Michael Jackson: A Troubled Legacy? (Full Documentary) | Amplified

michael jackson will forever be remembered as the greatest entertainer of a generation [Music] his groundbreaking dance moves iconic vocal style and countless hit singles have cemented him in the hearts and hips of legions of devoted fans around the world [Music] at 6 30 p.m on thursday june 25th 2009 those fans who had been overjoyed at the announcement of a comeback tour were left devastated the king of pop had been pronounced dead all right my brother the legendary king michael jackson passed away on thirsty june 25th 2009 2 26 pm at just 50 years old michael jackson had suffered a fatal heart attack found in his rented home in bel air at 12 30 pm news of jackson's collapse had flown throughout the world and when the terrible truth was finally revealed loyal fans plummeted into despair [Music] with candlelit vigils across the globe they demonstrated their devotion in a touching salute to their hero [Music] many were struggling to come to terms with the realization that he was gone my reaction was shocked because he's a very young man still at 50 years old and he was a good person he had his problems but he was still a good person it's kind of devastating it's one of those people that you never would have thought of dying so soon because you think of all he did for like music and music videos and pop culture the jackson estate in encino california became a shrine to michael with flowers balloons and messages strewn along the walls and outside the gates as fans gathered to pay their last respects [Music] accompanied by longtime family friend reverend al sharpton michael's father joe took in the tributes and shook hands with his son's grieving fans and the family and i are very proud to see all of you come out here and and then and help us with this whole situation because we know that we do have fans all over the world we know that we are loved all over the world but one thing that i wish could have happened i wish that michael could be here to see all this have to wait till something happened like this before before [Music] it could be uh realized [Music] meanwhile over in gary indiana the house where michael and his eight siblings grew up had also become a mecca for grieving fans and neighbors who still remembered babyfaced michael from his days as the youngest member of the jackson five it hurt to know that michael passed on but he'll always be remembered and right here in gary indiana we would always love the jackson five regardless to whatever they say about them or whatever happened in the past we here in gary love the jacksons [Music] 25 miles southeast of downtown chicago the city of gary was founded in 1906 by the united states steel corporation it got its name from company chairman albert h gary and was one of the first cities in the u.s to elect an african-american mayor it was here that former boxer joseph walter jackson settled with his new wife catherine in 1949 while catherine got straight down to the business of raising children joe took a full-time job as a crane operator at the steel mill to support their growing family although clearly his passion lay in another direction in the mid-1950s he embarked on a musical career playing guitar in a band called the falcons with his brother luther when the falcons failed to score a record contract the reality of having seven young mouths to feed forced joe to return to his old job at the steel mill but before long he began pouring his creative aspirations into a family singing act made up of his three eldest sons as the jackson brothers jackie tito and jermaine were backed up on congas and tambourine by marlon and six-year-old michael who soon began to eclipse his older brothers with his singing and dancing talents stopping at nothing to make the group a success joe put the boys through strenuous rehearsals but there was no shortage of love and comfort to be found in the arms of their mother everyone loved catherine i think that she was very much revered she was um a very spiritual woman a jehovah witness and she was the gentle force in the jackson family in 1967 with nine-year-old michael at the helm the jackson brothers became the jackson five after winning a talent show at a local high school performing sole and r b hits joe got busy booking his young prodigies into black clubs and venues around gary in chicago on the chitlin circuit all the while little michael continued honing his singing and dancing skills learning from watching the likes of james brown marvin gaye and etta james [Music] as their fame grew in and around indiana they began taking their act further afield and by the middle of 1967 they'd made it to new york with the help of r b legend sam and dave they scored a spot at the prestigious amateur night competition at the apollo theatre in harlem billed as the place where stars are born and legends are made the famous theater which had played host to legends like ella fitzgerald and billie holiday certainly lived up to its promise for the jackson five after winning the amateur night showdown on august 13 gladys knight brought them to the attention of motown chief berry gordy although berry was initially reluctant to take on another child act after signing little stevie wonder he eventually granted them an audition at motown and in late 1968 he was blown away by a ten-year-old michael jackson he always wanted to be the best and was willing to work as hard as it took to be that and we could all see you know that he was a winner that age and uh i've always believed winners are winners long before they win and uh picking them out before they win was very easy with michael jackson the following year he moved the jackson five to california to begin grooming them as motown's next hit making act in a later interview he described the group as quote unquote the last big stars to come rolling off my assembly line while the older brothers stayed with berry marlon and michael moved in with motown queen diana ross the move was all part of a cunning marketing plan to attach motown's newest act to one of its biggest stars the press kit later claimed that diana had personally discovered the group and introduced them to motown the next step was to buy the group out of their contract with the steel town label which had released three jackson five singles the previous year written by barry gordy and the corporation the jackson fives first single i want you back hit number one in 1970 and made 11 year old michael an instant sensation they followed up with three more consecutive billboard number ones within a year jackson mania was sweeping the nation in 1971 motown decided to capitalize on the surging popularity of their younger star by launching a spin-off solo career for michael as well as landing a top five hit with a single got to be there he also sang the title track to the movie ben taken from his second solo album of the same name it was to be the first number one single of his solo career they're back there doing it together and he just sort of grew up under the motown banner and while most people people think that he had no fun in his childhood he did a lot that brought joy to him but with michael and the rest of the jackson five maturing musically as well as physically they felt stifled and blamed their declining success on motown's refusal to grant them creative control in 1975 they made the move to cbs after another three years of touring and recording with the jacksons michael was ready for his next big adventure when he got the call from his former landlady and ex-motown stablemate diana ross diana had been cast as dorothy in the big screen version of the broadway musical the wiz directed by sydney lumay and set in new york city it was to be an all black reworking of the 1939 adaptation of frank bourne's wizard of oz signing on to play the brainless scarecrow it gave michael a chance to flex his acting muscles it also introduced him to arranger composer and producer extraordinaire quincy jones quincy had been so impressed with michael's dedication to nailing the graceful moves of the scarecrow in the wiz that when he got the call to co-produce the young singer's next album he jumped at the chance the result of their first collaboration was the 1979 smash off the wall which had one reviewer hailing michael as probably the best singer in the world right now in terms of style and technique rolling stone magazine pronounced michael's feathery timbered tenor extraordinarily beautiful michael wrote three songs on the album including the number one single don't stop till you get enough other songs were provided by paul mccartney and fellow former child star stevie wonder who co-wrote i can't help it the album's title song and the hit rock with you were penned by british songwriter rod temperton off the wall became the first album by a solo artist to generate four us top 10 hits and has since gone on to sell over 20 million copies worldwide at 21 years old michael jackson had mastered the transition from cute child prodigy to full-blown pop superstar now he was public property everywhere he went people loved him and michael loved them right back those years we could hang out and we could go to things together like see the whiz and see on broadway he liked stephanie mills in the wiz and you know watch the kids come up to him and all want the autographs and i would say why don't you just sign you know mj instead of michael jackson just the way andy warhol always signs everything aw he says oh no i could never do that these are my fans these people make me and he was so darling and sincere and sweet in those years some loved him for his music for others it was his dancing but for so many more fans it was michael jackson's importance as a role model that earned him their admiration for thousands of african americans his incredible mainstream success turned him into an ambassador for race relations by off the wall he was doing amazingly well and that was his first cover rolling stone and we were breaking barriers it was very hard to get someone who wasn't white on the cover of magazines or even mtv mobbed by fans wherever he went people of all colors were chanting his name in the streets queuing for hours for a glimpse of him then fainting at the sight of him with michael egging them on they would even chase him across highways children from every corner of the globe wanted to sing like him dress like him and dance like him but there could only ever be one michael jackson and in 1982 he was on the verge of boldly going where no other entertainer had ever gone before first up he was asked to contribute a theme song to steven spielberg's blockbuster children's fantasy et michael julie came up with someone in the dark although it didn't end up in the movie the song appeared on the storybook for the film which won a grammy award for best album for children whatever had come before in michael's illustrious career would be remembered as merely a warm-up act to the release of his next project on november the 30th 1982 the world was introduced to the album that would go down in history as the biggest seller of all time thriller his second collaboration with quincy jones was the result of michael's determination to create the perfect record [Music] locked away in westlake studios in la with a production budget of 750 000 they emerged with an album that would spend 37 weeks at the top of billboard charts and would spawn an unprecedented seven top ten singles i remember not getting my platinum album for singing on pyt seeing the backgrounds on that now it was great what i really remember though from thriller was being in mike's car and him playing me the entire album whenever he would finish a project he'd share it with me because we were like this growing up and i remember loving each and every song i was just with 16 something like that but the jewel in the thriller crown was the 14-minute video to the album's title track inspired by b grade zombie movies and directed by horror supremo john landis the short film featured barrier breaking special effects and debuted the formation dancing that was to become just one of michael's signatures with the album selling in excess of a million copies a month michael was hailed as the savior of the flagging music industry as well as a champion for racial equality music channel mtv notorious for its neglect of african american musicians was forced to play the thriller video clip twice an hour to cope with viewer demand then there were the awards as well as an incredible seven grammys michael took out a total of eight american music awards the special award of merit and three mtv music awards i saw him for many years i saw the off-the-wall success and the thriller success the silver success before that we had other going places we had other records and parties at studio 54 and but with thriller every barrier was broken stadiums all over the world were sold out it became the biggest record of all time according to journalist and biographer j randy tarabarelli thriller stopped selling like a leisure album and began selling like a household staple it also spawned a bonanza in merchandising sales alongside michael jackson dolls t-shirts and other memorabilia there were millions to be made from sales of the making of michael jackson's thriller documentary the so-called one-man rescue team for the music business even had future president george bush eating out of his gloved hand it was fantastic the 80s were fantastic um it's probably as good as our record business will ever be i mean on that basis number one for many reasons because of vinyl people would wear vinyl out they had to go buy two and three copies i was lucky i had the two best engineers in the planet phil ramone and bruce sweden and they had a they had minors in music they were both musical and technical sonic minds and to this day every city i go to in the world shanghai shenzhen wherever rio cairo at that magic hour that i hear those records we don't stop to get enough from 30 years ago and it blows my mind it really does but it's just it's all the songs and michael's talent and the production and everything else but sonically it's hard to be without doubt thriller owed much of its phenomenal success to michael's dazzling performance in the famous 1983 television special to celebrate the 25th anniversary of motown ironically however it almost didn't happen we were doing um the tv show and the word came back that michael couldn't do it because he was doing too much television and i called michael up and i said michael i know you and you know me and you know this television show is not a television show this is motown 25 and he said i'll be there and he came there and then he did the moonwalk in the middle of a rendition of billie jean michael debuted the legendary dance move that was to steal his reputation as the greatest innovator in pop music the performance witnessed by 47 million viewers was declared a career defining moment by commentators and drew comparisons with appearances by the beatles and elvis presley on the ed sullivan show in the 1960s developed by michael after studying the great master of mime marcel marceau the moonwalk has since become one of the best-known dance techniques in the world right at the very height of his powers however michael was headed for a date with destiny that would have serious physical and psychological repercussions in his life a year after releasing thriller he signed a record shattering deal with soft drink manufacturer pepsi the 5 million partnership was the first sponsorship deal of its kind and would form the basis of celebrity endorsements of the future the idea was to lock michael into a decade-long partnership that would help pepsi challenge coca-cola's dominance of the market sadly however the plan was about to go very wrong on the 27th of january the stage was set for michael and his brothers to perform billie jean as part of one of the pepsi commercials during filming a pyrotechnic effect went wrong the explosion showered michael with sparks setting fire to his hair three thousand fans watched in shock as paramedics covered his head and carried him away to hospital he came out between these things that exploded like fireworks and then it looked like the sparks came down on his hair and he was shaking his head like he thought something was in his hair and then everybody jumped on him and started sporting water on him and got up like he didn't know what was happening and they took him off as michael began the agonizing recovery process which included surgery to hide his scalp burns and an introduction to prescribed painkillers his faithful fans gathered outside the hospital to wish him well but rather than wallowing in his own troubles michael characteristically threw himself into caring for those less fortunate than himself as well as donating five million dollars from the jackson's victory tour to charity he co-wrote the single we are the world with lionel richie to raise money for famine relief delving into their little black books of a-list artists he and lionel pulled in a who's who of the music scene the single ended up featuring the singing talents of stars like bruce springsteen dion warwick tina turner diana ross stevie wonder paul simon and cindy lauper produced by quincy jones in 1985 it ended up selling more than 20 million copies and raising millions of dollars for the poor in the u.s and africa around the same time michael was engaged in a well-publicized battle to buy a catalogue of songs by the beatles that had come up for sale the previous year rumors abounded that michael's aggressive bid had caused a rift with his old friend paul mccartney with whom he'd recorded the hits the girl is mine and say say ironically it had been paul who had first put the idea of buying the music catalogue in his head by telling him how much money was to be made in publishing royalties and in actual fact when the northern songs catalogue came up for sale although paul had considered launching a late bid for the songs in league with john's widow yoko he had pulled out of the race leaving michael to battle it out with other serious contenders in negotiations that lasted 10 months he ended up winning the catalogue at a cost of 47.5 million dollars as the 80s wore on media attention began to focus on michael's perceived eccentricities what was really going on behind those aviator sunglasses first there was his pet chimp bubbles then there were reports that he slept in a hyperbaric chamber talk of plastic surgery and rumors that he fought the bones of the elephant man many of the rumors were claimed to have been leaked to the press by michael's own publicists but despite his insistence that such stories were pure fabrications the nickname wacko jacko stuck appearing in public hidden behind a face mask only fueled speculation about his increasingly idiosyncratic behavior which was rumored to involve bleaching his skin michael hit back with claims that the marked change in his skin color was caused by the disease with vitiligo which needed to be covered up with makeup through all of the media's attacks the fans just kept on coming swamped at public appearances and record signings michael jackson had become a modern-day pied piper of hamlin and although he often felt stunned by the stories in the press he clearly reveled in the superstar status that set him apart from ordinary mortals michael jackson refuses to give in to the uh the rumor that he is not a normal human being he seems to kind of want people to not believe he's like everybody else i don't think he should why should he you know apart from anything else he's broken every sales record on earth he has achieved things that nobody else has so why should he just pretend to be i don't know damon albarn from blur wherever the man in the mask went he was met with a media frenzy and like the ringmaster in a three-ring circus he never forgot his role as entertainer and knew exactly how to work the crowd whether popping in to share an intimate photo opportunity with children at a local hospital making a dash for the limo in front of the paparazzi or entertaining his beloved fans from the roof of his hotel building the king of pop never failed to turn on the charm through the years i worked with michael the the greatest moment of my life was was that moment after the show or or a couple days after we would do a photo shoot what i would show him the bulk of the pictures and he would look at them he would say that's magic that's magic and and this is michael's life it's all about magic it's all about creating that that magic and there was plenty more magic to come back in the studio with quincy jones michael was preparing to release his seventh studio album his first in five years after recording 30 tracks for the new album they cut the selection down to 11 songs and bad hit the shelves on august 31st 1987. as the name suggested michael was adopting a tougher street image and bringing plenty of grunt to songs like dirty diana smooth criminal and the album's title track in all michael wrote nine of the album's eleven songs five of which struck the top of the us singles charts to this day bad remains the only album ever to achieve this incredible feat now was popular in the uk as he was in the states bad went on to become the ninth biggest selling album in british history one of the highlights on the album was the bonus track leave me alone which made fun of the tabloid view of his private life the video directed by jim blashfield won the grammy award for best video and an mtv music award meanwhile michael was preparing to take on his very first world concert tour as a solo artist sponsored by pepsi the bad tour took him to 15 countries over 16 months during which he played to a total of four and a half million fans the first entertainer to earn more than a hundred million dollars per year michael was becoming increasingly devoted in his responsibility as a philanthropist donating much of his concert takings to charity and ensuring that at least 400 tickets to every u.s concert were reserved for underprivileged children during the tour michael bought the ranch in santa barbara california that would help him fulfill his dream of building his very own amusement park renamed neverland after the fantasy island in the story of peter pan it would become a lavish monument to his extravagantly childlike imagination complete with a zoo two railroads numerous rides and several lakes michael opened neverland up to children and their families as day visitors the 2676 acre property also boasted a huge floral clock the story goes that michael himself designed the decorative flower beds because he hated seeing dirt between them neverland would remain michael's own personal fairground for the next 15 years creating many happy memories for the friends and guests he entertained there until the police investigations of 2003. i can remember an amazing time in at neverland in in the amusement park and uh when michael insisted that if i was going to shoot him on a particular ride i had to ride the ride with him with my hands not on the bar but but up in the air like like you know kids would and i thought okay and i did this is this will will always be one of my fondest memories of michael just having fun in 1991 michael was clearly still having fun as he renewed his contract with sony having been declared the artist of the decade by president george bush he was able to command a record-breaking sum of 65 million dollars the same year he released his seventh studio album dangerous with teddy riley and bill bottle on board as co-producers it went straight to number one on the billboard charts and became his fastest selling album ever in the us its lead single black or white spent seven consecutive weeks on top of the singles charts proving that michael was still the king of pop meanwhile in the uk and europe the album's biggest selling single ended up being the charity anthem healed the world which also became the name of the charitable foundation michael set up in 1992 to heal the world we must start by healing our children today we come bearing gifts for the children of war-torn sarajevo in 1992 sarajevo has become a symbol of so much that is tragic but avoidable in our world prejudice and ethnic hatred the destruction of the environment the shattering of families and of centuries-old communities one of the foundation's first missions was to airlift 46 tons of much-needed supplies to war-torn sarajevo in bosnia another of michael's early ambitions for the foundation was to institute drug and alcohol education programs he was also one of the very first artists to draw attention to hiv aids in the third world by embarking on several high-profile visits to africa and ended up donating all the profits from the ticket sales of his sell-out dangerous tour to his foundation but back at home trouble was brewing on august the 18th 1993 as michael prepared to start the third leg of his tour the los angeles police department began a criminal investigation into child abuse claims [Music] three days later police arrived to search neverland and subjected michael to a 25-minute strip search the media had a field day i will say that i am particularly upset by the handling of this mass matter by the incredible terrible mass media at every opportunity the media has dissected and manipulated these allegations to reach their own conclusions i ask all of you to wait and hear the truth before you label or condemn me don't treat me like a criminal because i am innocent i have been forced to submit to a dehumanizing and humiliating examination by the santa barbara county sheriff department and the los angeles police department earlier this week they were supposedly looking for any discoloration spotting blotches or other evidence of a skin color disorder called vitiligo which i have previously spoken about the warrant also directed me to cooperate in any examination of my body by their physician to determine the condition of my skin including whether i have vitiligo or any other skin disorder the warrant further stated that i had no right to refuse the examination or photographs and if i failed to cooperate with them they would introduce that refusal at any trial as an indication of my guilt it was the most humiliating ordeal of my life michael's family immediately rallied around him and called their own press conference to show their support they were adamant that the allegations were nothing more than a cruel and obvious attempt to take advantage of michael's fame and wealth their belief was backed up by a taped telephone conversation in which the child in question's father declared his intention to win big time and destroy michael catherine jackson in particular was unequivocal in her support of her son i'd like to let the world know that i'm behind my son i don't believe any of this stuff that's being written about him because i raised him and i know him and that's just a statement people are making however not everyone in the jackson family got behind michael his older sister latoya whom he'd neither seen or spoken to for years decided to open up to the press estranged from the rest of the family since marrying her manager jack gordon and publishing her autobiography latoya held a press conference in israel and made this shocking statement well i must tell you that this is very difficult for me that michael is my brother i love him a great deal but i cannot and i will not be a silent collaborator of his crimes against small innocent children and if i remain silent then i means that i feel the guilt and humiliation that these children are feeling and i think it's very wrong latoya later retracted the statement claiming her abusive husband had forced her to make the claims for financial gain but the damage had been done putting on a brave face for fans michael performed in front of a crowd of 47 000 fans on his 35th birthday on the 29th of august but behind the scenes he was fighting chronic pain from an accident he'd sustained while on tour and was so stressed out by the investigation and accompanying press invasion that there were claims he was becoming addicted to painkillers and sedatives the next night moments before going on stage in singapore michael collapsed into the disappointment of tens of thousands of fans was forced to cancel the show the next day he was taken to hospital to undergo a brain scan it appears that mr jackson has been suffering recently from an acute vascular headache which unfortunately due to the severity this evening caused the cancellation of tonight's ill last performance and i am sorry for the cancellation of my performance and i apologize for any inconvenience it might have caused my fans in singapore i look forward to seeing you at the stadium tomorrow thank you for your continued support and understanding i love you all thank you michael's one source of consolation throughout the ordeal was his romance with elvis presley's daughter lisa marie understanding the pressures of living under the intense glare of the media spotlight lisa marie became his confidante and source of emotional support during their many conversations over the phone she ended up falling for him and they were married in the dominican republic in may 1994 lisa marie has since revealed that during the marriage a troubled michael confessed his fears that he might come to the same tragic end as her father and after 20 months together the gulf between them lovers had grown too wide while michael had been desperate to start a family lisa marie already had two young children from her first marriage to danny keough and didn't want any more on january 18th 1996 a divorce from michael was finalized although they would remain friends for the rest of his life however the disturbances in michael's private life hadn't distracted him from his first love making music on june 15 1995 he released the biggest collection of his career the double album history past present and future book one contained 15 former hits and 15 new tracks and would become the biggest selling multiple disc album of all time with sales of 20 million worldwide the lead single was a duet with his baby sister janet scream hit back at the tabloid coverage of the 1993 child sexual abuse accusations aimed at him and the record-breaking 7 million video to the song won him a grammy award despite all the negative media attention of the past few years his fans remained as devoted as ever sending the album's second single you're not alone straight into the guinness book of world records for becoming the first single ever to debut at the top of the billboard charts over in britain it remained at number one for six straight weeks and became his biggest selling single ever in the uk the stage was set for another history-making television appearance but during rehearsals for the hbo special at the beacon theatre in new york michael suddenly collapsed and was taken to beth israel hospital on the upper east side arriving semi-conscious and dehydrated doctors worked to stabilize his condition as his mother rushed to his side well on that type of call it gets the it gets a high priority response it's a very serious call luckily we found someone who was breathing uh who was conscious and we treated him for his symptoms what were the symptoms as i said there was some dehydration some low blood pressure nothing that appeared to be life-threatening he was treated by emts and paramedics and brought to the hospital of his choice mr jackson is conscious he has expressed sincere gratitude for the nurses physicians and other members of the beth israel staff as well as of course the incredible outpouring of love from his fans throughout the world five days later those fans were still maintaining their vigil as janet emerged from the hospital after being diagnosed and cleared of a viral infection their hero greeted them with smiles and waves before disappearing into the waiting van after michael's divorce from lisa marie he turned to dermatology nurse deborah rowe to fulfill his dream of having children when they married in sydney in november 1996 during the australian leg of his history tour she was already pregnant with little prince michael the first on april the 3rd 1998 he was joined by a baby sister called paris a father at last michael was determined to protect his children from the press then in october 1999 came the news that he and debbie were getting divorced and that michael would retain sole custody of their two children despite being a single father of two he stepped up his already demanding schedule of charity work and broke yet another guinness world record his involvement with a staggering 39 charities far eclipsed the philanthropic efforts of any other celebrity or entertainer at public appearances and charity events he was tireless in his seeking out those less fortunate than himself whether pausing to give out a hug or simply waving and smiling to his fans he always took the time to acknowledge their devotion one charity among the many he publicly supported was the aids foundation created by great friend and fellow former child star elizabeth taylor liz who'd stood beside him throughout his troubles with the press was to prove a wonderful source of support in his battle with sony to regain control of his album masters and retain ownership of his share of the record company's catalogue once again his fans backed him but as the dispute wore on michael believed he was the victim of a personal vendetta by sony chief tommy mottola and turned to reverend al sharpton for help in 2002 he threatened to sue sony for failing to promote his album invincible sony tommy mottola tommy matos the president of the record division he is a mean he's a racist and he's very very very devilish that inflammatory accusation turned the dispute into an increasingly wild media circus sony counter-attacked with assertions it had sufficiently promoted the album and with claims that michael had refused to support its release with a tour of the us despite the dispute invincible was still a commercial success debuting at number one in 13 countries and selling around 10 million copies worldwide in the middle of it all michael had become the proud father of a third child prince michael ii his eagerness to introduce baby blanket to eager fans in berlin inspired him to embark on the rash act that would hog the world's front pages the notorious baby dangling incident was seen by media commentators as evidence that the king of pop had lost all sense of judgment and although michael later apologized for his terrible mistake the stigma haunted him tragically michael's most traumatic media ordeal was still to come on november the 20th 2003 he was arrested and charged at santa barbara jail with lewd or lascivious acts with a child under 14 protesting his innocence and confident of an acquittal he waved to fans on his way to court as the interminable legal process drew to a close almost two years later his fans never lost faith that michael would be found not guilty verdict we the jury in the above entitled case find the defendant not guilty of conspiracy as charged in count one of the indictment emotionally and mentally drained as well as physically exhausted michael waved to the faithful in weary relief that the torment was over but the terrible experience had taken a huge toll and michael needed to recover away from the spotlight after the trial he flew to the persian gulf and stayed as the guest of sheikh abdullah in bahrain in november 2006 he made a rare public appearance at the world music awards in monaco to receive a diamond award for selling over 100 million records worldwide the visit also coincided with the release of a special 25th anniversary edition of thriller a timely tribute to the biggest selling album of all time and a reminder that the king of pop wasn't finished yet in march 2009 it seemed that the years of waiting had all been worthwhile but michael called a press conference in london to announce he was ready to make a spectacular return to the stage overcome with a motion at the prospect of a michael jackson comeback the ecstatic crowd wept and chanted his name and as he took to the microphone for what was to be the very last time michael rewarded them with a winning smile and his trademark piece salute these will be my final show performances in london this will be it this is it and when i say this is it it really means this is it because i'll be i'll be performing the songs my fans want to hear [Applause] this is it i mean this is really it this is the final this is the final curtain call okay and um i'll see you in july the tears shed in joy at the announcement of his comeback turned to tears of despair and disbelief when on the afternoon of june the 25th tmz.com broke the news that michael had suffered a fatal heart attack at his rented home in bel-air united in their grief fans across the globe immediately went into mourning [Music] although most of them had never met their idol or even seen him in the flesh michael jackson's talent and generosity had touched them on such a personal level that they felt like they knew him [Music] on july 7th one billion people tuned into his memorial service to pay their last respects to an artist who will not only be remembered as a consummate entertainer but also as a great humanitarian a loving father and a devoted icon i love you [Music] i really do you have to know that i love you so much really from the bottom of my heart he is king of music not pop music in fact he's just the king i just love him and i just love him and i just love him and he's pure he's in inside and out his heart his soul i love him [Applause] [Music] michael jackson changed my life when i saw a moonwalk when i heard him sing when i seen him perform he was life-changing he's the greatest artist of our time talent and music of course you have to be young you have to be beautiful talented but michael jackson is one of the best michael was and will he will remain one of the greatest entertainment entertainers that ever lived one of the greatest entertainers well they said sammy davis was the best entertainer ever uh i put michael right up there with him michael worked hard you could see it when he hit the stage

Channel: Amplified - Classic Rock & Music History

Views: 314,247

Keywords: Amplified, amplified channel, music, pop culture, documentaries, music documentaries, pop, music interviews, film interviews, michael jackson documentary life, michael jackson documentary death, michael jackson, documentary, king of pop, jackson, michael, interview, abuse, neverland, thriller, michael jackson allegations, janet jackson, sexual abuse, tito jackson, billie jean, dangerous, beat it, dangling, baby, balcony, pop music, bad, michaeljackson, michael jackson interview, mj innocent

Id: 1-QwedDP3Ck

Length: 48min 38sec (2918 seconds)

Published: Sat Mar 27 2021