musicradio77
08-14-2004, 01:33 AM
Here we go again, for another Motown 45th Anniversary Artists Avatar of the Week. This week will feature a solo artist went from first to worst. Michael Jackson was born on August 29th, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. When he was a young kid back then, he was part of the group, Jackson 5. We mentioned last week that we highlighted the Jackson 5's career, but in 1971, Michael decided to go solo while he was with the Jackson 5 at the time. His first single "Got to Be There" was a success in late 1971 and went to the top of the charts by early 1972. His next single "Rockin' Robin" was an instant hit and then came his first #1 song "Ben" from the movie of the same name. While they were with the group, they signed with Epic records under the new name, the Jacksons. In 1977, he made his acting debut in the Box Office disapointment, "The Wiz". While he was on the set, he met fellow producer and friend, Quincy Jones. His first big solo album was "Off the Wall" in 1979, featuring #1 singles like "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You". Next came the 1982 monumental landmark album, "Thriller" featuring a couple of #1's like "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" along with other hits like "The Girl Is Mine" featuring former Beatle, Paul McCartney, "Wanna Be Started Somethin'", the title cut, "Human Nature" and "PYT". In late 1983, Michael made his debut in his first full length music video, "Thriller". The video played number of times on MTV. That same year, Michael introduced to audiences in a TV special celebrating 25 years of Motown in a stunning rendition of "Billie Jean", the audience cheered as Michael does the moonwalk on live TV. In 1984, he joined Paul McCartney again on the song "Say, Say, Say". Michael was injured during the Pepsi shoot that he had 2nd or 3rd degree burns on his head. He came back from recovery and then in 1985, he co-wrote it with Lionel Richie on a song that would live forever, the song was called "We Are the World". The members of USA for Africa sang that tune and it became a million seller in which the song was benefit for the famine-relief effort. And then, he came back in 1987 for the album "Bad" featuring the songs "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Dirty Diana" and "Smooth Criminal", he made his first feature film "Moonwalker" in 1988. In 1991, he joined again for another album called "Dangerous" featuring the songs "Black or White", "Remember the Time", "In the Closet" and the charity song "Heal the World". Michael went touring across the country with the Dangerous Tour. He performed live on HBO somewhere around 1993 in a concert in Bucharest, Germany. He came back with the song "Will You Be There" from the movie "Free Willy" and then came his hit "You Are Not Alone". He married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994 and got divorced for several months. As you probably know the story that back in 1993, Michael was accusing of molesting a 13-year-old boy who'd become a guest in Neverland, the one that Michael owned the ranch. Michael entered rehab for short-lived time. He went into court and paid millions of dollar. Then it came back again in 1995 for the album "HIStory: Past, Present and Future", a collection of his greatest hits and a batch of new songs like "Scream" a song featuring Janet Jackson. Michael married Debbie Rowe in 1996 and had two children. He later divorced in 1999. On 9/11/01, the day the World Trade Center was attacked, Michael Jackson performed live for its 30th anniversary of his solo career. Then came with the album "Invincible" it flopped. The album featured "Rock My World" and "Butterflies" and then he put out the song "What More Can I Give" to benefit the people who lost on 9-11. The video for the song was planned but it was cancelled. Michael Jackson went downhill before making a statement that on the press that Sony Music chairman, Tommy Mottola was calling him a "devilish", Michael got his response for Tommy and he was released from his contract. Michael Jackson was at the MTV Music Awards with my favorite idol, Britney Spears and she was received his birthday cake from her. In 2002, Michael was holding a 11-month-old baby at his balcony and the baby almost fell off while he was holding the blanket cause some shocking response. Last year, Michael Jackson was arrested for child molestation and went on trail. Michael Jackson had many of his ups and downs over the past several years. And you know the rest of the story.