Michael Jackson often known as MJ and "The King
of Pop" by his fans, and
"Wacko Jacko" by some of his detractors, has been a transracial pop culture
icon for nearly
forty years. Before his fall from grace, he was one of the most popular
recording artists in
history with album releases dominating pop music during the 1980s. According
to the World
Music Awards, Michael Jackson had sold over 750 million units worldwide and
received thirteen
Grammy Awards and charted thirteen #1 singles in the United States. His
Thriller album has the distinction of being the world's top-selling
album of all time,
His fall from
grace began with a Granada Television documentary in which Jackson
was interviewed by journalist Martin Bashir in February 2003. In the
documentary, a boy is seen holding hands with Jackson and resting his
head on Jackson's shoulder. The boy later testified that the two were
sleeping in the same room, but not in the same bed. Jackson stated in the
documentary that "many children," and had slept in his bed and maintained
that nothing inappropriate occurred with Jackson.
Jackson was indicted for four counts of
molesting a minor, four counts of intoxicating a minor in order to molest
him, one count of attempted child molestation, and one count of conspiring
to hold the boy and his family captive at his Neverland Ranch, as well as
conspiring to commit extortion and child abduction. . On June 13, 2005, the
jury found Jackson not guilty on all fourteen charges. There was a question
not only of the credibility of the main accuser, his mother and entire
family, but also of the many witnesses called to testify in the trial.
Michael died of acute propofol intoxication n
June 25, 2009 after he suffered cardiac arrest at his home His personal
physician was charged involuntary manslaughter.
Billboard has estimated that
Jackson has generated at least $1 billion
in revenue in the year following his death.
For Michael's birthday, we suggest watching
The Wiz (1978) which is a
film version of the 1975 Broadway
musical of the same name .about the adventures of Dorothy Gale (played
by Michael's fantasy Doppelganger
Diana Ross) who finds herself magically transported to the Land of Oz where
she hooks up with a Scarecrow (Michael Jackson) and discover the yellow
brick road and happily begin to follow it together. The film has many
critics and charges and it box-office failure steered Hollywood studios away
from producing more black film projects for several years.
However, it reminds us of a younger Michael before all of the "Wacko
Jacko" charges. An appropriate birthday treat for the former
King of Pop
might be this old German recipe for Bubenschenkel,
a yeast bread that vaguely resembled a pair of Bermuda shorts.
Bubenschenkel translated
into English means boy's legs or boy's thighs. Because it is Michael's
birthday, the boy's thighs translation seems the more appropriate. There are two
versions of Bubenschenkel, plain and sweetened. Because it is
Michael's birthday, the cinnamon/sugar version seems more appropriate.
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