Ludwig |1 Azia Ludwig Lora Kelly Music 1040 04/27/2014

The Musical History of Michael Jackson The King of Pop Michael Jackson was known for his extraordinary music. A few of his most popular songs will be broken down and listed with its attributes along with the timeframe of where or when Michael Jacksons songs became popular.

(Biography.com)

The King of Pop, Michael Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. At age five, Michael joined his vocally talented, older brothers and began the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 started getting their own small gigs and even recorded their own single called Big Boy. In 1968, Motown founder and songwriter, Berry Gordy, signed the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 then relocated from small town Gary, Indiana to Los Angeles, California. When the Jacksons first arrived to Los Angeles, they had stayed with Berry Gordy and Diana Ross until a place of their own had become available. In January 1970, Diana Ross presented the Jackson 5 with their first single and a hit song I Want You Back as number one on the Billboard Hot 100s (The song has sold over 6 million copies worldwide, and was welcomed into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999). This created the boom for the Jackson 5 and a kick-start to Michaels

Ludwig |2 solo career. More chart-topping singles quickly followed, such as "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There (biography.com). In 1982, Michaels next solo album Thriller created seven different top hits. It also was his bestselling album in history. The song Thriller was Michaels most extravagant music video on the Thriller album. John Landis and Michael Jackson directed the 13-minute music video, and voice-over by actor Vincent John (the scary voice and horror laughter). Thriller was MTVs first world premiere. The music video was a great success and sales skyrocketed, selling over one million copies around the world. Thriller was number on the chart for over 36 weeks; it was also nominated for twelve Grammys. Unfortunately, the video did not win all twelve nominations. However, it did win eight of the nominations, one of which includes Best Pop Male Vocal Performance. In 2006, it also was in Guinness World Record for most success video selling over 9 million copies. Lastly, in 2009, the Library of Congress inducted the video into the National Film Registry (IMDb.com).

(IMDb.com)

From 1982 to 1994 Michael Jackson had so much success, with more chart toppers and more awards. Success was inevitable for the talented Michael Jackson. With all the success, that Michael Jackson had also came trials and tribulations. Throughout that time, his personal life seemed to overrule his music. In 1995, Michael and his sister Janet Jackson came out with once again, another chart topper, a song directed toward the tabloids, hit song Scream. The song and Scream was nominated for a

Ludwig |3 Grammy and American Music Award. It also won an MTV music video award and a Grammy (Best Music Video). Scream was also in the Guinness Book of World Record for the most expensive music video, costing $7 million to produce.

(Biography.com)

Michael Jackson career vocally and his dancing capabilities has forever changed music. He will always be known for his famous dance the moonwalk and of course his sense of style (one white sequined glove, white socks and black shoes, and his jacket with a ribbon tied around one arm). The King of Pop passed away on June 29, 2009 but his music will live on forever. Michael's passion and artistry as a singer, dancer, writer and businessman is beyond compare (IMDb.com).

(IMDb.com)

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WORKS CITED "Famous Biographies & TV Shows - Biography.com." Michael Joseph Jackson. N.p., 2014. Web. 17 Apr. 2014. <http://www.biography.com/>. "History.com History Made Every Day American & World ...." Michael Jackson is born. N.p., 15 Mar. 1993. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.history.com/>. "Internet Movie Database - IMDb - Movies, TV and Celebrities." Michael Jackson Biography. N.p., 20 Jan. 2001. Web. 18 Apr. 2014. <http://www.imdb.com/>.