Michael Jackson: A Belated Birthday Tribute | Squidoo Music
August 29, 2010 would have been Michael Jackson's 52nd birthday, so it would be remiss of me to let the occasion pass without some music from the King of Pop.Whatever our thoughts about his personal life and his appearance, there is no denying that Michael Jackson was the consummate entertainer. In fact, Guinness World Records has recognized him as the most successful entertainer of all time.
Starting out as a member of the Jackson 5 in the 1960s, Jackson's solo career began in 1971 with the release of Got to Be There, and went from child singer to the biggest worldwide pop sensation at the end of the decade with the release of the album Off The Wall. In between, Jackson secured his first US Number One with the theme song to the 1972 movie Ben. All about a rat, the track made Jackson one of the youngest recording artists to top the American chart:
During the 1980s, he blew all the competition out of the water, earning the King of Pop moniker and releasing the biggest selling album of all time in Thriller. In addition, he scored fourteen US Top 10 hits, half of which went all the way to Number One. So many riches from which to choose, but director John Landis' video/film short for Thriller would be a great pick:
While the Thriller single didn't get to Number One, the second song from the album did. Billie Jean became one of the biggest selling tracks of 1983, completing the feat of reaching the summit of the US and the UK music charts simultaneously:
The album Bad continued Jackson's phenomenal success during the 1980s, itself becoming one of the best sellers of all time. As successful as it was, this did not stop all five of the singles released from the album peaking at Number One on the Billboard Hot 100. This is the last of them, from 1988 Dirty Diana:
Jackson's musical star continued to shine throughout the 1990s, despite his personal life becoming a mess and his ongoing strange appearance. He released the album Dangerous towards the end of 1991, and yet again it became a worldwide smash. In fact, in the UK, it is the first album to produce eight consecutive Top 20 hits. Here is the first of them, a Number One in both the US and Great Britain, Black or White:
In the UK, Black or White was one of four Number Ones during the 1990s for Jackson. One of the others became his biggest selling single there; one which was not released as a single in the US. Earth Song reflected Jackson's environmental and animal welfare concerns, and hit the public consciousness across Europe, which subsequently bought the track by the truck load.
During the 2000s, Jackson's output slowed (although it really had not been that prolific). His last album was Invincible, which was not received well by the critics, but which went on to sell enough copies to top music charts worldwide. Compared to Jackson's previous albums, its sales rate was paltry, thus considered in some quarters as a commercial failure. One of the tracks from Invincible managed to register within the Top 10s of both the US and the UK: You Rock My World.
As we all know, Michael Jackson was planning a comeback just before his untimely death in 2009. To be known as the This Is It tour, a series of concerts was due to begin in London. With those concerts not taking place, footage of his rehearsals was released on film following his death, along with an album of the same name. A planned lead single was due to for physical availability, but was withdrawn at the last minute.
Michael Jackson's birthday: August 29.
