This Is It: The Final Stage Call For the King of Pop

His last evening was spent on stage. There were no fans, but there was music and there was dancing. Michael Jackson was rehearsing for his upcoming 50 concerts in London, set to begin on July 13, 2009, in the Staples Center on the Wednesday night before his death and had mentioned on several occasions that this tour really was it for him.

Born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Illinois, Jackson was the seventh of nine children. He showed musical talent at an early age, performing as early as five in school recitals. There have been multiple accounts of an abusive childhood, from father “Joe” Jackson, as Jackson and his brothers grew up. By age eight, Jackson and his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon had formed the musical group the Jackson Brothers, soon to be renamed the Jackson 5 when Jermaine and Jackson took on lead vocals. Under the strict scrutiny of Joe, the group toured the Midwest before landing a record deal with Steeltown in 1967, quickly followed by their signing with Motown the following year.

Jackson, along with his brothers, had their first number one hits with the initial four singles from their record – “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There.” Motown claimed at the time that Jackson was only nine years old in order to stir additional public attention to the group. Due to the lack of creative input allowed by the record company, in 1975, the Jackson 5 left Motown.

With their new contract with CBS/Epic Records, Jackson took on the majority of the songwriting for the group’s six albums released through 1984. After Jackson’s starring role in The Wiz, he developed an artistic relationship with Quincy Jones that would later benefit his career. Jones produced Off The Wall for Jackson, the first album with ten number one hits.

Off the Wall was followed up by Thriller. The title music video is said to be one of the most influential music videos of all time (here). Seven of singles were in the Billboard top 10, including “Billie Jean” and “Beat It.” 1983 also saw Jackson’s premiere of the moonwalk in the “Billie Jean” music video.

In May of 1984, Ronald Reagan invited Jackson to the White House to receive an award for his philanthropic work after he donated his $5 million dollar share from his tour in support of Thriller to charities that help people overcome alcohol and drug abuse. Jackson’s charity work continued throughout the rest of the career, followed immediately by the single, “We Are the World,” co-written by Lionel Richie, to aid the poor in Africa and the U.S.

Jackson also developed a relationship with Paul McCartney after working with him on the singles, “The Girl Is Mine” and “Say Say Say,” where he learned about the lucrative nature of owning music catalogues. Soon after he purchased the Beatles catalogue from 1963-1973.

Jackson starred in the 3-D film Captain EO in 1986, which was shown in the Epcot and Disneyland until 1994 and 1997, respectively. He also had pet chimpanzee, named Bubbles. In the mid-1980s, Jackson was diagnosed with vitiligo and lupus, the second was in remission. The result of the diseases, specifically the vitiligo, caused Jackson’s skin pigment to lighten from medium-brown to much paler throughout the remainder of his life.

Bad was the 1987 follow up to Thriller, and although it did not reach the same commercial success, but still had seven hit singles. In 1989, he was dubbed the “King of Pop” by Elizabeth Taylor and received the White House’s “Artist of the Decade” from President George H. W. Bush. “Black or White” and “Remember the Time” topped the charts from Jackson’s 1991 album Dangerous and all the tour profits went to the “Heal the World Foundation”. Jackson’s memorable performance at the 27th Super Bowl is one of the most acclaimed of all time and was awarded the Grammy’s “Living Legend Award” the same year.

HIStory was the only other album Jackson released during the 90’s, followed by 2001’s Invincible.

In 1994, Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, but they divorced less than two years later. His second marriage was to Deborah Rowe, with whom he had two children – Michael Joseph Jackson, Jr. (“Prince”) and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson. After their divorce in 1999, Jackson received full custody of both children. In 2002, Jackson celebrated the birth of his third child, Prince Michael Jackson II (“Blanket”), through an unidentified surrogate. Jackson experienced financial troubles during his remaining years, in addition to multiple court appearances based on various allegations, in the new century and had recently announced a 50-date concert stint in London, entitled “This Is It.” On June 25, 2009, at the age of 50, Jackson collapsed in his mansion in Los Angeles. His personal physician attempted to resuscitate him at his home, and efforts continued during his transfer to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center and for about an hour after he arrived at the hospital. Jackson was pronounced dead at about 2:25pm PST. Internet traffic was brought almost to standstill worldwide as people rushed to their computers for the latest news.

Michael Jackson was an American and global musical icon and the influence of his works are yet to be determined, but will definitely rank among Elvis Presley and the Beatles. Despite any personal drama or accusations, Jackson deserves to be remembered for his contribution to the world of music and his charitable work. He worked tirelessly to help others less fortunate than himself and is one of the top selling artists of all time. He was the King of Pop and “This Is It.”http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4612963.stm, http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-jackson-obit26-2009jun26,0,1970798.story, http://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/26/arts/music/26jackson.html?_r=1