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http://www.hypebot.com/hypebot/2017/08/the-king-of-pops-59th-birthday.html
More than eight years following his death, Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, continues to entrance music fans, and his legacy remains strong. Here we look at his continued posthumous success, as well a timeline of key dates in the popstar's life.
Michael Jackson would have turned 59 next week. More than eight years after his death, the King of Pop remains as popular as ever.
Need proof? On August 30 – one day after his birthday – Michael Jackson’s Thriller 3D will premiere at the 74th Annual Venice Film Festival. A television special featuring the King of Pop’s music is planned for October.
Director John Landis announced plans earlier this month to re-release the music video in 3-D. Landis directed the original video, which was released December 2, 1983.
Music fans remain entranced by the King of Pop, and his legacy remains strong. Thriller continues to break ground. Billboard announced August 11 that Thriller became just the 16th album to spend 300 weeks on the Billboard 200 – that’s nearly six years.
According to Billboard: Thriller debuted on the list dated December 25, 1982 at No. 11, and rose to No. 1 on the February 26, 1983 list. It spent 37 weeks at No. 1 – the most weeks at No. 1 for an album by an artist. (Only the soundtrack to West Side Story spent more weeks atop the list: 54.)
Album sales of Thriller, released November 30, 1982, have exceeded 105 million.
Jackson’s birthday isn’t the only important milestone next week. August 31 will mark the 30th anniversary of Bad, his third solo album.
“Bad is a portrait of the artist in peak form – bold, creative and confident,” the Atlantic reported in a story about the album.
His death “…prompted the world to focus on his genius and an enormous body of work (beginning with his days as a kid with the Jackson 5) left behind,” Rolling Stone reported last week.
The King of Pop also has inspired generations of musicians.
“I wouldn’t be who I am today without Michael Jackson,” Usher said in a CBS interview following Jackson’s death.
Last year, The Weeknd credited Jackson with creating music that inspired him to become a singer.
“Michael, man, that guy was the star. He invented the star. There will never be another Michael,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “I want to make it very clear that I’m not trying to be Michael. He’s everything to me, so you’re going to hear it in my music. Off the Wall was the album that inspired me to sing.”
Happy birthday, Michael.
And I am also going to be wearing one of my usual black MJ t-shirts. That I wear when I am at home. And also wear my 3 MJ necklaces. Those necklaces is something I wear constantly I almost never take them off. But maybe I should since 2 of the chains and my MJ King Of Pop glove pendant is sterling silver. And I can only imagine just how tarnish they are. Since it has been probably a good 5 years or so since I last polish them. I really do hate taking them off for any reason.
