There is no question that Michael Jackson has made a huge impact on pop music. Everybody in the world knows who he is. He has been popular ever since he was a young boy. He was part of the Jackson Five, a pop band composed of his siblings with Michael being the youngest. He became even more popular when he went solo. All his records went multi-platinum around the world and Michael Jackson records always had singles that went to number one in the pop charts.
Michael Jackson's career started in the 1960's when he was still a young boy as one of the singers of the Jackson Five. He went solo later on in the 1970's and became the biggest pop singer on the planet. His album Thriller is still regarded as the biggest selling album of all time. He also revolutionized the way music videos are made by making them into an art form instead of just mere promotional tools for his songs.
Michael Jackson received numerous awards including several Grammys, MTV awards, American Music Awards and all other music awards. He virtually won all the major music awards and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He also made it to the Guinness Book of World Records as the most successful entertainer of all time. His vocal prowess was matched by his dancing skills and his trademark move called the ?moonwalk? is one of the most famous dance moves in the world.
Michael Jackson has been involved in numerous charities around the world but all that good work was marred by scandal when he was accused of molesting a boy in the 1990's. The matter was later on settled out of court and he was never charged but his career greatly suffered because of it. He also suffered financially as legal expenses continued to drain his finances. His multi-million dollar ranch called Neverland had to be closed in order to cut costs.
Michael Jackson died in June of 2009 from cardiac arrest allegedly caused by an overdose of pain killers. The initial autopsy conducted on his body did not confirm this allegation but investigation is still going on as to the cause of his death. The results of tests conducted on Michael Jackson's body, however, indicate that he was indeed taking narcotic painkillers at the time of his death and may have been the cause of his death.
Michael Jackson's cause of death is still a mystery and may always remain a mystery but one thing is certain, he truly is the king of pop. Michael Jackson records will continue to sell after his death and may in fact sell millions again because of it. Michael Jackson memorabilia are now highly sought after by fans and this is a clear indication that the pop icon will remain popular long after his death. Michael Jackson CDs as well as Michael Jackson DVDs are testament to the genius of this remarkable individual and will serve as concrete evidence to his legacy as the king of pop.
Michael Jackson was the seventh child of a family of nine siblings. He started performing with his brothers in a group called the Jackson Brothers, which later on changed to the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 recorded several songs with Motown, but amongst the 5 brothers, Michael's talent was clearly more distinct.
Over the years, Michael Jackson has become known as the King of Pop. With hits such as Ben, Bad, Thriller, and Black or White, Michael Jackson's music dominated the pop scene. Fans all over the world would go to any lengths just to collect Michael Jackson memorabilia. People who have followed Michael Jackson from the onset of his career even collected Jackson 5 memorabilia, to make sure they did not miss anything.
Michael Jackson started going solo in 1971, and released his best-selling album, Thriller, in 1982. He was even more popularized with his complicated dance moves, with the Moonwalk, topping it all off. Michael Jackson was also known as a philanthropist and humanitarian. This was clearly shown in the Michael Jackson records "We Are the World", written for a charity to aid the poor worldwide, and "Heal the World", written for the underprivileged children. The Heal the World Foundation actually brought these children to Jackson's property, built in theme park style, so they can enjoy the rides. He even aided in the campaign to bring HIV/AIDS to public awareness.
But despite the success of Michael Jackson records, the millions of Michael Jackson CD's and Michael Jackson DVD's sold, his life wasn't all rosy. He was accused of child sexual abuse. His marriage to Lisa Marie Presley ended in divorce. His second marriage to a nurse named Deborah Rowe, also ended in divorce, with Jackson getting full custody of his children.
It was also during this time that the public started noticing his changing appearance. His skin, which started out chocolate brown, gradually grew paler. He had plastic surgery and had a cleft chin surgically created. He lost weight, changed his hair style, and even changed the stage lighting in his concerts. He was seen in public less and less.
In 2006, the main house in Neverland Ranch (Jackson's home) was closed off, to cut costs. He was having problems with the loans he had. But he had strong faith in what his abilities could bring. With his death on June 25, 2009, people all over the world became more adamant in collecting Michael Jackson memorabilia. Michael Jackson Clothing, records, cassettes, and books were sold to commemorate the passing of a great music icon. His death was publicized and mourned all over.
Michael Jackson was a performer like no other. Many of the artists today were influenced by his music. Despite controversies and bad publicity surrounding him, Jackson was idolized. His fame cannot be matched by others. He is remembered as the sweet voiced young boy with a rat for a friend in the song "Ben" who moved to the top despite his not so rose-colored youth, triumphing as a man treated as a king in the music industry.
Encouraging News from the GWOT
"The government of Indonesia is encouraged by the high level participation of the people of Iraq in the election held today"Jakarta Post, 1/30/05
Iraqis braved bombs and voted in their millions in Iraq's first free election in half a century yesterday... At one polling place in Baghdad, soldiers and voters joined hands in a dance, and in Baquba, voters jumped and clapped to celebrate the historic day.Arab News, 1/31/05
AFP grabbed a few less optimistic quotes.
"While the world faces problems of a global scale, the United States has a single preoccupation -- what they call democracy," complained a commentary in the government-owned Cairo daily Al-Akhbar.
"American democracy is a damaged good that the United States is trying to spread across the world in the interests of domination, oppression and obscurantism," it said.
Lebanese Prime Minister Omar Karameh said his country was also being targeted by Washington, which co-sponsored a UN Security Council resolution last September demanding an end to foreign involvement in its affairs.
"We're facing a plan to impose its (US) domination by forcing the region to redefine policies under the slogan of democracy and freedom, just as is happening in Iraq and Palestine," Karameh told reporters in Beirut.
"In Lebanon and Syria, we are the victims of the same onslaught. The methods may be different but the aim is the same."
Syrian counterpart Mohammed Naji Otri echoed his comments, telling the same Beirut press conference: "These pressures are aimed at recolonizing the region."
Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmad Nazif said earlier this year that "the Egyptian people do not attach priority to political reforms.
And President Hosni Mubarak (news - web sites) on Saturday rejected calls for an amendment to the constitution to make the presidency directly elected, in place of the present system under which a plebiscite is held on a single candidate nominated by parliament.
"I am not going to make a change that would go down as a black day in Egyptian history," he told reporters Saturday.
But analysts warned that the pressure for reform now risked becoming unstoppable, however much authoritarian governments around the region tried to resist it.
"Democracy is an idea that is now on the march in the Middle East even if the efforts to contain it are immense," said Amr al-Shubaqi of the Al-Ahram Centre for Political Studies in Cairo.
It appears democracy may become almost uncontainable. Congratulations Iraq! |
