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Michael Jackson (1958- ) is the most successful pop singer of all time...

Thriller, released in 1981, became the greatest album of all time.

Later he went on a tour to promote his new album called 'Bad'(the second highest-selling album) and it became the greatest tour ever...

Sorry Nazii, but I'm afraid your additions are veering this article away from the neutral point of view that we try to maintain around here. --Stephen Gilbert

Material by H7asan

I've reverted H7asan's last edit, on the grounds that it completely replaced what was already there, thus removing a huge amount of information from the article. The new information that H7asan has provided will need to be worked into the article somehow, so I have copied and pasted the full text below. -- Oliver P. 17:31 Apr 9, 2003 (UTC)

Michael Jackson is one of the most successful popular music singers of all time. He is also known as the "King of Pop" or the “King of Videos” (as in Music Videos).

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana to Joseph and Katherine Jackson. He was the seventh of nine children. Michael and his siblings were raised as es, however Michael left the church as an adult.

Michael Jackson began performing at age 5 as the lead singer of the Jackson 5 - a group composed of Michael and four of his older brothers. The group played at local clubs and bars and supposedly were beaten and abused by their father if they performed poorly.

In 1969 the Jackson 5 were “discovered” and signed to Motown Records. The Jackson family moved to California where the Jackson 5 soon became national stars. Their first 4 singles "ABC", "I Want You Back", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There" all became #1 hits. Later hits include the trending setting “Dance Machine”. With Motown Records the Jackson 5 made 14 albums, and Michael recorded 4 albums as a solo artist.

In 1976 The Jackson 5 left Motown (and renamed themselves the Jacksons). Between 1976 and 1984 the Jacksons produced 6 records and toured internationally. In 1977 Michael Jackson starred in the Wiz (alongside Diana Ross). It was here that he met Quincy Jones (the producer of the Wiz) who would later produce Michael Jackon’s three most acclaimed solo albums (“Off the Wall”, “Thriller” and “Bad”). “Off the Wall” (released in 1979) produced a record 4 #1 hits and sold 6 million copies in the United States.

In 1982 Michael Jackson release the “Thriller” album. “Thriller” produced 7 hit singles, broke records and quickly became the world’s best selling album (to date it has sold over 50 million copies). The “Billie Jean” music video, released to promote “Thriller”, became the first video by a Black artist to be aired on MTV, and the “Thriller” short film release as “The Making of Michael Jackson’s Thriller” became the world’s best selling home video. In 1983 while performing for the Motown 25th Anniversary Show, Jackson publicly performed the moonwalk (latter his signature dance move) for the first time, stunning TV audiences. At the 1984 Grammy Awards Jackson was nominated for 12 awards and won a record-breaking 8 awards (now equaled by Carlos Santana) – 7 for “Thriller” and 1 for his narrative on the “E.T. Storybook”.

In 1985 Michael Jackson released the single “We Are the World” (co-written with Lionel Richie). “We Are the World” was sung by 44 different singer including Cyndi Lauper, Diana Ross, Ray Charles and Stevie Wonder. “We Are the World” sold 7 million copies in the United States (becoming the best selling of the year) and raised money for USA for Africa – a charity working to raise awareness about and help starving people in Africa.

In 1986 Michael Jackson stared in the George Lucas/Francis Ford Coppola 3-D film “Captain Eo”. “Captain Eo” was shown in Disney theme parks until 1998. Minute for minute it is the most expensive film ever produced, costing an estimated 30 million to make. Jackson created two new songs for the film.

In 1987 Michael Jackson release “Bad” and began his first solo world tour. He performed to sold out audiences at each concert. The following year Jackson released a silly, playful movie and a serious, personal autobiography both titled “Moonwalker”.

In 1991 Michael Jackson was awarded a record breaking 890 million dollar contract by Sony and released an album “Dangerous”. During the “Dangerous” world tour Jackson announced the creation of his Heal the World Charity.

In 1993 Michael Jackson was accused by a 13 year old boy Jordy Chandler of child molestation and pedophilia. Although the charges were never proven and probably spurious, Jackson paid the boy a rumored 20 million in a out of court settlement. The following year Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis Presley, however the marriage lasted less than two years ending in divorce.

In 1995 Michael Jackson released “HIStory”, a greatest hits album that also contained 15 new songs. In 1997 Jackson released “Blood on the Dance Floor” a remix album with 5 new songs, and in 2001 he released “Invincible” – the most expensive album ever – which however sold only 2 million copies in the United States and 5-6 million worldwide (a disappointment considering Michael Jackson’s previous success and the cost of the album).

Something of an eccentric, Michael Jackson has three children – two by second wife Debbie Rowe and one by a surrogate he has never met. His children are never shown and appear in public only with white sheets draped over their heads to cover their faces. Jackson is a vegetarian and feels a strong connection to children and animals. His favorite pastimes include water balloon fight with children, climbing trees and sleepovers with children. He has several young friends whom he entertains at his home (known as the Neverland Ranch). The Neverland Ranch contains a small zoo and amusement park. His celebrity friends include actress Elizabeth Taylor, child-star Macaulay Culkin, paranormalist Uri Gellar andthe rabbi Shmuel Boteach, who heads Michael Jackson’s Heal the World Foundation. Jackson has had several plastic surgeries to modify his appearance.

In his career Michael Jackson has received a slew of awards including 18 Grammy Awards. Estimates for his album sales range from 200 million to well over 300 million. His “Thriller” video is normally considered the best music video of all times. MTV and Rolling Stones recently named four of his songs (“Billie Jean” #5, “I Want You Back” #9, “Beat It” #23 and “Rock with You” #82) as the 100 greatest pop songs of all time.

reply to oliver p

The purpose of an encyclopedia is to provide important information conveniently. This means high standards. 4/5 of the previous article was barely newsworthy – it was the stuff of tabloid – it was tabloid worthy. If we were writing a 175 page autobiography of Michael Jackson I would have no problem including this Michael=LaToya stuff. But this is supposed to be reference which means ~2 pages (10 pages max for a very broad topic e.g. Christianity). And 4/5 of that article just does not belong. - H7asan

Do not limit yourself - or more importantly ourselves. Wiki is not paper Also do not wholesale delete other contributions. Rmhermen 18:33 Apr 9, 2003 (UTC)

We limit ourselves so that we can do more. Think about it. Personally I think we should have 5 pages dedicated to Michael Jackson's penis whether it is Black or White and the same for Colin Powell. h7asan