Moonstreet
Proud Member
It shouldnt have to come to this but here we are.
In the next year, theres going to a be a lot more people in the fan community due to the Biopic.
Not everyone will be a fan, not everyone will be who they pretend to be.
But to help the new people understand our community, lets make a Michael Jackson Fan Handbook.
This can be anything you think a new fan or a new to the community person should know. Lets get real basic, internet etiquette, Michal Jackson fan etiquette, how to behave in a fan community, things about Michael that people should know, music they should listen to, books they should read, who is a reputable person regarding information, and anything and everything you wish you knew when you were starting out.
I'll update this first post with everyone's suggestions
The Need To Know Basic Information
From @Moonie
As a new fan of Michael Jackson, I can say the most important thing to do is RESEARCH. I knew about MJ all my life (like everyone of course) but I truly discovered him this year (2024.) As a late fan of MJ, I'd like the future fans to know that MJ was not only an amazing musician, performer, dancer, etc. but also a kind man with a pure soul.
I read SO MUCH about him in the past months, I feel like I missed the great opportunity to be in the same boat as the older fans. I'd like the future fans to know about all his charity works, the sick kids going to Neverland, all the documentaries and books about him, etc. His song ''We Are the World'' why he wrote this song, the interviews, etc. His generosity had no limits and this is what melted my heart the most.
General Information
Many people worked for Michael in various roles and capacity's during his life. Many were known in the fan community during their time with Michael. It is important to know who these people are and how they are connected to Michael.
How To Make Our Community A Better Place
In the next year, theres going to a be a lot more people in the fan community due to the Biopic.
Not everyone will be a fan, not everyone will be who they pretend to be.
But to help the new people understand our community, lets make a Michael Jackson Fan Handbook.
This can be anything you think a new fan or a new to the community person should know. Lets get real basic, internet etiquette, Michal Jackson fan etiquette, how to behave in a fan community, things about Michael that people should know, music they should listen to, books they should read, who is a reputable person regarding information, and anything and everything you wish you knew when you were starting out.
I'll update this first post with everyone's suggestions
The Need To Know Basic Information
From @Moonie
As a new fan of Michael Jackson, I can say the most important thing to do is RESEARCH. I knew about MJ all my life (like everyone of course) but I truly discovered him this year (2024.) As a late fan of MJ, I'd like the future fans to know that MJ was not only an amazing musician, performer, dancer, etc. but also a kind man with a pure soul.
I read SO MUCH about him in the past months, I feel like I missed the great opportunity to be in the same boat as the older fans. I'd like the future fans to know about all his charity works, the sick kids going to Neverland, all the documentaries and books about him, etc. His song ''We Are the World'' why he wrote this song, the interviews, etc. His generosity had no limits and this is what melted my heart the most.
General Information
- RAGE BAITING. This is where people , mainly on social media, but in many other places deliberately post something negative about Michael, with the main reason to bait fans to engage. Many are monetized, so the more fans engage, get outraged, have a back and forth, click onto websites, view social media posts, watch videos etc. etc., the more the person makes. They don't care about Michael, they don't care about the truth, all they care about is making money. They know that the fans will swarm and they just sit back and watch the money roll in.
- Listen to the albums in the original song order, the way Michael wanted fans to hear his music. He put the songs in a specific order for a reason, he used the track listings a way to tell a story.
- Fake and Digitally Altered Photos are wrong. They destroy Michaels history and confuse the fan community. Fans need to know which is a real photo of Michael, so that they can know and understand the person he was.
- Trolling is when someone posts or comments online to 'bait' people, which means deliberately provoking an argument or emotional reaction. They know what they are posting will cause offence and they post to deliberately disrupt the community. If you see a thread which makes you think hmmm, thats not right, check the persons join date and other posts on the forum. Its very easy to see a pattern and trend of troll when you see their other posts. Trolls thrive on the passionate back and forth that many fans have. The passionate back and forth is their oxygen. By ignoring them, by not engaging with them, you cut off their oxygen. When they see that what they say is having no effect they will leave. They have nothing informative, helpful, happy, nice things to contribute so they have no further interest in being here.
- Moonwalk : Michael Jackson Autobiography, original published by Doubleday 1988, reissued 2009
- My Family, the Jacksons: Katherine Jackson Published 1990. Autobiography where Katherine details her early life, meeting and marrying Joseph, the early days of the family in Gary, Indiana and the move to California.
- Dancing The Dream : Book of short stories and poems by Michael Jackson, original published by Doubleday 1992, reissued by Transworld 2009
- La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family : LaToya Jackson Autobiography 1992
- Redemption: The Truth Behind the Michael Jackson Child Molestation Allegations: Geraldine Hughes 2004. First hand behind the scenes account by one of the paralegals who worked on the case.
- Michael Jackson Conspiracy: Aphrodite Jones 2007, Updated 2012 First hand behind the scenes account by a journalist who covered the Santa Maria trial.
- Michael Jackson: For the Record : Chris Cadman and Craig Halstead First Published 2007, updated 2009
In depth details about almost every song known at the time the book was published and then updated. Includes rare songs and demos, from all parts of Michaels career. - Michael Jackson The Visual Documentary: Adrian Grant, Omnibus Press; 5th Edition 2009. A day by day, year by year factual book about Michaels life, written by Adrian Grant and authorized and acknowledged by Michael. Starts with the Jackson family tree and Michaels birth and ends in 2009.
- You Are Not Alone: Michael, Through a Brother’s Eyes: Jermaine Jackson Published by HarperCollins 2012.
- Starting Over : LaToya Jackson Updated Autobiography 2012
- A Life for L.O.V.E. : Brigitte Bloemen, Marina Dobler,, Miriam Lohr 2013- A collection of first hand accounts by people who knew Michael which focusses on his charitable and humanitarian accomplishments.
- The Making of Thriller : Behind The Scenes of how Michael Jacksons Thriller was made 1983
- Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever 1983
- Moonwalker: Michael Jackson feature film 1988
- The Legend Continues: Documentary 1988
- Michael Jackson From Motown To Your Town : MTV documentary about the Bad Tour, behind the scenes and so much more 1988
- Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 : A live concert DVD released in 2012
- MTV's 10th Anniversary Special 1991
- The Jacksons An American Dream 1992
- Michael Jackson Dangerous Diary : MTV documentary about the Dangerous tour, behind the scenes and so much more 1992
- Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour: A live concert DVD, Recorded1992 released in 2005
- Michael Jackson Talks ... to Oprah February 1993
- Diane Sawyer Primetime Michael Jackson, Lisa Marie Presley June 1995
- Ghosts: Michael Jackson short film 1996
- Barbara Walters 60 Minutes With Michael Jackson September 1997
- History Live Munich : Recorded 1997, released 2010
- Michael Jackson's Private Home Movies : 2 Hour tv special documentary aired in 2003, a compilation of private home movies and interviews with Michael
- BAD 25 : Spike Lee Documentary 2012
- Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall: Spike Lee Documentary 2016
- Thriller 40 : Nelson George Documentary 2023
- Forever, Michael : Motown Records 1975
- The Jackson Live : Epic CBS Records 1981
- The Ultimate Collection Boxset, Epic Records Released 2004
This is a 4 CD and 1 DVD boxset with a 60 page booklet.
The 4 CD's contain rare songs, unreleased versions of songs and un released demos.- CD 1 = Songs from 1970's and early 1980's up to Thriller era, from Triumph, Destiny, Off The Wall, The Wiz Soundtrack, Dancing Machine, Ben, Got To Be There, The Third Album, ABC and Diana Ross Presents.
- CD2 = Songs from 1980's, Thriller, ET Storybook, Victory
- CD3 = Songs from 1980's and 1990's, Thriller, Dangerous,
- CD4 = Songs from 1990's and 2000's, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, Invincible
- DVD = Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour
- Dear, Michael: Forever, Michael, Motown Records 1975
- I Cant Help It : Off The Wall, released 1979
- Heartbreak Hotel / This Place Hotel : Triumph, Epic Records, released1980
- Melodie : Farewell My Summer Love, Motown, released 1984
- Farewell My Summer Love : Farewell My Summer Love, Motown, released 1984
- Man In The Mirror : BAD released 1987
- Who Is It: Dangerous, released 1991
- Stranger In Moscow : HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, released 1995
- Break Of Dawn: Invincible, released 2001
- Someone Put Your Hand Out : Originally released as promo single on cassette in Europe for European Dangerous Tour, included on Disc 3 Ultimate Collection released 2004
- For All Time : Unreleased song from Dangerous era, released on standard version of Thriller 25 in 2008
- Got The Hots : Unreleased song from Thriller era, released on Japanese version of Thriller 25 in 2008
- Big Boy = First Ever Single- First Released by Local Gary Record Label Steeltown Records in 1968, Reissued in 1995 by Inverted Records
- I Want You Back = Debut Motown Song, the Rest is History - Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, Motown Records 1969
- Got To Be There = First Solo Single - Got To Be There Motown Records 1971
- Ben = First Number 1 Hit - Ben Motown Records 1971
- Music & Me = Basically Very Personal - Music and Me Motown Records 1973
- With A Child’s Heart = Get To Know Michael Better Part 1 - Music and Me Motown Records 1973
- Blues Away = First Known Self Penned Track - The Jacksons Epic Records 1976
- Shake Your Body Down To The Ground = The Song That Transformed The Way Michael Sang and Wrote - Destiny Epic Records 1979
- Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough = Goodbye Child Star - Off The Wall Epic Records 1979
- Can You Feel It = Especially the Video, Michael Starting to Show His True Ambition =Triumph Epic CBS Records 1981
- Billie Jean, Beat It, Thriller = The Holy Three - Thriller Epic Records 1982
- Man In The Mirror = The Song That Grew In Popularity After his Passing- Bad Epic Records 1987
- Black or White = His Biggest Hit - Dangerous Epic Records 1991
- Heal The World = One He Was Incredibly Proud Of and The Name Of His Foundation = HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, released 1995
- Will You Be There = Because It was Prophetic - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, released 1995
- They Don’t Care Are About Us = Anthemic Song That Continues To Grow Relevant - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, released 1995
- Earth Song = Ditto Anthemic Song That Continues To Grow Relevant - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, released 1995
- Childhood = Get To Know Michael Better Part 2 - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, released 1995
- Smile = If This Was To Be His Final Recorded Song It Would Have Said It All, He Was First and Foremost A Very Positive Man Despite Numerous Set Backs - HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, released 1995
Many people worked for Michael in various roles and capacity's during his life. Many were known in the fan community during their time with Michael. It is important to know who these people are and how they are connected to Michael.
- Karen Faye : Hair and Makeup
- Michael Bush and Denis Thompkins : Costume Designers
- Bob Jones : MJJProductions
- Grace Rwaramba: Prince, Paris, Bigi nanny
- Evvy Tavasci : Personal Assistant
- Raymone Bain : PR
- Kerry Anderson : Security 2004 / 2005
- Brad Sundberg : sound recording engineer
- Mike LePerruque : Security 2001/ 2002 /2003
- Wayne Nagin : Security History Tour and early 2000's
- Skipper Nagin: Security History Tour and early 2000's
- Yannick Allain : Security History Tour and early 2000's
- Teddy Lakis : German Promoter European Dangerous Tour, History Tour, MJ and Friends Concert
- Dieter Wiesner: German Business Manger European History Tour and early 2000's
- Violet Gaitan : Security Neverland
How To Make Our Community A Better Place
- Be careful of oversharing personal information like your age and where you live, where you go to school, what year you are in, what you do after school, really anything that could be used to find you in real life.
- This website has a huge archive, use the search function if you have a thought or question about Michael. Look for answers in this website before posting a thread. Its great to ask questions, but know the basics about Michael before creating threads
- Unfortunately SPAM does get through, theres no need to reply to it, just hit the report button and the mods will take care of it.
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