Michael Jackson 025

Look closer to find one song lyric and twelve song titles: “Just look over your shoulders honey!” (I’ll Be There); ABC; Don’t Stop ‘Till You Get Enough; Never Can Say Goodbye; Maybe Tomorrow; Got to Be There; Rockin’ Robin; Billie Jean; Man in the Mirror; The Love You Save; I Want You Back; I’ll Be There; Beat It

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958 and died June 25, 2009. He was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer who was dubbed the “King of Pop”. He is one of the most significant contributors to music, dance, and fashion, a global figure in popular culture for over four decades.

The eighth of the Jackson family, Michael debuted in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. His solo career, started in 1971 at Motown Records. His music videos, for “Beat It”, “Billie Jean”, and “Thriller” from the 1982 album Thriller, are credited with breaking racial barriers and transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool, bringing MTV to fame. Jackson’s complicated dance techniques, the robot and the moonwalk, also elevated his popularity. 

Jackson recorded with Queen singer Freddie Mercury from 1981 to 1983, recording demos of “State of Shock”, “Victory” and “There Must Be More to Life Than This”. The recordings were intended for an album of duets but, according to Queen’s manager Jim Beach, the relationship soured when Jackson brought a llama into the recording studio, and Jackson was upset by Mercury’s drug use. The songs were released in 2014. Jackson went on to record “State of Shock” with Mick Jagger for the Jacksons’ album Victory (1984). 

Michael is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with sales of over 350 million records worldwide. Thriller, the best-selling album of all time, has sold 66 million copies. His other albums, including Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world’s best-selling. He won hundreds of awards (more than any other artist in the history of popular music), has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, and is the only pop or rock artist to have been inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame. Other achievements include Guinness world records (including the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time), 15 Grammy Awards (including the Legend and Lifetime Achievement awards), 26 American Music Awards (more than any other artist), and 13 number-one US singles (more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era). Jackson was the first artist to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades. In 2016, his estate earned $825 million, the highest yearly amount for a celebrity ever recorded by Forbes.

On January 27, 1984, Michael and brothers filmed a Pepsi commercial at the Shrine Auditorium in LA. During a simulated concert before a full house of fans, pyrotechnics accidentally set Jackson’s hair on fire, causing second-degree burns to his scalp. Jackson underwent treatment to hide the scars and had his third rhinoplasty shortly thereafter. Pepsi settled out of court, and Jackson donated the $1.5 million settlement to the Brotman Medical Center, Culver City, California; its Michael Jackson Burn Center is named in his honor.

In late 1993 Jackson proposed to Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, over the phone. They married in La Vega, Dominican Republic in May 1994.

-credit Wikipedia

The artwork: 

Each illustration benefits a non-profit fund raiser. Please contact the artist with suggestions.  

Digital Print on Archival Matte – Original illustration done in graphite and prisma colors: Michaels favorites red and black, silver and gold.
Artist: Tobin Bortner of Bastrop, Texas – drawing done in September of 2019 – ©Tobin Signs/Look Closer Illustrations 

DERIVATIVE Work – photo credit: Face, Dave Hogan-GettyImages-Michael Jackson; Jacket, shirt, mixmag-net-trailer-Michael-Jackson-news; Microphone, hand, Anwar-Hussein-WireImage-com-michael-jackson-young-lg

What you get:
$40 (36.95 + 3.05 tax)
11 x 14 Print Package with Authenticity Sheet
signed and numbered (run of 30)
Domestic Priority Mail $8 (Free shipping)