Long Live the King(a) | 传奇流行乐天王——麦可‧杰克森(a)

传奇流行乐天王——麦可‧杰克森

by Marcus Maurice

It's been a year since his death, but Michael Jackson has not been forgotten.

麦可‧杰克森逝世已一周年，但他的传奇将永远不会被人遗忘。

On June 25, 2009, popular websites like Twitter and AOL Instant Messenger crashed. At first, many people thought that was the onset of the first full-blown cyber attack on the Internet, but the truth was much sadder. Michael Jackson, the highly influential and controversial singer, was found unconscious in his bed and soon pronounced dead. News of his death spread like wildfire over the Internet, and numerous TV and radio stations played Jackson's videos or songs as tribute to the King of Pop. Like most things that happened during his life, Jackson's death was truly an over-the-top spectacle.

Born in the working class suburbs of Gary, Indiana, Jackson had nine brothers and sisters. At a very young age, Jackson headed a musical group with his brothers, The Jackson 5. His father, Joe Jackson, was the manager and forced them to practice all the time so that they would always be at their best. Joe Jackson even beat his children when they made mistakes during their routines. Michael Jackson, in an interview later in his adult life, said that he was so scared of his father during his childhood that he would throw up when he saw him. At the same time, Jackson also credited his father for all the success he had ever had because he was such a strict perfectionist.

The Jackson 5 were superstars from the very beginning because their first four singles shot to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. However, since they had very little creative control over their music, The Jackson 5 left Motown, and a new chapter in Michael Jackson's life soon began.

     2009 年 6月 25 日，如 Twitter 这类受欢迎的网站和 AOL 实时通讯软件都当机了。刚开始，许多人还以为这是因特网上第一次全面性网络攻击事件的开端，不过事实却比这更令人伤感。麦可‧杰克森这位具有高度影响力和极具争议性的歌手，被人发现昏迷在床上，不久后宣告死亡。他的死讯如野火般在网络上蔓延开来，无数的电视台和广播电台纷纷播放他的音乐录像带或歌曲来向这位流行乐天王致敬。就像他一生中发生过的许多事情一样，杰克森的去世也的确是相当惹人注意的一个现象。

　　杰克森出生在印第安纳州盖瑞市的工人阶级郊区，有 9 个兄弟姊妹。杰克森在很小的时候，就和他的兄弟一起组成以他为首的『杰克森 5 人组』乐团。他的父亲乔‧杰克森是乐团经理，总是逼着他们一直练习，以督促他们永远都处于最佳状态。乔‧杰克森甚至会在他们平时练唱出错时殴打他们。麦可‧杰克森成人后，在某次的访问中曾谈道，小时候他很畏惧父亲，害怕到他看到父亲时就会呕吐。但同时杰克森也将他所有的成就归功于他的父亲，因为他父亲是个如此严格的完美主义者。

　　杰克森 5 人组从一开始就发光发亮，因为他们最初的 4 首单曲在《告示牌》百大单曲排行榜都窜升到第一名。然而，由于杰克森 5 人组对他们的音乐几乎没有创意上的掌控权，他们离开了摩城唱片公司，也开启了麦可‧杰克森生命中新的一章。