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Paris78

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http://www.billboard.com/articles/n...ael-jackson-beginning-downfall-thriller-pepsi

Why 1984 Was Michael Jackson’s Defining Year -- and the Beginning of His Downfall

By Andrew Hampp | October 27, 2014 1:35 PM EDT

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Although Michael Jackson's Thriller was released in November 1982, the artist and the album's immense cultural impact solidified in early 1984. Thriller spent 17 of its 37 weeks atop the Billboard 200 during an uninterrupted streak that ran from Dec. 24, 1983 through April 14, 1984, second only to the West Side Story soundtrack. The pop star, then 25, would take home eight Grammys for the album in February and break a Hot 100 record for the most top 10 singles from the same album -- seven -- when the title track, buoyed by its groundbreaking John Landis-directed video, peaked at No. 4 on March 3.

Along with the fame came a fortune. According to the RIAA, Thriller is tied with the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits 1971-1975 as the best-selling album of all time in the United States, with 29 million copies shipped. And in July, Jackson reunited with his brothers for the Victory Tour, which grossed $75 million.

But, in a twist worthy of a Dickens novel, Jackson's brilliant year also marked the beginning of his personal downfall when a Jan. 27 commercial shoot for Pepsi ended in near tragedy. He suffered second-degree burns from an on-set fire, leading to an addiction to painkillers that many have attributed to the legend's premature death at age 50 in 2009.

Though a proper documentary of Jackson's heyday has yet to be released, the pop star "always had a crew following everything he did," says Aaron Walton, who was a marketing assistant for Pepsi (and present on the set) at the time of the fateful accident. "I remember asking [Jackson] why he did that, and he said, 'You know, I asked Paul McCartney what he loved about touring with The Beatles, and the thing Paul regretted the most was that he didn't document all of the things that he did. It would have been nice to look back at that film now and just relive some of those moments.' And Michael took that literally -- there was not a moment he was out there where didn't document that stuff. I'm sure there's amazing footage of him and very personal moments that would be amazing to see."

An edited version of this article first appeared in the Nov. 1 issue of Billboard.

Is the article longer in the printed version ??
 
Paris78 said:
But, in a twist worthy of a Dickens novel, Jackson's brilliant year also marked the beginning of his personal downfall when a Jan. 27 commercial shoot for Pepsi ended in near tragedy. He suffered second-degree burns from an on-set fire, leading to an addiction to painkillers that many have attributed to the legend's premature death at age 50 in 2009.
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I disagree with this chapter. Yes he did need painkillers after Pepsi accident. Did he become dependent on them then - NO. It was 9 years later - in 1993 when he had very painful surgeries on his scalp to remove burnt tissue. Related yes, but how the media portrays it it looks like he was addicted since 1984 until his death. What about We Are The World, Captain EO, Bad, Bad World Tour, Dangerous and first leg of Dangerous World Tour?

Also another mistake: painkillers didn't contribute to his death! He died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication - (not painkillers!) which he needed for sleep, not pain!

I hate the media.
 
OnirMJ said:
I disagree with this chapter. Yes he did need painkillers after Pepsi accident. Did he become dependent on them then - NO. It was 9 years later - in 1993 when he had very painful surgeries on his scalp to remove burnt tissue. Related yes, but how the media portrays it it looks like he was addicted since 1984 until his death. What about We Are The World, Captain EO, Bad, Bad World Tour, Dangerous and first leg of Dangerous World Tour?

Also another mistake: painkillers didn't contribute to his death! He died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication - (not painkillers!) which he needed for sleep, not pain!

I hate the media.
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it's not just the media with this rumor. I've seen so called friends and fans say the same thing. It's just not true.

And it's quite obvious when there were problems in 93. Not only did he have those excruciating scalp surgeries then, but Lupus becomes uncontrollable with stress and nobody in the world was under more stress and pain than he was. I would have taken enough painkillers to kill a cow.

I'm sick of all this addict stuff.
 
Why most of the media (if not all) becomes tabloid crap when it comes to Michael? Is it so hard to tell the truth?
 
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For them...yes. They have blinders on. They've been doing it so long, they can't see anything else but the negative spin. They have no courage to take a different outlook with him. Their all just major corporate entities now. Personal decline? Well lets not mention all the awards won, crowned King in Africa for God's sake, recognized globally as a humanitarian on a massive scale, Royalty and Heads of State meeting with him and almost pulling out the red carpet for him. Naw lets not go there. They'll allow him Thriller, but that's it.
 
InvincibleTal said:
It's like they had a good will but it still turned out to be shit.
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Exactly. I had a feeling it would not be good so I peeked down to the ending and saw something about the painkillers used for the Pepsi burn which may have been attributed to his premature death, and I said yeap that says it all. No need for me to read the whole thing.
 
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