Michael Jackson VEVO/ MJJ Productions Inc.
He remains one of the most awarded music artists of all time, with 40 Billboard Awards, 13 Grammys, and 26 American Music Awards, but
music legend Michael Jackson wasn’t just known for his lifelong career in the music industry. The undisputed King of Pop made headlines for just about everything his did before his sudden death in 2009. Here are five things you may not know about Michael Jackson:
music legend Michael Jackson wasn’t just known for his lifelong career in the music industry. The undisputed King of Pop made headlines for just about everything his did before his sudden death in 2009. Here are five things you may not know about Michael Jackson:
5. His 1972 song “Ben“ was actually intended for Donny Osmond: ‘70s teen idol Donny Osmond recently revealed that Jackson’s classic song, “Ben,” was originally written for him, but he was on tour and unable to record it in time for the soundtrack for the sequel to the horror film “Willard.” The 1972 song about a rat was a number one hit for 14-year-old Jackson, even winning a Golden Globe for best song that year. Osmond, who had a hit single with “Puppy Love,” said that he and Jackson often joked about the silly subjects of their hit songs. “I will never forget, we stayed up to like two in the morning, laughing about the fact that I had a hit about a puppy and he had a hit about a rat,” Osmond said.
4. He had a secret family in New Jersey: In a bombshell Oprah Winfrey interview after Jackson’s death, New Jersey couple Dominic and Connie Cascio revealed they befriended the pop superstar more than 30 years ago when Dominic was a manager at the Helmsley Palace Hotel in New York City. Jackson regularly stayed with the family at their suburban New Jersey home, sometimes showing up at their house in the middle of the night unannounced. The family even created a "cave" for the pop legend in their basement so he could hide out.
3. He changed the face of MTV forever: Jackson’s “Billie Jean” video was the first music video from a black artist to ever air on MTV. The 1983 song was the second single from Michael Jackson’s sixth solo album, “Thriller.”
2. He was Godfather to two celebrity children: While Jackson had three children of his own—Prince, Paris and Prince Michael-- he was also a Godfather to Lionel Richie’s daughter Nicole, and to Michael Gibb, the son of Bee Gees front man Barry Gibb.
1. His iconic “Thriller” video received a special honor: The 14-minute video was inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2009 and it remains the only music video ever to receive the honor.
