The mysterious personalities of Michael Jackson

"Michael liked those that can respect him. (...) If you went up to him with a clear head and spoke to

him, he'd speak back to you in his 'real' voice. If you were the fan that cried and couldn't speak, he'd

play the kop (King of Pop) role. He's always been like that. He is very sweet and he was honest to a

fault UNLESS he felt the truth would hurt you. He was (also) a very shrewd business man and if

things didn't go correctly, he wouldn't hesitate to have someone fired."

Katie Burrell

He has a split personality. He is very bright & very self-destructive. He has an extremely high IQ & a

terrible temper. He is childish but domineering. He is rich & powerful, but also an insecure child. So

he can be angelically sweet or cuttingly cold.

Someone who worked with him during production of Bad album (1987/8)

Austin Brown, Michaels nephew

"In some ways Michael reminds me of the walking wounded. He's an extremely fragile person. I think
that just getting on with life, making contact with people, is hard enough, much less to be worried
about whither goest the world.

Brian Friedman

"He is very modest, shy and pure man. When you see him on stage, hitting the moves and doing his

thing, you think 'wow!' That's all very spectacular. But face to face he's a sweet and soft man. Very

easy to talk to, down to earth but also a very, very shy person.

I learned a lot from him. About dancing, about life experiences....everything. My goal is to go try to

inspire other people like Michael did with me. He is very humoristic. He loves to laugh and he enjoys

life."

One of Michael's dancers, Timor Steffins

http://www.truemichaeljackson.com/more-about-michael/

As an entertainer, Michael Jackson was obviously second to none. His

spellbinding "pop" artistry was mesmerizing to virtually everyone who watched
him perform. Undoubtedly, he was the very "King of Pop."

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/evolution-the-self/200906/michael-jackson-
the-performer-vs-the-person

Michael Jackson The Performer

Michael Jackson was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation (Elber, 2009,
para. 11). He would stand on stage for a full three minutes, motionless, no music playing,
bringing the crowd to a frenzy. His attire was always militant-looking, his pants above the
ankles to show his trade-mark glitter socks, intended to draw attention to his famous
footwork. The building of emotions during the first three minutes of his concerts was beyond
belief each person feeding off the reaction of the next a virtual wave of emotion. Then, in
his distinct fashion, Jackson would begin with a bang, grabbing his crotch and pushing his leg
into the air. His voice and dance moves both strong and commanding, his striving for
perfection and his talent were very much apparent on stage.

In watching Michaels concerts, the surreal atmosphere of the environment emerges. If he

could affect one person, it would have a ripple effect, for it has been repeatedly shown that
people unintentionally catch another persons affective state (Epstude & Mussweiler, 2009,
p. 2). The excitement induced by Michael Jackson was somewhat akin to euphoria he took
his fans to another dimension. Once this state of euphoric social induction has been
experienced persons may identify with the leader of the experience. This explains Jacksons
ability to affect masses of people even outside of his concerts. In essence, comparison
processes between model and observer are an important determinant of the affective
reaction to the emotion of another person (Epstude & Mussweiler, 2009, p. 2). The social
induction such as those Michael Jackson elicited from his fans would essentially feed the
needs of someone afflicted with NPD.

In-depth Look at Michael Jackson and NPD Features

It states as a diagnostic feature in the DSM-IV-TR (2000) that individuals with NPD believe
they are superior or unique and expect others to recognize them as such (p. 714). Michael
Jackson standing motionless on the stage for the first three minutes could be considered a
means by which he defined himself as superior and unique, giving credence to his self-
defined title as the King of Pop. As demonstrated in the initial moments of his 1992 Budapest
concert, there was a brief second where a glimpse of what could be construed as a grandiose
smile escaped Michael Jacksons stoic stance. In watching the concert footage, it is apparent
that every person in the stadium was affected as Jackson brought the crowd to an
uncontrolled screaming, passionate frenzy. In essence, he brought the crowd of 70,000 to
their knees.

Publicly, Michael Jackson was charming and assured in knowing that his talent was
extraordinary. However, it seems Michaels ego ideal was set up as a result of (and to
protect) his fractured personality. This illustrates the reality of how difficult it is to treat those
such as Michael Jackson especially when consulting the DSM-IV-TR (2000). The DSM-IV-TR
is structured in such a manner (i.e., a categorical classification system of which the patient
must display a certain number of symptoms in a diagnostic criteria set that have great
overlaps between and among the different PDs) that it would be easy to diagnose him with
virtually any disorder (as there is a high degree of overlap and co-occurrence of Axis II PDs
and Axis I mental disorders described later in this article). This seems to not only validate
Ronningstams (2005) previously stated view that, narcissism represents a syndrome of
relatively diverse behaviour (p. 22), but also Livesleys (1995) observation that NPD is in
fact particularly problematic in its overlap with other personality disorders (p. 215). The
DSM-IV-TR is also problematic in the sense that, [p]eople with traits of pathological
narcissism that range beyond the DSM-IV criteria setwill not be correctly identified
(Ronningstam, 2005, p. 27).

His success and large family presented an image of love, support and unity that together,
the family rose from great poverty to success. On February 10, 1993, in an interview with
Oprah Winfrey, that faade started to crack. During that interview, Michael spoke about his
abusive father, Joe Jackson. Michael said of him, I love my father, but I dont know him
(Winfrey, 1993). He described what his father would do to him, say to him, and what he
expected. Michael further explained to Winfrey that his mother was perfect love and that he
idolized his mother, saying, I love my mother. To me shes perfection (Winfrey, 1993). This,
because of Michaels relationship with his father, could be diagnosed as Freuds Oedipal
Complex. What became clear during the interview was that Michael was an extremely
disciplined and guarded, yet fractured person. What also became clear was Michaels
extraordinary intellect and intuition, but also his lack of comprehension about his own truth
as it related to his childhood. In essence, Michael lacked the proper tools to heal the
fractures in his personality.

In watching the 1993 Oprah Winfrey interview, it emerges that society in general, including
the media, tends to gloss over the ills and magnify the successes of celebrities. In the case
of Michael Jackson, this is evident from not only the interview with Oprah Winfrey but from
his autobiography as well as the biographies of the majority of celebrities; from reading
them, one gains the impression that their lives began at puberty (Miller, 1997, p. 3), that
their early childhoods were virtually unimportant or irrelevant to their successes and
emotional turmoil. This ideology seems to be influenced by all editions of the DSM in that it
implies a hesitation to diagnose someone with a disorder before reaching the age of 18. It is
as if childhood experiences have no bearing on a persons mental well-being once they enter
adulthood. Yet, even with the pervasive influence of Freudian theories outlining the effects of
parents and early experiences on mental health in adulthood, childhood experiences
especially those of famous people are afforded only cursory treatment.

Fluctuating self-esteem is another aspect of NPD is. NPD has included in its diagnostic
features that, vulnerability in self-esteem makes individuals with Narcissistic Personality
Disorder very sensitive to injury from criticism or defeat (DSM-IV-TR, 2000, p. 715).
Michaels physical experience was closely tied to his fathers criticisms. He conveyed that his
father would tell him how ugly his nose and pimply his face was; that he was visually
repugnant. Michael stated during the 1993 Oprah Winfrey interview that Joe Jacksons
nickname for his son was Big Nose (Winfrey, 1993). Seemingly, it is due to his fathers
early statements about his looks that Michael was driven to seek physical perfection through
plastic surgeries. However, even with all the physical changes, he forever struggled with his
childhood demons. During the 1993 Oprah Winfrey interview, as well as in subsequent
interviews, when Jackson was asked about his face and skin he became very uncomfortable,
frequently denying the extent of his metamorphosis with disdain and defiance.

Not only did Jacksons physical appearance change drastically, but his skin color completely
changed from that of his early years to his adult years. Michael mentioned in the 1993
Winfrey interview that the change was due to a skin condition known as vitiligo.

In recent years, it has emerged that the love Michael Jackson received from his father, Joe
Jackson, was conditional. His fathers love was conditional on Michael meeting the obligations
set for him. One could surmise that Michaels mothers emotions were predicated on his
fathers emotions and her own issue with her inability to succeed at establishing a successful
country music career, which in turn would affect the children of the relationship. Miller (1997)
maintains, [f]ar too many of us had to learn as children to hide our own feelings, needs,
and memories skillfully in order to meet our parents expectations and win their love (back
book cover). Pinsky and Young (2009) stress that, a secure attachment to a parent nurtures
empathy, high self-esteem, and self-awareness (p. 107). It seems evident that not only did
Michael Jacksons parents fail in providing psychological security, but also that Michael had to
learn as a young child to hide his emotions, needs and memories in order to meet his
parents expectations and win their love. Where Michael appeared happiest where he could
express his emotions was the place he received his greatest accolades: on the stage
singing and dancing. On stage is where Michaels idealized self was reflected back onto his
iconic mirrored glasses.

The DSM-IV-TR (2000) also puts forth that those with NPD may profess a commitment to
perfectionism and believe others cannot do things as well (p. 716). Michael Jacksons quest
for perfectionism was apparent in every aspect of his life especially his performances. This
more than likely stems from the fact that Joe Jackson (as stated by Michael Jackson) had a
belt in his hand as Michael and his brothers rehearsed and that [if] you didnt do it right,
he would tear you up (Taraborrelli, 2010, p. 612) Joe Jackson would demand perfection
from Michael and his brothers; Joe Jackson is widely viewed as an abusive father who
terrorized his children: when they didnt perform well or werent trying hard enough, he
would beat and belittle them (Hollywood, 2009, para. 2). On July 20, 2009, Joe Jackson was
interviewed on CNNs Larry King Live. During the interview, Larry King asked about physically
abusing his sons (specifically Michael), Joes response was as follows:

Joe Jacksons personality characteristics impacted and influenced his family. Joe Jacksons
characteristics are not only characteristic of NPD, but they appear to display characteristics of
a specific narcissistic type: phallic narcissistic character. This character is self-confident,
arrogant, vigoroushard and sharp with masculine features. These individuals are haughty,
cold, reserved, or aggressive with disguised sadistic traits in relation to others
(Ronningstam, 2005, p. 8). Not only does Joe Jackson have sharp, masculine features, but
he displays each of these phallic narcissistic characteristics in virtually every interview this
author watched especially the 2009 Larry King interview. Not only did Joe Jackson treat his
family in a sadistic manner (which included extra-marital affairs), but according to this
author, his (re)actions during interviews were laced with symptoms associated with phallic
narcissistic characteristics. If Joe Jackson was indeed NPD his notions of perfectionism would
be hard to meet because he would always think he himself could do better. It is parental
conditioning such as Joe Jacksons that prompts children such as Michael Jackson to operate
in the world the way they do as adults.

Essentially, how parents engage and treat their children is an experience that affects how
neuronal pathways are mapped and, hence, how perception of reality is formed. For
instance, because Michael Jacksons parents were focused on their children achieving what
they could not, they were somewhat militant in directing how their children rehearsed and
acted. As such, Michael might have felt happiest when he was musically engaged, as
dopamine, the neurotransmitter associated with emotional regulation, alertness, and mood,
is released when people hear or perform music, and the dopaminergic system aids in the
encoding of the memory trace (Levitin, 2007, p. 198).

The DSM-IV-TR (2000) outlines that NPD can also be associated with substance-related
disorders. Michael Jackson presented differently off stage. He was quieter, he seemed less
secure, which could connote a change in activity of the dopamine neurotransmitter. In
essence, with regard to his personal life, his emotional brain engaged his dopaminergic
pathways in a different manner. It was as if the avoidance of truly understanding his etiology
was affecting his ability to function. Oxycontin, one of many prescription medications Michael
Jackson was ingesting (Esposito, 2009),

As noted by Svraki (1985), NPD is a two-level personality disorganization. The first level is
the superficial level the grandiose self. The second level is the inner level, which is
sheltered by the grandiose self. It is the inner level that is, essentially, frightened,
frustrated, emotionally deprived, envious, and full of omnipotent rage (Svraki, 1985, p.
720). The DSM-IV-TR, while it outlines the features associated with NPD, seems to associate
those with NPD as having fragile self-esteems, but equate them as being egotistical in nature
without providing an understanding as to why grandiosity is a key diagnostic feature of NPD:
to shelter the insecure self.

After Oprah Winfreys 1993 interview, it became clear how fragile Michael Jackson really was,
how he had created his life in an effort to shield his inner level from the superficial level. Not
only did Michael create a fantastical public world, but he did so privately as well.

The effect of childhood trauma does not appear in the diagnostic features of the DSM-IV-TR.
Yet, Miller (1997), Pinsky and Young (2009) determined that childhood trauma is associated
with NPD. Another feature that is not present in the DSM-IV-TR is loneliness. Miller (1997),
Pinsky and Young (2009), and Svraki (1985) found that loneliness is a common symptom of
those with NPD. Michael Jackson discussed his childhood trauma in various interviews. In
June 2009, Deepak Chopra, a long-time friend, stated that Michaels personal loneliness was
intimately known to Chopra. ; however, because loneliness cannot be externally validated via
scientific research, it is not included in the DSM-IV-TR.
What has been validated by certain therapists is that those diagnosed with NPD have a
history of childhood trauma, which affects how they perceive and cope with reality; this
childhood trauma relates to how their personality became fractured (Miller (1995),
Ronningstam (2005), Pinsky & Young (2009). Clinicians such as Miller (1995), Pinsky and
Young (2009) indicate the importance of understanding that each person is unique and, as
such, the uniqueness in individuals should be considered for tailoring treatments.

In considering the statistics of NPD, it seems the value system the pressures and
incitements of Western culture is such that happiness is hinged on the superficial
characteristics (i.e., fame and fortune) of celebrity to the point that it appears to be actually
fracturing the most impressionable members of society in a very troubling way: that they
are, like Michael Jackson, creating a life in an effort to shield their inner level

Michael Jackson spent his life transforming his self to mirror his idealized reflection. The
quest to be the idealized reflection was formed during Michaels childhood as a result of his
upbringing; it then became more pervasive during his early teens. As a result of childhood
trauma, Michaels self-esteem was affected. Due to Michaels low self-esteem and the effect
of his public life, co-morbid conditions as outlined in the multi-axial charts presented earlier
emerged. All these conditions were an effort to protect his inner self. Michael had great fear
and loneliness. Had his how and why been explored, Michael could have been effectively
diagnosed and properly treated, which would have resulted in his inner self and outer self
becoming more balanced. Michael would have been different from the reflection he saw in his
mirror; he perhaps would have been more of the idealized reflection on his mirrored
sunglasses.

http://jis.athabascau.ca/index.php/jis/article/view/101/109

Biography
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. His
parents were Joe and Katherine Jackson. Jackson had five brothers, Jackie,
Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy and three sisters including, Janet, Latoya
and Rebbie. By 1964, Joe had formed a band with his five sons, The Jackson
5. Joe was very strict in rehearsals with his children and they were often the
subjects of brutal physical and emotional abuse. The group would open for
acts such as James Brown and finally Gladys Knight introduced them to
Berry Gordon of Motown. Soon after, the Jackson 5 recorded Motown hits
such as I Want You Back, ABC, and Never can Say Goodbye. In 1976
the Jackson 5 switched from Motown to Epic Records in search of more
musical freedom. Since Motown owned the licensing of the brand, Jackson 5,
the group recalled themselves The Jacksons. As a group the Jackson 5
made a total of six albums. Michael also made his first film debut, playing
the scarecrow, in The Wiz. On the set of The Wiz Michael met Quincy
Jones of whom he later collaborate on his first solo album Off the Wall
which produced four Number 1 singles in the United States. In 1982, his
Thriller album became the best selling album of all time. It produced seven
number one singles and sold over 50 million copies. In 1984 Michael won
eight Grammys for his work on projects, Thriller and E.T. storybook. Starting
in the 1970s Michael had plastic surgery, most notably for his nose and his
skin color began to change color due to an illness referred to as vitiligo,
where skin pigmentation is destroyed. In 1984, Michael was seriously injured
while shooting a commercial for Pepsi. One of the special effects
malfunctioned and set his hair on fire. Michael Jackson married twice and his
first wife was none other than Elvis Presleys daughter, Lisa Marie Presley to
whom he married in 1993 for 2 years. His second wife was Debbie Rowe and
they divorced in 1999 Michael had three children, Paris, Prince and Prince II.
In 1993 and 2005 was charged with sexually molesting boys but was later
acquitted. Michael Jackson died on June 25, 2009 due to drug- related
cardiac arrest. (Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia and jackson)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qNcex6I7qls

Trait and Skill Aspects of Personality

Michael Jacksons personality can be analyzed using the Big 5 Trait
Approach.The trait approach to personality that is supported by a great
deal of research and suggests that personality can be captured in five
dimensions: Extroversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism,
and Openness (Friedman).
Michael Jackson is low on the extroversion scale. The personality dimension
that includes enthusiasm, dominance, and sociability; people low on this
dimension are considered introverted (Friedman). He does not want his
information publicized for the whole world to see and read about. In his
interview with Oprah, Michael was quiet and reserved. For example, when
Oprah asked Michael if he was a virgin, he responded with that he
considered himself a gentleman, implying that he viewed not disclosing
personal and sexual facts about himself as respectful and gentleman-like.
He was not talkative and enthusiastic about sharing personal information
about his sex life with the world (Interivew with Oprah Part 4).

Michael is high in agreeableness. The personality dimension that includes

friendliness, cooperation, and warmth; people low in this dimension are cold,
quarrelsome, and unkind (Friedman). He is a very friendly person especially
with children. In an interview with Oprah, he mentioned that he liked
animals and children because of their purity. They dont judge you, they
dont want anything from you and they just want to be your friend. He also
had developed deep friendships with celebrities including, Diana Ross,
Elizabeth Taylor and Macaulay Caulkin.

While Michael strived for perfection in his music he is low on the

conscientiousness scale. The personality dimension that includes
dependability, cautiousness, organization, and responsibility; people low in
this dimension are impulsive, careless, disorderly, and undependable
(Friedman). He acts more on impulse then on cautiousness. Especially in his
dancing, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Oprah pointed out that he
grabs his genitals when performing. Michael claimed that known of it was
planned in the performance. Sometimes he got caught up in the emotions
behind the music. He also acted on impulsivity when he dangled of his sons
over a hotel room balcony when he was an infant. Dangling your son out of
a hotel is not considered responsible behavior. (Interview with Oprah: Part
4).

Michael is high on the neuroticism scale. The personality dimension that

includes nervousness, tension, and anxiety; people low in this dimension are
emotionally stable, calm and contented (Friedman). His family and his
childhood upbringing did not have an emotionally stable effect on Michael.
Growing up he experienced a tremendous amount of tension and anxiety
from his father. His father would emotionally and physically beat him. Joe
Jackson would call him ugly, and Jackson would vomit just at the sight of his
own father (Interview with Oprah Part 3).

Jackson is very high on the openness scale. The personality dimension that
includes imagination, wit, originality, and creativity; people low on this
dimension are shallow, plain and simple (Friedman). Jackson was musically
gifted, having been declared the King of Pop by Elizabeth Taylor.
(Interview with Oprah Part 2) In 1982, he produced the best-selling album of
all time Thriller. He is extremely imaginative as he wants to bring out the
child in everyone. He built the Neverland Ranch which is equipped with
candy, magic shows, carnival rides, and film. Jackson worked with the Make
a Wish Foundation to bring terminally-ill children every three weeks and he
would entertain them with his child-like and glow. Jackson loved giving back
to the world, and also worked with the Heal the World Foundation. Within
this foundation, the goals for Heal LA section were for the immunization of
children, having a mentoring big sister/ big brother program and an
education on drug abuse (Interview with Oprah Part 5).

Michael Jacksons identity was also shaped by his need for achievement
which is the need to succeed on tasks that are set out by society
(Friedman). Jackson rose to the top of music industry after being declared
the King of Pop. His Thriller album remains the best selling album of all
time and became an icon of the pop music industry. It remained number one
on the charts for 33 weeks. Michael did not display awards around his house
as he never wanted to stop working and there was always something new to
accomplish. In his eyes, great music is immortal. He believed that he
could accomplish anything that he set his mind to and that no star was
ever too far out of reach. By gaining success in the music industry and
charities by his need for achievement, he was trying to satisfy his need for
affiliation as well. Michael was trying to compensate for the lack of
childhood friendships in his youth by trying to gain the approval of the
children who visited his ranch. (Jackson)

Discussion
Michael Jackson was an international icon for the pop music industry. His
personality can be best described using the Neo- Analytic and Ego Aspects
of Personality and the Trait and Skill Aspects of Personality. From the time
Jackson was 5 years old, he was a figure in the public eye. He never had a
normal childhood and was unable to partake in experiences that most
children take for granted, like going to the park and the movies with friends.
As Jackson states, he had to create a world behind the gates. Michael was
also nicknamed The Gloved One, Wacko Jacko, King of Pop, and MJ. (internet
movie datebase). Michaels signature dance became the moonwalk that
debuted in 1983 on an ABC special of Motown 25: Yesterday, Today and
Forever during a performance of Billie Jean. Michael was often proclaimed as
a modern-day Peter Pan as the boy who never grew up. He loved the
purity and selflessness of children of how they dont expect anything from
you, they just want to be your friend. Michael accomplished a successful
career even though suffering from constant physical and emotional abuse as
a child but managed to make a profound impact on the music industry as
the "King of Pop. (Michael Jackson Interviews with Oprah).

Comentarios:

Michael Jackson was an incredible artist and extremely talented person with a
traumatic childhood experience that continued to severely affect his life adversely
through adulthood and to his death. His father both physically and emotionally
abused Michael and his siblings throughout his life, promoting him as an object for
entertainment at an early age. Michael had incredible assets that furthered his
career as an artist and marked him as a type of god musically and artistically.
Michaels success in the entertainment business was not complimentary of his
lifestyle that was often misleading and, at times, questionable. The Big Five Trait
perspective provided a great explanation on the different characteristics of
Michaels personality and behavior. The Neo Analytic and Ego perspectives are
somewhat inadequate in their explanation of why Michael chose to alter his
appearance. Overall, both perspectives elucidated valid points and conceptions
about Michaels perplexed personality.
The Big Five Trait perspective contained convincing information on Jacksons score
on all five traits, primarily in the cases of neuroticism and openness. Jackson was
undoubtedly high in neuroticism which can be understood by the turmoil he faced
during childhood to his impulsive and controversial actions, including extensive
cosmetic surgery procedures and allowing children to sleep in his bed. Jackson
was extremely unstable and has had multiple allegations against him that he has
molested children. Michael was also extremely open to new experiences and was
more liberal in his thoughts than most. He was not only extremely successful in his
musical career, but he was keen on the idea of keeping attitudes youthful which can
be noted by his theme park creation of Neverland. Jackson was also very generous
in charitable acts, mostly those which concerned children.
Although the Neo and Ego Analytic perspective had good points, the assumption
that the abuse he received caused him to desire to change his outward appearance
might be somewhat questionable. The abuse he received as a child definitely
effected his neurotic mindset, but he was still more emotionally unstable than his
siblings, which may be more described as mental disability or the fact that he rose
to fame in childhood and was never out of the limelight for the entirety of his
existence. He never lived a childhood and much of what he knew and who he was
depended on peoples views of him. Constant pressure was probably a notable
factor in his obsession about his appearance.
Michael Jackson is still one of the most renowned names in Hollywood because of
his exceptional talents, but he is also the most contentious. Jackson often acted
rashly and was the cause of several conflicts, including his odd behaviors that led to
the accusation that he had molested children on more than one occasion. Michael
Jackson was fixated on youth and the focus of his attention was nearly always on
children; his contribution to charity was almost entirely toward children. Jackson did
not seek help or take any steps in progressing in character but remained stagnant
in personality, avoiding the chance at maturity.

https://psyc2301.wikispaces.com/Michael+Jackson

Around 1964, Joe began entering the Jackson brothers in talent

contests, many of which they handily won. A single they cut for
the local Steeltown recording label, "Big Boy," achieved local
success. "At first I told myself they were just kids," Joe said in
1971. "I soon realized they were very professional. There was
nothing to wait for. The boys were ready for stage training, and I
ran out of reasons to keep them from the school of hard
knocks." In 1966, he booked his sons into Gary's black
nightclubs, as well as some in Chicago. Many of the clubs
served alcohol, and several featured strippers. "This is quite a
life for a nine-year-old," Katherine would remind her husband,
but Joe was undaunted.

"I used to stand in the wings of this one place in Chicago and
watch a lady whose name was Mary Rose," Michael recalled.
"This girl would take off her clothes and her panties and throw
them to the audience. The men would pick them up and sniff
them and yell. My brothers and I would be watching all this,
taking it in, and my father wouldn't mind." Sam Moore, of Sam
and Dave, recalled Joe locking Michael who was maybe 10
years old in a dressing room while Joe went off on his own
adventures. Michael sat alone for hours. He also later recalled
having to go onstage even if he'd been sick in bed that day.

Michael and his brothers began to tour on what was still referred
to as the "chitlin circuit" a network of black venues throughout
the U.S. (Joe made sure his sons kept their school studies up to
date and maintained their grades at an acceptable level.) In
these theaters and clubs, the Jacksons opened for numerous
R&B artists, including the Temptations, Sam and Dave, Jackie
Wilson, Jerry Butler, the O'Jays and Etta James, though no one
was as important to Michael as James Brown. "I knew every
step, every grunt, every spin and turn," he recalled. "He would
give a performance that would exhaust you, just wear you out
emotionally. His whole physical presence, the fire coming out of
his pores, would be phenomenal. You'd feel every bead of
sweat on his face, and you'd know what he was going
throughYou couldn't teach a person what I've learned just
standing and watching."

The most famous site on these tours was the Apollo in New
York, where the Jackson 5 won an Amateur Night show in 1967.
Joe had invested everything he had in his sons' success,
though of course any real recognition or profit would be his
success as well. While on the circuit, Joe had come to know
Gladys Knight, who was enjoying a string of small successes
with Motown, America's pre-eminent black pop label. With the
encouragement of both Knight and Motown R&B star Bobby
Taylor, Joe took his sons to Detroit to audition for the label. In
1969, Motown moved the Jackson family to Los Angeles, set
them up at the homes of Diana Ross and the label's owner,
Berry Gordy, and began grooming them. Michael remembered
Gordy telling them, "I'm gonna make you the biggest thing in the
worldYour first record will be a number one, your second
record will be a number one, and so will your third record. Three
number-one records in a row."

In 1959, Gordy founded Tamla Records which soon became

known as Motown in Detroit. By the time he signed the
Jackson 5, Motown had long enjoyed its status as the most
important black-owned and -operated record label in America,
spawning the successes of Smokey Robinson and the Miracles,
the Temptations, Mary Wells, the Four Tops, and Diana Ross
and the Supremes, among others. In contrast to Stax and
Atlantic, Motown's soul wasn't especially bluesy or gritty, nor
was it a music that spoke explicitly to social matters or to the
black struggle in the U.S. By its nature the label exemplified
black achievement, but its music was calibrated for assimilation
by the pop mainstream which of course meant a white
audience as much as a black one (the label's early records bore
the legend "The Sound of Young America"). At the time, rock
music was increasingly becoming a medium for album-length
works. By contrast, Motown maintained its identity as a factory
that manufactured hit singles, despite groundbreaking albums
by Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye. Gordy was looking for a
singles-oriented group that would not only deliver hits for young
people, but would also give them somebody to seize as their
own, to identify with and to adore. The Jackson 5, Gordy said,
would exemplify "bubblegum soul."

The Jackson 5's first three singles "I Want You Back," "ABC"
and "The Love You Save" became Number One hits as Gordy
had promised, and so did a fourth, "I'll Be There." The group
was established as the breakout sensation of 1970. Fred Rice,
who would create Jackson 5 merchandise for Motown, said, "I
call 'em the black BeatlesIt's unbelievable." And he was right.
The Jackson 5 defined the transition from 1960s soul to 1970s
pop as much as Sly and the Family Stone did, and at a time
when many Americans were uneasy about minority aspirations
to power, the Jackson 5 conveyed an agreeable ideal of black
pride, one that reflected kinship and aspiration rather than
opposition. They represented a realization that the civil rights
movement made possible, and that couldn't have happened
even five or six years earlier. Moreover, the Jackson 5 earned
critical respectability.

And though they functioned as a group, there was no question

who the Jackson 5's true star was, and who they depended on.
Michael's voice also worked beyond conventional notions of
male-soul vocals even worked beyond gender. Cultural critic
and musician Jason King, in an outstanding essay, recently
wrote, "It is not an exaggeration to say that he was the most
advanced popular singer of his age in the history of recorded
music. His untrained tenor was uncanny. By all rights, he
shouldn't have had as much vocal authority as he did at such a
young age."

For at least the first few years, Michael and his brothers seemed
omnipresent and enjoyed universal praise. But soon they
experienced some hard limitations. The music they were
making wasn't really of invention they didn't write or produce it
and after Michael was relegated to recording throwback fare
like "Rockin' Robin," in 1972, he worried that the Jackson 5
would become an "oldies act" before he left adolescence. The
Jackson 5 began pushing to produce themselves and to create
their own sound. Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye had
demonstrated an ability to grow and change and sell records
when given creative leeway, and with 1974's "Dancing
Machine," the Jacksons proved they could thrive when they
seized a funk groove.

Motown, however, wouldn't consider it. "They not only refused to

grant our requests," Michael said in Moonwalk, "they told us it
was taboo to even mention that we wanted to do our own
music." Michael understood what this meant: Not only would
Motown not let the Jackson 5 grow, they also wouldn't let him
grow. Michael bided his time, studying the producers he and his
brothers worked with. "I was like a hawk preying in the night," he
said. "I'd watch everything. They didn't get away with nothing
without me seeing. I really wanted to get into it."

In 1975, Joe Jackson negotiated a new deal for his sons this
time with Epic Records, for a 500 percent royalty-rate increase.
The contract also stipulated solo albums from the Jacksons
(though the arrangement did not include Jermaine, who married
Gordy's daughter Hazel and stayed with Motown, creating a rift
with the family that lasted for several years). Motown tried to
block the deal, and in the end stopped the brothers from using
the Jackson 5 name; the group would now be known as the
Jacksons.

Epic initially placed them with Philadelphia producers Kenny

Gamble and Leon Huff, but it wouldn't be until
1978's Destiny that the Jacksons finally seized control over their
own music and recast their sound sexy and smooth in the
dance-floor hits "Blame It on the Boogie" and the momentous
"Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)," and reflecting a new
depth and emotional complexity in songs like "Push Me Away"
and "Bless His Soul."

Destiny, though, was merely a prelude: By the time the album

was finished, Michael was ready to make crucial changes that
would establish his ascendancy as a solo artist. He fired his
father as his manager and in effect found himself a new father,
producer Quincy Jones, whom Michael connected with while
filming The Wiz (a reworking of The Wizard of Oz). Jones was a
respected jazz musician, bandleader, composer and arranger
who had worked with Clifford Brown, Frank Sinatra, Lesley
Gore, Count Basie, Aretha Franklin and Paul Simon, and he
had written the film scores for The Pawnbroker, In Cold
Blood and In the Heat of the Night. Jackson liked the arranger's
ear for mixing complex hard beats with soft overlayers. "It was
the first time that I fully wrote and produced my songs," Jackson
said later, "and I was looking for somebody who would give me
that freedom, plus somebody who's unlimited musically."
Specifically, Jackson said his solo album had to sound different
than the Jacksons; he wanted a cleaner and funkier sound.

The pairing proved as fortuitous as any collaboration in history.

Jones brought an ethereal buoyancy to Jackson's soft erotic
fever on songs like "Rock With You" and "Don't Stop 'Til You
Get Enough," and in a stunning moment like "She's Out of My
Life," Jones had the good sense to let nothing obscure the
magnificent heartbreak in the singer's voice. The resulting
album, Off the Wall which established Jackson as a mature
artistic force in his own right has the most unified feel of any
of his works. It was also a massive hit, selling more than 5
million copies in the U.S. alone by 1985.

Michael Jackson had in effect become one of the biggest black

artists America had ever produced, and he expected Off the
Wall to win top honors during the 1980 Grammy Awards
ceremony. Instead, it received only one honor, for Best Male
R&B vocal. The Doobie Brothers' "What a Fool Believes" won
for Record of the Year, and Billy Joel's 52nd Street won Album
of the Year. Jackson was stunned and bitter. "My family thought
I was going crazy because I was weeping so much about it," he
recalled. "I felt ignored and it hurt. I said to myself, 'Wait until
next time' they won't be able to ignore the next albumThat
experience lit a fire in my soul."
Jackson told Jones and apparently others as well that his
next album wouldn't simply be bigger than Off the Wall, it would
be the biggest album ever. When Thriller was released in
November 1982, it didn't seem to have any overarching theme
or even a cohesive style. Instead, it sounded like an assembly
of singles like a greatest-hits album, before the fact. But it
became evident fast that this was exactly what Jackson
intended Thriller to be: a brilliant collection of songs intended as
hits, each one designed with mass crossover audiences in
mind. Jackson put out "Billie Jean" for the dance crowd, "Beat
It" for the white rockers, and then followed each crossover with
crafty videos designed to enhance both his allure and his
inaccessibility.

Yet after hearing these songs find their natural life on radio, it
was obvious that they were something more than exceptional
highlights. They were a well-conceived body of passion, rhythm
and structure that defined the sensibility if not the inner life
of the artist behind them. These were instantly compelling
songs about emotional and sexual claustrophobia, about hard-
earned adulthood and about a newfound brand of resolution
that worked as an arbiter between the artist's fears and the
inescapable fact of his fame. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'?"
had the sense of a vitalizing nightmare in its best lines ("You're
stuck in the middle/And the pain is thunder/Still they hate you,
you're a vegetable/They eat off you, you're a vegetable"). "Billie
Jean," in the meantime, exposed the ways in which the
interaction between the artist's fame and the outside world
might invoke soul-killing dishonor ("People always told me, be
careful of what you do/'Cause the lie becomes the truth,"
Jackson sings, possibly thinking of a paternity charge from a
while back). And "Beat It" was pure anger a rousing depiction
of violence as a male stance, as a social inheritance that might
be overcome. In sum, Thriller's parts added up to the most
improbable kind of art a work of personal revelation that was
also a mass-market masterpiece. It's an achievement that will
likely never be topped.

Except, in a sense, Jackson did top it, and he did it within

months after Thriller's release. It came during a May 16th, 1983,
TV special celebrating Motown's 25th anniversary. Jackson had
just performed a medley of greatest hits with his brothers. It was
exciting stuff, but for Michael it wasn't enough. As his brothers
said their goodbyes and left the stage, Michael remained. He
seemed shy for a moment, trying to find words to say. "Yeah,"
he almost whispered, "those were good old daysI like those
songs a lot. But especially" and then he placed the
microphone into the stand with a commanding look and said, "I
like the new songs." He swooped down, picked up a fedora, put
it on his head with confidence, and vaulted into "Billie Jean."

This was one of Michael Jackson's first public acts as a star

outside and beyond the Jacksons, and it was startlingly clear
that he was not only one of the most thrilling live performers in
pop music, but that he was perhaps more capable of inspiring
an audience's imagination than any single pop artist since Elvis
Presley. There are times when you know you are hearing or
seeing something extraordinary, something that captures the
hopes and dreams popular music might aspire to, and that
might unite and inflame a new audience. That time came that
night, on TV screens across the nation the sight of a young
man staking out his territory, and just starting to lay claim to his
rightful pop legend. "Almost 50 million people saw that show,"
Jackson wrote in Moonwalk. "After that, many things changed."
He was right. That was the last truly blessed moment in Michael
Jackson's life. After that, everything became argument and
recrimination. And in time, decay.

In any event, Michael Jackson seemed clearly reputable

eminent though not heroic, not yet messianic, and certainly not
contemptible. Thriller placed seven singles in Billboard's Top 10
and also became the biggest-selling album in history (presently
around 50 million copies or more), and at the 1984 Grammy
Awards, Jackson finally claimed his due, capturing eight
awards, including Album of the Year and Record of the Year.
Then, months later, it was announced that Michael would be
setting out on a nationwide tour with the Jacksons. He hadn't
wanted to undertake the venture but felt obliged ("Those were
slim shoulders on which to place such burdens," he wrote of his
lifelong family pressures).

It was during this period that a backlash first set in against

Jackson, though from the press more than from the public. The
mid-1980s was a time when many in the music press had
misgivings about mass popularity especially if it seemed to
represent a homogenized or acquiescent culture. Michael
Jackson, after all, wasn't an artist with a message of
sociopolitical revolution, nor did his lyrics reflect literary
aspirations. To some then and to some now he represented
little more than an ambition for personal fame.

But there was a trickier concern at play. The racial dimensions

of Jackson's image proved complex beyond any easy answers
at that time, or even since. Some of that was attributable to
charges that Jackson seemed willing to trade his former black
constituency for an overwhelmingly white audience otherwise
how could he have achieved such staggering sales figures in
the U.S.? But what probably inspired these race-related
arguments most the terrain where they all seemed to play out
was the topography of Jackson's face. With the exception of
later accusations about his sexual behavior, nothing inspired
more argument or ridicule about Michael Jackson than that
face.

In his childhood, Jackson had a sweet, dark-skinned

countenance; many early Jackson 5 fans regarded him as the
cutest of the brothers. J. Randy Taraborrelli, author of Michael
Jackson: The Magic and the Madness, has written, "[Michael]
believed his skin'messed up my whole personality.' He no
longer looked at people as he talked to them. His playful
personality changed and he became quieter and more serious.
He thought he was ugly his skin was too dark, he decided,
and his nose too wide. It was no help that his insensitive father
and brothers called him 'Big Nose.'?" Also, as Jackson became
an adolescent, he was horribly self- conscious about acne.
Hilburn recalled going through a stack of photos with Jackson
one night and coming across a picture of him as a teenager:
"'Ohh, that's horrible,' [Jackson] said, recoiling from the picture."

The face Jackson displayed on the cover of Thriller had

changed; the skin tone seemed lighter and his nose thinner and
straighter. In Moonwalk, Jackson claimed that much of the
apparent renovation was due to a change in his diet; he
admitted to altering his nose and his chin, but he denied he'd
done anything to his skin. Still, the changes didn't end there.

Over the years, Jackson's skin grew lighter and lighter, his nose
tapered more and more and his cheekbones seemed to gain
prominence. To some, this all became fair game for derision; to
others, it seemed a grotesque mutilation not just because it
might have been an act of conceit, aimed to keep his face
forever childlike, but more troublingly because some believed
Jackson wanted to transform himself into a white person. Or an
androgyne somebody with both male and female traits.

Michael Jackson wanted his next album to be bigger

than Thriller, which was of course too much to ask. Jackson
was also seeking vindication. He felt misjudged and maligned
by much of the criticism heaped on him after the 1984 Victory
Tour. Some of the scrutiny he received about his "freakishness"
his devotion to his animals as if they were his friends, his
ongoing facial reconstruction, scornful charges that he slept in a
hyperbaric oxygen chamber to maintain his youthfulness was
judgmental, even moralistic. Worse, too much of it came from
reporters and gossip columnists, even political commentators,
who displayed little if any real appreciation for Jackson's music
and little respect for the sheer genius of his work.

At that time, Jackson's art was still his best way of making a
case for himself. In 1987, he released Bad, his much-
anticipated successor to Thriller. If not as eventful and ingenious
as Off the Wall and Thriller, Bad was as good as any album he
ever made. It was taut and funky, it had snap and fever, it
radiated rage and self-pity but also yearning for grace and
transcendence particularly in "Man in the Mirror," a song
about accepting social and political responsibility, and about the
artist negotiating his way back into the world. Bad sold millions
and launched five Number One singles, three more
than Thriller, but because it couldn't match the
accomplishments of Thriller, it was viewed as a flop.

Jackson then staged his first solo tour later that year. On several
nights, I saw him turn in inspiring performances that also served
as timely reminders of a sometimes overlooked truth about him:
Namely that whatever his eccentricities, Michael Jackson
acquired his fame primarily because of his remarkably intuitive
talents as a singer and dancer talents that were genuine and
matchless and not the constructions of mere ambition or hype.

Though he had the lithe frame of Fred Astaire, the mad

inventiveness of Gene Kelly, the sexy agony of Jackie Wilson,
the rhythmic mastery of James Brown or of Sammy Davis Jr.,
for that matter nobody else moved like Michael Jackson.
Certainly nobody else broke open their moment in one daring
physical display like Jackson. He didn't invent the moonwalk
that famous and impossible backward gliding movement from
his Motown 25 performance of "Billie Jean" but it didn't matter.
He had defined himself in that moment and dared anybody else
to match it, and nobody ever did. During the Bad tour his moves
were breathtaking, sometimes unexpected.

In 1988, he was again nominated for key Grammy Awards

including Album of the Year, but he was up against hard
competition. Artists like U2 and Prince had fashioned the most
ambitious and visionary music of their careers music that
reflected the state of pop and the world in enlivening ways.
More to the point, in 1988 there was suspicion among many
observers that Jackson's season as pop's favorite son had
passed. He would win no Grammys that year. In the Rolling
Stone Readers' poll, Jackson placed first in six of the readers'
"worst of the year" categories (including "worst male singer"); in
addition, The Village Voice Critics' Poll failed to mention
Jackson's Bad in its selection of 1987's 40 best albums. This
was a startling turnaround from four years before, when
Jackson and his work topped the same polls in both
publications.
Michael Jackson never really regained momentum or ambition
after the negative reaction to Bad. He had finally left the family
home in Encino and built his own fortress estate known as
Neverland, about 100 miles north of L.A., with an amusement
park and train rides redolent of Disneyland. It became a place
where he brought the world to him, or at least that part of the
world he seemed to care about, which mainly included children
the people, he said, he felt most at home with, since part of
him wanted to experience and share the childhood he felt his
father and entertainment career had deprived him of. But it was
also Michael's appetite for the company of children that would
create the most lamentable troubles in his life. In 1993, a story
broke that Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy
with whom he had kept frequent company.

It was a terribly serious accusation, and given his fondness for

the company of children, the charges seemed all too credible to
some observers. The story played big in not just tabloid
newspapers but in some mainstream media as well. No criminal
charges were filed, but in 1994 Jackson settled the matter out of
court (reportedly for something in the vicinity of $20 million),
which struck many as a tacit admission to the allegations.
Jackson, though, categorically denied the claim. He later told
British journalist Martin Bashir that he simply wanted to put the
issue behind him.

The episode did enormous damage to Jackson's image, and

perhaps to his psychology as well. It was during that time that,
according to some, he developed a dependency on medications
that stayed with him through the rest of his life. (Jackson's need
for drugs may also have stemmed from pains attributable to
various surgeries.) That same year he unexpectedly married
Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of rock & roll's most eminent
pioneer, Elvis Presley. Some saw it as an effort to both
rehabilitate and bolster his image by asserting a heterosexual
authenticity, and by linking his name to even greater fame. The
marriage lasted 18 months.

Presley has never spoken negatively of Jackson, only

affectionately, saying in the days after her ex-husband's death
that she left him only because she felt she couldn't save him
from himself. Jackson married again in 1996, this time to a
nurse from his dermatologist's office, Debbie Rowe. The couple
had two children, son Prince Michael Jackson and daughter
Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Apparently, the children were
the true objective of the marriage for Jackson; the couple
divorced in 1999 and Rowe gave up custody of the children.
(Rowe has admitted in the past that Jackson wasn't the
children's biological father, but rather that they were conceived
by artificial insemination.)

Through the course of all this, sadly, Jackson's musical drive fell
off, and the music that did emerge was only sporadically
successful. His new music was often a testament of self-
justification. In "Childhood," a song from 1995's HIStory: Past,
Present and Future, he put forth his case for his otherness: "No
one understands me/They view it as such strange
eccentricities/It's been my fate to compensate/For the childhood
I've never known/Before you judge me, try hard to love me/Look
within your heart, then ask/Have you seen my childhood?"

His hurt and anger also began to come out more in his body
over the years. Sometimes his expression looked terrified, his
eyes peering over surgical masks or from behind the cover of a
burqa. Other times he moved with an explosive fury, as in those
moments at the end of his infamous but incredibly successful
1991 video for the song "Black or White." Those movements
seemed so different from the joyful ones of years before.

But despite good moments and too many treacly and self-
aggrandizing ones Michael Jackson's 1990s music had no
real presence in the ongoing current of popular culture. His final
album, Invincible, from 2001, yielded a few adventurous tracks
Jackson was finally accommodating the stylistic and cultural
innovations made by hip-hop and other urban music forms but
overall it wasn't enough to live up to its title. This isn't to say that
Michael Jackson was no longer a huge star but rather that his
legend had transmuted: He was now known for his excesses
and bad choices. He lived in a castle; he contracted another
baby, Prince Michael II (whose mother has never been
identified); and he then recklessly dangled the baby over a
balcony in Berlin. Sometimes you had to wonder whether
Jackson had any real idea how his actions struck the world
which is perhaps OK, unless you expect the world to love you
unconditionally.

Jackson's most egregious lapse of judgment became evident in

a notorious 2003 interview with Martin Bashir, in which the
singer professed that he still shared his bed at Neverland with
children who were not his own. During one point in the
broadcast, Jackson sat holding the hand of a 13-year-old boy, a
cancer survivor, and explained what he saw as the innocent and
loving nature of that behavior. The public response was swift
and hypercritical; many thought that despite the accusations he
had faced in 1993, Jackson could still act as he wanted with
impunity. The reaction was so devastating to Jackson that,
according to some rumors, later that year he attempted a
morphine overdose; at the very least, some observers declared
Jackson had committed career suicide.
The controversy became as serious as possible when the boy in
the video accused Jackson of fondling him. This time, the
matter went to trial. The horrible drama that Jackson had landed
in was in keeping with the dominant themes of his life and art:
his obsessions with stardom, mystery, hubris, fear and
despoiled childhood. If the charges were true, one had to
wonder what Jackson truly saw when he looked at the
childhoods of others. Was he capable of disrespecting their
innocence, just as his own was once ruined? But if the charges
weren't true, then one had to ask what measure of satisfaction
could be won in his ruin?

The 2005 trial was the spectacle everybody expected it to be

a drama about justice and celebrity, sex and outrage, morality
and race. Even though it dragged on, it was clear the
prosecution didn't have a case so much as it had umbrage. The
trial was a farce it's dismaying the case ever made it to trial
and Jackson was acquitted on all charges. But the damage
done seemed, in many ways, final. Jackson walked out of the
courtroom that day a shaken, listless man. His finances were
also coming undone; he had been spending ludicrous sums and
he'd mismanaged his money which took some doing, since he
had made such a vast fortune.

The biggest star in the world had fallen from the tallest height.
He left the country and moved to Bahrain; he was only
occasionally seen or heard from. Nobody knew whether he
could recover his name, or even preserve his considerable
music legacy, until early 2009, when he announced an
incredibly ambitious series of 50 concerts which he described
as the "final curtain call" to take place at London's O2 arena,
beginning July 13th.
On June 24, 2009, as Rolling Stone reported, "Jackson ran
through a six-hour dress rehearsal of his concert at the Staples
Center in Los Angeles. More than a dozen people who
witnessed the final rehearsal -- from his promoter to his
choreographer to his musicians -- all agree on one thing:
Jackson was better than he'd ever been. He popped, just like he
had in his glory days, singing and out-dancing the young pros
that surrounded him. 'He was so brilliant onstage,' recalls his
tour director, Kenny Ortega. 'I had goose bumps.'"

The next day he was dead. Reports in the aftermath of

Jackson's death revealed a disturbing dependence on Ambien
and other prescription drugs. Jackson's autopsy report ruled his
death a homicide, stating that Dr. Conrad Murray Jackson's
live-in physician -- wrongfully administered the sedative propofol
to his patient. On February 8, 2010, Murray was charged with
involuntary manslaughter.

Jackson's 2002 will stated that his estate would give 40 percent
to both his mother Katherine and Michael's children; the
remaining 20 percent would go to charity. As of February, 2010,
Jackson's estate had earned 100 million since his death, though
claims on the estate exceeded $22 million. Joe Jackson was not
named as a benefactor in the will. This Is It, the documentary
that covers the rehearsals for the O2 shows, grossed more than
$250 million worldwide, and with vaults of unreleased music
due out in the future, the Jackson estate will likely surpass Elvis
Presley's in terms of earnings.

In the days that followed his death, Jackson was everywhere.

Makeshift memorials sprung up around his star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame and outside Harlem's Apollo Theater.
His music blared from radios all across the world and his CDs
flew off the shelves. 1.6 million people registered for a chance to
win tickets to Jackson's public memorial at the Staples Center.
At the memorial, Magic Johnson, Brooke Shields, and other
celebrities paid tribute, and Stevie Wonder sang "Never
Dreamed You'd Leave in Summer." The most moving moment
came from Jackson's eleven-year-old daughter Paris, who made
her first ever public statement: "Ever since I was born, Daddy
has been the best father you could ever imagine," she said.
"And I just wanted to say I love him so much."

In the wake of his death, everyone in the world seemed to talk

of his or her favorite Jackson song, or favorite Jackson dance
move or favorite Jackson video. I'll never forget that night back
in early 1983, when onstage in Pasadena, California, at the
Motown 25th anniversary show, Michael Jackson gave his first
public performance as a mature artist staking his own claim,
vaulting into that astonishingly graceful, electrifying version of
"Billie Jean." Dancing, spinning, sending out impassioned,
fierce glares at the overcome audience, Jackson did a powerful
job of animating and mythologizing his own blend of mystery
and sexuality. I'd never seen anything quite like it before. Maybe
I never will again. Michael Jackson didn't just grab the gold ring:
He hooked it to a new bar and set it even higher, and nobody
has yet snatched it with quite the same flair or results.
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/michael-jackson/biography

Michael Jackson enjoyed a chart-topping career both with the

Jackson 5 and as a solo artist. He released the best-selling
album in history, 'Thriller,' in 1982.
QUOTES

Being onstage is magic. There's nothing like it. You feel the energy of
everybody who's out there. You feel it all over your body.
Michael Jackson
Synopsis

Born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson became the lead singer of his family's
popular Motown group, the Jackson 5. He went on to a solo career of astonishing
success, delivering No. 1 hits from the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. The
"King of Pop" was dogged by allegations of child molestation in his later years, and
died just before launching a comeback tour in 2009.

Early Life and Career

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, to a large
African-American working-class family. His mother, Katherine Jackson, was a
homemaker and a devout Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joseph Jackson, had been a
guitarist who put aside his musical aspirations to provide for his family as a crane
operator. Believing his sons had talent, he molded them into a musical group in the early
1960s.

At first, the Jackson Family performers consisted of Michael's older

brothers, Tito, Jermaine and Jackie. Michael joined his siblings when he was 5 years
old, and emerged as the group's lead vocalist. He showed remarkable range and depth
for such a young performer, impressing audiences with his ability to convey complex
emotions. Older brother Marlon also became a member of the group, which evolved
into the Jackson 5.

Behind the scenes, Joseph Jackson pushed his sons to succeed. He was also reportedly
known to become violent with them. Michael and his brothers spent endless hours
rehearsing and polishing up their act. At first, the Jackson 5 played local gigs and built a
strong following. They recorded one single on their own, "Big Boy," with the B-side
"You've Changed," but the record failed to generate much interest.

Despite Jackson's individual achievements and the group's great success, there was
trouble brewing behind the scenes. Tensions mounted between Gordy and Joseph
Jackson over the management of his children's careers, with the Jacksons wanting more
creative control over their material. The group officially severed ties with Motown in
1976, though Jermaine Jackson remained with the label to pursue his solo career.

Now calling themselves the Jacksons, the group signed a new recording deal with Epic
Records. By the release of their third album for the label, 1978's Destiny, the brothers
had emerged as talented songwriters. Michael then wowed the music world with his
next solo album, 1979's Off the Wall. An infectious blend of pop and funk, the album
featured the Grammy Award-winning single "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough," along
with such hits as "Rock with You," "She's Out of My Life" and the title track.

The overwhelmingly positive response to Off the Wall also helped the Jacksons as a
group. Triumph (1980) sold more than 1 million copies, and the brothers went on an
extensive tour to support the recording. However, Michael continued exploring more
ways to branch out on his own. He teamed up with rock legend Paul
McCartney for their 1982 duet, "The Girl Is Mine," which nearly reached the top of the
pop charts.

The song also appeared on his next solo album, Thriller (1982), which generated seven
Top 10 hits and became the best-selling album in history. On a 1983 television special
honoring Motown, Jackson performed his No. 1 hit "Billie Jean" and debuted his soon-
to-be-famous dance move, the Moonwalk. Jackson, a veteran performer by this time,
created this step himself and choreographed the dance sequences for the video of the
album's other No. 1 hit, "Beat It."

Jackson's most elaborate music video, however, was for the album's title track. John
Landis directed the horror-tinged video, which featured complex dance scenes, special
effects and a voice-over by actor Vincent Price. The "Thriller" video was an immense
success, boosting sales for the already successful record. The album stayed on the charts
for 80 weeks, holding the No. 1 spot for 37 weeks. In addition to its unparalleled
commercial achievements, Thriller garnered 12 Grammy Award nominations and
notched eight wins, both records.

Jackson's victories showcased the diverse nature of his work. For his songwriting
talents, he earned a Grammy (best rhythm and blues song) for "Billie Jean." He also was
honored for the singles "Thriller" (best pop vocal performance, male) and "Beat It" (best
rock vocal performance, male). With co-producer Quincy Jones, Jackson shared the
award for album of the year.

Pepsi, 'Bad' and Neverland

At the top of his game creatively and commercially, Jackson signed a $5 million
endorsement deal with PepsiCo in 1983. However, he was badly injured while filming a
commercial for the soda giant in 1984, suffering burns to his face and scalp. Jackson
had surgery to repair his injuries, and is believed to have begun experimenting with
plastic surgery around this time. His face, especially his nose, would become
dramatically altered in the coming years.

That same year, Jackson embarked on his final tour with his brothers to support the
album Victory. The one major hit from the recording was Jackson's duet with Mick
Jagger, "State of Shock." In 1985, Jackson showed his altruistic side by co-writing "We
Are the World," a charity single for USA for Africa. A veritable who's who of music
stars participated in the project, including Lionel Richie, Ray Charles, Bob
Dylan, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen and Tina Turner.

Releasing his follow-up to Thriller in 1987, Jackson reached the top of the charts
with Bad. It boasted a record five No. 1 hits, including "Man in the Mirror," "The Way
You Make Me Feel" and the title track, which was supported by a video directed
by Martin Scorsese. Jackson spent more than a year on the road, playing concerts to
promote the album. While highly successful, Bad was unable to duplicate the
phenomenal sales of Thriller.
A shy and quiet person off-stage, Jackson never was truly comfortable with the media
attention he received and rarely gave interviews. By the late 1980s, he had created his
own fantasy retreata California ranch called Neverland. There the singer kept exotic
pets, such as a chimpanzee named Bubbles. He also installed amusement park-type
rides, and sometimes opened up the ranch for children's events. The Neverland stories
were just part of the package of increasingly unusual behavior, with rumors swirling
that he was lightening the color of his skin to appear more white and sleeping in a
special chamber to increase his life span.

In 1991, Jackson released Dangerous, featuring the hit "Black or White." The video for
this song, directed by Landis, included an appearance by child star Macaulay Culkin. In
the video's final minutes, Jackson caused some controversy with his sexual gesturing
and violent actions. Many were surprised to see the Peter Pan-like Jackson act in this
manner.

When Murray's trial ended, the Jackson family focused once again on moving forward
with their lives. However, by the following year, the Jacksons were making new
headlines. In July 2012, a judge temporarily suspended Katherine Jackson's
guardianship of Prince, Paris and Blanketduring which time T.J. Jackson, son of Tito,
received temporary custody of the childrenafter she was erroneously reported missing
by a relative. Katherine's "disappearance" came shortly after a dispute between her and
several members of the Jackson clan, who raised questions about the validity of Michael
Jackson's will, pointed fingers at the Jackson matriarch and called for the executors of
his estate to resign.

It was soon discovered that the elderly woman wasn't missing, but had simply taken a
trip to Arizona. On August 2, 2012, a judge restored Katherine Jackson as the primary
guardian of Prince, Paris and Blanket, also approving a plan granting T.J. Jackson co-
guardianship of the children.

Wrongful Death Lawsuit and Aftermath

Though closure on Michael Jackson's death seemed attainable by late 2012, it would
only be a matter of months before the Jackson family encountered a new brand of
turmoil. Believing that AEG Livethe entertainment company that promoted Michael
Jackson's planned comeback series in 2009had failed to effectively protect the singer
while he was under Conrad Murray's care, the Jackson family launched a wrongful
death lawsuit. One of their lawyers, Brian Panish, discussed AEG's alleged wrongdoing
in the trial's opening statements on April 29, 2013: "They wanted to be No. 1 at all
costs," he said. "We're not looking for any sympathy ... we're looking for truth and
justice."

Jackson family lawyers sought up to $1.5 billionan estimation of what Michael

Jackson could have earned to that pointbut in October 2013, a jury determined that
AEG wasn't responsible for the singer's death. "Although Michael Jackson's death was a
terrible tragedy, it was not a tragedy of AEG Live's making," said company lawyer
Marvin S. Putnam.
Despite the unfavorable outcome of that trial for the Jacksons, the family has reaped the
benefits of the singer's enduring popularity. Since his passing, he has been profiled in
multiple biographies, and inspired the creation of two Cirque du Soleil shows.
Furthermore, Michael's debts have been settled thanks to his earlier investment in the
Sony/ATV Music catalog, which includes the publishing rights for songs of such
industry heavyweights as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and Taylor Swift.

http://www.biography.com/people/michael-jackson-38211

Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana on August 29, 1958, and
entertained audiences nearly his entire life. His father, Joe Jackson, had been a
guitarist, but was forced to give up his musical ambitions following his marriage
to Katherine Jackson (ne Katherine Esther Scruse). Together, they prodded their
growing family's musical interests at home. By the early 1960s, the older boys
Jackie, Tito and Jermaine had begun performing around the city; by 1964, Michael
and Marlon had joined in.

A musical prodigy, Michael's singing and dancing talents were amazingly mature,
and he soon became the dominant voice and focus of the Jackson 5. An opening act
for such soul groups as the O-Jays and James Brown, it was Gladys
Knight (not Diana Ross) who officially brought the group to Berry Gordy's attention,
and by 1969, the boys were producing back-to-back chart-busting hits as Motown
artists ("I Want You Back," "ABC," "Never Can Say Goodbye," "Got to Be There,"
etc.). As a product of the 1970s, the boys emerged as one of the most
accomplished black pop / soul vocal groups in music history, successfully evolving
from a group like The Temptations to a disco phenomenon.

Solo success for Michael was inevitable, and by the 1980s, he had become infinitely
more popular than his brotherly group. Record sales consistently orbited,
culminating in the biggest-selling album of all time, "Thriller" in 1982. A TV natural,
he ventured rather uneasily into films, such as playing the Scarecrow in El
mago (1978), but had much better luck with elaborate music videos.

In the 1990s, the downside as an 1980s pop phenomenon began to rear itself.
Michael grew terribly child-like and introverted by his peerless celebrity. A rather
timorous, androgynous figure to begin with, his physical appearance began to
change drastically, and his behavior grew alarmingly bizarre, making him a
consistent target for scandal-making, despite his numerous charitable acts. Two
brief marriages -- one to Elvis Presley's daughter Lisa Marie Presley -- were forged
and two children produced by his second wife during that time, but the purposes
behind them appeared image-oriented. Despite it all, Jackson's passion and artistry
as a singer, dancer, writer and businessman are unparalleled, and it is these
prodigious talents that will ultimately prevail over the extremely negative aspects of
his seriously troubled adult life.
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001391/bio

http://www.digitaljournal.com/article/275013

"Creative people have a great deal of physical energy, but they're also often quiet and
at rest. They work long hours, with great concentration, while projecting an aura of
freshness and enthusiasm...This does not mean that creative people are hyperactive,
always "on." In fact, they rest often and sleep a lot. The important thing is that they
control their energy; it's not ruled by the calendar, the dock, an external schedule.
When necessary, they can focus it like a laser beam; when not, creative types
immediately recharge their batteries. They consider the rhythym of activity followed by
ideleness or reflection very important for the success of their work."
2. "Creative people tend to be both extroverted and introverted. We're usually
one or the other, either preferring to be in the thick of crowds or sitting on the
sidelines and observing the passing show. In fact, in psychological
research, extroversion and introversion are considered the most stable
personality traits that differentiate people from each other and that can be
reliability measured. Creative individuals, on the other hand, seem to exhibit
both traits simultaneously."

3. "Creative people's openness and sensitivity often exposes them to suffering

and pain, yet also to a great deal of enjoyment. Most would agree with
Rabinow's words: 'Inventors have a low threshold of pain. Things bother them.'
A badly designed machine causes pain to an inventive engineer, just as the
creative writer is hurt when reading bad prose. Being alone at the forefront of
a discipline also leaves you exposed and vulnerable."

These three seeming contradictions- energy/rest, extroversion/introversion, and

openness/sensitivity- are not separate phenomena but are intimately related to
one another and along with other traits form the core of the creative performer's
personality.

This contrast between onstage boldness and personal shyness was certainly
seen in Michael Jackson. Famed record producer Quincy Jones recounts that

"Michael was so shy, he'd sit down and sing behind the couch with his back to
me while I sat with my hands over my eyesand the lights off."

A little while ago Susan Biali wrote a fascinating blog post for Psychology
Today titled "Was Michael Jackson a Highly Sensitive Person(HSP)"? Are
You?", which really resonated with me. In her post, she notes the seeming
discrepancy found in Jackson between his

shy reclusive personality (documented since he was a young child), and his
outrageously impressive and even flamboyant ability to perform on and
dominate the world stage."

Biali links this disrepancy to Jackson being a highly sensitive person (HSP)
(see here for more info and here to assess whether you are a HSP). According
to HSP researcher Elaine Aron, HSP's make up 15-20% of the general
population and tend to be more aware than others of subtleties, get more easily
overwhelmed when things get too intense or there is too much sensory input,
are easily affected by other's moods, and are deeply creative and moved by arts
and music. In a very recent post called, "Why it's hard to be a highly sensitive
(HSP) introvert", I felt Biali very accurately described the frequent frustration of
being a HSP:

"I'm extremely sensitive to other people's moods; when someone is angry,

judgmental or irritated, those emotions come through my skin and into my cells,
making me even more uncomfortable. Worst of all, if I don't have my own space
to retreat to and recharge, I'll eventually have a meltdown."

Some of the most creative people have very high levels of sensitivity. Like Bilali, they
embrace who they are and find ways to accommodate their sensitivity. Take Yoshira
Nakamatsu, perhaps one of the most creative (if not also a bit nutty) inventors of all
time. He invented many 'calm rooms' around his house to minimize as much as
possible any potential sensory input that might interfere with his creative process. My
favorite calm room is his bathroom, where his toilet shuts out every noise and every
magnetic and electronic field! According to Dr. Nakamatsu, "Such a calm room erases
all noise from your brain, you can concentrate and think." It should be noted that Dr.
Nakamatsu also has a "dynamic room" in his old house, where music, patterns and
textures stimulate the brain. According to Nakamatsu, this room is conducive to
inventing, allowing the creator to mix ideas in his or her head. The genius of Dr.
Nakamatsu may come in large part, from his ability to flexibly switch between extreme
quiet and extreme stimulation (read here for more on the good Dr.'s genius).
Recently Jennifer O. Grimes, a graduate student in psychology, emailed me because
she thought we might have similar recent interests. I'm really glad she did, because her
research is awesome. Grimes went to three major summer metal rock tours, including
one of the largest heavy metal/hard rock festivals in the world- Ozzfest. Talk about
Extraverted performers! Grimes interviewed 21 musicians associated with signed
touring acts in an isolated room backstage for approximately 20-25 minutes.
Behind the curtain, how did these hard rock musicians describe themselves?
Below are some of Jennifer's impressions, which I've split up by category for
ease of reading.

Introversion / Extroversion

- All subjects showed interest in physical activities but also reported requiring
"alone time".

- While most of the musicians reported some degree of shyness at some time in
their lives, this was not reported as the main motivator for their reclusion. Social
reclusion was reported as a result of their constant "overthinking", rumination,
concern regarding future events and possibilities, suspicions, and/or a sense of
being philosophically overwhelmed. Most of Grimes' subjects reported
"overthinking everything" and being hypercritical, exhibiting critical attention to
detail and a careful method of planning everything.

- Those familiar only with the subjects' stage persona believed the subjects to
be friendly, bold, and approachable. The acquaintances who were able to
respond to Grimes' interview questionnaire reported that the subjects were not
approachable or appeared to hold a condescending view of others until one
became better acquainted with the individual. Those closer to the musicians
thought they were warm, friendly, calm, and pleasant.
 The introverts in her sample seemed adept at using introversion and
extraversion in various facades to manipulate their appearances to the various
circles of friends, acquaintances, and others. As Grimes puts it, musicians were
adept at "juggling multiple faces" (I really like this way of phrasing it!).

- Many of Grimes' subjects felt as though they were often misunderstood or

perceived in a negative light, sometimes due to shyness. Other reasons for
feeling misunderstood stemmed from a preference for solitude and an
accompanying belief that their perceptions of appropriate social exchange with
certain friends is dissonant from the expectations of these friends. In other
words, friends of introverted musicians believed that they are closer and expect
greater interpersonal exchange than the musicians were willing to concede or
deem appropriate.

- All musicians reported a reduced need to be around many others in purely

social situations, indicating anxiety and/or a lack of pleasure in collecting more
than a few trusted friends.

- All were happy to interact with vast numbers of people at signings, 'meets and
greets' and other public events for publicity. Some musicians reported this being
easier than small talk.

- All musicians reported introverted tendencies as compensatory mechanisms to

experience 'balance' given their need to act extroverted and to interact in
situations involving high social stimulation.

- Subjects were in agreement that relating through art allowed them to 'bridge
the gap' between their inner world and their outer world, and to be able to
constructively enjoy their creativity without the pressures of emergent anxiety or
a desire to withdraw.

Openness / Sensitivity

The musicians in Grimes' sample reported being in the zone onstage, and
being able to "tune out" external stimuli unrelated to the task.

-At the same time, Grimes found a lot of the musicians reported a heightened
sensitivity to their surroundings and their experience of sound, lighting, scents,
etc. Some of the musicians she interviewed even reported finding the scent of
food "disturbing" when they weren't hungry.

- All of the musicians reported some degree of unusual perceptions, especially

relating to high sensory sensitivity.

- All subjects described music as a means of self-expression, relating to others,

and finding fulfillment. Subjects reported that listening to or creating music
allowed them to recharge when overstimulated.
- Subjects who were principal writers describe "giving in" to the creative process
in order to fully achieve flow.

- Musicians reported that any amount of inhibition hindered creative production.

Apparently, this was a conscious decision: artists explained how they learned to
work with the process so that they did not unintentionally inhibit their creativity
by blocking their own flow.

- Many of Grimes' subjects showed an appreciation of fantasy; daydreaming

was commonly reported.

- Drummers reported less abnormal perceptual experiences, lower levels of

sensitivity, and lower anxiety than the rest of the instrumentalists.

Those writing melodic aspects reported more abnormal sensory experiences, a

greater sense of feeling overwhelmed, greater sensitivity, higher anxiety,
emotional fluctuation, and pronounced attention to organization, rigid practices,
beliefs, and adherence to habits and schedules. When these qualities were
most pronounced, they appeared to be associated with the most
productive periods of creative writing. Folks who did music composition reported
that when they feel overwhelmed, they withdraw and write, an experience
described as both cathartic and impossible without the abnormal feelings and/or
perceptions.

Grimes concludes that it is her hope that the stereotyping about introversion will
cease to pervade introversion literature without unbiased support for those
claims.

So that's heavy metal rockers. What about stand-up comedians, another group
of creative performers that often seem quite Extraverted onstage?

Psychologists Gil Greengross and Geoffrey Miller compared the personality

traits of 31 professional stand-up comedians and 9 amateur comedians against
the personality traits of 10 humorwriters and 400 college students (Personality
and Individual Differences, 47, 79-83). They found that the comedians (both
professional and amateur) scored on average the lowest in self-reported
extroversion, even lower than comedy writers. According to the researchers,

"The public perceives comedians as ostentatious and flashy. Their persona on

stage is often mistakenly seen interchangeably with their real personality, and
the jokes they tell about their lives are considered by many to have a grain of
truth in them. However, the results of this study suggest that the opposite is
true. Perhaps comedians use their performance to disguise who they are in
their daily life. Comedians may portray someone they want to be, or perhaps
their act is a way to defy the constraints imposed on their everyday events and
interactions with others."
While most of the results I presented in this article came from self-report, I think
the evidence is suggestive that for a large majority of performers, in some of the
most extraverted forms of performance, there is this great ability to juggle
multiple faces and a need for downtime and reflection. Coming into psychology
from a musical background, I can certainly identify with the
unique cognitiveexperiences of the performer/artist. Also, the more research I
read in the literature and conduct with colleagues, the more I am realizing just
how intertwined and prevalent sensitivity, openness to experience, flow,
abnormal perceptual experiences, and Extraversion/Introversion contradictions
really are in creative people, especially artists (see Schizotypy, Flow, and the
Artist's Experience). Hopefully by combining methods, such as self-reported
experiences, peer reports, and more objective tests, we can shed more light on
the many complexities and seeming contradictions found in creative people of
many different flavors, and by so doing counter common black-and-white
stereotypes about people in general.

https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201008/after-the-show-
the-many-faces-the-performer