The Rise and Fall of Michael Jackson

Very few people can claim to have risen from poverty to worldwide greatness the way Michael Jackson did. And, ironically, very few are unfortunate enough to fall from grace the way Michael Jackson did. From King of Pop to royal flop. Many, even those who remain steadfast friends of his, must wonder how he degenerated like this.

And what’s really amazing is that, unlike most who fall from grace, Jacko did it all on his own. It wasn’t just misfortune or bad luck. It wasn’t being in the wrong place at the wrong time. It wasn’t false friends who used him for their own conveniences and helped mismanage his life. His life didn’t spiral out of control because of a string of arrests from constant DUI or DWI convictions. It wasn’t because of a nasty drug or alcohol addiction.

The Gloved One’s fall can be blamed on no one but himself. The constant nose-jobs, the frequent facial surgeries which have all but turned him into a circus freak, the slumber parties with under-aged boys and all of the other eccentricities about him that regularly become public. Michael Jackson did it all to himself and all by himself.

It wasn’t because of the pressures of becoming an overnight celebrity at the age of six and living in front of the camera since then. It wasn’t the media. It wasn’t the Santa Barbara County prosecutor’s office. It wasn’t the doctors who heeded his strange request to fix his face that way. It wasn’t skin pigmentation. It wasn’t fans or friends who turned their backs on him. It wasn’t even the little boy who accused him of sexual molestation in 1993.

It was all Michael Jackson!

Out of a small two-bedroom house with 11 people cramped under one roof, The then little six-year-old along with four of his brothers, Jackie, Tito, Randy and Jermaine, quickly captured attention and admiration of music fans when they formed the Jackson 5. From then on, there was little standing in Michael’s path to the top of the Billboard Charts.

His 1982 album Thriller was a record-breaking success, selling more than 50 million copies and enabling Michael to simply moonwalk his way into households and hearts across the globe. One could not go a day without hearing of Michael Jackson. He was more than just the 80’s answer to Elvis; he was the next best thing to a god. He was worshipped not just millions of adolescents but by people who crossed all demographics. It was not uncommon to see people in their 50’s and 60’s sporting a button with his image on it.