Black Power House Went OFF. The THRILLER Climaxed in TRAGEDY as It Is Load Shedding Worldwide
Troubled Galaxy Destroyed Dreams, Chapter 268
Palash Biswas
One of our own Generation, King of Black Music Pop Star Michael JACKSON is no more!
Tribute to the American Star who Broke the Cultural Barrier of APARTHEID Manusmriti Mind Set long before OBAMANIA took over United States of America and the Following Change. Md. ALI and Michael Jackson made the White Dominated World to recognise the Capacity and talent of Black people. Dreams of Martin Luther King and our fore fathers came TRUE just because of such DYNAMITES.It is irrelevant that Michael had a sustained History of Controversies, Marriage Break Ups and UNWELLNES.
He had been an AMAZING Dancer, Amazing Performer and Amazing Entertainer from the age of FIVE. He died at 50 but he RULED the POP Stage for 45 years at a RUN. So called CLASSICAL Music or Mainstream Music could not underplay his contributions despite his doctored face and Identity and COLOR! We salute to the BLACK Revolt and reject the theme song that he merely represented the MTV Generation. He inspired us, the Black Untouchables Worldwide who feel proud to aboriginal indigenous beats, rhythm, steps, energy and impulses.
Michael Jackson represents our Magic realism! The all round ENTERTAINER represented NEGROID Population of this GREAT Good earth with the ENERGY,INSPIRATION and CULTURAL roots of Aboriginal Indigenous Courage!
He was one amongst us who rose above all challenges whatsoever. He had the Natural Instinct of Celebration the life more than any one else!
We watched his BROTHER Jermaine LIVE in BIG Brother with our own BOLLYWOOD Queen Shilpa Shetty and enjoyed the opportunity to share and feel the Warmth and Intensity of the BLACK Family!
We shared Michael`s THRILLER with Pleasure!
Must we share the SORROW! The MOURNING!
For me, it is more STUNNING, More Unrepairable, More Shocking than the NEWS BREAK about the DEMISE of any WORLD LEADER, for us, the worldwide Black Untouchables!
We must remember Michael Jackson NEVER NEVER lost the Power and ENERGY Level of FOLK, FOLKLORE despite being POST Modern in Technique and SHOWBIZ!
For me, Michael Jackson is more than an AMERICAN ICON as he NEVER represented the Imperialist AMERICANISM!
We lost the RHYTHM and forgot the STEPS so suddenly!
Shyamanuja Das
Friday, June 26, 2009
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NEW DELHI, INDIA: The appointment of Nandan Nilekani, the co-chairman of Infosys, as the chairperson of the Unique Identification Authority of India is significant, not only because it marks a departure from the traditional government way of working of looking at bureaucrats and ex-bureaucrats to head projects of national importance, but also because it shows that the government has actually put out effort to hunt the right person for the job.
Apart from being a globally respected business leader and visionary, Nilekani is known to be passionate about the UID concept and the need to implement it as soon as possible in India. In fact, in the Dataquest Awards 2007, where he headed the jury that decided the Dataquest IT Person of the year, his entire speech was on the need to implement unique ID system for India.
Once the project is rolled out, each Indian citizen will have one unique identification number that will identify him/her. This will not just help the government track down individuals as is highlighted by the media, but will make life far easier for citizens as they will not have to submit so many documents each time they want to avail a new service private or government.
This will be the equivalent of the social security number in the US. Interestingly, many of the ideas like pension and social security would also be easier to roll out. If used properly, this will also channelize the government subsidies to the right recipients.
It may be recalled that an Empowered Group of Ministers (EGOM) headed by the then External Affairs Minister, Pranab Mukherji, had approved the establishment of a Unique Identity Authority for all residents of the country in November 2008. The UID Authority would be under the Planning Commission. The Home Minister and ministers for IT and Communications, Law and Panchayati Raj were members of the EGOM while the Deputy Chairman, Planning Commission, was a standing invitee. The proposed system envisages collaboration among several government agencies backed by intensive use of information technology.
"There has been a long-felt need in the country for a system of unique identification of every individual for a variety of purposes such as better targeting of government's development schemes, regulatory purposes (including taxation and licensing), security purposes, banking and financial sector activities, etc. In the absence of such a nationwide system, each sector of the economy or department/ agency of the government adopts its own system of identification such as PAN card, ration card, Electoral Photo Identity Card, credit cards, etc," the government had said in a press note while announcing the project in November.
"Such specific purpose identities were often found to have inherent limitations in accuracy and currency levels on account of low frequency of usage. Moreover, the multiplicity of such systems renders it impossible to correlate information across sectors and even across institutions within the same sector for providing better services to people. Similarly, different agencies of government are unable to correlate their data relating to any particular individual," it added.
At that time, the UPA government had said that unique identity (UID) number of each individual would remain a permanent identifier right from birth to death of the individual. It would obviate the need for a person to produce multiple documentary proofs of his identity for availing of any government service, or private services like opening of a bank account, etc.
This would end needless harassment that people face for availing of basic government services like issuance of passports, driving licences, Electoral Identity Cards, etc.
The government had said that it would extensively use technology something that Nilekani understands thoroughly to facilitate easy verification of a person's identity and enable a single communication to trigger address changes in all relevant agencies records.
It would also serve as the basis for many e-governance services incorporating online verification of a person's identity. UID would enable the government to ensure that benefits under various welfare programmes reach the intended beneficiaries, prevent cornering of benefits by a few people and minimize frauds. It would enable financial institutions to exchange information regarding defaulters and encourage responsible borrower behaviour.
The scheme envisages that at the inception, the UID number will be assigned to all voters by building on current electoral roll data and progressively adding other persons including persons below 18 years of age who are not a part of the voters list in the country. Over a period of time, through fail safe procedures backed by intensive use of technology and with the help of multiple government agencies, the currency and comprehensiveness of the database will be perfected.
The scheme is designed to leverage intensive usage of the UID for multiple purposes to provide an efficient and convenient mechanism to update information. Photographs and biometric data will be added progressively to make the identification foolproof. Easy registration and information change procedures are envisaged for the benefit of the people.
The UID Authority, the government had said at that time, will be responsible for creating and maintaining the core database and to lay down all necessary procedures for issuance and usage of UID including arrangements for collection, validation and authentication of information, proper security of data, rules for sharing and access to information, safeguards to ensure adequate protection of privacy and all aspects related to all of these issues.
Any agency, public or private, which deals with individuals and incorporates the UID number of each such individual in its databases, will be able to share information with other agencies which do likewise. The government had said that the UID would become available to an initial set of users by early 2010.
The BJP, in its IT vision document, also promised to set up a unique ID system, calling it Multipurpose National Identity Card (MNIC). It had said that, if it came to power, it would amend the Citizenship Act, 1955, to combine the offices of the Registrar General of the Census of India and that of the UIAI to set up a Citizenship Regulatory Authority of India (CRAI).
The CRAI would be responsible for maintaining a National Register of Citizenship (NRC), and keeping it current up to the minute. Based on the NRC, CRAI would issue each citizen an MNIC with a unique Citizen Identification Number (CIN).
BJP had also promised that CRAI would maintain a 24x7 online presence and enable government, law enforcement and authorized private institutions to let their computer systems "look up" the MNIC database in real time.
©CyberMedia News
http://www.ciol.com/News/News-Reports/What-exactly-is-the-Unique-ID-project/26609121548/0/
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson, who has died aged 50, was a precociously talented performer and songwriter whose childhood was blighted by the pressures of stardom, and who was in later life better known for his bizarre behaviour and allegations of sexual abuse against children
Published: 2:12AM BST 26 Jun 2009
For legions of fans around the world, such grave suspicions meant little. Jackson styled himself "The King of Pop" and for them he was just that. An unrivalled catalogue of dancefloor-filling hits from the joyous ABC to the infectiously basslined Beat It and the pastiche-horror anthem Thriller - seems certain to ensure that his musical legacy survives and thrives well beyond the memory of the legal proceedings that tainted his reputation and his life during its last years.
That his recorded and onstage achievements have been able to overwhelm the seriousness of the charges laid against him is possibly the greatest testament to his talent.
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1972: Michael Jackson at age 13, the youngest member of the singing group Jackson Five, sings in his home in Encino, California Photo: AP
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1982: Thriller Photo: Sportsphoto Ltd./Allstar
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Brunei: Michael Jackson performs to in what was believed to be the first non-paying audience at Jurundong Park in Bandar Seri Begawan, July 16 1996 Photo: REUTERS
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Michael Jackson performs during his 'Dangerous' concert in National Stadium, Singapore on Sunday, August 29, 1993. Photo: AP/PA Photos
Michael Jackson
Smooth Criminal Photo: Channel 5 Television
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Michael Jackson performing on stage during his concert at Vienna's Ernst-Happel stadium as part of the HIStory tour in Europe. Photo: EPA
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson on stage at the Don Valley Stadium, Sheffield Photo: PA
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson performs a song as a Swiss flag waves behind him, during his History Tour concert in front of 35,000 fans, at the Olympic Stadium, in Lausanne, Switzerland, on Friday, June 20, 1997 Photo: AP
Michael Jackson
2007: Michael Jackson poses on the red carpet during the RainbowPUSH Coalition Los Angeles 10th annual awards in Los Angeles. Photo: AP
For legions of fans around the world, such grave suspicions meant little. Jackson styled himself "The King of Pop" and for them he was just that. An unrivalled catalogue of dancefloor-filling hits from the joyous ABC to the infectiously basslined Beat It and the pastiche-horror anthem Thriller - seems certain to ensure that his musical legacy survives and thrives well beyond the memory of the legal proceedings that tainted his reputation and his life during its last years.
That his recorded and onstage achievements have been able to overwhelm the seriousness of the charges laid against him is possibly the greatest testament to his talent.
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Michael Jackson dies
Few could generate the hysteria that Jackson could. Whether propelled into a stadium arena from a trapdoor or exiting it via jetpack, screams of adulation sometimes lasting minutes were guaranteed. And that was without his even opening his mouth, or gyrating the hips and ankles that could propel him backwards (while apparently walking forwards) in a dance move with which he will ever be associated: The Moonwalk.
When the vocals did come, however, they hinted at the bizarre personal life that lay behind Jackson's musical career. Neither manly bass, hot funk nor steamy soul, his timbre was set apart from the vocal traditions of America's greatest black singers from Marvin Gaye to James Brown. His boyhood treble endured, it seemed, well into adulthood. For much of his career that did not matter. The falsetto cries that greeted each new crotch-grabbing dance move seemingly referred to the classic eroticism that infused so much of that black music.
But as the years passed, the enduringly whispery, high-pitched voice carried with it the sombre suggestion that Jackson had failed to move on from his childhood years and, indeed, was determined to remained rooted in a reassuringly pre-pubescent world. Whatever his musical reputation, it was clear that he sought the company of children in ways that most adults found, at best, distasteful and ill-advised, and at worst illegal and depraved.
Michael Jackson was born on August 29 1958 at Gary, Indiana. His father Joseph, a steelworker, had pursued a less than brilliant career as a musician and was determined that his children would succeed where he had failed. The young Michael showed amazing early promise, and from the age of four he would stand in front of his four older brothers as the lead singer of the family group, The Jackson 5.
After winning talent contests and becoming local celebrities, they were discovered by Gladys Knight, and were signed to Berry Gordy's Motown label. The subsequent move to Los Angeles meant separation from Jackson's beloved mother Katherine, a devout Jehovah's Witness, but Michael soon found a surrogate mother in Motown's biggest act, Diana Ross.
After a year of recording and grooming for stardom, The Jackson 5 released their first single, I Want You Back, in November 1969, which became a US chart-topper. Over the next seven years, The Jackson 5 released 13 albums and became huge stars, even having a cartoon series based on them. "Baby" Michael, the focal point of the band, endured a whirlwind of recording, touring, television appearances, and media attention.
The demands on him were not eased by Joseph, who took his role as manager to the band more seriously than that of father. He demanded a merciless work ethic, often resorting to taunts and even physical abuse to get the best out of his sons. Years later, Jackson was still tormented by the fact that Joseph "never told me he loved me". Always softly spoken, polite and reserved, he withdrew further into himself, only really coming to life when performing. Work was always Jackson's escape, and in this time he also released several solo albums and started writing his own songs.
In 1976, the family split with Motown and signed to Epic records under the name The Jacksons. After two lacklustre albums, it seemed as if their reign of success was over, but the brothers persuaded Epic to give them greater artistic control, and they made a triumphant return with the disco-inflected Destiny (1978).
The following year, as part of his bid to escape the confining clutches of his family, Jackson, now 21, moved to New York to appear as the scarecrow in The Wiz, an all-black film version of The Wizard of Oz, starring Diana Ross. He formed a bond with the film's musical director, Quincy Jones, and later that year, the pair worked together on Jackson's hugely successful Off The Wall (1979). It was on this album that Jackson's adult solo sound came to fruition, and he began to firmly eclipse his work with the Jacksons. He also found his form as a songwriter with the hit single Don't Stop (Til You get Enough). After another tour and album with his brothers, Jackson started work on what was to become Thriller (1982).
The album spent 37 weeks at the top of the US charts, spawned four US number one singles including the self-penned Billy Jean, Gotta Be Startin' Somethin', and Beat It and went on to sell 46 million copies, making it the most successful album of all time. The video for the album's title song, directed by film director Jon Landis, was half an hour long and cost 10 million dollars. Infused, like many of his greatest tracks, with a simple but driving bassline, its also featured a Hammer House of Horror-style voice-over from Vincent Price. It was the dance routines, however, expertly choreographed and performed, that set Jackson apart from other performers. Dressed and made up as zombies, they shuffled, stamped, clapped, and boogied, as the undead never had before. At the head of the file was Jackson himself, transformed in the song from dream date to nightmare stalker, enthralling viewers around the world.
Thriller's enormous success made Jackson an international media icon, his single sequinned glove, his unlaced sneakers, and his Moonwalk instantly recognisable the world over. But it also made him the target of unwanted attention.
He then bought a Californian ranch. Having always identified strongly with Peter Pan, he called his new home Neverland. Here he started building up his collections of amusement park rides, mannequins, and animals (among them the infamous Bubbles, the chimpanzee). Jackson also embarked on a course of plastic surgery. Nicknamed "Big nose" by his brothers as a child, and repeatedly described as "ugly" by his father, he had never been happy with his appearance.
His increasingly strange transformation prompted a media frenzy, with allegations that he was trying to look like his friend Elizabeth Taylor (among others). There was also his ever-whiter skin, a result, said his publicists, of the skirt condition vitiligo, but deemed by critics as a deliberate effort to escape his blackness.
The more famous Jackson got, the more he retreated into his own world, and the more rumours of his increasingly odd behaviour titillated the public. "Wacko Jacko", as he was now called in the British tabloids, allegedly had an eating disorder, slept in an oxygen tent, tried to buy the remains of the Elephant Man, and wore a surgical mask on his rare public outings.
In 1987, Jackson released Bad, which once again was a huge worldwide hit, but inevitably failed to match the success of Thriller despite Jackson's massive and gruelling world tour. For the first time, his music took second place to his lifestyle in the public's attentions. Dangerous (1991) was not exceptional, and it seemed that Jackson's detachment from reality meant that he was no longer in tune with his audience. But the gradual decline in record sales was as nothing compared to the scandal which broke in 1993, from which his career was never to fully recover.
Jackson, who had been denied a childhood, had always felt a special affinity for children. Throughout his adult life he raised millions of dollars for children's charities. But his affection for children did not stop there. He clearly felt he could trust them, preferred their company to that of adults, and often invited them to stay at Neverland.
There had always been doubts about Jackson's sexuality; a claimed teenage liaison with Diana Ross was hotly denied by her, a brief relationship with Tatum O'Neal following a first date at Hugh Hefner's Playboy Mansion came to nothing. Over the years, Jackson's image was repeatedly tarnished by rumours.
The father of Jordan Chandler, one of Jackson's young "friends", took accusations of molestation to the police. They were unable to press charges after the 13-year-old boy declined to testify, having received an undisclosed settlement (believed to be $26 million) from Jackson.
This payment damned Jackson as guilty in the eyes of many, despite his emphatic denials. Pepsi dropped his sponsorship deal, and the following year he was admitted to a British drug rehabilitation clinic for treatment for addiction to the painkillers morphine and demerol.
While Jackson's considerable number of diehard fans around the world refused to believe the worst of their idol, for the majority of people Jackson became at best a joke, and at worst a criminal using his wealth to escape justice. Many of Jackson's subsequent acts seemed like stunningly ill-advised and cynical attempts to rehabilitate his image.
Neither of his two marriages, firstly to Elvis Presley's daughter, Lisa-Marie in 1994, and secondly to his dermatologist's assistant Debbie Rowe in 1996, lasted more than two years. The fact that he had two children with Rowe (allegedly by artificial insemination) Prince Michael, born in 1997, and Paris Michael, born in 1998 made the liaison seem only more grotesque.
Rowe later complained to a newspaper that she had hardly seen her children since their birth. According to the tabloids, they were brought up in a fittingly freakish manner, with six nannies and six nurses, and toys and cutlery thrown out after a single use.
Jackson's next three albums, HIStory, Past Present and Future Part 1 (1995), Blood On the Dancefloor (1997), and, in 2001, Invincible (said to be the most expensive ever recorded), all performed underwhelmingly, despite enormous promotional budgets. The HIStory album generated a hit single with Scream, although a large part of its appeal was due to the collaboration of his sister Janet, who had begun to eclipse him in popularity.
For the British public, Jackson's image as a slightly sinister figure of fun was cemented by his friendship with the celebrity spoon-bender Uri Geller (at whose wedding he was best man), and Harrods owner Mohamed Al Fayed, whom he accompanied to a Fulham versus Wigan football game at which the away supporters chanted "I'm Forever Blowing Bubbles".
In March 2001, Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He followed this with a concert at Madison Square Gardens to celebrate his 30th anniversary in showbusiness. Despite the roster of celebrity guests such as Britney Spears and Marlon Brando, the concert received terrible reviews for its expensive tickets, poor organisation and general self-indulgence.
In 1985 Jackson had been a linchpin of the all-star USA for Africa charity recording, We Are the World. It was indicative of how his star had waned that, in October 2001, he was prevented from appearing on A Tribute To Heroes, the televised fund-raiser for victims of the September 11 attacks. The self-styled "King of Pop" was no more.
For many, Jackson calling for a "greater understanding between children and adults" in a lecture at the Oxford Union to publicise his Heal The Kids "initiative" was deeply offensive, as was his being made UN Special Ambassador for Children in 2001. But there seems little doubt that Jackson's love of children, however misguided, was genuine. In 1999 he told a journalist: "If it wasn't for the children I'd throw in the towel." Michael Jackson was as much a victim as he was an offender, a victim of his upbringing, and of the modern obsession with celebrity.
In 2003 Jackson was charged with seven counts of sexually abusing a another young boy, Gavin Anzio, whom he had entertained at "sleepovers" at Neverland. When the case came to court two years later Jackson claimed that he and Gavin had merely watched television together in bed, a claim supported by his friend Elizabeth Taylor. He spent much of the trial in a wheelchair, explaining that he was in serious pain owing to a broken vertebra.
The trial was the centre of an extraordinary media circus reminiscent of the OJ Simpson case, and lasted five months, ending in the singer's acquittal on all counts. But the sordid details that had emerged during the proceedings had done nothing for his reputation, and the verdict could hardly be deemed a triumph. Jackson remained beleaguered, and he went to live in Bahrain at the invitation of Sheikh Abdullah. It was now rumoured that Jackson was in severe financial difficulties: he was said to have borrowed more than $250 million against his music publishing interests; Neverland was closed down to save money; he became bogged down in protracted lawsuits.
Martin Bashir's television documentary about Jackson in 2003 revealed that the singer had blown $6 million in a single store; he had also paid his second wife $ 6.5 million between 1996 to 1999 for her to renounce her conjugal rights to their two children; and it was estimated that he had managed to spend around $1 billion in earnings and borrowed money in 20 years.
In recent months there had been much fanfare about a projected comeback tour. The singer had been due to launch a series of concerts in London on July 13 which would continue until March next year. The dates had sold out three months ago within five hours of the tickets going on sale. According to the promoters of the shows, AEG Live, Jackson had been subjected to, and passed, an intensive medical examination before the tour was announced.
He made a brief, and typically mysterious, appearance at the O2 to publicise the events, punching the air and announcing "This is it!" in a voice a full octave lower than his customary girlish whisper; some observers even began to wonder whether they were not being addressed by a lookalike.
After Britain, the tour was due to take in Europe and the Far East before concluding in the United States in 2011.
Jackson often said he felt like "the loneliest person in the world". In 1982 he narrated the storybook LP of ET: The Extra-Terrestrial, another outsider from children's fiction he identified with. He said: "ET's story is the story of my life in so many ways." Unlike ET, Jackson never found a home except on stage, which was, he said in 1979, "where I'm supposed to be, where God meant me to be".
Jackson is survived by his two children.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/celebrity-obituaries/5643156/Michael-Jackson.html
Breaking News
King Of Pop Michael Jackson Is Dead At 50
Breaking News
Michael Jackson
Showbiz sensation Michael Jackson is pronounced dead after suffering a suspected heart attack at home in Los Angeles.
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Singer Michael Jackson dies at 50
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson had been due to play 50 concert dates in the UK this summer
Pop star Michael Jackson has died in Los Angeles, aged 50.
Paramedics were called to the singer's Beverly Hills home at about midday on Thursday after he stopped breathing.
He was pronounced dead two hours later at the UCLA medical centre. Jackson's brother, Jermaine, said he was believed to have suffered a cardiac arrest.
Jackson, who had a history of health problems, had been due to stage a series of comeback concerts in the UK, beginning on 13 July.
Speaking on behalf of the Jackson family, Jermaine said doctors had tried to resuscitate the star for more than an hour without success.
Jermaine Jackson on his brother's sudden death
He added: "The family request that the media please respect our privacy during this tough time."
"And Allah be with you Michael always. I love you."
TV footage showed the star's body flown from UCLA to the LA County Coroner's office where a post-mortem is expected to take place on Friday.
Concerns were raised last month when four of Jackson's planned comeback concerts were postponed, but organisers insisted the dates had been moved due to the complexity of staging the show.
A spokeswoman for The Outside Organisation, which was organising the publicity for the shows, said she had no comment at this time.
Broadcaster Paul Gambaccini said: "I always doubted that he would have been able to go through that schedule, those concerts. It seemed to be too much of a demand on the unhealthy body of a 50 year old.
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"I'm wondering that, as we find out details of his death, if perhaps the stress of preparing for those dates was a factor in his collapse.
"It was wishful thinking that at this stage of his life he could be Michael Jackson again."
Uri Geller, a close friend of the star, told BBC News it was "very, very sad".
Speaking outside New York's historic Apollo theatre, civil rights activist Rev Al Sharpton paid tribute to his friend.
"I knew him 35 years. When he had problems he would call me," he said.
"I feel like he was not treated fairly. I hope history will be more kind to him than some of the contemporary media."
Melanie Bromley, west coast bureau chief of Us Weekly magazine, told the BBC the scene in Los Angeles was one of "pandemonium".
"At the moment there is a period of disbelief. He was buying a home in the Holmby Hills area of Los Angeles and the scene outside the house is one of fans, reporters and TV cameras - it's absolute craziness.
"I feel this is the biggest celebrity story in a long time and has the potential to be the Princess Diana of popular culture."
Musical icon
Tributes from the world of music and film have already flooded in from celebrities including Madonna, Arnold Schwarzenegger and ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley.
Michael Jackson in 1972
Jackson's contribution to music
Large numbers of fans have also gathered outside Jackson's home and at the UCLA medical centre with lit candles to mourn the star while playing his greatest hits. Facebook groups have also been set up for fans to share their memories.
The singer's albums are occupying the top 15 slots of online music retailer Amazon's current best-seller chart, led by his 1982 smash hit Thriller.
Paramedics were called to the singer's house in Bel Air at 1221 (1921GMT) following an emergency phone call.
They performed CPR on Jackson and rushed him to the UCLA medical centre.
A spokesman for the Los Angeles Police Department said the robbery and homicide team was investigating Jackson's death because of its "high profile", but there was no suggestion of foul play.
Jackson began his career as a child in family group The Jackson 5.
MICHAEL JACKSON 1958-2009
Full name: Michael Joseph Jackson
Born: August 29, 1958, Gary, Indiana, US
Also known as: The King of Pop, Wacko Jacko
Biggest hits: I Want You Back, Don't Stop Til You Get Enough, Billie Jean, Bad, Black or White, Earth Song
Obituary: Remarkable talent
Life in pictures
Tributes paid to Michael Jackson
He then went on to achieve global fame as a solo artist with smash hits such as Billie Jean and Bad.
Thriller, released in 1982, is the biggest-selling album of all time, shifting 65m copies, according to the Guinness Book of World Records.
He scored seven UK number ones as a solo artist and won a total of 13 Grammy awards.
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced Thriller, Bad and Off The Wall.
"He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I've lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."
The singer had been dogged by controversy and money trouble in recent years, becoming a virtual recluse.
Michael Jackson's body is delivered by helicopter for a post mortem report
He was arrested in 2003 on charges of molesting a 14-year-old boy, but was found not guilty following a five-month trial.
The star had three children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson and Prince Michael Jackson II.
He is survived by his mother, Katherine, father, Joseph and eight siblings - including Janet, Randy, Jermaine and La Toya Jackson.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8119993.stm
IN VIDEO
Jermaine Jackson Jermaine Jackson pays tribute to brother
Jackson's body in shroud Jackson's body flown to post mortem
Michael Jackson fans Jackson fans worldwide react to his death
Rev Al Sharpton Sharpton: 'We thought he'd moonwalk again'
Uri Geller Uri Geller: 'My reaction is utter shock'
Berry Gordy Motown founder: 'Jackson was like son'
Michael Jackson Memorable Michael Jackson moments
IN VIDEO
Jermaine Jackson Jermaine Jackson pays tribute to brother
Jackson's body in shroud Jackson's body flown to post mortem
Michael Jackson fans Jackson fans worldwide react to his death
Rev Al Sharpton Sharpton: 'We thought he'd moonwalk again'
Uri Geller Uri Geller: 'My reaction is utter shock'
Berry Gordy Motown founder: 'Jackson was like son'
Michael Jackson Memorable Michael Jackson moments
MICHAEL JACKSON 1958-2009
Michael Jackson Singer Michael Jackson dies at 50
REACTION
'One of the greatest stars'
In pictures: Fans' grief
Fans in shock
Your memories
Jackson's impact on music
Bodyguard's tribute
BACKGROUND
The Jackson 5. Michael Jackson (centre) and his brothers. Photo: 1970 Child star, pop icon, troubled decline - a life in pictures
Why Jackson was the King of Pop
Obituary: Remarkable talent
The songs that defined a star
Career highs and lows
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8119993.stm
The negative influence of the teachings of the Jehovah's Witnesses on Michael and his family have been either downplayed or totally ignored for as long as the Jackson Family has received public attention. For those readers who really want to know what life is like to be reared in the WatchTower Cult, nothing beats real world scenarios, and of real world scenarios, nothing beats actual civil and criminal court cases.
The following website summarizes 900 court cases and lawsuits involving children of Jehovah's Witness Parents. The summaries demonstrate how JW Families rear their children and live life day-to-day. Also included are nearly 400 CRIMINAL cases -- most involving MURDERS:
DIVORCE, BLOOD TRANSFUSIONS, AND OTHER LEGAL ISSUES AFFECTING CHILDREN OF JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES
http://jwdivorces.bravehost.com
Excerpts from LaToya Jackson's own 1991 biography, LATOTA: GROWING UP IN THE JACKSON FAMILY:
" ... neither I nor my siblings ever led a normal existence, not even as small children, years before celebrity transformed our lives. We were a not-so-typical but classic dysfunctional family. Yes, there was love and happiness, but it was poisoned by emotional and physical abuse, duplicity, and denial. ... The proscriptions of my Jehovah's Witness faith, my mother's seeming love and devotion, and my father's inability to express any emotion but anger kept us all entangled in a web of guilt disguised as love, brutality that was called 'discipline,' and blind obedience that felt like loyalty. ... We couldn't identify it, but we all sensed something was wrong in our house. Most of my siblings 'rebelled' by essentially running away from home to teenage marriages. ... I was Mother's best friend, and the quietest, shyest, most obedient child of all. I surprised everyone. I also broke the cardinal rule of a dysfunctional family. I stopped living the lie and playing the destructive game. -- pages 1-2.
"Thinking back over all those years, I realized that Mother was the guiding force behind the cruelty and abuse. This lady who pretended to be so gentle on the surface had in fact caused all the turmoil in our lives. We'd always thought that it was Joseph, but it was her, telling him what to do and how to do it. Like I'd said to her before, she was always throwing the rock and hiding her hand, convincing everyone -- outsiders and my own
siblings -- that she was sweet, kindhearted, and compassionate. Little did they know that the minute they were out of earshot she talked about them very, very viciously. After seeing it so many times, I finally had to face the fact that this was her true personality. -- page 257.
"Michael and I were very active in the Jehovah's Witness faith. ... Five days a week the two of us and Mother studied the Bible at home and attended the Kingdom Hall. ... Every morning Michael and I witnessed, knocking on doors around Los Angeles, spreading the word of Jehovah. ... As my brother's fame grew, he had to don convincing disguises, like a rubber fat suit he bought years later, -- pages 53-4.
"... because we were supposed to associate exclusively with other members, Michael and I made few friends at the private high school ... We did, however, become close with another [Jehovah's] Witness. Darles was my first and only friend outside the family, and I treasured the time we spent together. ... Each day at lunch the three of us studied the Bible together. She also joined us at the Kingdom Hall. During a meeting, Darles bravely challenged one of the elders. ... The elder's reply was typical. He cited the scripture, which supported his position but did not really address Darles's
point. So she wrote a letter ... This outraged the other elders. One day Rebbie's husband, Nathaniel [Brown], also an elder, cornered me. 'LaToya,' he said, 'you're never allowed to speak to Darles again. Ever. ... She's been disfellowshipped.' ... After that neither Michael nor I had anything to do with Darles. We missed her so much and for the first time began to privately reconsider some of the [WatchTower Society's] teachings. We felt that questions should be encouraged, not silenced through threats of disfellowship. -- pages 55-56.
"Mother ... frowned on our socializing with white kids, an attitude I found hypocritical coming from a Christian. -- page 34.
"... both my parents harbor racist attitudes, particularly against Jews, ... 'Wherever you go, whatever you do in this business, you find a Jew,' Mother used to complain bitterly all the time, 'I can't stand it.' ... She'd go on and on. 'They're always on top. Jews are so nosy. They like controlling you. I hate 'em all.' To their faces, however, my mother was as sweet as could be. ... Hearing talk like this turned my stomach, especially when it came from my mother's mouth. How could a religious woman be so hateful? ... The depth of Mother's loathing was expressed in one of her oft-repeated opinions: 'There's one mistake Hitler made in his life -- he didn't kill all those Jews. He left too many dxxx Jews on this earth, and they multiplied,' --pages 132-4.
"On the Victory tour, ... , [Michael] hired someone whose sole task was to locate a Kingdom Hall in each town so that Michael wouldn't miss a single meeting. ... Michael ... won those record-breaking eight honors at the 1984 Grammy Awards. The very next morning one elder issued him an ultimatum that my brother must choose between music and the [Jehovah's Witness] religion. ... Because Michael diligently studied the Bible, he could usually cite chapter and verse supporting his contention that entertaining people was not wrong. 'I'm still living according to the [WatchTower Society's] teachings,' he pointed out, as he'd done so many times before. I still go door to door wherever I am, even if I'm on tour. I can't help it if people hang up my poster on their wall or tear my picture out of a magazine. I don't ask them to idolize me. I only want them to enjoy my music.' ... many Jehovah's Witnesses used to congregate outside the Kingdom Hall hoping to catch a glimpse of Michael Jackson,
knowing full well this kind of adulation was forbidden. Michael did everything humanly possible to demonstrate his dedication to Jehovah. Once when an elder criticized, 'Your movements on stage suggest sex; don't do them anymore,' my brother complied without protest and promptly changed the routine. He also invited an elder on tour to see for himself that he lived in harmony with all the [WatchTower] faith's rules, canvassed door to door, and attended all the meetings. ... One day I walked into Janet's room to find Michael crying his eyes out. 'LaToya, ... I can't talk to you ever again. ... The elders had a big meeting, and they told me never to speak to you because you haven't been coming to the Kingdom Hall. ... they said that if I don't stop talking to you, they'll kick me out of the religion.' ... Michael decided to disobey the elders' edict and after that never attended any more meetings. ... he subsequently severed his ties to the organization through a formal letter. What made this painful episode even more agonizing was that for a long time I believed Michael might be one of the Remnant, the select 144,000. -- pages 196-200.