Think and Create: Michael Jackson: What You Didn't Know About Him

Saturday, June 27, 2009

Michael Jackson: What You Didn't Know About Him

The man thrilled the whole world. It didn't matter if you were black, white, pink or purple - he charmed us all. Here are some things to remember him by. And the conspiracy…

Michael Jackson's Number 1 Hit Singles

1. I Want You Back : 1970

2. ABC : 1970

3. The Love You Save : 1970

4. I'll Be There : 1970

5. Ben : 1972

6. Don't Stop Till You Get Enough : 1979

7. Rock With You : 1979

8. Say Say Say : 1983

9. Billie Jean : 1983

10. Beat It : 1983

11. Thriller : 1984

12. I Just Cant Stop Loving You : 1986

13. The Way You Make Me Feel : 1987

14. Bad : 1987

15. Man In The Mirror : 1988

16. Dirty Diana : 1988

17. Black or White: 1991

Thriller was MJ's best selling album of all time, an estimated of 60 - 65 million copies were sold world wide and it is ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazines 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

What you might have not know is that BAD is the second biggest selling album of all time. It was the only album in history to have 5 number one hit singles and it was the number one in 25 countries, including Norway, Portugal, Greece and New Zealand. An estimated of 4 million people saw the BAD tour (see crowd below at Liverpool concert).

Michael Jackson co-wrote We Are the World which became the number best selling single of all time.

Michael Jackson grew up with eight brothers and sisters. He is the third youngest (then comes Randy and Janet). As a kid, Michael shared a triple bunk bed with his four older brothers. Tito and Jermaine were on top, Michael and Marlon were in the middle, and Jackie (the oldest) was on the bottom.

Also, when he was young, he liked to hide spiders in his sister La Toya’s bed.

Did you know that the Caribbean island of Saint Vincent issued Michael Jackson postage stamps?

Michael was also a serious reader. When he was a teenager, some of his favourite books were Rip Van Winkle by Washington Irving, Jonathan Livingston Seagull by Richard Bach, and The Old Man and the Sea by Earnest Hemingway. “If you cant afford to travel,” Michael said, ”you can travel mentally through books.”

Michael also likes to draw. Some of his artwork appeared on the liner sleeves of Thriller. HIs drawing of Mickey Mouse is included in a book called the The Art of Mickey Mouse.

The first single Michael Jackson ever bought was “Mickey’s Monkey” by Smokey Robinson and the Miracles.

When Michael first began performing with his brothers, he earned USD$20 a week, which he usually spent buying candy for neighborhood kids.

Michael’s hit ballad, Ben, was about a rat. Michael now owns a boa constrictor named Muscles which eats one live rat a week. Sorry Ben!

Michael’s Neverland Valley in California totals 2700 acres – more than four square miles.

Some of the best rides on Michael’s private amusement park are a carousel, a Ferris wheel and a roller coaster.

Michael rides a golf cart around his property. He also own a Ford Bronco and a Rolls Royce limousine.

Michael was 11 years old when he first sang on television with the Jackson 5 – for the 1969 Miss Black America Beauty Pageant. This was the same year Michael had his first number one record with the Jackson 5, “I Want You Back.”

Michael was a big fan of The Three Stooges. He once wrote an introduction for a book about Jerome Howard, who played Curly.

Michael once said his voice on the early Jackson 5 songs sounded like "Minnie Mouse.”

Michael wrote the song “The Girl is Mine” with Paul McCartney while watching cartoons.

Michael’s favourite Disneyland ride is Pirates of the Caribbean. When he lived with this parents, Michael built a replica of Main Street. That estate also included a soda fountain and a 6-foot exhibit of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.

Michael Jackson has two stars on Hollywood Walk of Fame. One for the Jackson 5 and one for him, which is located directly in front of the landmark Mann’s Chinese Theather.

Michael Jackson acted in two movies – one as a scarecrow in The Wiz (a version of The Wizard of Oz), and as Captain EO in Disneyland’s 3D movie. He also guest starred on the TV series, “Welcome Back, Kotter.”

Michael’s concert tour for his last album, Dangerous, was probably the biggest stage show ever – it required 51 large trucks just to haul all the stuff around.