Today in MJJ HIStory

1968 - The Jackson 5ive performed as part of the benefit concert for Mayor Richard Hatcher at Gary’s Gilroy Stadium, set by Motown’s Record Corporation move to Gary, Indiana.

The Motown Record Corporation brought its “Sound of Young America”, to Gary Indiana, for a special benefit program , the purpose of which was to defray the costs of Richard Hatcher's mayoral campaign. Ewart Abney said that the Motown Benefit was a special salut to Gary, “city of the Century”, honoring Mayor Richard Gordon Hatcher “whom we may consider Mayor of the Century”.

Highlighting the benefit performance were Stevie Wonder, Gladys Knight and the Pipes, Shorty Long, Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers and Abdullah – but not Diana Ross. Which wouldn’t stop Motown, for years to come, from claiming that this was the concert where Diana ‘discovered’ the Jackson 5ive.

The opening was performed by the Jackson 5ive.

Mayor Hatcher proclaimed the occasion “Soul Day” and proclaimed the entire 27-29 September weedend a “Soul Weekend”.

1984 - Impacto magazine [Spain] featured Michael on their cover.


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1987 - Observer magazine[UK] featured Michael on the cover with the story BAD BOY ROCKS JAPAN.

Michael performs BAD tour at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama [Japan] attending 38,000 fans.

1988 - Michael performs BAD tour at Civic Arena in Pittsburg [Pennsylvania, USA] attending 16,230 fans.

2009 - Tickets to Michael Jackson's THIS IS IT went on sale.

The first day of ticket sales, all 3,000 tickets to the advanced screenings of the film had "sold out within two hours [on] early Sunday [September 27, 2009]." Fans had reportedly waited in line for days.
CinemaBlend.com reported that over 160 showings had sold out.
Reuters.com, stated that "hundreds of screenings in North America have already sold out, a month before the film's October 28 opening."
According to MovieTickets.com, sales of tickets to the film have "accounted for more than 82% of all the tickets sold at the site today [Monday, September 28, 2009]."

CinemaBlend.com described the sale of tickets on MovieTickets.com as being "fairly significant" - but remarked that "this is after all, just a concert documentary."
It was reported that over 80 percent of tickets sold on Fandango.com were for this film.
It was also reported that the film had "accounted for some 80% of all online ticketing in the U.S. within its first 24 hours of sales, dominating presales compared with such upcoming titles as Avatar and The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Sony, confirmed that over 30,000 tickets were sold in the first 24 hours that tickets went of sale. Sony also stated - as of September 28, - that the film's 'moved' over 1 million dollars in tickets sales in Japan.
Sony announced in a press release that in the "last 24 hours [since September 27]", that over 80% of all Fandango.com and Movietickets.com sales for the film, had already sold out in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Nashville and New York, among others and: "Internationally, exhibitors from London and Sydney to Bangkok and Tokyo have experienced the same epic demand." Sony stated in a statement of the film's good ticket sale's that: "Staggering advance sales were reported in Australia, where tickets for Michael Jackson's This Is It purchased through Village Cinemas exceeded the lifetime pre-sales of such blockbusters as Transformers and X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

Filed under  //   1968   1987   1988   2009  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1970 - Motown announced that the Jackson 5 had sold a million records in the last nine months.

1971 - The Jackson 5ive perform two shows at Baltimore, Maryland on their first national tour.

1973 - Get It Together performed by the Jackson 5 in the States on The Bob Hope Special (an alternate version), was aired on NBC TV in the States.

1979 - The Jacksons perform DESTINY tour at Los Angeles, California.

1981 - The Jacksons' Triumph tour ended ten weeks later on September 26, 1981, with the last of a record-breaking four sold-out shows at the Forum in Los Angeles. A live album, called The Jacksons Live, was recorded and released the following year.

Again, Michael expressed his desire to stop touring when it was all over. Although he would be coaxed back on the road three years later, the Triumph tour marked the end of the Jacksons as a cohesive group of relative equals, as Michael’s own star power was about to rise higher than anybody in history.

1987 - Hitkrant magazine[Nederland] featured Michael on their cover.

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Michael performs BAD tour at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama [Japan] attending 38,000 fans. Yokohoma concert filmed and televised in Japan by Nippon TV.

Michael Jackson's album BAD hit #1 in the U.S.

Bad enters the Top 100 singles chart in UK peaking at #3 and remains on the charts for fourteen weeks. A limited edition red vinyl 12" is also released.

1988 - Michael performs BAD tour at Civic Arena in Pittsburg [Pennsylvania, USA] attending 16,230 fans.

1992 - Michael performs Dangerous tour at Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon [Portugal] attending 64,000 fans.

1993 - Michael performs Dangerous tour at Santa Cruz De Teneriffa in Tenerife [Canary Islands] attending 20,000 fans.

1996 - tele swiat magazine(Russia) featured MJ on the cover.

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2001 - Michael Jackson's video clip for You Rock My World premièred on TRL in the U.S.A.

Filed under  //   1970   1971   1973   1979   1981   1987   1988   1992   1993   1996   2001  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1987 - Michael performs BAD tour at Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama [Japan] attending 38,000 fans.

2007 - Michael makes a photoshoot for the upcoming cover of Ebony magazine at the Harlem museum with photographer Matthew Rolston (Brooklyn Museum, NY).

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Ebony magazine had been working with Michael and his staff for eight months on the details of the shoot and interview. The final date, Monday, September 24, 2007, was set and the teams were mobilized.

The night before, Sunday, Michael and his son Prince Michael, II, fondly known as "Blanket," arrived at the hotel suite-turned dressing room to look at the clothes selected by renowned stylist Phillip Bloch. Italian designer Roberto Cavalli provided clothing, as well as such designers as Valentino, Yohji Yamamoto, Hugo Boss, Cesare Paciotti, and more. Plus we had more than $2 million worth of diamond jewelry on set from the likes of Jacob the Jeweler, H. Stern and Lorraine Schwartz.

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The next morning, we arrived around 9 a.m. at the Brooklyn Museum. Normally, the museum is closed to the public on Mondays, but the staff allowed us to use the location for the historic shoot. Celebrity photographer Matthew Rolston, Ebony creative director Harriette Cole and Ebony photo director Dudley Brooks had already scouted several locations including the grand Beaux-Arts Court, Egyptian gallery and sculpture garden. Then, around 3 p.m., the shoot began.

During the session, a relaxed Michael grooved to his own music - PYT, Billie Jean, Human Nature - booming from a sound system and even showed off a few of his trademark dance moves. After five wardrobe changes and six hours of memorable photography, he thanked the crew and was on his way back to the hotel, just in time to put the kids to bed.

The next day, he arrived at his hotel around noon for what would be Michael Jackson's first sit down interview in years. For the next hour and a half, Jackson shared his thoughts and passions on the making of Thriller , MTV and music videos, God, fatherhood and the state of the music industry today; published on December issue of Ebony magazine.

Filed under  //   1987   2007  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1971 – Jackson 5ive Mom and Pop featured on the cover of Life Magazine with the story Rock Stars at Home with Their Parents. The spiral staircase in the Jackson family's Hayvenhurst was made famous in the iconic cover where they are posing on stair steps with their parents standing at the bottom of the staircase.


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1987 - Rolling Stone magazine feature Michael on their cover with the story Michael Jackson in Fantasyland.

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1993 - Michael arrives in Tenerife with the Cascios to perform a concert on September 26.

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While in Tenerife, Michael Jackson visited the Clinical Hospital, where he presented toys and gifts to the children.

1996 - Michael perform HIStory tour at La Romareda stadium in Zaragoza [Spain] attending 45,000 fans.
A shocking episode for Michael was when he sang She’s Out of My Life and the public started to the sing Ay, ay, ay, ay… Cielito lindo…

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During his stay in Zaragoza, Michael visits hospitals, sign autographs.

2008 - The fan-voted album King of Pop was released in Japan.

On July 18, the Japanese edition "キング・オブ・ポップ-ジャパン・エディション" (King of Pop - Japan version) was announced with fans picking from a selection pool of 120 tracks. Out of tune with other versions, the compilation was released on September 24 by Sony Music Japan.

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Tracklist:
01. ビリー・ジーン / Billie Jean (Single Version)
02. マン・イン・ザ・ミラー / Man In The Mirror (Album Version)
03. スムーズ・クリミナル / Smooth Criminal(Radio Edit/ Album Version)
04. スリラー / Thriller (Single Version)
05. 今夜はビート・イット / Beat It (Single Version)
06. バッド / Bad (Album Version)
07. ブラック・オア・ホワイト / Black Or White (Album Version)
08. ヒール・ザ・ワールド / Heal The World (7”Edit)
09. ロック・ウィズ・ユー / Rock With You (Single Version)
10. ヒューマン・ネイチャー / Human Nature (Album Version)
11. ウィ・アー・ザ・ワールド (デモ・ヴァージョン) / We Are The World (demo)
12. セイ・セイ・セイ / Say Say Say (Album Version)
13. スクリーム / Scream (Album Version)
14. リメンバー・ザ・タイム / Remember The Time (Album Version)
15. オフ・ザ・ウォール / Off The Wall<bonus tracks="">
Bonus: ベン / Ben (Single Version)
スリラー・メガミックス (ラジオ・エディット) / Thriller Megamix (Radio Edit)
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Filed under  //   1971   1987   1993   1996  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1984 - The Jacksons perform Victory tour at RFK Stadium in Washington [D.C., USA] attending 45,000 fans.

1987 - Michael performs BAD tour at Nishinomiya Stadium in Osaka [Japan].

1993 - Michael performs Dangerous tour at Yarkon Park in Tel Aviv [Israel] attending 100,000 fans.

1996 - Issue 38 of the Polityka magazine(Poland) featured MJ on the cover.

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2001 - On Friday, Michael Jackson's new, fantastic short film premièred throughout the world [with the exception of the U.S.A.].

The short film, directed by Paul Hunter, is showing the "King of Video" in a new look. The story was written by both Michael Jackson and Paul Hunter. The video clip is starring Michael Jackson, Chris Tucker, Kishaya Dudley, Marlon Brando, Michael Madsen and Billy Drago. Responsible for the choreography of the simply amazing dance routines were Michael Jackson, Anthony "Tone" Talauega and Richmond Talauega.

On the same day, the song "Cry," from the album "Invincible," was premiered on radio stations in the United States.

Filed under  //   1984   1987   1993   1996   2001  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1987 - Michael performs BAD tour at Nishinomiya Stadium in Osaka [Japan].

1992 - Michael performs Dangerous tour at Football Stadium, Oviedo [Spain] attending 25,000. Slash made a guest appearance during Michael's concert.

1993 - during his stay in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jackson visits ill patients at a hospital, speaks to and passes toys to them, waves to an extensive congregation of admirers from his hotel balcony and throws down pieces of memorabilia to them.

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He also visits the Tsirn Army Base there. Meantime, Jackson’s associate, "Pepsi", warrants 160,000 dollars for the "Ghandi Foundation for Children", resulted from the singer’s concerts in New Delhi, India.

1996 - Michael performs HIStory tour at Bemowo Airport, Warsaw - the biggest concert in history of music in Poland - accumulated 120 thousand fans.

During the HIStory Tour in Warsaw, Poland, Jackson, who had the big dream to build amusement parks the world over, is approached by a local businessman, Jacques Tourel, director of the World Trade Center in Warsaw, to consider Poland as one of the possible places to build amusement parks.

Warsaw, Airport Bemowo, 20 September 1996, hour 18:30

Michael Jackson in Poland! Already only this fact electrifies all. It was not such concert in Poland yet. He stepped out in our country the been careful for the largest star of amusement music universally folks.

RMF FM were in Poland organizers of Michael's concert and Viva Art Music. Official sponsor MK Cafe. They hugged media patronage Electoral Newspaper and Polsat.

Warsaw was place, where fans' the most numerous Reich except tens thousand Poles cribbed "The king of pop music" from western Europe, particularly from Germanys and Scandinavia.

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Scene arrived on tens trucks, it occupied over 200 persons to its building. Several thousand workers of protection secured the concert, police and army. There was never before prepared in Poland so great musical event until now.

Kurier TV magazine(Poland) featured MJ on the cover.

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2001 - "You Rock My World" hit the US Billboard Charts at # 10 - a huge accomplishment for a single that is not available commercially and is based on airplay points alone.

Cry, song composed by R. Kelly, and recorded by Michael for his solo album, INVINCIBLE, Officially premiered on Michael’s website, and dedicated to the thousands of people who lost their lives in the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the States. The song issued in October 2001.
Initially released in the States at the same time as Michael’s You Rock My World, as
a jukebox single. Briefly released to radio, but proved unpopular, so was quickly withdrawn and Butterflies distributed instead.
Promo short film, directed by Nick Brandt, was shot in six different locations (five in California and one in Nevada) – but didn’t feature Michael at all, as he was in dispute with Sony over the promo’s budget. Premiered in the UK on Top Of The Pops on 2nd November 2001.

Some of America's biggest popstars, led by Michael Jackson, are to record a single - "What More Can I Give" - to raise money for the victims families and survivors of last week's terrorist attacks in New York, a press release stated on September 20, 2001. The list of participants so far includes Jackson [who will produce the track], Britney Spears, Destiny's Child, N Sync's Justin Timberlake and Backstreet Boy Nick Carter.

"I believe in my heart that the music community will come together as one and rally to the aid of thousands of innocent victims," said Jackson. "There is a tremendous need for relief dollars right now and through this effort each one of us can play an immediate role in helping comfort so many people. We have demonstrated time and again that music can touch our souls. It is time we used that power to help us begin the process of healing immediately."
Michael Jackson's statement to Rolling Stone magazine on last week's terrorist attacks in the US: "I'm not one to sit back and point the finger and say, 'Oh, I feel bad for what happened to them'. I want to do something, to give to help those who lost their parents, who lost their mothers and their fathers. Those are our people. Those are our children. Those are our parents. I want the whole world to sing [What More Can I Give], to bring us together as a world, because a song is a mantra, something you repeat over and over. And we need peace, we need giving, we need love, we need unity."

2007 - Jackson Family Visits 'Lion King'

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While staying in New York (USA) for the Italian Vogue photoshooting, Michael Jackson and his three children went to see the musical 'The Lion King' at the Minskoff Theatre on Sunday. They also visited the cast backstage. Aspen magazine fashion editor Sue Hostetler reports:

"(...) all of a sudden, Michael Jackson appears with his three kids - who all had wigs and baseball caps on."
Michael introduced his kids Paris, Prince, and Blanket to the cast before taking pictures.

Filed under  //   1987   1992   1993   1996   2001   2007  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1987 - I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Michael's first single off BAD album hit #1 on US Hot 100 and R&B charts holding its position for one week and remains on the charts for fourteen weeks. The single will also rise to number 1 on the Black singles chart. 'Bad' the second single from the album, enters the Pop singles chart at number 40. It also enters the Black singles chart.

Michael performs Bad tour at Nishinomiya Stadium, Osaka [Japan].

1988 - MTV presents a Michael Jackson Marathon, airing back to back Michael Jackson Specials: From Motown To Your Town, Another Part Of Me and The Making Of Michael Jackson's Thriller.

1991 - Michael lent his voice to Leon Kompowsky in the Season 3 premiere of The Simpsons - "Stark Raving Dad".

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The third series of The Simpsons aired on Fox. In the first episode, Homer is forced to wear a pink shirt to work one day as a result of a laundry accident and is mistaken for a "free thinking anarchist". After failing a psychiatric test (which, rather unwisely, he'd asked his son Bart to complete on his behalf), he is sent to a mental institution. Homer's room-mate, a large character called Leon Kompowsky, believes he is Michael Jackson – and sings Billie Jean and shows Homer how to moonwalk, to prove it!
Homer is charmed by Leon and brings him home from a mental institution, where the rest of the family eventually falls in love with him. Meanwhile, because he normally forgets her birthday, Bart promises his sister Lisa that he will get her the best present ever. The sweetest moment comes at the end when Leon and Bart perform a birthday song for Lisa.

The 'Special Guest Voice', for contractual reasons, was credited as John Jay Smith in the closing credits, and his role in the episode was not officially confirmed until later. Because of the misleading credit, the fact that it was actually MJ remained a rumor among many fans apparently took heed of the often-taught Simpsons lesson of never believing what’s on TV. Despite initial denials issued by Michael's camp it was not until Matt Groening confirmed Michael did provide Leon’s voice, when the episode was released on DVD in 2003. And Michael is a great fan of America’s favourite dysfunctional cartoon family, created by Matt Groening.

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Following the script read, MJ stipulated his conditions: he would record his speaking parts but not receive credit, and his singing voice would be performed by a sound-alike. Leon Kompowsky's singing voice was instead performed by Kipp Lennon, because Jackson wanted to play a joke on his brothers and fool them into thinking the impersonator was him. Lennon recorded his lines at the same time as Jackson, who found the impersonations hilarious. The episode originally was supposed to end with Kompowsky singing a portion of "Man in the Mirror" in his Michael Jackson voice as he walked down the road, but it was changed to him singing the beginning of "Happy Birthday Lisa" in his normal voice.

"Stark Raving Dad" received generally positive reviews from critics, particularly for the writing and Jackson's performance.

Happy Birthday, Lisa, a song Michael’s character sang during the show, was included on a Simpsons’ compilation album issued in 1997, SONGS IN THE KEY OF SPRINGFIELD. The sleeve notes, in stating the song is copyright Mijac, further confirmed Michael’s involvement.

Also, the song Do The Bartman was credited to Bryan Loren, but Groening has recently
confirmed Michael co-wrote and sang backing on Do The Bartman which, although not issued as a single in US, helped propel the album to #3 and a RIAA Platinum Record.

1992 - Michael Jackson's "Jam" hit #13 in the U.K.

HBO taped a Michael Jackson show in Bucharest, Romania. They broadcasted the show on October 10th under the name "From Bucharest - The Dangerous Tour."

1993 - Michael performs Dangerous tour at Yarkon Park, Tel Aviv [Israel] attending 80,000.

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Professionally filmed performances of "Jam", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'", "Human Nature" available.

1996 - Bravo magazine featured MJ on the cover.

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1998 - Michael Jackson was listed as the #1 male artist in Billboard Magazines's 40th Anniversary release.

Billboard Magazine celebrated the 40th anniversary of their "singles chart" by compiling a list of th top songs over the past four decades. They listed Michael Jackson as the #1 male artist with the "Most #1 hits."

2000 - On occasion of an interview for BBC Radio Oxford, London Times' "Millennium Preacher of the Year" at the time, Rabbi Shmuley Boteach, offers some tidbits on then friend, Michael Jackson and his "genuine devotion" for children, including his (the Rabbi’s).

He recounts that, on occasion of Jackson’s 42 Birthday at his Neverland ranch – to which Boteach and his family were invited – the singer also welcomed a critically ill ten-year old boy, suffering from leukemia, and his family for four days. The singer would treat him to the amusements of his home, speak to him in order to help him gain post-chemotherapy confidence and pays his medical expenses, as in more such cases involving the deprived, Boteach adds, (as part of Jackson’s relief efforts outside the public eye), continuing to say that the pop star would weekly invite hundreds of children from inner city schools for day trips to his ranch, spending "millions of dollars on children who are in need", an affirmation confirmed by the singer himself, by others who have been/were in contact with Jackson and some of the media reports. Moreover, Boteach also recounts that, after reading a piece of news on a critically cancer ailing boy, Jackson asked the staff of a New York hospital to install a telephone in the boy’s room, the singer then phoning the young patient daily, his pediatrician confirmed.

Filed under  //   1981   1987   1988   1991   1992   1993   1996   1998   2000  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1981 - A video of the Jacksons' "The Triumph (Can You Feel It)" was aired on "American Bandstand."

1971 - Filmed on 9/10th July, the Jackson 5’s first TV special Goin Back To Indiana, was aired in the States on – appropriately – ABC-TV.

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The hour long show, with guests comedians Bill Cosby (as roving reporter Scoop Newsworthy) and Tommy Smothers, singers Bobby Darin & Diana Ross, American footballer Roosevelt ‘Rosey’ Grier, Ben Davidson, and pro-basketball stars Bill Russell, Elgin Baylor & Elvin Hayesand, was an enjoyable mix of music and comedy sketches.

It also featured tracks recorded by J5 during their May 29 "homecoming" concert in Gary, Indiana (hence the show title).

Diana Ross made a brief cameo appearance, and footage from the Jackson 5’s triumphant homecoming to Gary, Indiana in January 1971, was screened.

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No longer limited to guest appearances on other people's shows (a regular practice during this point in their career), the brothers were now a big enough name to draw their own audience, who tuned in as enthusiastically to the special as they did to the new Jackson 5ive Saturday morning cartoon that also made its debut in September.

1984 - OK! magazine [France] featured Michael & La Toya on their cover.

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1986 - America's National Enquirer ran a cover story 'Michael Jackson’s Bizarre Plan to Live to 150'. Pictured, Michael apparently sleeping in an oxygen chamber, fanning the already rampant rumors of his eccentric and puzzling lifestyle.

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The photograph showed the singer, then aged 28, in a striped shirt, dark trousers and white socks, lying on his back with his eyes closed in a hyperbaric chamber of the type used to treat victims of serious burns, embolisms and carbon monoxide poisoning. Something, so the story claimed, Michael did every night as he believed it would prolong his life expectancy!

Such a machine typically consists of a steel and glass or Perspex cylinder inside which the patient is sealed while pure oxygen, under considerable pressure, floods damaged flesh, thus preserving circulation and maintaining tissues essential to the healing process.

Here you can read a comment on that topic by Michael himself (Taken from the Interview "MJ Talks To Oprah", 1993):

Oprah: OK, but you are in something there, there's a picture of you, where did that come from? How did it get started?

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MJ: That's... I did a commercial for Pepsi and I was burned very badly and we settled for 1 million dollars and I gave all the money...like, we built this place called the Michael Jackson Burn Centre and that's a piece of technology used for burn victims, right. So I'm looking at the piece of technology and decide to go inside it and just to hammer around, somebody takes the picture, when they process the pictures the person who processes the picture says. "Oh, Michael Jackson". He made a copy and these pictures went all over the world with this lie attached to it. It's a complete lie... It's crazy. Why would I want to sleep in a chamber?

Oprah: The rumour was that you were sleeping in the chamber because you didn't want to grow old.

MJ: That's stupid. It's completely made up. I'm embarassed. I'm willing to forgive the press, or forgive anybody, I was taught to love and forgive, which I do have in my heart, but please don't believe these crazy, horryfying things.

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In Michael's "Leave Me Alone" video he lashes back the publisher as "National Intruder". And one of the many bizzar newspaper headlines reads "Michael Sleeps In Hyperbaric Chamber", with an identical photo shown to the one that was attached to the stories, which showed Michael lying in a glass box.

1987 - CIAO 2001 magazine [Italy] featured Michael on the cover.

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1992 - Michael performs Dangerous tour at Stade Municipal, Toulouse [France] attending 40,000.

1996
- Russian Mayor Meeting: Michael meets Moscow's mayor Yuri Luzhkov - Monday.


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Michael was a presented a Russian folk handcraft plate depicting Moscow's coat of arms; Gzhel depicting a horseman with a spear in his hand slaying a basilisk and is identified with Saint George and the Dragon.
Michael's arrival in Russia is such a success that MJJ Productions issue the following press release:

'Calling it a 'great gift to Moscovites for him to be here' Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov officially welcomed Michael Jackson to the city with a ceremonial reception at the city government's White Hall.

Flanked by other government officials, Luzhkov called Jackson 'a great talent and an outstanding artist' before presenting him with a replica of an official Russian plate from which he said. 'the people's predecessors took their food'. 'Michael Jackson gives himself to all people' said Luzhkov, 'you can sense the warmth. We love classic music and modern music and Michael Jackson is the best as far as modern music is concerned.'

Filed under  //   1971   1986   1987   1992   1996  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1987 - Blues & Soul magazine [UK] feature Michael on the cover with the story Michael Jackson: Bad times ahead.

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1988 - Seventeen years after the Jackson 5ive cartoon series first aired, Michael was a cartoon again. Michael lent his song, "Beat It" to be used in a Flinstone Kids cartoon special encouraging kids to say no to drugs. The Flintstone Kids' "Just Say No" Special was a 30-minute television special featuring The Flintstone Kids and produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions which aired on ABC.

In it, little Fred, Barney, Wilma, and Betty work odd jobs to earn enough money for tickets to a Michael Jackstone concert. When Wilma refuses to use marijuana in order to join a "cool crowd", the Flintstone Kids and their friends start a campaign against drugs while trying to get tickets to a Michael Jackstone concert. They finally make it to the concert and see Michael Jackstone singing new lyrics to "Beat It" about not needing drugs:


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Just Say No!

They told the girl
Why don't you step over here
You wanna be cool
Take a look in here
They wanna do drugs
And they're words are really clear
So beat it!
You don't need it!
(Say no!)
You don't need friends
Doing things that are wrong
There's lots of kids like you
Who are cool and strong
It might be kinda tough
But you can move along
So beat it!
And say it ain't fair


Don't mean it!
Don't need it!
Just say no to drugs
Defeat it!

Have a life that's happy
A future that's bright
You make it happen
Drugs are wrong
And you're right
Just beat it!
Just beat it!
Say no
And defeat it!
Now Moms and Dads
You ought to listen to me
To be a kid today
It ain't easy
Just make your home and family
A loving place to be
So beat it!
Send it riding wave!

In the cartoon, Stone Age Michael, voiced by Kipp Lennon, wears one glove and dons sunglasses. He moonwalks, and even grabs his crotch while dancing!

The Flintstone kids need to raise money in order to buy tickets to see Michael Jackstone (obvious reference) in concert. While attempting to raise money from teamwork, some older kids try to push drugs on our young role models. After failing to raise the money, the kids enter a race whose grand prize is tickets to see Jackstone. The older drug users also enter the race, expecting to crush our heroes. The effects of high drug abuse is shown when the Flintstone kids win the race due to the poor health of the drug users.

This was one of a few cartoon shows (another notable includes Cartoon All-Stars to the Rescue) in the 80s to show young children that drugs were bad. This was one of the more effective shows because every kid could relate to the story. The desired thought process in kids would be, "I like to win. Drugs will make me slow, meaning I will lose. Hence, drugs will make me into a loser." While most kids could care less about the message, it seeped its way into their subconscious.

1993 - Michael's first show in Moscow was at the Lyzhniki Olympic Stadium. Some of the media delighted in reporting that MJ's concert had not been sold out. What they didn't point out was that the price of the tickets, at $11, was more than most people in Moscow make in a month. They also failed to mention that despite the ticket prices, that 93% of the seats were sold. Only 7,000 seats remained unsold for the show at the 100,000 seat stadium.

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While on his Dangerous tour in Moscow, Russia for his concert there, Michael postpones his flight out of Moscow, instead goes to visit a hospital for mentally challenged children there, who rejoice at seeing him and fight for his attention. Michael holds a few children in his arms and on his lap, comforts and plays with them and wishes to entertain them: "I'd like to sing with them. We all know a song together", he says, visibly emotional. The singer has asked for one of the children to be flown to America for care and treatment which he will pay for. He also visits children in a nearby orphanage, who will sing a song to him in Russian, turning him – the ultimate performer, into an attentive spectator.
2002 - By means of an auction, the performer donates 16 autographed items (compact discs, videos and a pair of cotton napkins), valued at 3935 Euros, to victims of a flood in Germany, as well as an autographed fedora and a jacket, worn by Jackson at the 2002 American Music Awards, to the "Tribute To Bambi" charitable auction, items calculated at 18,303 Euros and addressing the street children of Germany from "Off-Road-Kids e.V".

2003 - The entertainer hosts a star-studded charitable event at Neverland Valley Ranch, ticket price at presale being 725 dollars, with proceeds going to the Oneness charitable organization. Guests enjoy a tour of Jackson’s menagerie, amusement rides, various assortments of food and other exciting things. The party subsequent to the event is hosted and broadcast live by ‘KIIS FM’. Jackson briefly addresses the guests in attendance. Prior to his speech, the "Harvest International Children’s Choir", along with a host of fans and special guests in attendance, join in to chant 'Happy Birthday' to their favorite star, whose birth date had been 2 weeks before.

2007 - Michael makes a photoshoot at the Boylan Studios for an upcoming cover of Italian L'Uomo Vogue magazine with photographer Bruce Weber.

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Today in MJJ HIStory

1984 -
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Michael Jackson's "Thriller" won Best Overall Performance, Best Choreography and Viewers' Choice at the MTV Video Music Awards held at the Radio City Music Hall, NY. Here, La Toya Jackson shows up in Moonman-inspired fashion to accept her brother's awards.
Michael Jackson, who scored three Moonmen, among his trophies was one for Best Choreography and the all-important Viewer's Choice Award. Both were bestowed upon him for his epic John Landis-directed "Thriller" music video, a groundbreaking entry into the field that substantially impacted the way these silly, little music videos were judged in the wider arts community.

To honor a legend like Jackson for his visionary talent (who, before going off the deep end, would have a prestigious Moonman award named in his honor several VMA years later).

1987 - Michael performs Bad tour at Tokyo Dome, Tokyo [Japan] attending 45,000

People magazine featured Michael on the cover with the story Michael Jackson - He's back. He's Bad. Is this guy weird, or what?

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1990 - Michael Jackson received the first ever "Michael Jackson Good Scout Humanitarian Award" at the Century Plaza Towers in Los Angeles.

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Michael was the first recipient of the award named in honor of him. The Michael Jackson Good Scout Humanitarian Award was presented to Michael in recognition of his humanitarian efforts for all mankind through his fund raising efforts for the Make-A-Wish Foundation, The Prince's Trust, The UNCF, and Childhelp USA.

Walt Disney CEO Michael Eisner presented the award to Michael. Dressed in a gold & black military style jacket and sunglasses, Michael said only, "On behalf of the millions of past, present, and future Boy Scouts, I will try to abide by your motto of being prepared and always extending a hand to others."


1996 - Michael performs HIStory tour at National Stadium, Bucharest [Rumania] attending 70,000.
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