Mozart, Elvis, Jimi Hendri, Jim Morrison, Chuck Berry, Santana, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder are all members of an exclusive club- the trendsetters. And what has made them truly legendary was their bravery- to resist the current fads and set the pace for a new brand of music- Michael Jackson is a proud member of that guild.
The seventh child of nine, Michael Jackson was born in poverty-stricken Gary, IN in 1958 to Joseph, a factory worker, and Katherine, a housewife. Compressed into 2 bedroom apartment the children coped with the lact of space by turning their attention to music. 5 of the boys, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael began to vocally train under their extremely abusive father- The Jackson 5 was formed in 1964 when Michael was 5. Before the boys went mainstream, the Jackson 5 toured the Midwest, picking up gigs wherever they could on the “Chitlin Circuit” performing covers of Motown hits from large venues to adult joints. After word circulated that a new group was in town, the Jackson 5 was signed to Motown records in 1968.
The boys went go on to record their first four singles “The Love You Save,” “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll be There” which all peaked at number one on the Billboard Hot 100. With Michael’s tender, high -soprano voice, Rolling Stone deemed Michael Jackson a “prodigy” shortly after After five years with Motown, and four successful albums, the Jackson 5 broke their contract with Motown due to declining sales and lack of control over creative input.
After signing to Epic Records in 1975 and the followed with a Jackson tour was a tremendous hit under a new name- The Jacksons. Embracing the disco trend, the squeeky clean boys began performing songs like “Shake Your Body,” Can You Feel It” and “This Place Hotel”- all written by Michael Jackson. The band composed 6 albums on their new record label between 1976 and 1984.
Michael made his film debut as the timid scarecrow in “The Wiz” alongside Diana Ross playing the part of Dorothy. Michael met music producer Quincy Jones who was composing the score for The Wiz. Quincy would go on to encourage Michael to go solo – producing his first album “Off The Wall” in 1979 which won 3 AMA’s , a Grammy and a Billboard Music Award. Jackson’s second album ‘Thriller’ that would have fans mimicking Michael Jackson’s dance moves, buying tons of Michael Jackson tickets. “Thriller” is still the best selling album of all time, selling 104 million records worldwide.
It isn’t a surprise that Michael has a US patent for the “anti-gravity lean,” and Michael Jackson concerts and Michael Jackson tours are known for signature dance numbers like the moonwalk. Michael has been credited for changing the music video trend into an art form (videos from the 70s and early 80′s consisted of taped concerts- videos like ” Billie Jean” and “Thriller” were more cinematic, most of which he sampled at Michael Jackson Concerts.
But what really sent people scrambling for Michael Jackson tickets was his voice. As a child Michael possessed a crystalline high soprano voice which then transformed to high tenor- vocal hiccups, scats, and falsetto who round out his signiture sound. Michael Jackson has been described as a “blindingly gifted vocalist” by Allmusic and his endless collection of awards attest to that.
During his forty year career, Michael has made ten studio albums, twelve compilation albums and nearly thirty chart topping hits – 13 of which reached number one. Michael Jackson has won 13 Grammy Awards , is one of the only two time inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and has broken the Guinness World Record for “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time.”
Despite this, Michael has been out of the limelight for a long time- fans resolved to accept that Michael Jackson tickets would never see the light of day again. But a glimmer of hope has broken through the darkness and Michael Jackson will be touring in 2009. So far, the Michael Jackson tour 2009 is isolated to the London area, But we can just about guarantee that Michael will be hitting a venue near you in the future- so keep checking this site for the Michael Jackson tour schedule, Michael Jackson ticketing info- so keep your radar tuned to this station!
Update- Michael Jackson was found unresponsive at his California home on June 25th, 2009 – he was later pronounced dead at UCLA hospital- the cause of death has yet to be determined. The King of Pop will be sorely missed.