Undeniable Facts About Michael Jackson, The King Of Pop

Michael Jackson Was Pop Music's Most Disturbed Soul
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Undeniable Facts About Michael Jackson, The King Of Pop
Jul 1
PEOPLE
Miles Brucker
The King of Pop was one of the most compelling figures of the 20th century. There was his young start, his tumultuous family life, and his utter domination of the music charts. Then, later, the scandals and mystery that followed him throughout his final years. It would be an understatement to say that Michael Jackson led an extremely controversial and complicated life. So, how much do we know about the original thriller? Read on for undeniable facts about Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.
1. They Were a Musical Family
Many people think that Michael Jackson was thrust into show business the minute he was born, but that’s not necessarily the case. His parents were interested in music, granted, but in 1958 when Michael was born, they were both still working regular jobs. However, it was soon after Michael’s birth that his father, Joe Jackson, got the wheels rolling on a musical project for his sons.
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2. He Completed the Group
Joe Jackson enlisted Michael’s older brothers Jackie, Tito, and Germaine to form a group called the Jackson Brothers. At the age of six, Michael began to play congas and tambourine as part of their backing band, but when he showed his family that he could sing, they expanded the group and renamed it the Jackson 5.
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3. He Did More Than Most Kids His Age
We know the Jackson 5 for hit songs like “ABC,” but before they ever struck it big, they were a hardworking touring group. Before Michael was even 10, the Jackson 5 were touring the US—and some of the places they played were a little less age-appropriate than others. While they’d play high school dances, they were also frequently featured at clubs and cocktail bars—sometimes as openers for striptease acts.
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4. He Lived in Fear
Before he’d hit his teen years, Michael Jackson was already experiencing great success with the Jackson 5— but behind the scenes, he was living a nightmare.  His father Joe was an exacting perfectionist, and would often beat and berate Michael during the Jackson 5’s rehearsals. Michael later revealed that Joe would sit in a chair as the boys rehearsed, holding a belt and waiting for the moment when one of them would make a mistake.
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5. They Got Rich & Famous
Despite all the persecution that Michael underwent at the hands of his father, he did say that Joe’s perfectionism compelled him to become a better and more disciplined performer—and of course, it eventually paid off. The Jackson 5 had their first #1 single with “I Want You Back” in 1970, and it was followed by another string of hits that cemented the group’s fame—and made the Jackson family rich.
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6. He Grew Up
By this point, Michael was undeniably the lead singer and the main attraction in the Jackson 5. At the same time, he was also transforming from child star to teen idol, with all the attention that came with it. While he continued to perform with the Jackson 5, he also released his first solo albums.
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7. He Wanted to Do More
Jackson spent the next few years splitting his time between the Jackson 5—who eventually just became the Jacksons—and his solo career. Jackson didn’t just want to sing: he was also developing his dancing skills and began to write songs for himself and the Jacksons. He was destined to be a superstar—but there were more than a few bumps along the way.
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8. He Had a Huge Disappointment
In 1978, Jackson left his family and moved to New York City to star in a musical. Sadly , a heartbreak was lurking around the corner for Jackson.  Getting cast as the Scarecrow in the Wiz was a dream come true for Jackson, but then film was a huge flop both critically and commercially. It was a crushing blow, but Jackson bounced back—his next solo album, Off the Wall , became a massive hit.
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9. He Wanted More
However, it wasn’t good enough for Jackson. He’d inherited the perfectionist gene from his father, and after all the work that he had put into Off the Wall , he expected it to do much better than it did, and thought that it should have won the Grammy for Record of the Year. This perceived “failure” made him even more determined to produce an album that would become not only a massive hit, but have lasting influence.
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10. He Was Isolated
During this time, Jackson had become more and more independent from his family. On one hand, this meant that he had greater creative freedom— but there was also a dark side to it.  In the years between Off the Wall  and Jackson’s next album, he confessed that he was desperately lonely.
He detailed his isolation in an interview, saying "Even at home, I'm lonely. I sit in my room sometimes and cry. It's so hard to make friends... I sometimes walk around the neighborhood at night, just hoping to find someone to talk to. But I just end up coming home."
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11. He Had a Vision
Despite his troubles at home, Jackson remained hopeful about the next step in his career. He came up with one goal: to create an album where “every song in a killer.” That album ended up being 1982’s Thriller —and it was the album that finally gave Jackson what he wanted and what he’d been working for. It first became the best-selling album of all-time in the US, and later, the world.
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12. He Knew What to Do
Of course, it wasn’t a straight line upward to success. While the album initially sold tons of copies in 1982, its popularity began to decline in 1983—but Jackson was determined to keep it at the top of the charts. He came up with an idea for another music video that would cause a resurgence, but his record company was content to let the album rest on his laurels.
That wasn’t good enough for Jackson, so he convinced MTV to fund the video. That video, of course, was the iconic “Thriller,” and it was such a huge hit that MTV committed to playing it twice every hour—despite the fact that it was 14 minutes long.
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13. Their Problems Flared Up
Jackson was officially one of the most in-demand entertainers in the world, and the production for the “Thriller” video was an ambitious affair— with its fair share of dark drama behind the scenes.  Director John Landis relayed an incident where Joe Jackson came to visit his son on set, only for Michael to ask for him to leave. Joe refused, and law enforcement eventually had to come physically remove him from the premises…and the dramatics it didn’t end there.
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14. He Was Threatened
Jackson had been raised as a Jehovah’s Witness by his mother, Katherine. When the church leaders got wind of the macabre themes of the song’s video, they sent him a vicious warning . They claimed that the video promoted demonology and all but promised that he’d be excommunicated if it ever saw the light of day. Jackson was terrified.
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15. He Panicked
Upon learning the church’s plans to cast…

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