Today in MJJ HIStory

1971 - Motown released Mama's Pearl/Darling Dear, the second single from the Jackson 5ive's Third Album.

Media_http2bpblogspot_jpkdn
The single, written by The Corporation, was one of six consecutive Top 5 singles for the legendary Motown, soul and funk group, reaching #2 Pop and #2 R&B and sold 2.3 million copies worldwide (1.8 million in (US). It peaked at #25 in the UK.

Mama's Pearl was originally called Guess Who's Making Whoopie (With Your Girlfriend). Producer Deke Richards reportedly had the lyrics and title changed to preserve Michael Jackson's youthful, innocent image.

By the time the the Jackson 5’s 5th single was released, it had already been available to fans for four months as an album cut on the Third Album. Motown issue the regular stock 45 with a picture sleeve, the first and only time Motown gave a Jackson 5 group single this kind of treatment in the US.

The song got quite a bit of air play on U.S. radio stations in the early weeks of 1971 and it entered the Billboard Top 100 pop chart the last week in January. Although industry insiders used terms like "new smash hit," "the week's fastest mover," and "sure to be a million seller" when describing the single, it became the first J5 single not to reach #1, peaking a month later at #2.

Ironically, they were blocked from #1 by a song that had been written for them but had been rejected by Berry Gordy. Instead, it was given to the Osmonds, a family group who were striving to remake their image as pop stars, mainly by imitating the Jackson 5’s sound. This was the beginning of the rivalry between the two groups that flared for the next few years.

1993 - Bravo magazine [Germany] featured Michael on the cover.

Media_http2bpblogspot_cpjaj

1994 - Michael invites a group of 100 disadvantaged children to spend the day at Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday gala at Neverland Valley Ranch, Los Olivos, Ca

Media_http3bpblogspot_gqhza
Media_http1bpblogspot_telbf
Media_http1bpblogspot_oeghb
Meanwhile, "HTWF", with partners "Unihealth" and "Los Angeles Immunization Coalition", disseminate vaccines to the homeless children in Los Angeles, beggared by a damaging earthquake in the area. Moreover, the singer’s "HTWF", along with "Discovery Playthings", hands hundreds of toys to children attending an immunization drive. "Heal L.A.", additionally, donates more than 85,000 dollars to the "Al Wooten Jr. Heritage Center", "Casa Rutilio Grande", "Clinica Para Las Americas", "Families in New Directions", "Meeting Each Need With Dignity", "Proyecto Esperanza", "Pueblo Nuevo", and "Vaughn Street Family Center" sheltering the victims of the Los Angeles and San Fernando Valley earthquake. Associated with "General Electric", "Lever Brothers" and "Surf Wash", "HTWF" deliver washers, dryers and soap to 25 NGO’s, as well as free laundry services, all for the earthquake-stricken people, in addition, along with "Heal L.A." and "Salvation Army", 400 homeless people and their children are invited to spend a day at "Universal Studios".

Michael Jackson and his residence are also hosts to 100 children from the "Community Youth Sports and Arts Foundation" in Los Angeles, whom he speaks and plays with, poses for pictures and signs autographs; the children, moreover, watch film "Beethoven's 2nd" with him in his amusement park, and visit his private zoo.

Filed under  //   1971   1993   1994  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1989 - The biggest selling UK album artists of 1988 were:
  1. Fleetwood Mac
  2. Kylie Minogue
  3. Michael Jackson
  4. U2
  5. Dire Straits
1990 - Michael organizes a festivity for 82 deprived children at his residence via "Childhelp USA, who are offered a tour of the ranch, games to play, a barbeque for meal and a film representation to watch: "The Little Mermaid" and "Back To The Future II".

2009 - Dr Tohme Tohme confirms that Michael has leased a Bel Air mansion for $100000 a month. Tohme Tohme says the pop icon wanted to be closer to "where all the action is" in the entertainment industry.

Filed under  //   1989   1990   2009  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1987 - Michael, Quincy Jones & Bruce Swedien start recording the BAD album at the Westlake Studio in Los Angeles.

Media_http2bpblogspot_fbrxg
How do you follow the world’s most successful album – ever?

Even thinking about following THRILLER must have been daunting which may explain, at least in part, why Michael took so long to do so. Certainly Michael felt if he didn't top THRILLER, he would be perceived by many as a failure. So not only did he want the follow-up to be 'as perfect as humanely possibly', he set his sights on an impossible sales target: 100 million.

BAD was the first studio album Jackson released after leaving The Jackson 5 and the first in an almost five-year period following THRILLER. BAD was the third consecutive solo project(fifth, if The Wiz and the E.T. storybook are included), and final, musical collaboration between Jackson and Quincy Jones. The album was produced by Jones, with co-production credit given to Jackson.

Media_http2bpblogspot_suvge
Singer Michael Jackson, shown during a recording session for
his first LP since THRILLER. The album entitled BAD, uses Hugo
Zuccarelli's Holophonics sound system on several tracks.
Michael chose to record the pillow-talk sequence for "I Just
Can't Stop Loving You", while lying in a bed with zuccarelli's
head-shaped robotic recorder.
Michael began recording demos for the anticipated follow-up to Thriller a few months after the 1984 Victory Tour with The Jacksons. Work on the new album started in August 1986, and recording took place between January 5, 1987, and July 9, 1987.

They began by sifting through the 60 or so songs Michael had written himself for the new album and recorded thirty, wanting to use them all on a three-disc set. Jones had suggested that the album be cut down to a ten-track single LP. 'Fifty percent of the battle is trying to figure out which songs to record,' Quincy admitted, 'it's total instinct.' When the album was released on CD, a bonus 11th track, Leave Me Alone was included. It was later released as a single. Michael was credited for writing nine out of eleven of the songs (including the CD-only bonus track) made the final selection on the album – easily the largest contribution he had made to any of his solo albums. Other writing credits included Terry Britten and Graham Lyle for Just Good Friends and Siedah Garrett and Glen Ballard for Man in the Mirror.

1994 - Michael presents the award for Best Choreographer to Debbie Allen at the 26th NAACP Image Awards Ceremony in Los Angeles, Ca.

Media_http4bpblogspot_ybusf
He was greeted by deafening cheers and a standing ovation. Dressed in a black military style jacket with red accents and a silver sequined armband, and no glasses, he seemed very upbeat, confident and comfortable. He presented the award for Outstanding Choreography but first took the opportunity to say a few words on his own behalf, prior to presenting dancer/choreographer Debbie Allen with the award, pausing now and then to tell the cheering fans, "I love you too" and "I love you more!". He delivers a speech underlining the meaning behind the NAACP organization supporting equality of treatment for all races and human dignity, and exhibiting his sympathy to the NAACP members:
Media_http1bpblogspot_mwwse
"For decades, the NAACP has stood at the forefront of the struggle for equal justice under the law for all people in our land. They have fought in the lunch rooms of the South, in the hallowed halls of the Supreme Court and the board rooms of America, for justice, equality and the very dignity of all mankind. Members of the NAACP have been jailed and even killed in noble pursuit of those ideals, upon which our country was founded". Michael Jackson also re-declares his innocence regarding prior allegations of improper conduct towards a minor. He says, "Not only am I presumed to be innocent, I AM innocent, and I know that the truth will be my salvation. I have been strengthened to prove my innocence by my faith in God and the knowledge that I am not fighting this battle alone."
He then announced the winner, Debbie Allen. Allen immediately invited her fellow nominees to the stage which included Michael Peters, nominated for his work on What's Love Got To Do With It. Peters ascended the stairs to the stage and immediately went to his friend Michael and hugged him warmly. Allen began her acceptance speech saying, "God bless you Michael, we're all on your side."

1995 - Bravo magazine [Germany] featured Michael on the cover.

Media_http4bpblogspot_dbigw

2003 - Michael visits Maurice Gibbs (one of the Bee Gees) at a Miami hospital.

2007 - Michael has dinner with Kenny Ortega at the Wynn Restaurant in Las Vegas.

Filed under  //   1987   1994   1995   2003   2007  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1997 - Michael ended the first leg of his "HIStory" tour in Honolulu, Hawaii. The two concerts held on January 3 and 4 at the 35'000-seat Aloha Stadium made history - no other musical act ever sold out the stadium, and Michael sold out 2 shows in less than 24 hours, a record time. It's his first U.S. tour stop since 1989. Hawaii promoter Tom Moffatt said: "I've never seen anything like it... there's been nothing even close to this - The Rolling Stones, Elton John, Julio Iglesias, The Eagles... ."

2000 - MTV Asia celebrated the end of the Millennium in a big way by selecting and airing the Top 2000 music videos and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" was chosen as the # 1 Video by MTV Asia. MTV Asia aired all 2000 videos on their "Top 2000 Playlist" countdown with Michael leading at the number one position!

2005 - On behalf of his family and himself, Michael Jackson releases a statement on his website concerning the 9.1 Mw undersea megathrust earthquake and tsunami disaster which occurred on December 26, 2004, affecting Indonesia, Sri Lanka, India, Thailand and Maldives and killing over 230,000 people from fourteen countries. "My family and I would like to send our prayers and heartfelt sympathy to the families, friends and loved ones of those who recently perished from the horrific earthquake and tsunami, which swept through Indonesia, Asia, India, Somalia and other countries”, Jackson declares. "Our love is also being sent to those who have miraculously survived this tragedy and to those who are so courageously on-site, helping to spearhead the relief efforts. We pray for your strength, your safety and the success of your life-saving missions of love. Words cannot adequately express the shock, horror and grief we've felt, while watching news reports which have captured the massive devastation and despair. It has been especially painful for me, as I have visited these areas many times and I remember the love, kindness and warmth of the people I met there”, he also declares. I would like to encourage all of my friends, and fans, to contribute to agencies and organizations assisting in these efforts. In times like these, we need each other... we must bond together in spirit and in service. God Bless. Sincerely, Michael Jackson".

Filed under  //   1997   2000   2005  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1970 - The Jackson 5 perform a concert at the Mobile Municipal Auditorium in Mobile, Alabama, which closed out the Holiday Tour. Tickets were priced at $4.00, $5.00, and $6.00.

1972 - Michael Jackson's first solo single "Got to Be There" was released in UK following its successful tenure in US (released: October 7, 1971). The single, written by Elliot Willensky and produced by longtime Jackson 5 producer Hal Davis, was an immediate success. It reached #5 position in the UK Singles Chart, where it landed #4 on both the Billboard pop and R&B charts and #1 on the Cashbox singles chart.

1997 - As part of his HIStory world tour, Michael Jackson performed at Aloha Stadium in Honolulu, US attending 35,000 fans. It was Michael's first U.S. performance since the BAD world tour of 1989.

2001 - News broke that Michael will attend a debate at New York City's Carnegie Hall on Valentines Day '01 - benefiting his newly founded charity "Heal The Kids" - what a great start into the new year for Michael Jackson fans!!

Filed under  //   1970   1972   1997   2001  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1970 - The Jackson 5 perform a concert in Miami Beach, Florida during the winter tour

1972 - Jackson 5 in concert in Greenville, South Carolina

1988 - A U.K. TV compilation, "Love Songs," hit #15 in the U.K. The work was credited to Michael Jackson and Diana Ross.

Michael Jackson and Bono shared first place in an American poll of "The Most Beautiful Lips"

1989 - Leave Me Alone, the 7th video from BAD premiered on MTV.

Media_http1bpblogspot_fgnhj
The music video for Leave Me Alone, was directed by Jim Blashfield and Paul Diener and also featured in the 1988 film Moonwalker. Leave Me Alone, a unique blend of live action and animation, combined a small animated carnival setting with Michael cruising around in a small plane. With the use of special effects and humor, Michael confronts the press and the ridiculous stories that has been printed about him.

The amusement park in the video, consists of stylistically crude images based around Jackson's successful career since 1982's Thriller, with emphasis on the tabloid view of Jackson's personal life and public image, referring to the nickname "Wacko Jacko" given to him by the press, and the various headlines associated with him in the 1980s. Lampooning rumours that he tried to purchase Joseph Merrick's bones, Jackson dances with stop motion "Elephant Man" bones in the video. This particular segment (without the image of the bones) was used for the single's cover art, and the boneless video segment was featured in Moonwalker trailer.

In the video, there are images of shrines to actress Elizabeth Taylor, a real life close friend of Jackson. Throughout the video newspaper headlines, published by "National Intruder", with bizarre titles are shown, such as "Michael's Space-Age Diet" and "Michael Proposes to Liz". Another notable scene in the music video was a nose being chased by a surgical scalpel, which was reference to Jackson's plastic surgery being criticized by the media. At the end of the video, it is revealed that a gigantic Jackson himself is the amusement park. He breaks free, tearing the park to pieces. That scene is a somewhat reminiscent of Gulliver's Travels, where Gulliver eventually breaks free from the Lilliputians' grasp from Lilliput.

Leave Me Alone was the recipient of multiple nominations for its music video. The video won a Grammy Award in 1990 for Best Short Form Music Video at the 32nd Grammy Awards. The video also received 6 nominations at the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards for Video of the Year, Viewers' Choice, Breakthrough Video, Best Editing and Best Art Direction; the video won Best Special Effects.

1997 - Michael arrives in Hawaii where he is welcomed by 150 local dancers + 200 fans. He soons joins Joe & Katherine who came especially for him.

Media_http3bpblogspot_qdyqe
Michael is greeted with what the local people there call "The Aloha Spirit", at the Hilton Hawaiian Village in Waikiki, where he stayed for four nights. witnessing hula dancers, smiling, watching village guards, children performers speaking, including father Joe Jackson and publicist, Bob Jones.

"His plane came in for he and his immediate party then there was a plane just for his crew, then there were two -- those he Russian cargo planes, biggest planes in the world. Carrying his equipment" said Concert Promoter Tom Moffatt.

"He brought in a tank.... an army tank that came on stage that was part of the show (laugh)"

Jackson spent most of his time in his hotel suite on the 14th floor, *Alii* tower suite 1402. Fans camped out underneath his room day and night.

Wherever Jackson went while in the islands he created frenzy, with the crowds being star-struck. "He came out on the lanai and waved," Lani Bjork is the head of hotel security said. "You could hear that wave of 'Michael! Michael!' throughout the evening."

Media_http3bpblogspot_vicrb
More than 60,000 people packed into Aloha Stadium those two nights with long lines of fans standing in the rain to see one of the best shows ever staged in the islands.
Wherever Jackson went while in the islands he created frenzy, with the crowds being star-struck.

2004 - CBS aired the special "Michael Jackson Number Ones" featuring many young artists speaking about Michael's influence.

Filed under  //   1970   1972   1988   1989   1997   2004  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1972 - Jackson 5 in Concert in Nashville, Tennessee

1974 - The Jackson 5 attend The Tournament of Roses Parade in 1974. Better known as the Rose Parade, it is "America's New Year Celebration", a festival of flower-covered floats, marching bands, equestrians and a college football game on New Year's Day, produced by the non-profit 'Pasadena Tournament of Roses Association'.

Media_http1bpblogspot_vvbcu

1994 - Michael attends a Barbara Streisand's concert at the MGM Grand Garden in Las Vegas with friend Mike Milken.

Filed under  //   1972   1974   1994  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1992 - Michael perform last of 8 dates at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo during the Japanese leg of Dangerous tour attending 45,000 fans.

On December 31st in Tokyo, Japan, Slash joined Michael onstage for a special performance of “Black or White”. It was the last concert of the first leg of the Dangerous World Tour.

1996 - Michael perform HIStory concert at Jerudong Park Amphitheatre in Bandar Seri Begawan, Brunei attending 60,000 fans.

Never televised, but known to exist as a rare promo item as with Royal Concert. Along with the latter performance, it is one of the rarest known concerts to exist. Private collectors have obtained the concert on VHS in high quality but have never released full concert footage; these fans have remained controversial for refusing to share this and the Royal Concert with the fan community among other issues. In October 2008 a poor-quality VCD copy (also additionally compressed and watermarked) was uploaded onto the internet by a fan in Brunei who obtained the concert from a stage crew. Video quality was fair and the sound was badly encoded with a low rumbling appearing when bass was played. Starting from February 2009, the uncompressed and unwatermarked files from the same VCD source had been uploaded, though the sound quality is still the same. As of 2010 this concert is still only available in poor quality. Like Malaysia, most people in Brunei are Muslim, so crotch-grabbing was also removed in this concert and is also obscured by camera angles that are different from most other concerts. This concert is also noted for the first verse of "Scream" being sung live. The curtain used in "Smooth Criminal" and the crane for "Beat It" & "Earth Song" were not present during this concert (though they were during the Royal Concert)

2007 - The loan on the Sony/ATV music catalog is refinanced which provides 25 millions dollars in cash to Michael.

Filed under  //   1992   1996   2007  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1970 - The Jackson 5 perform a concert Jacksonville, Florida during the winter tour

1992 - Michael perform 7th of 8 dates at Tokyo Dome in Tokyo during the Japanese leg of Dangerous tour attending 45,000 fans.

2001 - It was announced that Michael will attend the "American Music Awards" next year, and be awarded with the "Artist of the Century Award".

2006 - Michael, along with Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson & Raymone attends the public funeral of James Brown held at the James Brown arena in Augusta (Georgia) and makes a short speech.

Brown died of heart failure at an Atlanta hospital on Christmas Day at age 73. More than 8,500 fans and admirers of James Brown filled the James Brown Arena in the singer's hometown of Augusta, GA, for a final joyful and sometimes tearful farewell to the soul legend.

Media_http4bpblogspot_caimn
A tearful Michael Jackson along with the Revs. Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson and comedian-activist Dick Gregory were among those who took turns at the podium to celebrate the life and legacy of the one and only-Godfather of Soul.

Michael Jackson said: "James Brown is my greatest inspiration. Ever since I was a small child, no more than like 6 years old, my mother would wake me, no matter what time it was, if I was sleeping, no matter what I was doing, to watch the television to see the master at work."

The King of Pop continued: "And when I saw him move, I was mesmerized. I've never seen a performer perform like James Brown. And right then and there, I knew that was exactly what I wanted to do for the rest of my life because of James Brown. I love you ... James Brown, I shall miss you and I love you so much. And thank you for everything. God bless you."

The singer's body was placed in a mausoleum on the property of his Beech Island, SC, home.
Filed under  //   1970   1992   2001   2006  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1970 - The Jackson 5 perform a concert at the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville, Tennessee during the winter tour.
Tickets were priced at $4.00 and $6.00.

1971 - The Jackson 5 perform a concert in Norfolk, Nebraska

1992 - Michael returns to Disneyland Tokyo with the 3T.

Filed under  //   1970   1971   1992  

About