Today in MJJ HIStory

1988 - During the European leg of BAD World Tour, Michael Jackson performed a concert at St. Jakob Stadium in Basel, Switzerland attracted 55,000 fans; the show was attended by Bob Dylan and close friend Elizabeth Taylor.

During his stay in Switzerland, Michael had an opportunity to fulfill a childhood wish. He paid a visit to Oona O'Neill Chaplin, the wife of silent film legend Charlie Chaplin - Michael's most favorite actor.


Pictured here, Michael holds two Honorary Awards given to Chaplin in 1929 and 1972 by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Chaplin's wife, Oona O'Neill holds the Academy Award for Best Original Score, awarded in 1973.
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Today in MJJ HIStory

1984 - Michael Jackson cover titled "Why He's A Thriller". Michael's 1984 cover was the 5th biggest-selling issue in "TIME" magazine's history. Princess Diana's commemorative issue after her death was number one. To be on the cover of "TIME" magazine is seen as a major step.

1988 - The U.S. leg of the Bad World Tour began at Kansas City’s Kemper Arena on February 23, 1988. A month into the tour, Michael – finally ready to leave his family’s Encino home – bought a property he had been looking at for some time, a 2,700-acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara that he would christen “Neverland”.

Although Michael’s tour would keep him away from his new home for most of 1988, the purchase gave him time to refurbish it into a magical space, complete with amusement rides and a petting zoo. It was a deeply symbolic move for the 29-year-old man who saw himself as a “Peter Pan” figure, a committed champion for the happiness of children.

1996 - At a press conference in Paris, Michael announced plans for his new company, "Kingdom Entertainment", a Paris-based multimedia corporation, jointly owned with Saudi Prince, Al-Walid bin Talal bin Abdul Aziz al-Saoud.

2001
- Michael inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame - for his achievements as a solo artist - on March 19, 2001. What a honor!!

"I am thrilled and humbled to receive this great honor. I could not ask to be in better company than the list of fellow inductees. Each and every one is a master from whom I have learned. My sincere thanks to the rock and roll historians and experts who have chosen me."

Musicians become eligible for induction twenty-five years after the release of their first album, and sidemen become eligible twenty-five years after the commencement of their career. Michael was already inducted along with the rest of the Jackson 5 in 1997.

Filed under  //   1984   1988   1996   2001  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1981 - Michael, now a man at twenty-one, teamed up with his old partner Diana Ross again in 1981, appearing as a guest on her CBS-TV special, called Diana (not to be confused with Diana!, another CBS Ross special where Michael made his TV debut in 1971), which was broadcast at 10 p.m. on March 2, 1981

This time, the pair’s chemistry had evolved, they were now both adults, and their flirtatious between-song banter seemed less ironic and comedic than it had when he was still a boy.

1988 - Michael performed two songs (The Way You Make Me Feel and Man in the Mirror) at the 31st Annual Grammy Awards. Despite bringing the crowd to its feet with his spirited performance, Michael lost the Record of the Year award (his only nomination, for Man in the Mirror) to Bobby McFerrin for Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

Michael's performance on 30th Annual Grammy Awards was his first TV performance since 1983's Motown 25 special 5 years earlier.


Suddenly. the lights dimmed and a silhouette appeared from behind a screen. Michael stood, poised very still, with a hat perched on his head, down over his eyes. He slowly glided from one position to another as the screen slowly rose revealing Michael wearing short black pants, well above his ankles, and a blue shirt with a white t-shirt underneath it. He also had a white strip of fabric tied around his waist, and one around his wrist, looking he just stepped from the set of the video for "TWYMMF".

He descended a small staircase and sang very slowly the opening lines of TWYMMF, putting out an imaginary cigarette on the floor. In a special cameo appearance, Tatiana crossed the stage in front of him. As the music assumed its usual uptempo beat, Michael tossed the hat, pulled his shirt tails out and was joined by four dancers. The dazzling choreography borrowed from the song's video, and showcased Michael's new variation on the moonwalk, gliding around in a circle.

After the performance of an abbreviated TWYMMF, the dancers left the stage to Michael. After a pause for applause, he began MITM. He was joined on stage by the New Hope Baptist Church Choir, all in blue gowns. Michael's other background singers included Siedah Garrett and Andre Crouch, who at one point went out to Michael to help him up from his knees and wipe his forehead, a gesture reminiscent of James Brown's performances. Michael gave an outstanding performance, falling to his knees at several points and giving full emotion to the song's moving lyrics.

Michael was given a standing ovation for his performance that evening, but no Grammy...

Despite his shutout, Michael won over the audience with a performance recalling his 1983 Motown special stunner

His minimal showing in the statuette sweepstakes hardly diminished his uncontested talents

Filed under  //   1981   1988  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1970 - The Jackson 5's second single, "ABC", was released.

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Again produced and written by The Corporation™, it went to #1 in the US, #8 in the UK and sold a massive 4.1 million copies world wide.

A stop and start bass line and drum part, and propulsive percussion -- congas, tambourine, shakers -- horns, a fuzz-box guitar, dual Afro-Cuban-influenced piano parts, and, of course, the adolescent call-and-response vocals of the Jackson 5 brothers drive this Motown classic and one of the sweetest and simultaneously most satisfying confections of the 1970s. The song displaced the Beatles' "Let It Be" in the number one spot on the pop chart. Opening with the fuzz guitar, an off-beat percussive piano note, and a "doo-dooh" vocal hook line, the drums kick in on the down beat with Michael Jackson, then all of 12 years old, who starts in on the school metaphor:

"You went to school to learn girl
Things you never knew before

Like "I" before "E" except after "C"

And why two plus two makes four

Now, now, now I'm gonna teach you, teach you, teach you

All about love girl, all about love

Sit yourself down, take a seat

All you gotta do is repeat after me."
The school scenario was no accident; Freddie Perren, a member of the Corporation, the writing/producing collective behind "ABC," was a former school teacher. He has noted in interviews that producing -- especially a group comprised of teens and preteens -- is much like teaching: outlining a plan and having the students execute it until the teacher is satisfied.

The similarity of the song's groove to the Jackson 5's first hit single, "I Want You Back," is also no accident; "ABC" is essentially the chorus of the former single (and by theory a pop song's catchiest part), repeated and looped for the body of the newer single. The walking bass line forms the backbone -- bass having always been a top priority in Motown recordings. The arrangement builds to a rowdy drum breakdown in the middle of the song, Michael Jackson shouting out to the object of his young heart's desire: "Sit down girl! I think I love you!" He is egged on by his brothers, "No! Get up girl! Show me what you can do!" At which point, the brothers start to harmonize on "Shake it, shake it baby." Through the whole arrangement, the brothers share the lead vocals, trading lines, Michael taking the lion's share. The urgency in Michael's young voice is befuddling; this is no child novelty act -- a youngster propped up and made up to look and sound like an adult; Jackson just belts it out as soulfully as an adult, yet still sounds natural, effortless, and untrained, simply gifted. One wonders why such gifts became watered down and squandered to the extent that they did in the 1980s and beyond. For, while this early stage of his career was often called bubblegum soul, the emphasis must surely be placed on soul. There is little cuteness beyond the knowing school metaphor and Michael Jackson is not handled with kid gloves in the arrangement. The resulting recording avoids a ham-fisted, over-processed, and produced child act.

Deke Richards, the principal author and producer of "The Corporation", was inspired during a special evening during the sixties. "I was working late one night in the bunker - the rehearsal room, to Histville in Detroit," he said, recalling the days when HDH team was the fire company. "And that opened the door and introduced himself? Lamont Dozier. He went to the piano and played a medley of his hits. I still laugh, I remember him joking between agreements and saying, '... then I writing ',' ... then I got with it ...', and '... you should certainly remind you of that one. "Thus I heard. It was simply now recycle their agreements; sometimes taking part of one and embellishing, creating a new one, or a change to a new song. Simple, but brilliant. My state of mind was the latter when I had the chorus of the second single of the Jackson 5. I restrained myself to say 'Do not forget that Lamont has taught you. " There were large sections of 'I Want You Back'. I restrained myself to say, 'find them and use them. " I sat at the piano and I began to quietly play the chords once, until I got to the refrain:
'I want you back yeh yeh yeh yeh.
Bam! It struck me like a train at any speed. That was the groove that I needed. I stopped, and played two different agreements, and so on. Next, I play a melody meeting starts at nice after two agreements. I smile and tell myself ' Bingo, That's the basics! '.
His partner in The Corporation, which ensures that the keyboards on the track, Freddie Perren, added: "The music for 'ABC' was right there. We just took this music and do not stop playing it. However, this was not so simple - it had to be rearranged so that it is a real song. We had to think, not just sing little phrases on the pace. This coincided with the fact that the Jackson 5 had age that they had, and most of their fans went to school."

"After all," continued Richards, Michael was so young. I just needed simple words, that young children could learn in a second. I always liked the title of Len Barry, '1, 2,3 ' . And I thought that learning to love was as simple ABC, not 1,2,3. And then it hit me. "My god, all children know their alphabet!" My head began to swim to a point where I thought she was going to explode.


1979 – The Jacksons perform their Destiny Tour in London, UK.

1987 - Pepsi aired a Michael Jackson commercial, "The Spring...The Magic Returns," during the 29th Annual Grammy Awards

1988 - Michael performs BAD tour at the Kemper Arena in Kansas City, United States attending 16,960 fans.

Two-year old cancer patient, Allan Bufford, held by his mother, Brenda, meets his favorite entertainer backstage in Kansas City, Missouri on occasion of Jackson’s US leg of his first solo world tour, the Bad Tour. The ill boy obtained his doctor’s permission to attend the sold-out show.

1993 - 35th Grammy Awards edition from Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, Michael Jackson received the Grammy Living Legend Award from his sister Janet.

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Michael and his date, Brooke Shields, attended the 35th Annual Grammy Award ceremony. During the ceremony, Michael was honored with the Grammy Legend Award.

The Grammy Legend Award is the most important award in the music business! It's the top honor in the recording industry, given for ongoing contributions and influence in the recording field.

The award was presented to Michael by his sister Janet, who sported a long brown braids. After narrating a lengthy "How To Become A Legend" video scrapbook, showing how her brother became a legend, Janet brought Michael on stage from his front seat at the auditorium.

Looking dashing in black jeans and boots, and a white beaded jacket, Michael embrace Janet. Clearly elated, Michael was in sparkling form, and he was inspired to give his longest ever acceptance speech, poking fun at himself and showing his sense of humor that many haven't had an opportunity to see. One arm hugging Janet close, Michael began on a humorous note:

I hope this puts to rest, I hope this finally puts to rest another rumour that has been in the press for too many years – me and Janet really are two different people!
Michael expressed gratitude to and concern for the world’s children, including the health and economically deprived, then raises consciousness and suggests solutions on urgent global issues, such as the inner city crimes, wars and terrorist attacks, or the overloaded prisons, increasingly entered by young people that were devoid of a proper childhood.
In the past month, I've gone from "where is he?" to "Here he is again," but I must confess, it feels good to be thought of as a person, not as a personality. Because I don't read all the things written about me, I wasn't aware that the world thought I was so weird and bizarre. But when you grow up as I did, in front of one hundred million people since the age of five, you're automatically different. The last few weeks, I have been cleansing myself and it's been a rebirth for myself. It's like a cleansing spirit.

My childhood was completely taken away from me. There was no Christmas, there were no birthdays, it was not a normal childhood, nor the normal pleasures of childhood - those were exchanged for hard work, struggle, and pain, and eventually material and professional success. But as an awful price, I cannot re-create that part of my life. However, today, when I create my music, I feel like an instrument of nature. I wonder what delight nature must feel when we open our hearts and express our God-given talents. The sound... of approval rolls across the universe, and the whole world abounds in magic. Wonder fills our hearts, for what we have glimpsed, for an instant, the playfulness of life.

And that's why I love children and learn so much from being around them. I realise that many of our world's problems today - from the inner city crime, to large scale wars and terrorism, and our overcrowded prisons - are a result of the fact that children have had their childhood stolen from them. The magic, the wonder, the mystery, and the innocence of a child's heart, are the seeds of creativity that will heal the world. I really believe that.

What, what we need to learn, what we need to learn from children isn't childish. Being with them connects us to the deeper wisdom of life which is everpresent, and only asks to be lived. They know the solutions that lie waiting to be recognised within our own hearts. Today, I would like to thank all the children of the world, including the sick and deprived... I am so sensitive to your pain.

The new social butterfly and his date, Brooke Shields, attended Sony Music's party at Jimmy's in Beverly Hills along with Bob Jones and his date.

Michael Jackson is on SALUT magazine, France.

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Filed under  //   1970   1979   1987   1988   1993  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1979 – The Jacksons perform their Destiny Tour in London, UK.

1980 - Off The Wall enters the Black singles chart peaking at #5 and remains their for 13 weeks.

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1988 - The U.S. leg of the Bad World Tour began at Kansas City’s Kemper Arena in front of 16,960 fans.

Michael performed his first ever U.S. solo concert in Kansas City. The newly revised shows included more songs from the BAD album than did the shows in Japan. Michael left the sold out house of about 17,000 spellbound with moves that weren't around until he invented them. When not dumbfounded the fans cheered and waved their arms in response to the Gifted One's world-class talent and showmanship.

For the first few shows, there were also surprise appearances by Tatiana Thumbtzen for the performance of The Way You Make Me Feel. It was also a surprise for Tatiana, who was contacted by Michael's secretary only one week before the tour's opening. She was glad to be a part of the show, describing it as being like Christmas in February.

A month into the tour, Michael – finally ready to leave his family’s Encino home – bought a property he had been looking at for some time, a 2,700-acre ranch in the Santa Ynez Valley near Santa Barbara that he would christen “Neverland”.

Although Michael’s tour would keep him away from his new home for most of 1988, the purchase gave him time to refurbish it into a magical space, complete with amusement rides and a petting zoo. It was a deeply symbolic move for the 29-year-old man who saw himself as a “Peter Pan” figure, a committed champion for the happiness of children.

1985 – Michael Jackson is on TV Guide

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1995 - "The National Association of Recording Merchandisers" (NARM) rewards Michael with the "Harry Chapin Memorial Humanitarian Award", at the 37th annual NARM Convention in San Diego, Ca.

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The award recognizing efforts to advance social change. Harry Forster Chapin was an American singer-songwriter and dedicated humanitarian who fought to end world hunger. On that occasion, Michael gives a special preview of several new songs off of his forthcoming album, "HIStory".

2002 - Michael won three awards [out of six nominations] at the "33rd Annual NAACP Image Awards" which took place at the Universal Amphitheatre, Universal City, CA. Michael won for Best Variety Special: "Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration", Best Performance in a Variety Special: "Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration" and Best Music Video: "You Rock My World". However, Michael did not attend the ceremony.

2010 - Return of the Captain EO.

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The groundbreaking 3D movie called “Captain Eo”, directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by George Lucas. Jackson writes and records two songs for the 17 minute epic: “We Are Here to Change the World” and “Another Part of Me”. He also helps create a “Captain Eo” ride for Disneyland. The movie enjoy great success and run ran for 8 years at Disneyland and 10 years at Epcot. It also released at Tokyo Disneyland where it ran for 9 years and Disneyland Park in Paris - for 6 years.

The attraction, now entitled Captain EO Tribute, re-opened at Disneyland Park on February 23, 2010. The attraction returned to Discoveryland at Disneyland Park (Paris) on June 12, 2010, returned to Epcot at Walt Disney World on July 2 and to Tokyo Disneyland on July 1.

Filed under  //   1979   1980   1985   1988   1995   2002   2010  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1979 – The Jacksons perform their Destiny Tour in Manchester, UK.

1988 - Rehearsals for the tour's second leg took place at the Pensacola Civic Center in Pensacola, Florida between January 22 – February 18, 1988.

Michael Jackson's Bad tour, fresh from stints in Japan and Australia, would begin its first U.S. leg in Kansas City, Mo., Feb. 23-24 at Kemper Arena. Although tour rehearsals had took place at the Pensacola Civic Center in North Florida from Jan. 22 to Feb. 18, no Florida concerts had been scheduled for the first set of shows.

According to Jackson's publicity agency, Solters/Roskin/Friedman, the present slate of 13 cities is firm, and no new dates would be added until a second portion of the tour, which was scheduled to resume in the fall after a European swing. According to a spokeswoman, information was not available about the possibility of Florida dates being scheduled in the fall.

This apparently quells speculation that Jackson would play in Tampa Stadium in late April or early May. According to stadium officials, a booking agency had reserved several dates during that period with tentative plans to stage a Jackson show. At no point, however, was a concert confirmed.

1989 - "Moonwalker" replaced "E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial" at #1 on the Billboard Video Sales chart.

1993 - Michael Jackson is on Cine Tele Revue magazine, France.

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1996 - Michael Jackson and the Cascio kids arrive in London.

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2009 - The medias reveal that Michael is in secret talks with AEG Live to stage his pop revival with up to 30 dates at the O2 arena in London.
Filed under  //   1979   1988   1989   1993   1996   2009  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1979 - The Jacksons appeared on American Bandstand, performing Shake Your
Body (To The Ground)
and Things I Do For You. Solo, Michael also sang another song from the DESTINY album, Push Me Away.

The Jacksons perform a concert in Brighton, UK on Destiny tour.

1988 - Michael Jackson is finally arrived in this Panhandle city to rehearse for his concert tour “BAD”.

After bad weather in Atlanta delayed his arrival by three days, a publicity spokeswoman said. On Monday afternoon, Jackson arrived in the same Eastern Airlines that carried the Pensacola Tornados of the Continental Basketball Association home from a road trip. The singer is sharing the 10,000-seat Pensacola Civic Center with the Tornados, who had a home game scheduled Tuesday night, as he rehearses through February 18 for a 13-city tour that begin Feb. 23 in Kansas City, Mo. Jackson was expected to arrive Friday night. The performer was met at the airplane's steps and whisked away. Television cameras caught only a fleeting glimpse of him. Jackson's lighting equipment and stage and a 100-person entourage of musicians, backup singers and others began arriving two weeks ago, but Jackson does not plan any public performances in Pensacola.

1992 - MTV kicked off its first global sweepstakes with "My Dinner with Michael". Winners from around the world attended a dinner party hosted by Michael Jackson on the set of his music video "In the Closet".

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Michael Jackson departs for a one week tour to Africa at LA airport. He travels for 11 days to visit hospitals, orphanages, schools, churches & institutions for mentally handicapped children, covering about 30,000 miles on his journey.

1993 - Michael Jackson is interviewed by Oprah Winfrey at his Neverland Ranch.

It is his first live TV interview in 14 years. During the 90-minute special, he opens up about his personal life and career, clears up some misconceptions and rumors about himself and gives Oprah a night time tour of his ranch.
In the interview, Jackson claims that he has a disorder that destroys the pigmentation of the skin. He also claims he's had very little plastic surgery. Elizabeth Taylor made a surprise appearance during Oprah Winfrey’s primetime interview with Michael Jackson. Elizabeth, who at first didn’t intend to appear on the program, set the record straight about her friendship with her friend Jackson and the controversy surrounding him. He also dances live in his theater and gives the audience a special an a-capella performance of “Who Is It”. The live telecast attracted about 85 million viewers in US alone, and was the 4th most watched TV event in history. It was the most successful ABC entertainment special ever.

Note: In spite of Jackson’s good-will and generosity, Winfrey, as, in fact, various other journalists, will prove/have proven to be biased, her not believing in Jackson’s innocence of wrongdoings towards children and expressing this on several occasions, particularly during the 2005 trial completed with the entertainer’s vindication.

The World première of Give into Me video took place on February 10, 1993 during the worldwide live telecast from Neverland Valley of "Michael Jackson Talks... To Oprah". The video clip is starring Michael Jackson and Slash. Shooting of the video clip took place in Munich, Germany. Video clip produced by Phil Rose and Warren Hewlett. Staging Michael Jackson. Directed by Andy Moharan.

1996 - Michael Jackson flew into Brazil to begin filming the second video for "They Don't Care About Us".

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He was welcomed with near-hysterical enthusiasm by fans in Salvador. Hand-in-hand with two Casio children -- and with only his eyes visible above a black surgical mask -- the singer sprinted across a shimmering runway to wave to hundreds of fans gathered on an airport balcony. "He started running toward us and I almost fainted," said breathless schoolgirl Sheila de Oliveira, still in tears after her not-so-close encounter with the star.

For the first time in his career, Michael made a second music video for a single. Plans by Michael and director Spike Lee to film in Brazil have caused an uproar. State authorities unsuccessfully tried to ban the singer filming in Rio de Janeiro and Salvador (Pelorinho). Officials feared images of poverty might affect tourism and accused Jackson of exploiting the poor. Ronaldo Cezar Coelho, the state secretary for Industry, Commerce and Tourism demanded editing rights over the finished product. Some were concerned that scenes of poverty and human rights abuses would affect their chances of hosting the Olympics in 2004. Others supported Jackson's wish to highlight the problems of the region, arguing that the government were embarrassed by their own failings.

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A judge banned all filming but this ruling was overturned by an injunction. Although officials were angry, the residents were not and Jackson was surrounded by crowds of enthusiastic onlookers during filming. One woman managed to push through security to hug the singer who continued dancing while hugging her. Another woman appeared and hugged him from behind. He then fell to the ground as police pulled the two women off him and escorted them away. After the director helped Jackson get up off the street, he continued to sing and dance. This incident made it into the music video. 1,500 policemen and 50 residents acting as security guards effectively sealed off the Dona Marta shanty town. It was alleged that Jackson's production team had negotiated with drug dealers in order to gain permission to film in one of the city's shantytowns.

The music video was directed by Spike Lee. Asked why he chose Lee to direct the video, Jackson responded,

"'They Don't Care About Us' has an edge, and Spike Lee had approached me. It's a public awareness song and that's what he is all about. It's a protest kind of song ... and I think he was perfect for it".
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Michael can be seen wearing the "Olodum" t-shirt
in the video.
Jackson also collaborated with 200 members of the cultural group Olodum, "who swayed to the heavy beat of Salvador's 'samba-reggae' music". Producing the first video proved to be a difficult task for Jackson. The music was changed slightly to fit Olodum's style of drumming. The "Olodum version" (unofficial title) of the song has since become more popular than the original album version. The media interest surrounding the music video exposed Olodum to 140 countries around the world. It brought them worldwide fame and increased their credibility in Brazil.
At the beginning of the video, a Brazilian woman says "Michael, eles não ligam pra gente" which means "Michael, they don't care about us".

Speaking of the music video, in The New Brazilian Cinema, Lúcia Nagib observed:

When Michael Jackson decided to shoot his new music video in a favela of Rio de Janeiro ... he used the favela people as extras in a visual super-spectacle ... All the while there is a vaguely political appeal in there ... The interesting aspect of Michael Jackson's strategy is the efficiency with which it gives visibility to poverty and social problems in countries like Brazil without resorting to traditional political discourse. The problematic aspect is that it does not entail a real intervention in that poverty.
In 2009, Billboard described the area as "now a model for social development" and stated that Jackson's influence was partially responsible for this improvement.

2000 - Michael has selected "The Firm" as his new management company. "The Firm", a two-year-old company described as "one of the hottest music management teams in the world", is headed by Jeff Kwantinetz and Michael Green. John McLain, a family associate and former high-ranking A&M executive, will remain involved in managing Michael Jackson.

Filed under  //   1979   1988   1992   1993   1996   2000  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1974 – The Jackson 5ive perform at Dakar, Senegal Demba Diop Stadium.

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The Jackson 5 expanded their global reach yet again in the new year, traveling to Africa, where they performed in Dakar, Senegal, a visit that was filmed and is the subject of a soon-to-be-released documentary. Upon arrival, the group was greeted like royalty, as Michael would later remember:
“When we came off the plane in Dakar, Senegal, Africa, we were greeted by a long line of African dancers. Their drums and sounds filled the air with rhythm. I was going crazy, I was screaming, ‘All right! They got the rhythm… This is it. This is where I come from. The origin.’
The Jackson 5 receive the Organization of African Unity award – For Strengthening Afro-Americans.

1979 - The Jacksons perform a concert in Amsterdam Netherlands on Destiny tour.

The Jacksons are on the cover of Jet Magazine featuring Special Report: The Jacksons 10 Years Later.

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1984 - Michael receives an official letter from United States President Reagan wishing him a speedy recovery.

1988 - The Song "Man In the Mirror" enters the charts. The proceeds from the sales of this record goes to Camp Ronald McDonald for Good Times, a camp for children who suffer from cancer.

1994 - Michael telephoned Lisa Marie Presley at her estate in Hidden Hills, California. He was at his hide out in Westwood.

"Hey, listen up, girl," he said, according to her memory, "I’m heading up to Las Vegas to see The Temptations and The Fifth Dimension. Come with me. I’ll get us a suite at the Mirage and we can party like there’s no tomorrow."
"Am I staying in the suite with you?" she asked.
"Hell, yeah," Michael said. "What do you think, girl?"
"I think I’m still married," Lisa said.
"Then separate rooms, if that’s what you want," Michael responded.
2003 – Michael Jackson is on the cover of Play Magazine, United Kingdom. This is a supplement from The Times.

The Cascios join Michael in Miami (Frank, Aldo & Marie Nicole). Mark Lester is also there.

Wiesner & Konitzer try to block the airing of Martin Bashir's documentary after obtaining the final transcript.

2007 – It is pusblished that Michael Jackson meet High School brood personally, and even brought his three rarely seen tykes along. The stars of High School Musical, the über-successful Disney Channel movie, took their show on the road and toured across the U.S. (minus Zac Efron, who was filming Hairspray with John Travolta), finishing up in L.A. at the Staples Center. The cast had a very special surprise visitor during their Vegas stint Sunday. Michael Jackson requested to meet the High School brood personally, I’m told security was superheavy as Michael & Co. entered the building. “He was taller than expected, really soft-spoken and wore sunglasses the whole time. " Jackson acted like the light was bothering him, but he told [the cast] he and the kids loved the show.”
Yep, not only did Michael do a meet 'n' greet with the stunned cast, he stayed for the show. Evidently, they turned the light box at the Thomas & Mack Center into VIP seating with a canopy to protect the Jackson crew from any curious looky-loo audience members.

Filed under  //   1974   1979   1984   1988   1994   2003   2007  

Today in MJJ HIStory

1971 -
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Almost two weeks before the Jackson 5 returned to Gary, Mayor of the City of Gary, Indiana, Richard Gordon Hatcher, honored Jackson 5 by issuing a proclamation changing the name of the street they had once lived on from "Jackson Street" to be "Jackson 5 Boulevard" for the week of January 25, 1971 though January 31, 1971, and encouraged citizens to give those young men a warm welcome back to Gary.
When the Jacksons landed in on January 31, they were presented with the new street signs in front of their old house at 2300 Jackson Street.
Source: j5collector

1975 - Michael Jackson performed We're Almost There on American Bandstand

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1975 - The Jacksons could be seen demonstrating parts of their family revue act on their second appearance on the Carol Burnett Show. Fans tuning in were treated to a funky lip-synch to Life of the Party from the recent Dancing Machine album, but also got a taste to what their parents and grandparents were getting in places like Las Vegas, with a tribute to vocal groups of the past; Mills Brothers, Andrews Sisters, Supremes, Sonny and Cher.

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1985 - Ken Kragen chaired a production meeting for We Are The World, at a bungalow off Sunset Boulevard. There, Kragen and his team addressed where the song would be completed by the supergroup of musicians. He stated,
"The single most damaging piece of information is where we're doing this. If that shows up anywhere, we've got a chaotic situation that could totally destroy the project. The moment a Prince, a Michael Jackson, a Bob Dylan—I guarantee you!—drives up and sees a mob around that studio, he will never come in."
On the same night, Quincy Jones' associate producer and vocal arranger, Tom Bahler, was given the task of matching each solo line with the right voice. Bahler stated, "It's like vocal arranging in a perfect world". Jones disagreed, stating that the task was like "putting a watermelon in a Coke bottle". The following evening, Lionel Richie held a "choreography" session at his home, where it was decided who would stand where.

1988 - Michael's Bad was chosen as the Favorite Soul/R&B Single at the 15th Annual American Music Awards, hosted by Whitney Houston, Barbara Mandrell, Mick Fleetwood, Barry Gibb, Maurice Gibb, Robin Gibb, Smokey Robinson, at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles California. He was also nominated for Favorite Male Artist - Pop / Rock.

1993 - Michael opens the 20th American Music Awards ceremony with a performance of "Dangerous" at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Ca.

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Michael glitters in American Music Award winning two trophies and his third special award Monday at the 20th annual American Music Awards.

For the 20th annual American Music Awards, presented on Monday, Michael had 5 nominations. But the audience got to see him before any winners were announced as he opened the award presentation with yet another dazzling performance of his Dangerous album title track. A man dropped to the floor from machine gun fire, revealing Michael standing directly behind him. Dressed in a black suit with spats and a fedora, Michael joined several dancers in a Smooth Criminal flavored performance of Dangerous featuring his usual fascinating choreography with plenty of crotch grabbing and carefully timed sound effects.

Michael won Favorite Soul/R&B Single for Remember The Time. He came from back stage to accept the award, having taken his hair down, and removing his tie. In accepting the award, he acknowledged the fans in the balcony:

Thank you very much. I love you up there. I'd like to thank everyone at Sony Music, especially Mr. Morita, Mickey Schulhof, Tommy Mattola, Dave Glew, Bruce Swedian, Quincey jones, Sandy Gallin, Jim Morey, and of course, all my fans. I love you.
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Amidst the performances and award presentations, Elizabeth Taylor, recovered from a respiratory infection, returned to public life by presenting Michael's honorary award. She announced the recipient of the first ever International Artist Award narrating a video tribute to Michael featuring footage from his videos and live performances from both the Bad and Dangerous tours. She then introduced a taped message from another of Michael's friends and fans, Eddie Murphy:
Hi, Michael. Knowing how uncomfortable you feel when someone says something nice to you right up in your face, I went 3,000 miles away to do this. Now, the inscription on your award says, 'In recognition of his record-breaking international concert tours, and his album sales, and his heartfelt efforts to make this world a better place, the American Music Awards presents its first International Artist Award to Michael Jackson January 25, 1993.' In addition the American Music Awards are proud to announce that when the award is given in the future, it will be known as 'The Michael Jackson International Artist Award.' So, congratulations Michael, I know you better be smiling from ear to ear. I know you better smile bigger than that, I want to see gums! Congratulations.
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Elizabeth Taylor then called Michael to the stage from his front row seat at the Shrine Auditorium. He had now changed into a black leather jacket and removed his sunglasses before going on stage. The crowd was on their feet and cheering as Michael began to speak. Michael used the stage to spread a message of love:
I love you very much, Elizabeth Taylor. Teddy Riley, you are a genius. Thank you Eddie, thank you all my friends. Traveling the world has been a great education for me and if there is one insight I've had it is this, wherever you go, in every country, on every continent, people yearn and hunger for only one thing, to love and be loved. Love transcends international boundaries and it heals the wounds of hatred, racial prejudice, bigotry, and ignorance. It is the ultimate truth at the heart of all creation. I would also like to thank God, and my mother and father, Katherine and Joseph Jackson. Thank you once again, I love you all.
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Michael, who had now removed the black leather jacket came from the wings and was brief in his acceptance. "I really wasn't expecting to win. Thank you again Teddy Riley, the public, I love you very much. Thank you."

Having won in two of the five categories in which he was nominated and being named the International Artist of the Year, Michael was the night's big winner. Michael also received an honorary Merit award in 1984 and an Achievement award in 1989. He now has 14 of the awards in competitive categories.

1996 - Michael Jackson was named Hype Of The Year in "Rolling Stone's" Critics Poll.

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Michael goes to The Motown Cafe in New York with his make-up artist Karen Faye.

1997 - Michael waves 85% of the $5 to $6 million ticket receipts from a concert held on November 1, 1996 in Bombay, India, and donates 1,1 million dollars to a local NGO educating children dwelling in slums - "Shiv Udyog Sena" - the sum also helping to create jobs for 270,000 young unemployed people in the state of Maharashtra, Bombay; on arriving in Bombay, the singer asks to stop in order to converse with children playing in the crowded slums for 20 minutes, according to Indian journalist, Hema Shukla.

2002 - Michael's INVINCIBLE album goes two times Multi Platinum in the USA with sales over 2 million. INVINCIBLE was certified double platinum by the RIAA.

Regina Jones interviewed Michael for the March 2002 issue of Vibe magazine at his Neverland Valley Ranch in Los Olivos.

2006 - Michael is spotted shopping in Manama.

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Michael, disguised as a Bahraini woman, wears an abaya, the traditional Arabic women's veil and all-covering gown, a white shirt and men’s shoes. His head and face were wrapped in a black veil and he also wore black gloves.

He was accompanied by Blanket, Prince, Paris & Grace, was seen leaving Marina Mall in the Bahrain capital, holding Blanket by the hand. On the way out a back door, he shook hands with security guards.

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Today in MJJ HIStory

1984 - Michael Jackson's Thriller was released as the 7th and final single from Thriller—the best-selling album of all time.

It was written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones, had originally been titled "Starlight". The song's instruments include a bassline and synthesizer. In the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard, and the lyrics contain frightening themes and elements.

Jackson recorded the song at Westlake Recording Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, California. Bruce Swedien, the songs engineer, said of the song being recorded,

When we started 'Thriller', the first day at Westlake, we were all there and Quincy walked in followed by me and Michael and Rod Temperton and some of the other people. Quincy turned to us and he said, 'OK guys, we're here to save the recording industry.' Now that's a pretty big responsibility - but he meant it. And that's why those albums, and especially 'Thriller', sound so incredible. The basic thing is, everybody who was involved gave 150%... Quincy's like a director of a movie and I'm like a director of photography, and it's Quincy's job to cast. Quincy can find the people and he gives us the inspiration to do what we do.
Swedien and Jones stated that Vincent Price recorded his introduction and voice-over rap for the song in two takes; Jones, acknowledging that doing a voice-over for a song is "difficult", praised Price and described his recording takes as being "fabulous". Swedien said of Jackson recording the song, that, "I tried all sorts of things with Michael - for instance, he would sing the main vocal part and we'd double it one time and then I'd ask him to step away from the mic and do it a third time and that really changed the acoustics in the room so it gave Michael's vocals a unique character … We recorded some of those background vocals in the shower stall at Westlake."

1988 - After charting within the top ten for five weeks, The Way You Make Me Feel 3rd single from BAD, peaked at #1 on the Hot 100. It became the album's 3rd consecutive #1 single at the pop singles chart, where it stayed for one week. The song also charted at #1 on the Billboard Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles Charts and Dance Music/Hot Club Play Singles Chart. The single spent four weeks at the top of the Black singles chart. TWYMMF became Michael's 7th #1 solo single of the eighties. This broke the record for the most #1 hits in the eighties. Michael Jackson was now the most successful solo artist of the decade.

2002 - Michael's single 'Cry' was released in Japan.

Tracklist:

  • 'Cry'
  • 'Shout'
  • 'Streetwalker'
  • 'Cry' (short film)
The Japanese version includes the lyrics of the song 'Cry' and 'Shout' as well as the Japanese translation of these lyrics.
Filed under  //   1984   1988   2002  

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