackson Achievements). The Motown special
will always be remembered as a magical moment in the history of music entertainment, as the
Moonwalk set Michael apart in the realm of superstardom (Bedinghaus). In the same year
Thriller was released. The video forever changed the music video world upon its release. The 14
minute epic unlocked the unlimited possibilities of music videos (Michael Jackson
Achievements). Many people contribute much of Jacksons success to his amazing ability to
dance (Bedinghaus). With someone as innovative as Michael, there were always tricks up his
sleeve. Even if it was not a movement that he created, even if he was not doing it for the first
time, he made it look brand new (Michael Jackson Achievements). In an article Janet Wong
points out that Jacksons not gone at all. We still have the zombie dance in Thriller and
whether we want it or not, the crotch grabbing in Bad, another move instantly associated
with Jackson (Michael Jackson Achievements).

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Michael Jacksons solo career did not launch until he was thirteen years old. Although he
began to step out as a solo artist during the 70s, Jackson did not truly a full-fledged artist until
the 80s (Peake). In addition to his solo career he still continued working with his brothers in The
Jacksons. The group became so popular that they even had their own self-titled cartoon show
which ran from 1971 to 1973 (Michael Joseph Jackson). His solo album Off the Wall had
amazed the world when it was released. The 1979 featured a blend of pop and funk with such
hit tracks as the Grammy Award-winning Dont Stop til You Get Enough and Rock with You
(Michael Joseph Jackson). Though Off the Wall was a successful project none would compare
to the 1982 masterpiece Thriller. The project alone sold nearly 60 million albums worldwide
and retains its title as the biggest-selling record of all-time (Peake). Michael Jackson the record
of winning eight Grammy awards in one night and is first artist to achieve this goal. On February
28, 1984 at the 26th Annual Grammy Awards, the King of Pops haul included Album of the Year
for Thriller and Record of the Year for Beat It. Jackson is among the artist with the most
Grammys won in the 80s with eleven (Michael Jackson Achievements). Michael Jackson a wellrounded person being known for more than dancing and musical talents. He became known as
a business mogul and also added actor to his already busy life. In 1977, Michael made his first
debut when he starred in the musical The Wiz playing a scarecrow with Diana Ross in the lead
role of Dorothy (All Michael Jackson Biography). Jackson was at the top of his game both
creatively and commercially when he signed a 5 million dollar endorsement deal with PepsiCola. Unfortunately he was badly injured while filming a commercial for the soda giant in 1984,
suffering burns to his face and scalp (Michael Joseph Jackson). Jackson went from endorsing
products to paving a new path and establishing his own publishing empire, Michael Jackson Inc.

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He had learned the value of publishing rights which brought in royalties whenever a tune
played on the radio, was performed by another artist, or appeared in a TV commercial or movie
(Hune-Brown). Now adding entrepreneurial instincts to his list of talents he aimed to become
the number one publisher in the world. Jackson changed the formula for monetizing fame
forever (Hune-Brown). He was the first musician to have his own clothing line of official
Thriller jackets and sequined gloves. He was one of the initial artists to sign to massive
endorsement deals, earning millions from Pepsi and launching his own shoe with LA Gear, for
which he was paid 20 million dollars, a higher figure than Michael Jordans 1987 Nike deal
(Hune-Brown). Even well after his death his brand continued making money. Five years since his
death the Jackson estate has licensed video games and T-shirts and much more (Hune-Brown).
Last years Xscape, Jacksons second album since his death, was launched at the 2014 Billboard
Awards (Hune-Brown). Jacksons estate has pulled in an estimated 700 million dollars, this is
more money than any other musician, dead or alive, has made over that period (Hune-Brown).
In closing, Jackson announced his tour This Is It as his final curtain call. The response
was strong and all the tickets were sold out within four hours. Sadly on June 25, 2009, due to a
cardiac arrest, the world lost arguably the best musician of all time. Michael Jackson has
completely revolutionized the music industry and has transcended pop music through the
training he received as a child, his innovative dance moves and the expansion of his career.

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Works cited
All Michael Jackson Biography. All Michael Jackson Biography History Biography.
Allmichaeljackson.com, 2014. Web. 05. Nov. 2014.
Bedinghaus, Treva Michael Jackson. Dance.about.com. About.com, 2014. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
Hune-Brown, Nicholas. The Business Man in the Mirror. Canadian Business 87.8(2014): 60-61
Academic Search Complete. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
Michael Jackson Achievements Grammy.com. The List Blog, 24 June 2014. Web. 05 Nov.
2014.
Michael Joseph Jackson. Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 04 Nov. 2014.
Peake, Steve. Michael Jackson-The King of Pop. About. com, 2014. Web. 05 Nov. 2014.
Smith, Olivia. Michael Jackson the Dancer. NYdailynews.com. NY Daily News, 29 June 2009.
Web. 04 Nov. 2014.