Happy Birthday to Michael Jackson
Today would have been Michael Jackson’s 55th birthday. Though the King of Pop died four years ago at the age of 50 – Twitter was full of birthday greetings and retrospectives of the late singer.
Also – producer Timbaland hinted at a new project that could include Jackson’s vocals. In a teaser initially posted on YouTube’s Revolt TV channel, Timbaland talked about being approached by Epic Records executive L.A. Reid about a project that “would be like two kings working together.” Timbaland never mentions Jackson’s name, but the singer’s image appears throughout the clip, which has appeared in several third-party versions since the original was removed from YouTube.
Michael Jackson.
Michael Jackson is the Body Electric.
At Capital Centre last night, he proved so interesting to watch that he could have sounded like Tiny Tim and nobody would have complained.Well, almost nobody, and since he sounded just like Michael Jackson, it all worked out in the end.
For all the good singing – and there was plenty of that – it always seems to come back to movement and emotion with Jackson. He is a dancer beyond compare, the embodiment of the perpetual motion principle, seemingly boneless, with lubricating oil in his veins. This is a man with more moves in a night than Nationwide has in a year. You could hate him, but you couldn’t take your eyes off him.
Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Ind., on August 29, 1958. If he were still alive today, the “King of Pop” would be celebrating his 55th birthday. Knowing Michael – he would be throwing some lavish party a la Neverland Ranch or having a gathering of his A-list friends, including Diana Ross, Janet Jackson, Justin Timberlake or even Cher.
The Jackson 5′s first four singles – “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There” – reached the top of the charts. Jackson is just short of 10 years old at the time. The group – Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael – was formed in 1964, and it’s been estimated that they sold nearly 100 million records worldwide.
Jackson gets to work with lifelong friend Diana Ross filming 1978′s “The Wiz,” an urban take on “The Wizard of Oz.” In the film, Jackson takes on the role of the Scarecrow as Dorothy tries to get back to her life as a Harlem schoolteacher. On set, he meets Quincy Jones, who produces Jackson’s first adult solo album “Off The Wall.” It sold almost 20 million copies with hits like “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough.” A year later, Jackson won his first Grammy for Best R&B Male Vocal Performance.