Michael's Signature

There is no doubt that Michael Jackson was and is still one of the most recognised personalities around the world.

His signature goes beyond pen and paper and spans four decades featuring performance standards, moonwalk and dance styles, the white glove, pants, ‘clutch grab’ and more infamously his transitioning skin colour.



Jackson’s persona superseded the popularity of Michael Jordan’s Nike Airs and Elvis’ ‘loose hips’ as he made his mark in the music industry.

Unlike others, Jackson was recognised for a range of signatures that crossed cultural barriers, oceans, languages and generations.

Jackson’s unique dress sense captured the attention of many with his black hat, military styled trophy jacket, high waist and short length trousers, single white sparkly together with aviator mirrored sunglasses he maintained this recognisable outfit through decades.

Claimed as his trademark, Jackson's single white glove has also been said to be worn on his right-hand glove was made of white spandex and covered in Swarovski crystal loch rosen crystals.

Also in 'Michael Style' was his ability to moonwalk and stagger audiences with his choreography and synchronisation.

Michael told Oprah Winfrey his 'clutch grab' was due to the momentum of his music.

One could also list Jackson's video clips as part of his trademark, he not only revolutionised the production of music clips but took them into an arena that was complimented by acclaimed producer and director Steven Spielberg.

“Just as there will never be another Fred Astaire or Chuck Berry or Elvis Presley, there will never be anyone comparable to Michael Jackson. His talent, his wonderment and his mystery make him legend” Spielberg said.

"She's out of my life"

On May 26, 1994 King of Pop Michael Jackson made history by marrying Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of King of Rock legend Elvis Presley in the Dominican Republic.

The May 1994 wedding between Presley and Jackson in the Dominican Republic was shrouded in secrecy, and the parties denied that they had married for nearly two months.

It was the second marriage for Presley, 27, and the first for the 37-year-old Jackson.

The two divorced after 18 months on January 18, 1996 on grounds of irreconcilable differences.

Lisa Marie stated she had not seen Jackson during the last six months of their marriage.

Asked to describe her marriage to Jackson in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Presley replied, "Holy mother of God.

It was insane." Michael Jackson soon recovered to marry Debbie Rowe on November 15, 1996.

Unlike Presley, Rowe produced two children with Jackson.

By 8 October 1999 Rowe and Jackson divorced with Michael obtaining full custody of their children, Prince Michael Jr. born 13 February 1997 and Paris Michael Katherine born 3 April, 1998.

The late pop icon had said in his 2002 will that his mother Katherine Jackson should care for Prince Michael Jr., and Paris Michael Katherine, and his youngest child, Prince Michael II born 21 February 2002 known as Blanket, who was carried by a surrogate.

Despite Michael's passion and love for his music, he failed to secure true romance in his life.

Close friends, actress Elizabeth Taylor and songstress Diana Ross are two of many female friends that took a leading role in Jackson's development.

Love interests such as Brooke Shields and Tatum O'Neill only glimmered briefly in his life, though at his memorial service Brooke delivered a heartfelt speech.

Former British bodyguard Matt Fiddes said that Jackson had "someone special" in his life but kept their relationship a mystery from most people.

The woman was not a celebrity but was known to Jackson's family, Mr Fiddes said. Like Blanket's surrogate mother, this woman has not been named.

Michael Jackson's Fan Club

Witness for Jehovah and for the Jury

The Jackson family have voiced their support for the Jehovah's Witness, a religious sect spanning more than 230 regions internationally with approximately 6.4 million practicing members organised into more than 95,000 congregations.

The Jackson family join the throng of others like Prince, Geri Halliwell and the Waynan brothers and sisters.

Jehovah's Witnesses have experienced controversy in their relationships with mainstream Christianity, governments and former members.

Like other religions there have been accusations of doctrinal inconsistency and reversals, false predictions, hypocrisy, mistranslation of the Bible, poor treatment of former members, mind control and failure to report cases of sexual abuse to the authorities.

Documentaries released on the life of Michael Jackson attribute much of his sexual struggles to religion and exposure to promiscuity and infidelity at such a young age.

In 1987 the Witness office chose not to comment about the public's confusion and media frenzy regarding Michael Jackson's membership.



In June 2003, Michael Jackson became a witness of a different sort, publicly accused and later acquitted of child molestation charges.

Jackson has always maintained his innocence and his public persona was tarnished but despite this challenge, he maintains a strong fan base even following his death.

It has been said that his faith and religion gave him confidence and assurance.

Mother Katherine Jackson continues to be an advocate for the Jehovah's Witness group and since Michael's death has taken his children to be comforted by the church.

"It don't matter if you're black or white"

When Oprah Winfrey interviewed Michael Jackson on 10 February 1993 she asked what millions wondered, why did his skin turn white?

Jackson’s passionate response was that he had a skin disorder that could have been inherited from his father Joe Jackson’s genes.

Jackson’s dermatologist, Dr Arnold King confirmed that the singer suffers from a rare disease that affects one to two percent of the world’s population.

“It is not contagious and is a result of the loss of pigment producing cells of the skin” he said.

Michael Jackson was first diagnosed with the skin disease in 1986 and tells Oprah he recalls the change happening after producing Thriller.

Jackson claimed to use light make up to even the white patches and present an even tone to continue his work.

Other sources claim Jackson bleaches his skin to which he strongly opposed.

Other dermatologists said vitiligo (pronounced vit-ill-eye-go) can cause a person to lose pigment in patches of all over the body, making a black person’s skin turn white.

According to the British Medical Journal, the word comes from the Latin term "vitellus" which means "spotted calf" and this describes the condition exactly.

It is a common skin complaint, affecting approximately 500 000 people in Britain alone, with cosmetically and psychologically devastating effects.

On average a GP will have 10 sufferers on his or her list.

It is thought to be due to an interaction of genetic, environmental, and immune factors, which contribute to the destruction of melanocytes in the dermis.

At the moment there is no cure for vitiligo but there are treatments which can often slow down its progress or, in some cases, bring about repigmentation.

"Heal the world, make it a better place"

As people mourn the death of the pop star Michael Jackson, fans, the news media, and others are discussing his charitable work, which some say paved the way for the current surge in celebrity philanthropy.

Listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for Most Charities Supported by a Pop star in 2000, Michael Jackson led by example to care for the earth and fellow inhabitants.

Accusations of the pop star failing to cotnribute sincerely are easily refuted when revising the impressive contributions of time, exposure and financial donations.

On his blog, Jeff Trexler, a professor of social entrepreneurship at Pace University, in New York, discusses the two sides to Mr. Jackson’s charity efforts.

Criticism over Jackson bringing children in need to his ranch did not stop the star from providing the opportunity to visit his home.

While there may be lessons to be learned from the way Mr. Jackson approached his philanthropy, “for now,” Mr. Trexler writes, “a moment of silence for a man who, like so many of us, gave as much as he felt that he could.”

Initiation and participation in one form or another to 39 charities including; Heal The World, End Hunger Network, Dreams Come True to name a few.

He is most celebrated for his collaboration with a total of 45 artists to create We Are the World, in an effort to fund raise for USA for Africa.

The single and album raised over 63 million dollars.

Other celebrity stars recognised for their consistent support for charitable causes include Paul Newman, Oprah Winfrey, Angelina Jolie, Brad Pitt, Elton John and Bono.

Childstar

Michael Jackson was born on August 29th, 1958 in Gary, Indiana and joins the throng of child stars beginning his musical career at the age of 5.

Unlike most child stars, Jackson’s entry was alongside siblings Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Jermaine in 1964 as the lead frontman for the Jackson 5.

Fame brought many opportunities to the Jackson family and it was not long before sisters Latoya and Janet shared some of the fame through music and entertainment.

The Jackson family is one of the most recognised families in the world.


As an adult Michael’s first solo album “Off The Wall” was produced with Quincy Jones and released in August 1979.

The success of this release transformed his childhood popularity into a new generation and he continued to prove his stardom until and following his death on the 25th June 2009 at the age of 50.

What sets Michael apart from other childhood stars like Brittany Spears and Drew Barrymore is his family ties, international recognition and impact on style, music, video, fashion and dance.

No other child star has made such a significant impact on so many aspects of life internationally.

Controversy surrounding his childlike behaviour, infatuation with Peter Pan reflected through his home at Neverland and plastic surgery contribute heavily to the divide with other child stars.

What is similar is the difficulty to transition from a child to an adult, loneliness, identity challenges, extreme pressure on family and emotional development as well as other factors such as paparazzi distress, exploitation, security issues, drug abuse and health fears.

Michael’s father Joe Jackson has been accused of exploiting the star and other ambitious parent(s) include former girlfriend Brooke Shields and friend Macaulay Caulkin.


Many of these child stars have publicly battled with their parents and peers and Jackson is not different, stating the distress caused by his father but also attributing this to the man he became, driven and always aiming for perfection.

Child actress Lindsay Lohan is one among many who have endured public scandals, for Michael one that pierced his journey was claims of child abuse in 1993 from the father of Jordie Chandler.

Michael always preferred the company of children over the company of adults.

This penchant, paired with his somewhat asexual manner and childish demeanor, made him seem odd in the eyes of the public.

In 2005 Gavin Avizo was an alleged victim of child molestation and Jackson's arrest and investigation brought international attention of a negative kind to the pop star.

No criminal charges were filed and the matter was settled out of court - Jackson paid the boy’s family between US$18 and $20 million dollars.

Michael refers to the impact of child stardom in an interview Oprah Winfrey in 1993, “I think every child star suffers through this period because you're not the cute and charming child that you were. You start to grow, and they want to keep you little forever”.

Royal Family of Music Legends

Whether it be honorary or honorific the late Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) American recording artist and entertainer was a star the world could not ignore.

Crowned the 'King of Pop' Jackson joins the royal family of international music legends such as Elvis - King of Rock, Madonna - nicknamed Material Girl which she scrapped for Queen of Pop, Aretha Franklin - Queen of Soul, The Rolling Stones - Greatest Rock and Roll Band, The Beatles - Greatest Band in the World and others.

What sets Michael apart is his creative genius through music compositions complimented by his revolutionary presentation through video clips and dance routines.

His performances and concert entourages demanded extended stages and careful logistical planning which had was not shared with other musicians of his time.

The Bad Tour was Michael Jackson's first solo tour and figures totalled 123 concerts to 4.4 million people.

The 16 month tour grossed over $125 million, more than any other entertainer had on a single tour.

While performing in London, England Michael set a world record (as shown in the Guinness Book Of World Records) with 504,000 people attending 7 sold out shows at Wembley Stadium, more than any other artist.

During the tour Michael invited underprivileged children to watch him perform, and contributed to hospitals, orphanages, and other charities.

Others who have adopted the same extravaganza include artists such as Madonna, Pink and Brittany Spears.

Michael’s 1982 Thriller is the world’s best-selling record of all time and four other solo studio albums are also among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995).

Introducing the moonwalk in March 1983 through the song “Billie Jean”, Michael hypnotised the world and contributed to the catalogue of legacies.

Jackson’s blaze to glory started at the age of 11, seventh child of Katherine and Joe Jackson from Gary, Indiana.

If one was to refute claims to Jackson’s “King of Pop” title, they only need refer to the chain of world records made by Michael and his music internationally and in comparison to other music artists.

In 1970, Jackson cut out on his own to concentrate on his solo career and won his first Grammy in 1980 for best R&B male vocal performance ("Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough").

In his second solo effort as an adult, Michael released “Thriller” and was recognised for his musical genius in November 1982 spending a record 37 weeks at No.1, producing an unparalleled seven Top 10 singles.

Michael Jackson became one of the most successful recording artists of all time with a haul of eight Grammy wins in one night again breaking more records.

In 1985, Michael Jackson won another Grammy in the category of best video album for the film that documented the making of the landmark "Thriller" 14-minute video directed by John Landis for $500,000, the most expensive video production of its time.

The world watched transfixed on the narration of a boy (Jackson) and girl enjoying a date until he turns into a singing, dancing werewolf.

In 1986, Jackson and Lionel Richie won the song of the year Grammy for the charity single "We Are the World," which also took home record of the year and one which Jackson was one of the pioneers and was awarded two Grammys.

In 1989 he and his team won the short form video award for "Leave Me Alone" off his follow-up album "Bad." And in 1995 he and his sister Janet Jackson shared in the short form winning "Scream" from his double album "HIStory."

But in all Michael armour and glory, there were flaws which struggled to claim the spotlight with accusations of child molestation to plastic surgery, Neverland obsession and bizarre behaviour.

These controversies did nothing to stop the King of Pop shattering pop charts again at his death, holding a record eight of the top 10 spots while a Jackson 5 compilation also landed in the upper tier of the chart.

Michael’s solo albums sold more than 415,000 copies according to SoundScan, an amazing number compared to his titles sold a combined 10,000 copies in the week prior to his death.

The one-week total is also nearly 40 percent more than what Michael's catalogue had sold in all of 2009.

Jackson’s Death Threatens Technology and Fans Suicide

In addition to shock, Michael Jackson's death rocked the Internet as it struggled to accommodate online searching from users wanting to confirm the news and express their grief.

Google Trends rates the Jackson story as volcanic at its peak when users experience difficulty accessing information between 2:40 p.m. PDT and 3:15 p.m. on Tuesday June 25, 2009.

Many fan sites and social networking sites had buckled and some even ground to a halt as discussion about Jackson's heart attack, and ultimate death, took hold.

Wikipedia saw a flurry of activity, with close to 500 edits made to Jackson's entry in less than 24 hours. CNET reported that by 3:15 p.m. PT, Wikipedia seemed to be "temporarily overloaded."

Google said Friday it thought it was under attack when a barrage of “Michael Jackson” searches pelted its servers Thursday afternoon as news spread of the entertainer’s sudden death.

For about 25 minutes people looking for news about Jackson were greeted with a page which suggests the query was automated and would not be honored without the completion of a CAPTCHA-like challenge. “To protect our servers, we can’t process your request right now,” it said.

Overall, global traffic spiked 19 percent during the ceremony. CNN had 9.7 million people watching live video streams and Yahoo had 5 million. The BBC's live stream was tapped 410,000 times.

Twitter users went nuts during the memorial service, with the top ten most popular topics all relating to Jackson and his memorial service.

The term "Michael Jackson" generated 80,000 tweets per hour in the 24 hours following the news of his death.

Over in Facebook country, there were 6000 Jackson-related updates per minute.

Michael Jackson tops the charts following his death holding the top nine positions on the Billboard Top Pop Catalogue Album charts.

According to Nielsen SoundScan, the singer’s “Number Ones” is at No. 1 with 108,000 (an increase of 2,340%) while “The Essential Michael Jackson” and “Thriller” are in the Nos. 2 and 3 slots with 102,000 and 101,000, respectively.

The 415,000 albums sold at the end of June 2009 was nearly 40% more than what Jackson’s catalogue had sold the entire year up through June 21 (297,000).

By July 8 Nielsen SoundScan reported sales of 800,000 copies in the U.S. almost double sales from the previous week.

While some fans have opted to purchasing records and twittering approximately a dozen fans have committed suicide in their grief.

President and owner of Michael's biggest online fan club, MJJcommunity.com Mr Gary Taylor has connected more than 14,000 online users and has 30 staff worldwide.

The fan club is only a pixel of the billions reportedly mourning the loss of Michael and celebrating his legacy of music and dance.

“A seminal moment in Internet history. We’ve never seen anything like it in terms of scope or depth” released in a statement from global and internet media services giant AOL.

The World Mourns Michael

Over 31 million viewers watched Michael Jackson's memorial service on Tuesday, July 7 2009 at the Staples Center in downtown Los Angeles.

News of the 50-year-old's death has been greeted with a mixture of shock, sadness and disbelief all around the world.

Jackson’s family delivered a memorial service that was religious and termed a “celebration” of his life and tribute to the ‘King of Pop’.

The star studded ceremony was overshadowed by the sombre and spiritual ambience that enveloped the centre and its audience of 20,000 people.

Celebrities who attended the service include famous friends, including Mariah Carey, Smokey Robinson, Stevie Wonder, Queen Latifah, Usher, Brooke Shields, Magic Johnson, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson among others.

Songs, heartfelt reflections and tears took centre stage rather than the extravagant or dance performances that Michael projected when he was alive.

Speeches painted the picture of Jackson as a singer, dancer, superstar, father, brother, son and humanitarian.

Daughter Paris, 11, surprised the world making her first appearance on stage to declare her love for her father.

"I just wanted to say ever since I was born daddy has been the best father you could ever imagine and I just wanted to say I love him so much," she cried.

"He studied the greats and became greater. He raised the bar then broke the bar," said Motown founder Berry Gordy.

"I think the King of Pop is not big enough for him. I think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived."

While close friends Diana Ross and Elizabeth Taylor chose to grieve privately and not attend the service, other stars such as Brittany Spears took to video blogs and twittering online.

Jackson’s body was wheeled into the Staples center in a $25,000 gold-plated casket, called the Promethean lined with royal velvet.

Jackson first saw the casket at James Brown’s funeral — Brown was buried in the same costly box — and, in the words of Fox’s Megyn Kelly, “decided to get one for himself.”

Now that the funeral and memorial service is over, the legacy of Michael Jackson will live on in the hearts and minds of people everywhere.

The City of Los Angeles reportedly spent $1.4 million on Jackson's memorial.

Fans donated $17,000 to contribute to the cost for the cash-strapped city, but a Web site used for the drive repeatedly crashed.

In the words of Jackson's fan club "gone too soon".

Smile: Michael's favourite song