Today in MJJ HIStory

1973 - Michael was on a recording session of CALL ON ME, arranged and produced by Gene Page, Fonce Mizell & Freddie Perren. The song included, with added overdubs and remixed, on the solo compilation FAREWELL MY SUMMER LOVE, issued in May 1984 in the States and June 1984 in the UK.

1985 -

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Keeping with the philanthropic theme of the times, USA for Africa's instant-classic "We Are the World" won Best Group Video (and with everyone from Michael Jackson and Tina Turner to Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, it was some group), as well as the Viewer's Choice Moonman.

Lauper and Ken Kragen prove music can be used for a noble cause, accepting a Moonman on behalf of USA For Africa at the MTV Video Music Awards held at Radio City Music Hall, NY.

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

Michael displays his support towards a campaign against racism, as well by lending his name to the NAACP's endeavour to help arrest prejudiced conduct and widespread discrimination against black artists.

1989 - Michael Jackson signed a $28 million deal with L.A. Gear.

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A press conference was held in Los Angelese to announce Michael's new multi million endorsement deal with "L.A. Gear". The two year deal called for Michael to design and market a line of sports shoes and sportswear as well as appear in commercials. Under the marketing campaign 'Unstoppable' a wide range of activities was promised to promote the collection.

At the press conference, Michael wore black pants and jacket with a purple shirt and sunglasses. He also wore, instead of the usual black loafers, a pair of black & silver L.A. Gear tennis shoes. As usual, Michael was very brief with his comments: ""I look forward to the challenge of creating and designing with this hot LA fashion lead... I am very happy to be part of the L.A. Gear magic and I hope we have a very rewarding, successful career. Thank you."

Pop singer was said to be paid close to $28 million to be the company spokesperson and to design a line of men’s leisure shoes, black shoes, and T-shirts - for double what Pepsi had paid him, the highest corporate association ever.

The company's stock responded strongly, rising four points in the three days following the announcement. The company's use of Michael Jackson was 'more than a growth opportunity, they're trying to maintain their fashion image,' Paine Webber analyst Frank Podbelsek told Advertising Age. Under the umbrella theme Unstoppable L.A. Gear prepared to tap Michael Jackson's worldwide popularity by coordinating the Jackson line rollout with the release of a collection of his greatest hits called A Decade which was never released and the deal was dropped after only one commercial.
DECADE: Originally scheduled for release in November, 1989, DECADE was to be a double album of Michael's greatest hits with 3 to 5 new songs included, among them his cover of the Beatles' Come Together. Slated for release simultaneously was a DECADE video cassette. The poject was later shelved due to an avalanche of new material, prompting thoughts of a brand new album instead, much to the delight of his fans, which become, DANGEROUS.

In August 1990, commercials for "L.A. Gear" with Michael began airing in movie theatres.

1992 - Michael performs Dangerous tour at Hippodrome de Vincennes, Paris [France] attending 85,000.

1993 - Jet magazine features MJ on its cover with the story Family And Fans Support Michael Jackson In Child Abuse Investigation.

1995 - Michael Jackson's "Dangerous - The Short Films" was certified Platinum.

1996 - During HIStory tour, Michael visits a state orphanage in Bucharest, Romania, prior to his concert at Lia Manoliu Stadium attending 70,000 fans.
He gives away toys & sweets to and plays with children from the "Leaganul De Copii Sfanta Ecaterina" state home, which he also acknowledges with 35 million Lei ($ 1 million).
Along with children, he visits the monument dedicated to the victims of the 1989 Romanian revolution, kneels before the memorial & renders a bouquet of flowers.


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Michael was also is invited at the Parliament Palace, where children give performances for him. He attends a folklore performance - music and dances - by children dressed in traditional Romanian attire, after which is received on stage by the children, chanting his name and thunderously applauding him. They also perform a few song remakes in Romanian of famous anthems, such as Stephen Foster's "Oh, Susanna" or The Beatles' "Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-Da", to which Jackson happily bops his head and claps his hands.


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When he is invited to take the stage, he makes the following appreciative discourse: "This performance was one of the most amazing performances I’ve ever seen in my entire life. And I’m not just saying that, I really mean it from my heart. It was the highest in artistic presentation and I only wish all of the world leaders could be here to see this, because I think they would think twice when they so quickly send our brothers to the killing fields. Because this is our future – all the children. And I love you so much. And… [children loudly chanting his name] I just once again wanted to say thank you very very much, and from the bottom of my heart I truly and endearly love each and everyone of you. Thank you so much." (rare footage provided by LovinTheKingOfPop on YouTube)

1997 - Michael attends a public service for Princess Diana at St. James Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, CA.

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2003 - Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch was opened for a "once in a lifetime" event for guests that had paid $5,000 for a tour and two meals.

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Michael hosted a star-studded charity event at Neverland. Only 400 tickets were available for purchase. Ticket price at pre-sale was $725, with proceeds going to charity. Among those in attendance were Aaron and Nick Carter, Mike Tyson, Penny Marshall, Pink, and Boys II Men, to name a few. R&B singer Ashanti performed her hit single, Aww Baby mixed with Michael's hit Rock With You, from the Off The Wall' album. The Carter brothers later presented Michael with a belated birthday cake. This led to a massive food fight—which of course, Michael started! Michael addressed those in attendance: "Thank you all for coming tonight. For in my opinion, in my opinion, is a very special cause and the cause is our future and the future is our children. I will continue to fight for them for the rest of my life."

2009 - The trailer for THIS IS IT was premiered at the MTV Video Music Awards.

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Today in MJJ HIStory

1973 - The Jackson 5's next studio album, Get It Together, is released.

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GIT was a strong album that enjoyed moderate success. Musically, their sound had matured from bubblegum pop to hard funk/proto-disco, which may have been over the heads of their young audience.

Michael was now fifteen years old, and although he could no longer rely on the pre-pubescent charm that helped make him a star, he continued to grow as a performer.

The last song on the album, Dancing Machine, became a feature for a new dance routine, “the robot” (first used during the Japan concerts the previous spring), that would become an MJ trademark – at least until the moonwalk (or “back slide”) came along a decade later.

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"Get It Together", the tenth album of Motown Jackson 5, is regarded as album of the revival of the brothers in this team. Their previous album "Skywriter" having been, in fact, a failure, and the group seemed far from triumphant debut.

1973 was also the year when the J5 begin to find a way to compose and produce their own songs. Unfortunately the machine is far from Motown tubes to be flexible and allow full freedom to his singers, confined to their unique role as interpreters. The group is approaching, however, Stevie Wonder. Recording sessions with a number of times will take place. But the only official release will appear in the chorus of the single "You Have not Done Nothing".

"Get It Together" is tinged with the imprint of Hal Davis, the producer behind the new Jackson 5's, and these new dance rhythms.

"The boys asked me something that moves", said Hal Davis. "The clubs discos appeared everywhere, and these kids were real dancers. The disco was in the air, and suddenly, I would have given anything to dance. I had this extraordinary rhythm section: William Salter to bass, Joe Sample on keyboards, and James Gadson on drums. Gadson was particularly giant. "

On "Get It Together," the voice of Michael begins to change: a little more serious, but also more powerful than ever. Behind it, he dreamed of singing songs to disco club. He adored move. "The disco had its detractors," says Michael, "But for us it was a necessary route to enter the adult world.

Among the motivating songs include the title song "Get It Together," written and composed by almost all the flagship Motown: Berry Gordy, Hal Davis, Larson and Marcellino. This title has reached the second list Soul, 1973, as the title "Do not Say Goodbye Again".

The album contains, as often since the inception of the times: The Supremes, Reflections, Gladys Knight & the Pips, "You Need Love Like I Do Do not You", and finally one of the Temptations: "Hum Along And Dance ", a composition of Norman Whitfield.

Jackson 5 But the real surprise of the album Dancing Machine. This title has been broadcast on radio after the sales of this album have ceased. The title has been # 1 in March 1974 and was resumed in a shorter version in 1974 on the next album, "Dancing Machine". The disco track is an opportunity for Michael to sparkle with creativity. The title was inspired dance called the "Robot", mechanical movement, which inspired many dancers (including those who will say later, having learned the moonwalk to Michael ...) and mark the beginnings of dance called "Breakdance .

The recording sessions of "Get It Together" gave birth to several titles of which will be published a few years later Joyful Jukebox Music in 1976: it is Pride and Joy, a cover of Marvin Gaye in a absolutely fresh and innovative approach to this classic Motown.

That autumn, the group’s TV appearances included a Bob Hope special and Soul Train.

1986 - Michael Jackson's "Captain Eo" debuted at Disneyland's Journey into Imagination at Epcot Center.

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More than a year after this first announcement, "Captain EO" ["EO" is Greek for "dawn"], Michael's 17 minute space fantasy 3-D movie, premièred at Epcot Center in Disney World, Florida. The film, directed by Francis Ford Coppola ["Dracula"] and produced by George Lucas ["Star Wars"], becomes [and up to today still is] the most expensive film -"minute-for-minute" - ever made. [Estimated costs for the 17 minute film - US$ 30 million].

Michael stars in the title role alongside Anjelica Huston.
Billed as 'a celebration of triumph over evil', it included two new songs written and performed by Michael, Another Part Of Me (later featured on Michael’s album BAD) and We Are Here To Change The World.

After its première at Disney World Florida, the 3-D movie was shown at all 4 Disney Theme Parks [Florida, California, Japan, France] with tremendous success and became one of the main attractions of the parks. "Working on 'Captain EO' reinforced all the positive feelings I've had about working in film and made me realize more than ever that movies are where my future path probably lies", Michael says later.

After a long delay, Captain EO premiered at the Epcot Center on September 12, 1986. A 3-D special effects extravaganza, the seventeen-minute film cost $30 million to make, making it the most expensive movie ever produced on a per-minute basis at the time.

Designed specifically for screening at the Disneyland and Disney World amusement parks, Captain EO was more than a movie, it was a full-on sensory experience, created to provide a thrill equal to any rollercoaster. Michael starred as the movie’s namesake, a space hero who leads a ragtag assortment of cute creatures in a mission to unlock the despotic Witch Queen’s (played by Angelica Huston) inner beauty, armed only with the power of song and dance.

Captain EO is regarded as the first "4-D" film: the action on the screen extended into the audience, including lasers, laser impacts, smoke effects & starfields that filled the theater.
These in-theater effects resulted in the 17 minute film cost $30 million to produce; At $1.76 million per minute, it is still the most expensive minute-for-minute film ever made!

1987 - The Bad world tour began in Japan. 'Typhoon Michael', as he was nicknamed, swept into Japan to kicks off his first ever solo tour. He plays the first of three sold out concerts at the Korakuen-Stadium to a capacity of 45,000 [meanwhile known as Tokyo Dome] in Tokyo, Japan.

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At each and every concert he played, Michael ensured 400 tickets were reserved for underprivileged children; these were distributed via orphanages, hospitals and children’s charities. However, with precious little time to prepare, Michael necessarily based the Bad World Tour on the Victory Tour.

Here, his parents caught up with him and, following the first show she had seen, Katherine was asked by Michael’s manager Frank Dileo what she thought. Katherine thought it was great.
‘Michael’s always good,’ she replied, ‘but it would have been a better show with the brothers.’ She explained why. ‘They know how to dance and harmonise together. Their voices blend in a special way because they’re brothers.’
So, in her opinion, the show would have been better with Michael’s brothers. Many Jackson fans would readily agree with Katherine, but the Victory Tour left a bitter taste in Michael’s mouth and besides, the aim of this tour was to promote his solo album, BAD.

Three dates at Osaka’s Nishinomya Stadium were followed by five at the Yokohama Stadium in Yokohama, after which Michael rounded off the Japanese leg of the tour by returning to Osaka for another three concerts.

Prior to the tour, his life as an entertainer frequently bringing him into conflict with his religion, Michael withdrew from the Jehovah’s Witnesses (he later re-joined). A representative from Woodlands Hill Kingdom Hall, to which Michael had belonged, issued a terse statement confirming Michael had ‘disassociated himself from the congregation’.
A few days later William Van De Wall, a Jehovah’s Witness spokesman, told reporters, ‘He (Michael) took the initiative. We didn’t take any action. We were informed of his wishes.’
No longer shackled by his religious beliefs, Michael added Thriller to the tour line-up, plus two songs from his new album, I Just Can’t Stop Loving You and Bad.

Michael had invited the magicians Siegfried and Roy to create illusions for his "Bad" tour and, in return, wrote a special number, "Mind Is The Magic", to open their show at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas.

Siegfried and Roy are Las Vegas' number one entertainment attraction and since its opening in 1981, their spectacular illusion show has never played to a single empty seat!

Michael’s touring band included backup singer Sheryl Crow, who sang in a duet with Michael on I Can’t Stop Loving You at every performance. Crow, who would eventually become a star in her own right seven years later, became the subject of tabloid scrutiny as Michael’s rumored love interest, a fallacy Michael’s spin machine did little to discourage.

Michael Jackson's album "Bad" debuted at #1 in the U.K.

1992 - Le Figaro, French magazine features MJ on its cover with the story Appariton a Paris Le Mystere Jackson.

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1993 - Over the weekend of Sep 11 & 12, fans marched in support of MJ in Hollywood. Flowers & cards were left at his freshly polished star on Hollywood's Walk of Fame.

Michael arrived at the next tour stop, Moscow, and was greeted by hundreds of fans waving their gloved hands in the air and shouting to him. A banner was held up saying "Siberia Loves You Michael!". The next day Michael left his hotel to do some shopping. He picked up a 19th century statue, several paintings & books, and a Russian army officers coat. He also toured the Kremlin museum & armory.
The following day, Michael had video shot of himself marching with Russian army soldiers.

1995 - Michael Jackson's maxi single "The Remixes" was released.

Michael Jackson's "Video Greatest Hits - History" was certified 2 times Platinum.

1997 - Michael interview with Barbara Walter on 20/20'1 at George V Hotel in Paris, France.

The show aired on ABC, Michael discusses the paparazzi; battered men; children roam casinos while parents gamble.

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Michael: You should not say, "He's Jacko." I'm not a 'Jacko'. I'm Jackson.
Barbara: How do you feel when they call you...
Michael: Yeah, Wacko Jacko, where did that come from? Some English tabloid. I have a heart and I have feelings. I feel that when you do that to me. It's not nice. Don't do it. I'm not a "wacko".

Michael also talked about the recent death of Britain's Princess Diana:

In my heart I was saying, "I love you Diana. Shine. And shine on forever, because you are the true Princess of the people." And in words I did not say it, but I said it for three minutes in showing a big picture on the jumbotron screens...Sony, big huge screens...and her picture was there shining...and the crowd went bananas. And I played the song "Smile" and "Gone Too Soon".

and being a daddy:
Barbara: You have said, "I grew up in a fishbowl. I will not allow that to happen to my son." Yet, when your son was born, you sold pictures to the National Enquirer and to other European papers, tabloids. Why did you do that?
Michael: Because there was a race. There were some illegal pictures out. Illegally, somebody had taken pictures of a baby...millions of dollars...said, "Here's Michael's son."
And it wasn't. So, I took pictures of the baby. I said, "They're forcing me to get his pictures." There's helocopters flying above us...flying over my house...flying over the hospital, um, machines and satellites all over. Even the hospital said, "Michael, we've had every kind of celebrity here...but we've never had it like this. This is unbelievable." And so I said, "Here, take it." And I gave the money to charity
Barbara: So, rather than...what you're saying is...what you did was to get them off your back.
Michael: Yeah...and may be I don't want to show him to the world like that. I want him to have some space...where he can go to school. I don't want him to be called "Wacko Jacko" that's not nice. They call the father that. That isn't nice...right?

The interview was conducted without letting know the press, nor the Paris hotel. But when Michael tried to sneak out through a back door, there was a huge crowd... already waiting!
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Today in MJJ HIStory

1973 - Jackson Family held a press party at their Encino home.

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On the J5's 1973 Soul Train appearance, Don Cornelius ran some footage from the party.
~j5collector

1987 - Michael arrives in Japan to kick off the first leg of his first solo tour, BAD world tour.

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When Michael's Japan Airlines Flight 61 touched down at Narita International Airport in Tokyo over 600 journalists, cameramen and hundreds of screaming fans were waiting to cover his arrival. Even Bubbles, Jackson's pet chimp, who took a separate flight, was greeted by more than 300. To transport the stage equipment, a chartered jumbo jet flew into Tokyo carrying 22 truckloads along with Jackson's tour entourage of 132 people.

The total attendance for the 14 concerts in Japan during the first leg was 450,000 with performances in Tokyo, Osaka and Yokohama. Previously, performers only managed to draw a crowd of 200,000 on a single tour. A granddaughter of Emperor Hirohito attended the first concert in Tokyo.

1992 - A live performance of Black or White taken from a concert at London's Wembley Stadium was broadcast via satellite to the ninth annual MTV Video Music Awards.

Public service announcement made by Michael Jackson as part of the network's Choose or Loose campaign to encourage young adults to register to vote, was premiered during the award telecast. Dressed in his gold & black concert costume, with large mirrored sunglasses, he encouraged others to make a difference. "We live in a country where we have a chance to make a difference. To create a better way of life for ourselves and for our children. The future is now. Let's come together and express our freedom of choice. Choose or Lose."

1995 - Michael Jackson's single "You Are Not Alone" hit #1 in the U.K.

1993 - Bravo magazine features MJ on its cover.

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1999 - Michael & Elizabeth Taylor speak about their close friendship in Talk magazine

Filed under  //   1973   1987   1992   1993   1995   1999  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1975 - The Jacksons in Concert, Mount Vernon, NY. Mount Vernon ‘Forever Came Today’ date billed as ‘The Labor Day Concert’,
with special guest stars Tavares.

1984 - The Jacksons perform Victory tour at JFK Stadium, Philadelphia [Pennsylvania, USA] attending 60,000.

On the day the Jackson's came to town, Randy and Tito showed up at Childrens Hospital to meet sick children. That night the Jacksons would take the stage at JFK for the first night.

They did. With the low stage , fans in the front row could almost reach out and touch Michael Jackson. He was only 5 feet away! Fans in the back had to strain their necks to get a view. The moon walk made fans roar with approval. Their were chairs on the field of JFK Stadium. That was something that had not been done before. However, no one sat in them. In fact, people stood on them for this show. Security was strict, making sure no one snuck up front.

Songs played included "Torture" and of course Michael played some solo material. He was riding high from the Thriller album and played many songs from it. Such as "Billy Jean" and " Pretty Young Thing". The show lasted about two hours. There were special effects such as dry ice smoke and an elaborate light show. During the concert, Michael did not really converse with the crowd.

Modern Screen magazine featured Michael on their cover with the story MICHAEL's Tour Has The Country Jumping!

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1987
- Michael Jackson's album "Bad" was released in U.K.
During its first week in the UK it outsold the #2 album HITS 6 by an unprecedented margin of 10:1, shifting 350,000 copies – a record. BAD debuted at #1 and held the top for 5 weeks and remained on the charts for 109 weeks consecutively. BAD was the best selling album of 1987. To date it has accumulated 115 (+2?) weeks on the UK’s album chart – Michael’s third straight release to top two years. Unusually, in UK, BAD outsold THRILLER – with sales hovering around the four million mark, it has turned thirteen times platinum. BAD is generally recognised as the UK’s no.3 best selling album of all time.

1994 - Bravo magazine featured MJ & Lisa on the cover.

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Today in MJJ HISTory

1987 - Michael released his highly anticipated follow-up album to Thriller, titled Bad, worldwide on August 31, 1987 [except in England, where August 31 is a bank holiday] with copies leaving the record shops faster than assistants could fill the shelves. Bad sold 500,000 copies within five days in the UK; a first for any artist in the UK. It debuted at number one in both the US and UK and many other countries around the world.

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Tower Records in London sold 200 copies in the first hour of trading while CBS [Epic] estimated that some 150'000 copies would be sold at the end of the first day's trading. In Amercia, fans stood in line outside shops from New York to Los Angeles and extra staff was hired to cope with the demand.

A hugely successful album in its own right, Bad sold 30 million copies worldwide and became the first (and still the only) album to include five number one singles on Billboard’s Hot 100 sales chart.

The album becomes a tremendous success and yes, Michael made history with it again: "Bad" became the second biggest-selling album ever.

The album’s production had been a complicated affair, not least for the fact that, despite his status, Michael failed to convince the likes of Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and chief rival Prince to record duets with him.

Bad would be Michael’s last collaboration with co-producer Quincy Jones, ending pop music history’s most successful production team.

The album entered the US Pop and Black album charts at number one, holding its position for 6 and 18 weeks respectively and remained on the Pop charts for 87 weeks, 38 of which were spent in the Top 5. This broke a record of 26 weeks in the Top 5 set by The Eagles' "Hotel California". In Britain, "Bad" hold the number one position for 5 weeks and remained on the charts for 109 weeks consecutively.

Michael: "It's very hard to create something when you feel like you're in competition with yourself because no matter how you look at it, people are always going to compare "Bad" to "Thriller". You can always say, 'Aw, forget 'Thriller',' but no one ever will!
The album’s title track “Bad” was released on 31st August 1987 (the same day as the Bad album) with an amazing 18 minute long short film, directed by Martin Scorsese. The film was shot on location in New York and starred Wesley Snipes. It reportedly took six weeks to make with an estimated budget of $2 million. The reaction to the short film and single was massive: it shot to number 1 in the U.S. and many other countries around the world.
"Bad" is the only album to have 5 of its singles peak at #1 while 10 of its 11 songs were released as singles & 9 of them composed & co-produced by Michael himself.
In June, 1992 "Bad" album was certified 6 times platinum & Michael become the only artist to have 3 consecutive albums with U.S. sales of 6 million copies each.
CBS-TV aired a special entitle "Michael Jackson - The Magic Returns." Also, the 17-minute "Bad" video was aired.

1990 - LA Gear’s first UK advertisement, which did star Michael and his eight year old neice Brandy (daughter of Jackie Jackson), premiered in movie theatres. Michael's first TV commercial in nearly 4 years was heralded a creative breakthrough by the industry.


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Michael wears black, heavily buckled shoes his LA Gear logo is is embroidered on the tongue.

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1993 - Tito and Jermaine Jackson walked off the set of NBC-TV's "Today" show when a crew arrived to interview the two about the troubles of their brother Michael with the Los Angeles Police Department. The two later held a press conference where they stated their support for their brother.

1997 - Shocked by the tragic death of Diana, Princess of Wales, Michael cancelled his 31st August concert in Ostend, saying he was too upset to perform on stage. Diana and Dodi Fayed, the new man in her life, died in a horrific car crash in the French capital Paris, where Michael himself was staying prior to his Belgian gig.

2001 - The first single off the King of Pop's new album, which is due to hit stores in October, debuted at number 34 on Billboard's Hot 100 Singles Chart. The high rating makes 'You Rock My World' Billboard's Hot Shot debut for the week.

Filed under  //   1987   1990   1993   1997   2001  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1987 - Michael's duet with Siedah Garret "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" reached #1 in the UK Singles chart replacing Los Lobos's hit La Bamba, and stay there for 2 weeks.

Michael was in Hong Kong for a short visit.

1993 - Michael Jackson began the second leg of Dangerous World tour in Hong Kong.

1995 - "You Are Not Alone", the second single from from "HIStory" album was released in America, and went on to create chart history.

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The single debuted at number 1 on the US charts, smashing the previous record set by “Scream”. “You Are Not Alone” was the first song to ever debut at number one on the US Billboard Chart. Michael broke his own record which he set with "Scream" 2 1/2 months ago ["Scream" entered the Billboard charts at number 5, being the then-highest entry of all time]. The number one position is the highest possible debuting position on the single-charts. This record can only be tied but never be broken. Michael was honored with the "Billboard Hot 100 Achievement Award" for having the first ever single in the history of the Billboard charts, "You Are Not Alone", to debut at number one on the charts!

The single was a worldwide smash, reaching number 1 in six countries and record sales for HIStory soared.

The short film to accompany the song was directed by Wayne Isham and featured Lisa Marie Presley.

1999 - On Sunday, the Dalai Lama, earthly embodiment of the Buddha of Compassion granted an audience to Michael Jackson.

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It was the first meeting between His Holiness and Michael. The meeting took place at the Mark Hotel. The Dalai Lama and Michael spoke for about 20 minutes

The Dalai Lama left New York Yesterday, but Michael remained in New York finishing an album. While there, he dined at a New York apartment with Dolly Parton and Elizabeth Taylor. According to a source, the focus of much of their talk was the death of John Kennedy Jr. and the dangers Celebrities face when flying private planes.

2004 - Michael Jackson was a special guest of Rev. Cecil "Chip" Murray at the First African Methodist Episcopal Church in Los Angeles, one of the most respected churches in the Los Angeles African-American community.

At 10:00 a.m. Michael Jackson, his youngest brother Randy Jackson, entertainer Steve Harvey, and attorney Mr. Thomas Messerau sat comfortably towards the back of the church and enjoyed the service. Although news of Michael's appearance was not widely publicized, the press from most major news channels were on hand. Much of the public learned of Michael's appearance from hearing it mentioned on the Steve Harvey radio program earlier. There were a handful of fans who knew where First AME Church was located and were able to be there to greet Michael. After Michael left the church he made his way to the Cecil F. Murray Education Center, a small school a block away that is run by First AME Church. There, he was scheduled to greet a class room full of about 25 African-American children. The press were told before Michael entered the room that there would be absolutely no questions that would be allowed by the press.
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Today in MJJ HIStory

1973 - Motown ships the new Jackson 5 single, “Get It Together,” while the group plays the Municipal Auditorium in Nashville as part of a 50-date tour.

1981 - The Jacksons perform the Triumph tour at Riverfront Coliseum, Cincinnati, U.S.

On the same day Michael Jackson's single We're Almost There hit #46 in the U.K. six years after charting in the U.S.

1984 - The Jacksons perform Victory tour at Neyland Stadium, Knoxville, Tennessee, USA attending 48,783.

1987 - I Just Can't Stop Loving You, Michael's duet with Siedah Garrett, enter the US Singles Chart at #37.

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The song also entered UK. It quickly traveled to #1 on both charts giving Michael yet another trans-atlantic #1 hit! (his 7th #1 in US)
The balled written & composed by Michael, became the 1st of five consecutive #1 Hot 100 singles from the "Bad" album, which also hit #1 in Hot AC & Hot R&B charts. The single topped other European charts, including Belgium, Denmark, Netherland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain. The single become the #3 best selling single of 1987, earning Michael his 13th Gold record in both US & UK.

1992 - Michael performs Dangerous world tour at Weser Stadium in Bremen, Germany attending 45,000 fans.

1994 - Michael & Lisa Marie visited sick children at an hospital.

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Filed under  //   1973   1981   1984   1987   1992   1994  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1985 - Michael sprained his right hand during the filming of a dance sequence on the set of Captain EO, and was taken to Brotman Memorial Hospital in Culver City, the same place he had been rushed to eighteen months earlier when he was burned on the set of the Pepsi commercial.

Accompanying him was young Jonathan Spence, a boy (ten or eleven years old) who had been friends with Michael since about the fall of 1984.

1988 - Michael had his own TV special. Michael Jackson: Around the World was a 90min special featuring concert footage of the Bad tour, with Michael, as usual, having final appoval of the footage to be included. While the concert footage of the Bad tour was impressive, it still only gives a small taste of the excitement of seeing MJ perform live. Clips of Michael with his band, singers & dancers performing "Working Day & Night" gives only a small sense of the song's elaborate production. Footage is shown of Michael's concert performances of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Human Nature", "Beat It", & the Jackson 5ive classics, "I want You Back" & "The Love You Save".

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Michael's band members speak of the excitement of playing London's Wembley Stadium. Frank Dileo adds, "Playing Wembley is one of the biggest honors any artist could have. It's a status symbol within artists themselves, whether or not they can sell out Wembley Stadium, and of course Michael set a new record. He sold it out 7 times. You can't get any bigger than that."

The program also featured the premiere of Michael's latest video, for "Another Part of Me". Filmed at London's Wembley Stadium on July 15, 1988, the video is of an actual performance of the song from the Bad tour. Too frequent cuts, however, detract from Michael's fancy footwork performed during the song.

MJ:Around the World was the highest rated summer special ever in its time slot, it aired at 11:30 p.m. It earned a 8.7 rating, which is equal to 27% of the tv audience. The program was later renamed MJ: Fans Around the World & rebroadcast on MTV several times. An edited, hour long, version was shown in April, 1989, on the BET network. BET presented Michael with an award in recognition of the tour's success while he was winding up the tour in LA.

Filed under  //   1985   1987  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1987 - "I Just Can’t Stop Loving You" Michael's duet with Siedah Garrett was released as the first single from the Bad album.
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The balled written & composed by Michael, traveled to #1 on the US, UK & European charts, including Belgium, Denmark, Netherland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Spain. The song became the 1st of five consecutive #1 Hot 100 singles from the Bad album & it also hit #1 in Hot AC & Hot R&B charts.
The song was the highest debuting single of 1987 and the #3 best selling single of
1987 on the States.
Michael & Siedah recorded a Spanish version of I Just Can't Stop Loving You, titled To Do Mi Amor Eres Tu.

1991 - Michael invites the Jackson family in Neverland to celebrate the first ever Joe Jackson Day. Katherine, Joe, Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine & Janet and the grandchildren attend the event. Later at Hayvenhurst, Joe receives his present from Janet & Michael : A boat!

1995 - Michael attends a press conference in New York City to announce the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards nominations at the Bryant Park Grill. He also announces about the special HBO concert planned at the Beacon Theater on December 10.

1997 – Michael Jackson performs HIStory World Tour in Nice, France, at Stade Charles-Ehrmann Stadium.

1988 - Michael held a press conference at the Okura Hotel in Tokyo, Japan to announce his new Japanese Company Wonder World – Land Of Toys. The company will create a new theme park with its own hotel, golf club, restaurant and shops selling his original goods. The theme park is expected to be completed by September 1999.

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Filed under  //   1987   1991   1997   1998  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1987 - 25 CBS Records executives and representatives are invited to a dinner party at Hayvenhurst where they are treated with a preview of the Bad album and the Bad short film.
Epic announces that the Bad album has been completed and will be released on August 31.

1989 – Michael Jackson is on Bravo Magazine, Germany.

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1992 - The World première of the Who Is It video clip took place on on BBC2's "Def II" during the Michael Jackson Special.
On July 14, 1992 the video clip is withdrawn by Michael because he is said to be unhappy with the editing and angry about its early release. The video is later re-released in a re-edited version.
The video clip was not released in the U.S.A. In May 1993 the accompanying video premièred in the U.S.A. It is a compilation of earlier video clips. The European version of the video is available in the US only on Dangerous: The Short Films.

1993 - Michael Jackson's single Will You Be There was released.
The gospel-flavored track written & produced by Michael, became the 7th song to reach the top 40 from his Dangerous album. Featured in the film Free Willy (also, on the accompanying soundtrack album), Will You Be There gave Michael his first Top 10 single on the Hot 100 in four attempts; it peaked at #7. The song was truly a whale of a hit: doubling as the theme to the film Free Willy, it won the MTV Movie Award for Best Song in a Movie in 1994. It was also included in the album All Time Greatest Movie Songs released by Sony in 1999. The single sold over 500,000 copies in U.S. & 10,530,000 copies worldwide, later being certified Gold by RIAA.

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Song Facts:
Michael wrote Will You Be There while sitting in the Giving tree at his Neverland Ranch.
The song includes a classical prelude & chorus featuring the Cleveland Orchestra performing a portion of Beethoven's ninth symphony; followed by a chorale interlude arranged by Andrae and Sandra Crouch.


Lyrics:
Hold Me
Like The River Jordan
And I Will Then Say To Thee
You Are My Friend

Carry Me
Like You Are My Brother
Love Me Like A Mother
Will You Be There?

Weary
Tell Me Will You Hold Me
When Wrong, Will You Scold Me
When Lost Will You Find Me?

But They Told Me
A Man Should Be Faithful
And Walk When Not Able
And Fight Till The End
But I’m Only Human

Everyone’s Taking Control Of Me
Seems That The World’s
Got A Role For Me
I’m So Confused
Will You Show To Me
You’ll Be There For Me
And Care Enough To Bear Me

2009 – Michael Jackson had been slated to start a series of comeback concerts in London on July 13, running until March 2010. Givi

Filed under  //   1987   1989   1992   1993   2009  

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