Michael Jackson - Did You Know?
September 18, 2019Music facts, music trivia, interesting stories and much more. Introducing the "Did You Know" page about American singer, songwriter and dancer, Michael Jackson.
Enjoy!
Michael Jackson was an American singer, songwriter and dancer, who was knows as the "King of Pop", and is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century and one of the greatest entertainers.
His contributions to music, fashion and dance, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popular culture for more than four decades.
In 1964, Michael Jackson made his professional debut along with his elder brothers Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, and Marlon, as they were the Jackson 5. In 1971, Michael began his solo career and during the early 1980s, he became a dominant figure in popular music.
Through his stage and video performances, Jackson popularized different dance techniques like the robot and the moonwalk. His sound and style have also influenced many other artists of various genres.
Michael's album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time, with estimated sales of 66 million copies all over the world. His other albums, including Off the Wall from 1979, Bad from 1987, Dangerous from 1991, and HIStory from 1995, also rank among the best-selling albums in the world.
The song "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" from his album Thriller was written by Michael as an angry attack on the tabloid press and others who hounded him. A struggle with fame and being misunderstood were common themes for Michael Jackson, and in his song "Wanna Be Startin Somethin'" he lashes out at those who take advantage of him.
On the other hand, Bruce Swedien, who was an engineer on the Thriller sessions, claimed that this song is actually about Michael's brothers' wives and how they were always creating trouble.
Michael has won many awards during his music career, more than any other artist in the history of popular music and has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame not once but twice.
He is the only pop or rock artist that have been inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame and his other achievements include Guinness world records, 15 Grammy Awards, 26 American Music Awards and 13 number-one US singles. Michael Jackson was the first artist that had a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades.
Michael Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time to this day, with estimated sales of more than 350 million records all over the world.
On June 25, 2009, Michael Jackson died from a cardiac arrest. He was 50 years old.
The song "Beat It" was written by Michael Jackson, who came up with it when his producer, Quincy Jones, encouraged him to write a song like "My Sharona," which was a big hit for The Knack in 1979.
The lyrics of the song "Beat It" are about life on the streets and gang activity, something that Michael Jackson was very detached from, as he was schooled by tutors his whole life and became a star at a young age.
Eddie Van Halen played the guitar solo on the song. He did it as a favor for Quincy Jones and was not paid.
The song "Billie Jean" by Michael Jackson is about a girl who claimed that Michael Jackson was the father of her child. Michael Jackson based the song on a woman who used to stalk him, writing him letters about a son she thought was his.
Jackson rarely spoke about this woman, but he had a very hard time dealing with this unwanted attention and became more reclusive as a result.
The song "Billie Jean" was Jackson's way of expressing his feelings without addressing her directly.
Back to TixSearcher.com's Blog
