Michael Jackson, Essay Example

Michael Jackson was one of the most important entertainment figures of the past fifty years and became a pop culture and music phenomenon as part of a group and then through his solo career. Michael became a star at a very young age with his older brothers as the Jackson Five and gained even greater success as a solo artist in the 1980s. As a result, he continues to be regarded as of the greatest musical acts of all time, in spite of his untimely death in 2009. Michael Jackson was not only a musical artist and a unique talent, but he changed the direction of pop culture in the 1980s and beyond.

Michael Jackson was born into a large family in Gary, Indiana and was the youngest son. News reports and interviews have depicted Jackson’s father Joe as a strict disciplinarian; therefore, Michael faced much scrutiny as a young child. When his father introduced his five-son singing act to Motown Records and its leader Barry Gordy, the boys were signed to a record deal and began to make music. After gaining exposure in the mass media, the Jackson Five expanded their popularity and became a worldwide singing sensation in the 1970s. Michael Jackson was a shy child and did not always appear to be comfortable with the limelight, even though he was the bona fide leader of the group in spite of his young age. Jackson’s ability to enthrall audiences continued into his teen years, in spite of the awkwardness that he felt in the spotlight during adolescent growth. After the group disbanded in the 1970s, Michael Jackson tried his hand at a solo career, and with the help of his friends in the record industry, emerged with a successful solo debut, “Off the Wall.” During this era, Jackson made his mark on disco with his danceable pop beats and lyrics. However, he would realize his greatest success in the early 1980s with the release of the album “Thriller,” which immediately rose to the top of the charts and became one of the most successful selling albums of all time. This album spawned many popular hits, including “Billie Jean,” “Thriller,” and “Beat It,” and also enabled Jackson to duet with other legends, such as Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder.

During this period, Jackson was known for his unique style almost as much as his music. His most memorable pieces include his trademark sparkling white glove, his shiny black loafers, and his red leather zipper jacket. Jackson made his mark on music and trends in more ways than one during the 1980s, while at the same time undergoing a slow yet gradual transformation of his face. This was perhaps perplexing to many of his fans because Jackson had no reason to make these changes, and rumors abounded for many years regarding his many plastic surgeries, as well as the continued lightening of his skin color, which he attributed to a medical condition. Into the 1990s, Jackson released a number of other popular albums, but none as successful as “Thriller.” Nonetheless, in spite of his music status, he remained a complex and extremely popular figure in popular culture through the 2000s. Throughout the last two decades of his life, Jackson not only transformed his physical appearance, but he also made some questionable choices in his personal life, such as his marriages to Lisa Marie Presley and Debbie Rowe, the latter of whom gave him several children. Jackson’s unique lifestyle did not afford him much privacy, in spite of his commitment to keeping the lives of his children as private and as hidden as possible.

Although Jackson was close with his mother and some of his family members, he never was able to obtain the approval of his father Joe and continued to struggle with his identity and self-confidence throughout his brief life. When Jackson was accused of child molestation and his family remained by his side, he never fully recovered from these events and could not overcome the criticism that he endured and his musical career declined. In spite of his attempts to make a comeback to the music industry in 2009 with a new tour, Jackson would never make it to this point because he died in 2009. With Jackson’s death, the world was in complete shock and could not believe that this man who was so loved and admired by millions was suddenly gone. It was very difficult for many people to overcome and even to this day, almost four years later, Jackson’s death is still shocking to many people throughout the world.

Michael Jackson’s physical transformation is likely to be remembered as much as his music, which demonstrates that people throughout the world remain fascinated by the man behind the music. Jackson’s peculiar behavior, habits, and personal choices were intriguing to the masses and demonstrated how important Jackson was for many generations of fans. Jackson continues to be an enigma in some ways because nobody was ever really able to get to know what he was truly about. It seems that Jackson was a lonely and scared boy trapped inside an adult body in many ways, perhaps due to the pressures put on him by his father and the music industry, and this impacted many of the choices that he made throughout his life. However, Jackson’s influence on the music industry and on popular culture should not be ignored, as he had a tremendous and remarkable influence on the world with his extreme popularity.

Michael Jackson made his mark on the world with a remarkable and prolific music career. However, the man behind the music is perhaps just as if not more intriguing. Even four years after his death, Jackson remains one of the most popular figures in music and will continue to stand the test of time. His fans span many generations and are enamored with the music and the man who created it. For these reasons, Michael Jackson is one of the most important pop culture figures of the modern era.