Michael Jackson is a name that needs no introduction. The King of Pop is often regarded as one of the most important cultural figures of the 20th century. One of the best-selling music artists of all time, Jackson had sold over 400 million records worldwide. His life was also full of controversies.
There are still so many things that people don’t really know about the Dangerous singer. A lot of aspects of his personal life has marred with speculations and controversies. Here is a list of ten facts about the 15-time Grammy Award winner that are surely going to blow your mind.
Top 10 Michael Jackson Facts
10. His Father Forced Him To Play Music
MJ’s father Michael Joseph Jackson was a boxer. He used to pressurize Michael to play various instruments while growing up. There were times when he would whip his children if they played the wrong note. The upbringing of the king of pop was stressful as his father wanted them to succeed anyhow in life. He wanted to keep his children away from the streets. ‘The Jackson 5‘ was a group managed by Joe and consisted of MJ’s brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon.
9. Michael Wanted To Buy Film Rights Of Spider-Man
Easily one of the most lesser known facts about the singer is that he once wanted to buy the film rights to Spider-Man. The creator of the web-slinger and iconic writer Stan Lee had once said that Michael wanted to play the titular character himself. He realized that the only way to green light this project is if he bought the rights from Marvel itself. But for unknown reasons, the deal didn’t go as planned. But it would have been interesting to see him as the superhero. This was also the time when James Cameron was trying to get it made.
8. Jackson Had Auditioned For X-Men
Michael Jackson was a massive fan of films and comic books. So after the Spider-Man deal fell through, he decided to try again for a different superhero. In 2000, the HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I singer auditioned for the role of Professor Charles Xavier also known as Professor X for the ‘X-Men‘ film. The film’s producer Lauren Schuler Donner said, “I said to him, ‘Do you know Xavier is an older white guy?’ And Michael said, ‘Oh yeah. You know, I can wear makeup.’”
7. MJ Lived In A Theme Park
The pop star lived life king-size. But there is one aspect of his ranch that’s lesser know. He had turned half of his ranch into an amusement park. It consisted of a zoo, roller coasters, railroads, bumper cars, a Ferris wheel, and a carousel. It was named Neverland, after the fictional place where Peter Pan lived. Sprawled across 3,000 acres, Jackson had paid somewhere between $17 million USD to $30 million for this property where he lived. The ranch was recently sold for $22 million five years after his demise.
6. He Had A Meeting In Twin Tower On 9/11
The September 11, 2001 attacks on the twin towers were and still are the deadliest terrorist attack on American soil. Jackson would have perished in this, but fortunately, luck favored him. He was supposed to have a meeting in one of the Twin Towers on that fateful day. But the artist overslept and missed the meeting. The reason was that he was on the phone with his mother the night before, and they talked until the late hours. If it wasn’t for his mom, the talented artist would be one of the victims of the deadly terror attacks.
5. Jackson Took His Llama To Recording Studios
Jackson had a petting zoo at his ranch which was home to a lot of animals. One of them, a llama was his favorite. They were actually two called Lola and Louis. MJ would often take them with him to the recording studio. On one particular occasion, Jackson brought them in when he was collaborating with Queen’s frontman Freddie Mercury. Freddie did not like the animal and it is said to be the contributing factor to not completing the song recordings with Freddie. But it is clear that the king of pop was an animal lover.
4. Michael Suffered From Vitiligo
Jackson’s skin complexion has been the subject of debate as to why a black man turned his skin into white. It was mainly because he was suffering from a skin disease called Vitiligo. During an interview with Oprah Winfrey, Michael revealed the reason behind the change in his skin color change. The speculations continued for the longest time with people believing he had bleached his skin. Many believed that he hated his black skin and wanted to look white. His postmortem after his death in 2009, determined that he was affected by Vitiligo.
3. He Wasn’t The Inventor Of Moon Walk
Michael Jackson is synonymous with his iconic moon-walk style of dance. But unlike the popular wisdom, he didn’t come up with this technique. His dancer-choreographer Jeffrey Daniel was performing it since the 1970s. It was actually Cab Calloway who came up with ‘Moonwalk’ all the way back in 1932 and Daniel did a variation of it. MJ first performed this dance move back in 1983 for Motown records and the rest is history. The move is still imitated by many and is a signature style of MJ.
2. The Pepsi Commercial Tragedy
On January 27, 1984, the Off The Wall singer was shooting for a Pepsi commercial. The company paid him around $5 million for the brand deal. His hair caught fire due to a fireworks mishap. The company was slapped with a civil suit in court for the damage and paid a huge fine. Jackson terminated his contract with Pepsi Cola quickly after the incident. He underwent rhinoplasty surgery and later donated $1.5 million to the medical center in California that treated his burns. The Brotman Medical Center renamed its burns department as “Michael Jackson Burn Center”.
1. Jackson Slept In An Oxygen Tank For Long Life
The most mind-blowing fact is also the most ironic one considering how MJ’s life was cut short due to a drug overdose. In order to live longer and have healthy skin, the pop star used to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber known as an oxygen chamber. It was later donated to the bed to a medical center in California as a therapeutic aid for burn victims. But for the longest time, MJ believed that these techniques could actually give him a long and healthy life.
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