Who is Michael Jackson?
Michael Jackson is The King of Pop and The Greatest Entertainer alive!
Where was Michael Jackson born?
Gary, Indiana
What is Michael Jackson's full name and Birthdate?
Michael Joseph Jackson. He was born on August 29th, 1958
How tall is Michael?
5'10" or 178 cm.
What are the names of Michael Jackson's parents?
Joseph and Katherine Jackson
What are the names of Michael Jackson's siblings?
Rebbie (Maureen Reilette, May 29, 1950)
Jackie (Sigmund Esco, May 4, 1951)
Tito (Toriano Adaryll, October 15, 1953)
Jermaine (Lajaun, December 11, 1954)
LaToya Yvonne ( May 29, 1956)
Marlon David ( March 12, 1957)
Randy (Steven Randall, October 31, 1961)
Janet Damita Jo ( May 16, 1966)
What was Michael Jackson's first performance?
Michael Jackson performed at 5 years old at his elementary school in 1963. He performed 'Climb Every Mountain' in a talent show. His mother Katherine and his Grandfather were in attendance.
How does Michael do the 45-degree lean in Smooth Criminal?
It was observed on the videotape of the Bucharest concert that when he performed the song on the Dangerous Tour, little metal hooks popped up through the stage, and the dancers anchored their heels onto these studs to allow them to complete the manoeuvre. In order to distract the audience's attention from what they were doing, another dancer came on stage with a bomb.
Did MJ ever do a guest spot on "The Simpsons"?
As confirmed by "Simpsons" cast members and producers, MJ lent his voice to the 3rd-season episode "Stark Raving Dad", which first aired on September 19, 1991. His voice is credited not to his real name, but to "John Jay Smith". In the episode, Bart carelessly tosses his lucky red hat into the wash, turning Homer's work shirt pink. At work, they take Homer's shirt as a sign of a disturbed mind and remand him to a mental institution. There he meets a fat, balding white man who was committed because he thinks he is Michael Jackson. MJ wrote the song "Lisa, It's Your Birthday", which appears in the episode, but did not sing it or the other songs in the episode because of legal obstacles. There is also a funny MJ reference in the 4th-season Halloween episode, "Treehouse of Horror III", in the third tale, "Dial Z for Zombies", which first aired on October 29, 1992. (from alt.tv.Simpsons episode capsule FAQ)
What is the name of the old Fred Astaire movie that inspired parts of Michael's videos and lyrics?
"Bandwagon". If you watch the entire movie (it is out on video), you will see a lot of familiar things, including parts of "Billie Jean" and the speakeasy set and costume that inspired "Smooth Criminal". Also, MJ incorporated some of the lines into the "Dangerous" lyrics.
How does Michael compose his songs?
MJ explained his composing process on the June 7, 1995 "Prime Time Live" special "Michael Jackson: The Man and His Music", on the videotaped deposition he gave for the "Thriller"/"The Girl is Mine"/"We Are the World" copyright lawsuit, during his testimony in the "Dangerous" copyright lawsuit, and for the Internet Chat. He does not read or write music, so he sings the melody and vocally imitates the bassline, strings, and other parts into a tape recorder. As he said in the Internet Chat, "The process is creating a vocal rhythm to a click track - which is a sound, a timed beat. And you're doing these mouth sounds to that beat. These sounds can be looped according to how you sample it in the computer again and again. This is your foundation for the entire track - everything plays off this. It's the rhythm, like the beatbox rhythm. Every song I've written since I was very little I've done that way. I still do it that way." Also, as the guitarist, David Williams related in Rolling Stone in 1992, at times MJ sings the sounds directly to the musicians, and when they accurately reproduce his ideas, this is recorded. The tape is then turned over to others who transcribe the notes onto staff sheets.
Does Michael play any instruments?
Jennifer Batten, MJ's guitarist on the Bad and Dangerous tours, told a club member in Holland that Michael plays every instrument used in modern music, including drums, percussion, keyboards, piano, guitar, and bass. He is credited on the HIStory album for playing keyboards, synthesizers, drums and percussion, and guitar. Michael Jackson also played instruments on the "Blood On The Dance Floor" album, including percussions, bass, guitars, keyboards... He is also heavily involved in production, making arrangements, etc.
In the song, "Gone Too Soon," was this song written for Ryan White?
Yes, the song was written for Ryan White. He was a young teen infected with The AIDS virus. In his hometown, he was treated unfairly by residents. Many pop stars, including Michael Jackson and Elton John, rallied around Ryan White.
Why was the spoken intro by MJ taken out of the track "IJCSLY" on the Bad album and HIStory Disc 1?
When Bad was first released in 1987, this spoken introduction was present:
"I just wanna lay next to you for a while.
You look so beautiful tonight.
Your eyes are so lovely, your mouth is so sweet.
A lot of people misunderstand me, that's because they don't know me at all.
I just wanna touch you, and hold you.
I need you. God, I need you.
I love you so much."
For later editions of Bad and for the HIStory album, they used the master's tapes, which do not contain the introduction.
What does "mama se mama sa ma ma coo sa" from "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" mean?
Nothing. It is a chant in the style of songs in Cameroon, where the "words" are used for the sound effect, not a particular meaning. (from Rolling Stone)
Where can I find "We Are Here to Change the World", from "Captain Eo"?
We Are Here To Change The World has now been released on the compilation album The Ultimate Collection (2004)
What is the text of the greeting to fans on Disc 1 of the limited edition of HIStory?
"Hi, this is Michael Jackson. I want to thank all of my fans in [country] for their continuing love and support over all the years. I hope to come and visit you all very, very soon and perform for you. I look forward to seeing you very soon. Until then, goodbye. I love you all. Goodbye."
It was released in Germany, Holland, France, and Canada. The different recordings vary somewhat in the wording of the messages.
What is the theme song that Michael wrote for Siegfried and Roy?
It is called "Mind Is The Magic", written and performed by Michael Jackson and arranged by MJ and Bryan Loren. Since April 1995, it has been available on the Siegfried and Roy CD "Dreams and Illusions" on the Edel Company label. It can be purchased in record stores in Europe and at the Mirage Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Is there an MJ single called "Someone Put Your Hand Out" that was never released on any album?
The single was released in Europe and Asia in 1992 as part of the Pepsi Promo Pack associated with the Dangerous Tour. Side A contains the song and Side B has a medley of songs from the Dangerous album. Fans could obtain the single either by buying a certain amount of Pepsi or through promotional giveaways at radio stations. A short instrumental version of the song was played during the Dangerous concerts just before the start of "Heal the World". A few of the original cassettes may still be found for about $40 at record shows and speciality shops.
What is the story behind the Steeltown recording "Big Boy"?
In the 1960s, the Jackson 5 won Gary, Indiana's first city-wide talent show, and were signed to Steeltown Records. In 1967, they recorded an album at Steeltown that was never released. In 1968, the single "Big Boy" from this album was a minor hit in the Chicago area. In 1994, record executive Ben Brown claimed to have rediscovered the original tapes of "Big Boy" in his mother's pantry. Through a New York City label called Inverted, he remastered and re-released more than 250,000 limited-edition, gold-plated copies of the single. However, Brown's re-release bears a strong resemblance to the remixed recording released by Gordon Keith on the SDEG label in 1989, and the sound quality is poor. On the original Steeltown recording, Michael's lead vocals come through loud and clear, but on Brown's reissue, they are obscured by overdubs. (from VOA, Jackson 5 Magazine)
How many songs has Michael written, including the ones that have not been released?
According to his testimony in the "Dangerous" copyright lawsuit, he has written a few hundred songs. In Interviews Michael also said that he writes more or less equal amounts of songs for each album. For example, in the Yahoo! simul-chat in 2001 he said that he had written over a hundred songs for the album "Invincible".
Who is the "Mystery Girl" who sings on "In the Closet"?
Princess Stephanie of Monaco, according to Black & White and MTV Australia. Michael confirmed this while speaking with fans in Gstaad in 1993.
In an interview on British TV, Madonna revealed that she was the original choice to be the Mystery Girl. When Michael asked her to do a duet, she agreed, and he played a preliminary version of the song for her. She asked him if he knew what the title meant, and he said he did. Not realizing the joke, she found this very unexpected and intriguing of Michael and went home and wrote more lyrics in the spirit of the title. He didn't like the new lyrics, so they ended up not doing the song together. Princess Stephanie took over. However, some minor bits of Madonna remain, as a club member with a sampler has heard a background voice in the song saying, "Can you guess who this is? Madonna, Madonna."
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