At 65 Years Old, Michael Jackson Opens Up About Everything

I do indeed and the last days of Michael Jackson goes behind the scenes with the music legend sharing exclusive conversations with Diane Sawyer revealing insights into that perfectionism that drove him to the very top of the music industry and may have proved to be his fatal flaw minutes ago headlines were buzzing with the shocking claim that Michael Jackson believed to be gone has been spotted alive at 65 growing up with his father's strict rules and his mother's kind care Michael's early life was a blend of tough discipline and loving family moments could this tough upbringing

help explain the shocking news that would later emerge about Michael Jackson as we deal with the shocking news of his strange sighting stay with us as we reveal the truth behind this incredible story family hardships and his rise to star Michael Jackson grew up in a very strict household his father Joe was a disciplinarian who often used a belt to maintain order his mother Katherine contrasted this with her kindness and warmth musically gifted and originally dreaming of a country singing career she instead focused on supporting her family through a part-time job at Sears and dedicated

herself to her religious beliefs life at home was a mix of lively moments with his brothers and sisters and the deep sadness of losing his baby brother Brandon one day a mysterious letter arrived at Michael's door it had a warning that could reveal big secrets from his past in 1965 things began to change when Michael became a lead singer in the group alongside his brother Germaine the band now called The Jackson 5 started to to get noticed in local talent shows picture Michael still just a kid singing and dancing to songs like barefooting and my

girl and winning over crowds with his talent this was the moment when music became more than just a hobby it became a serious career path for him but the challenges didn't stop there from 1966 to 1968 The Jackson 5 toured on what was known as the chitlin circuit opening for famous acts like Sam and Dave and Gladis Knight these shows weren't easy and they played in some rough venues but it helped them grow as performers one of their biggest moments came in 1967 when they won an amateur night competition at the famous Apollo Theater in

Harlem the excitement of that Victory opened up more doors for the group and they recorded their first single Big Boy soon after they returned home to Gary Indiana just when things seemed to be improving another Turning Point came in 1968 after signing with steeltown records the group caught the attention of Bobby Taylor from Bobby Taylor and the Vancouver who introduced them to Motown records this was the big break they had been hoping for the whole family moved to Los Angeles knowing they were on the verge of becoming Stars mtown had big plans for them and

Diana Ross was chosen to introduce the Jackson 5 to the world the crowd was immediately drawn to Michael and it was clear that something special was happening shortly after the group started releasing hit songs one after another by January 1970 their song I Want You Back hit number one on the US Billo board Hot 100 soon ABC the love you save and I'll be there also climb to the top making them a huge success as their Fame grew they moved into a large home in enino California in 1971 Michael was not just a group member

he was quickly becoming a cultural icon between 1972 and 1975 he released four solo albums got to be there Ben music and me and forever Michael one of his biggest solo hits Ben was even a song about about a rat but it reached number one and showed just how much people loved him but as his success grew new challenges were around the corner even though Michael was becoming a solo star he stayed loyal to his brothers and continued working with the Jackson 5 they kept creating new music that reached people all over the world and

Michael was always trying new things one of his most famous moments came during a performance of dancing machine on Soul Train where his robotic dance moves stunned the audience and became a cultural hit but the group felt trapped by mtown strict rules and in 1975 they decided to leave the label they signed with Epic Records changed their name to the Jacksons and added their younger brother Randy to the group Germaine however stayed with mtown for his solo career The Jacksons went on world tours and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984 during this time

Michael became the group's main songw writer creating hits like shake your body down to the ground and Can You Feel It in 1977 Michael took a big step and moved to New York City to play the scarecrow in the whiz a film with Diana Ross even though the movie didn't do well at the box office it led to Michael meeting Quincy Jones who would help him create some of his greatest music now that we know his Beginnings let's see how Michael sword to fame from Studio sounds to super stardom while living in New York Michael

became interested in the growing hip-hop culture especially through his time at Studio 54 a famous nightclub this new influence started to show up in his music around this time in 1978 he also had his first nose surgery beginning a long and complicated Journey with changing his appearance then in 1979 Michael released the album off-the-wall which truly marked the moment he transitioned from a Teen Idol to a global Superstar the album mixed pop soul and Funk and included four top 10 hits in the US like Don't Stop Till You Get Enough and rock with you it

went on to sell more than 20 million copies around the world in 1980 Michael won three American Music Awards including favorite soul/ R andb album and even a Grammy for Best male R&B vocal performance for Don't Stop Till You Get Enough but Michael wasn't satisfied yet he wanted more by 1980 he had already secured the highest royalty rate in the music industry earning 37% of the wholesale profits from his albums this move proved just how powerful and determined he was to reach the top yet this was only the start of his journey to take over

the music world but what really made Michael Jackson's Thriller so special in the 1980s wasn't just the music picture Michael in a dazzling jacket and wearing just one Sparkling White Glove this image from his performance at the mtown 25 celebration would become one of the most unforgettable moments in music history and this was just one of the many iconic moments that were still to come between 1981 and 1983 he worked with Freddy Mercury from Queen together they made songs like State of Shock Victory and there must be more to life than this these songs were

supposed to be part of a duet album but things took a strange turn Freddy was shocked when he brought a llama into the studio this along with some disagreements about how they lived their lives delayed there must be more to life than this until 2014 on the other hand State of Shock ended up on the Jackson's Victory album but with Mick Jagger instead of Freddy now let's jump to 1982 a key year in his career he started by working on the audio book for et the Extraterrestrial with the song someone in the dark but the

big moment came with the release of Thriller this album didn't just do well it became the bestselling album of all time with about 70 million copies sold worldwide it stayed on the billboard 200 chart for 37 weeks and in the top 10 for 80 weeks straight it was also the first album to have seven songs in the Billboard Hot 100's top 10 including hits like Billy Jean beat it and wannabe starting something after all this success it made you wonder what could possibly be next another big moment came with his performance on the mowtown 25

show on March 25th 1983 he reunited with his brothers for a live show on NBC which aired on May 16th to 47 million viewers this is where he first did the moonwalk during Billy Jean a move that wowed millions and even earned him his first Emmy nomination at the 26 Grammy Awards Thriller stole the spotlight winning eight Grammys he still holds the record for that along with Santana he and Quincy Jones were named producers of the year and the album won album of the Year beat it got record of the Year and best rock vocal

performance while Billy Jean took home two Grammys for best R&B song and best R&B vocal performance a lot of this was thanks to Bruce Sweden's amazing work as the engineer but that wasn't all at the 11th American Music Awards he won eight more Awards and became the youngest person ever to win the award of Merit he also won in the favorite male artist category for both soul/r&b and pop rock beat it and Thriller were favorites in the video and singles categories too the music video for Thriller Changed music videos forever it showed him dancing with

zombies and it felt more like a short film than just a video this helped boost album sales and even won a Grammy for Best music video long form at this point he wasn't just a pop star he was a global icon Time Magazine even called him a oneman rescue team for the music business breaking down barriers of Pace style and race as the New York Times put it when it came to pop music there was him and then there was everyone else but this wasn't the end of his success he received $1.5 million from a

legal settlement with Grossman Burn Center which named a burn center after him his work with Pepsi didn't stop either in the late 80s he signed another deal with Pepsi this time for $10 million the deal covered 20 countries and helped fund his Bad album in worldwide tour his influence on music and culture just kept growing he became a big name in advertising working with popular brands like LA Gear Suzuki and Sony but it was his partnership with Pepsi that brought him the most financial success in 1984 he went on the victory tour with his brothers

this tour attracted more than 2 million people across the United States and was a huge success however it was also a turning point during the final show at Dodger Stadium he shocked Everyone by announcing that it would be his last tour with his brothers as he wanted to focus on his solo career with Fame at its peak Michael faces new hurdles and keeps making his Mark Michael faces challenges but keeps winning in 1985 another big moment came when he teamed up with Lionel Richie to write We Are The World the song was made for charity

and it wasn't just a hit on the charts it sparked a global movement and raised $63 million to help people suffering from famine in Africa and the US the song broke records selling 20 million copies and won four Grammy Awards incling including song of the year but that wasn't all he was doing at the time under the advice of Paul McCartney he learned about the importance of owning song rights and started buying music cataloges by 1985 he made a big move by buying the ATV music publishing catalog for $475 million which included most of the

Beatles songs this made him a major player in the music industry his personal life started gaining attention especially because his skin color was changing originally medium brown his skin began to lighten and this led to a lot of media gossip people started wondering if he was doing this on purpose but in 1983 his dermatologist Dr Arnold Klein explained that he had a skin disorder called Vitiligo which causes loss of skin color he was also diagnosed with discoid lupus around that time by 1986 the Vitiligo was more noticeable and he began using makeup and possibly creams

to even out his skin tone despite the rumors he always insisted that he wasn't trying to change his identity he was just managing his medical condition however it was hard for him to avoid the talk that he was trying to change his race even though he was reaching Great Heights professionally his personal life became more complicated but that's not all during these tough times he grew close to Dr kleene and his assistant Debbie row she would later become his second wife and the mother of his first two children his changing appearance also became a Hot

Topic in his 1988 autobiography and a 1993 interview he admitted to have having two nose surgeries and a cleff chin procedure he also said he was trying to stay slim for his dancing career yet rumors continued to swirl about more cosmetic surgeries and possible anorexia as he often looked very thin and sometimes dizzy after his death his mother said that his first surgeries Were Meant to help with his skin condition and he didn't want to feel insecure she also hinted that the extreme pressures he face might have pushed him to change his looks over time

it was also suggested that he may have had more Medical procedures than he admitted to and some even thought he might have become dependent on them let's pause here for a moment because this next story gets even Stranger in 1986 there was a wild rumor about him sleeping in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber to slow down aging as odd as that sounds he denied the claim still there were Whispers that he had sent a picture of himself inside the chamber to a tabloid the national Inquirer later he said that the photo was just a publicity stunt

for a space themed movie he was planning to make despite all these wild stories his creativity was shining he worked with George Lucas and Francis Ford Copa to create a 17-minute 3D movie called Captain EO this wasn't just any movie it was a $30 million project that launched at Disneyland in 1986 fans loved it even though it was discontinued in the late 1990s it came back after his death and continued to be a hit with fans around the same time Ebony magazine reported in 19 87 that he had stepped away from the Jehovah's Witnesses the

religion he had been raised in it might have been because they were strongly against his Thriller video which he had to publicly apologize for in one of their magazines back in 1984 but in a 2001 interview he said he was still part of the faith leaving people confused about where he really stood on the matter now let's talk about his music career during this time in 1987 he released bad his first album in 5 years and the excitement was huge and it didn't disappoint bad was the first album ever to have five songs reach number

one in the US including hits like I just can't stop loving you bad the way you make me feel and smooth criminal the album was a massive success winning several Grammys and American Music Awards it topped the charts in 25 countries and by 2012 bad had sold between 30 and 45 million copies worldwide the bad World Tour which ran from September 1987 to January 1989 was also a huge hit in Japan he made history by selling out 14 concerts and drawing in 570,000 fans in the UK he set another record by selling out seven shows

at Wembley Stadium pulling in 54,000 fans per show this achievement earned him a spot in the Guinness World Records but this wasn't all in 1988 he told his life story in the autobiography moonwalk where he talked about his childhood his time with the Jackson 5 and the struggles he faced the book became a besteller with 200,000 copies sold and it even hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list that same year he was honored with the grand veril medal by the City of Paris and released the movie moon walker which became the top

selling video cassette in the US and just when you thought he couldn't do more in March 1988 he bought a huge 2,700 acre property near Santa inz California which he turned into Neverland Valley Ranch complete with a ferris wheel Carousel and even a zoo he was like a magical place from a fairy tale offering him an escape from the constant attention of the World by the late 1980s he had become known as the King of Pop a title given to him by Elizabeth Taylor at the Soul Train Heritage awards ceremony in 1989 even President George

HW Bush called him the artist of the decade his Unforgettable performance at Samy Davis Jr's 60th birthday earned him another Emmy nomination by the end of the 1980s he wasn't just a famous singer he was the most well-known person in the world his music style and kindness impacted Millions making him a true cultural icon however his personal life was much more complicated at the height of his Fame in 1993 he proposed to Lisa Marie Presley Elvis Presley's daughter after they had been dating for a while they got married in May 1994 in the Dominican Republic

but the marriage didn't last many thought it was more about publicity Than Love by December 1995 they had separated and in January 1996 Lisa Marie filed for divorce only wanting her maiden name back but this wasn't the hardest part even though his personal life was tough he kept pushing the limits in the music world he even worked on the video game Sonic the Hedgehog 3 for the Sega Genesis in June 1995 he made a big comeback with his double album history past present and future book one the album was a massive hit topping charts worldwide

and selling 20 million copies making it the best-selling multi-is album ever it was a mix of his Greatest Hits and new songs and despite mixed reviews it earned him a Grammy nomination could Michael Jackson's recent sighting be just a trick or is there something bigger we're missing tell us what you think and remember to like And subscribe for more updates