Yes, it was a real shock to wake up this morning (26 June) and hear the news that the King of Pop, Michael Jackson was dead.
He may have been plagued by controversial headlines and ill health in his final years, but it was the 1980's that saw him at his absolute peak, with both the Thriller and Bad albums becoming an incredible World-wide success.
Michael Jackson started in the music business at the age of 11. This was, of course, with his brothers as a member of the Jackson 5. In the early 1980s, he defined the art form of music video with such ground-breaking videos as "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and the epic "Thriller." Jackson's sound, style and dance moves inspired subsequent generations of pop, soul, R&B and hip-hop artists.
After its release in 1982, the Thriller album became the biggest-selling album of all time. Nearly every track became a single, but my personal favourites are "Billie Jean" and the title track "Thriller".
Michael donated and raised millions of dollars for beneficial causes through his foundation, charity singles and support of 39 charities.
We all have memories of what we were doing when Thriller was released, but I have a weird memory of camping with a friend in 1984 and playing the tape of "Thriller" (which I borrowed off another friend who had also lent us the tent!) just before 12.00am. My friend asked me what the time was and I had wound the tape to the part where Michael sings "It's close to Midnight, and there's something evil lurking in the dark"! We were sad in those days, but what happy memories!
Sadly, as youtube have taken off so many music videos for the UK market, the original video for "Thriller" has been taken off this page. However, the good news is that you can now see a live version and a tribute version.
R.I.P. Michael Joseph Jackson
(August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)
- 1972: Got to Be There
- 1972: Ben
- 1973: Music & Me
- 1975: Forever, Michael
- 1979: Off the Wall
- 1982: Thriller
- 1987: Bad
- 1991: Dangerous
- 1995: HIStory
- 2001: Invincible
Bad (Special Edition) MP3 Album
Michael Jackson Performing Thriller Live in 1987
Michael Jackson - Thriller Video
