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Ever since I was born...
Daddy has been the best father...
...you can ever imagined.
And I just want to say I love him so much.
As Michael Jackson's daughter
broke down at his memorial service,
millions of fans around the world
shared her pain
and the pain continued
as debate raged over what was the cause
of the singer's premature death.
Two years on
and after a six-week trial in Los Angeles,
Michael Jackson's personal physician,
Conrad Murray,
was found guilty of the involuntary
manslaughter of the 50-year-old singer.
The court found Murray guilty
of giving Michael Jackson...
...a fatal dose of propofol.
A powerful anesthetic normally
only administered in hospitals.
No competent physician...
...would give these drugs without having
emergency airway equipment present.
Good morning again, thank you.
It broke off actually.
-Did you do that?
-No, I did not.
-No?
-No.
We, the jury in the above-entitled action,
find the defendant, Conrad Robert Murray,
guilty of the crime
of involuntary manslaughter.
Conrad Murray was jailed for four years
and labeled "dangerous" by the judge.
He will lose his medical license.
It brings to an end the final chapter
in the extraordinary saga
of Michael Jackson's life
and unexpected death.
This is a look at the true story
behind the singer,
who's been officially recognized
as the most successful
entertainer of all time.
Nobody demands the attention
that Michael Jackson does.
You're talking about someone
who's not just a great artist,
great writer, great performer,
but he was a visualist as well.
He was incredible.
There was something that
just radiated life in his work,
life in all of its extremes.
We'll be examining
Michael Jackson's extraordinary life,
and shockingly premature death.
And what made him the man he was.
Over the past 40 years,
no other celebrity has been as respected
or as reviled as Michael Jackson.
Probably the most famous pop star
of all time,
Michael Jackson had exceptional talent.
But he lived a controversial life
and died a controversial death.
During Dr Conrad Murray's trial,
an audiotape of Michael Jackson
sounding heavily sedated
a month before his death
was played in court.
It was discovered on Murray's cellphone,
and was used prosecution to prove
that Michael had put his life
in the hands of his doctor.
When people leave my show,
I want them to say,
"I've never seen nothing like this
in my life."
In his closing argument,
the prosecution said the doctor caused
the star's death on June 25th, 2009,
through negligence.
Depriving Jackson's children of their father
and the world of a genius.
The defense argument
that Jackson was a drug addict,
who caused his own death
by giving himself an extra dose of propofol
was overthrown.
Of course I think that his death
could be prevented
if he had a good physician.
I just believe he was in the wrong hands.
My friends in the medical profession
were shocked
when they heard that Michael
had been using this drug
because they told me
they never let it be used
outside of hospital conditions.
To take it in a domestic situation
is to invite a tragedy.
Dr Murray violated the most basic...
...aspects of the doctor-patient
relationship.
It was gross neglect.
Someone like Michael Jackson
should have had a proper doctor.
With Dr Murray behind bars,
for some, anger about what happened
in the star's final hours...
...was combined with a feeling of relief
that allegations that Michael
had taken his own life...
...had been thoroughly disproved.
He had so much going for him.
He wouldn't have done it,
A, for his children,
which meant everything to him.
There's no question that Michael
would ever have killed himself.
Of course, despite his tragic early death,
the legend of Michael Jackson,
the man who became
known as The King of Pop,
is destined to live on.
So what was it about Michael Jackson's
contribution to music,
dance and fashion,
and his much-publicized personal life
that caused him to be
such a global phenomenon?
Michael Joseph Jackson was born
in the industrial city of Gary, in Indiana,
on the 29th of August, 1958.
The seventh of nine children.
His father, Joseph Jackson,
a steel mill worker,
recognized his children's
musical talents,
and organized a family band
made up of Jackie,
Jermaine, Tito, and Marlon.
In 1963,
when Michael was just 5,
he also joined the group.
Joe was a firm disciplinarian
who scheduled a strict regime
for Michael and his brothers.
And their relentless hours of practice
left very little time
for normal childhood activities.
Did you meet Joe?
I've met Joe a few times.
And?
Well, he's the father of Michael,
but they are so totally different,
like chalk and cheese.
If you look at his background,
he's come from...
Basically, he was a welder
in a very poor town in mid-America,
and has been catapulted
through on the back of his children
into some huge stardom.
Michael is probably,
like, the complete opposite.
Michael described his relationship
with his father as turbulent.
Joe was so determined
his sons would be successful,
that in rehearsals,
a fumbled note or a misstep
could lead to harsh physical punishment.
Michael himself,
talked of the horror
of being beaten by his father.
"Whipped" was the word.
And how his father would sit there,
as they were rehearsing,
with a belt waiting to smack them
if they got it wrong.
But on the other hand,
he called his father a genius
for instilling in them the discipline
to present this slick stage act.
From my analysis, I believe that
Michael was a very sensitive...
Very, very sensitive kind of individual.
So even though you have really strict,
strict parents,
there are some children
that can handle that strictness.
But there are other children,
it really affects them.
People respond
to that kind of abuse differently,
and with some of the other brothers
I think that, you know,
it didn't impact them
the same way psychologically
that it did Michael.
It really hurt him, and he carried it
throughout the rest of his life,
you know, that his father drove him
and pushed him,
but never treated him like a son.
Every time he would speak about
his father, his face would contort.
You could see that
he was really, really stressed
about his experience with his father.
It definitely had a damaging effect on him.
It really did.
Michael later said he was made
to work too hard for a child.
But also recalled singing and dancing
with real joy as a youngster.
He did discuss his childhood with me.
And I think that he's been quite open
about his childhood.
In terms of his relationship with his father,
I think what the public doesn't know
is that he forgave his father
for some of the hurt that was caused.
And at the end of his life,
he was very much
on good terms with his father.
So I think that a lot of the things
that they happened a long time ago
and, you know, Michael forgave.
I think if Joe didn't do what he did,
there would have been no Michael Jackson.
I'm not one of these people that say,
you know, point the finger at the father.
He took a very poor family,
took a talent that he saw,
and he gave it to the world.
By the time he was 8,
Michael had emerged
as the group's lead vocalist.
The Jackson brothers changed
their name to The Jackson 5
and toured clubs
all over the American Midwest.
Joe Jackson was always very, very certain
that he was going to turn
his children into stars.
I think it was probably pretty disturbing
to him in many ways
that Michael was the brother
who very clearly was the most talented
because he was never
particularly close to Michael
and he always probably
gave Michael the harshest treatment.
Michael was already showing
a remarkable range and depth
for such a young performer.
Impressing audiences with his great dancing
and ability to convey complex emotions.
After winning a major local talent show
with renditions of Motown hits
and James Brown's "I Got You,"
The Jackson 5 were signed by Berry Gordy
to the legendary Motown record label.
When I first heard him sing
Smokey Robinson's "Who's Loving You,"
at 10 years old,
he sung it like he felt he had been here.
He'd known the song for 50 years.
The pain, the torture,
he could put that into music,
and lyrics, and feeling.
You know, Michael was just absolutely
brilliant, brilliant.
The group was an instant sensation.
Their debut single "I Want You Back"
rocketed immediately
to Number 1 in the States
and sold over a million copies.
When you put the needle down
on "I Want You Back"
you were floored.
First of all, the thrilling piano glissando,
and then that wailing melisma from Michael.
So charismatic.
And then he lands
on the first word, "when."
And he had us.
At the first word,
we already were owned
by this extraordinary young talent.
"I Want You Back" is just a classic pop song.
You know, just bursts
right out of the speakers,
and there's so much vibrancy to the record.
It was a little bit a little bit of soul,
but also what was referred to
as bubblegum pop.
When you heard that song
you completely started singing along.
You couldn't... It was infectious.
It wasn't just that
about it being catchy,
but it was also the vocal delivery
was fantastic by this little man.
With his brothers behind him,
it was just like,
"Wow, how did they do that?"
Everybody was just fanatical about them.
I mean, you wanted your hair like them,
you wanted to wear the same clothes.
I mean, you just didn't even want
to go to school anymore.
I mean, that's how it was for us.
We were obsessed.
He transcended color, all barriers.
Everybody just loved them.
Michael, the youngest and the lead,
was only 11 years old,
but the record label claimed
he was even younger.
Saying he was just 9
to make him appear even cuter.
The Jackson 5 demonstrated
the traditional paradox of child stars.
Kids' energy combined with unbelievably
professional dance moves.
It was obvious that Joe, the father,
had instilled in them the necessity to be
visually, as well as musically, appealing.
And, of course, those giant Afros helped.
And the colorful shirts,
and the bell-bottom trousers.
They were the real deal.
And they were instantly imitated,
across the culture.
Jackson-mania swept the nation.
And within a year of their debut,
The Jackson 5 were among
the biggest names in popular music.
All four of The Jackson 5's first singles
reached the Number 1 spot
in the United States.
And were also international hits.
Most agreed that it was Michael,
with his extraordinary, versatile voice
and smooth dance moves,
who was the principal reason
for the Jackson 5's
amazing international appeal.
Michael, even at that early age,
had emotional insight.
Whether this was because
he was the youngest brother
and had been subjected to...
...what we are told were brutalities
by the father,
whether he had this loneliness
that he said he did,
he was emotionally aware
before most young people.
And he could invest a lyric
with an emotional delivery.
As a kid,
Michael was always beyond his years.
He was an innovator.
He was a genius at what he did.
Having the experience
of being a child star,
led to his strong friendship
with Mark Lester,
who had made his name
as a child actor in the title role
of the 1968 film "Oliver."
Michael started at the age of 5.
I started at the age of 5.
So, you know,
we were always kind of comparing.
Obviously Michael's fame
was infinitely more than mine.
But, you know, having been in the
spotlight at such an early age,
and we used to share memories
about our early times.
He said, you know, when these
teeny bop magazines came out,
we were in the States.
There's one called "Tiger Beat,"
I think and "Seventeen."
There were four people
they used to feature.
And one of them was Michael6
who obviously dominated Donny Osmond,
David Cassidy,
myself, and Jack Wild.
So there was five who, not always,
but were kind of the ones that were shown
most in these magazines.
And Michael would pick up these magazines
and quite often there would be
a page of Michael,
and the next page would be me.
So he kind of thought there was some...
some sort of parallelism between us.
He did tell me that
he enjoyed the film "Oliver."
And it was his favorite musical.
And it remained his favorite musical
for all his life,
which was kind of odd coming from Michael
who has dominated the pop charts
for so long
and made so many wonderful records.
For him to tell me that this was his
favorite musical was something else.
It was quite an honor, really.
In 1972, Michael got his first taste
of solo success
with the title song to the film "Ben,"
which was a hit worldwide.
Throughout these early days,
it was clear Michael
was using every opportunity
to prepare for his future.
When he wasn't performing,
he was to the side of the stage,
in the Apollo, in the Regal.
And he was watching people
like James Brown,
and people like Smokey Robinson
and Jackie Wilson.
And he was watching and learning
and picking things up.
And so he was such a student of his craft
that when it was time for him
to branch out on his own,
he had a lot of ideas.
By 1975, after 13 albums
and countless top 10 hits,
Motown and The Jacksons
were to part company.
With a fresh start at Epic Records
and re-named simply The Jacksons,
the journey was far from over.
The hits just kept on coming.
In 1977, Michael Jackson
starred in a feature film "The Wiz."
A remake of "The Wizard of Oz,"
featuring an all-black cast.
Michael played The Scarecrow,
and Diana Ross played Dorothy.
It was on the set of "The Wiz"
that Michael was introduced
to Quincy Jones,
which led to Jones producing
Michael's first astonishing
and original solo album,
""Off The Wall"."
The first single released
was "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"
went straight to Number 1.
There's just so much energy in it,
rhythmically it's so complex,
and it's just amazing
that kind of craftsmanship.
His mother actually was concerned
about the title of the song
because it could be interpreted sexually.
And Michael told her, you know,
"People will think what they
want to think," you know.
And so, he kind of wanted to leave it
open like that,
and just kind of be a bit coy with it.
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" was a really
significant turning point for Michael Jackson
because it proved that
he was the solo Jackson now.
When that song came out
and he was just on his own,
and that, that video, you could never
forget that video.
Because there's nothing else in the video
except for him in a suit, dancing.
""Off The Wall"" established Michael
as an artist of undeniable talent.
And a star in his own right.
It went platinum,
selling over seven million copies.
The album's success led to Michael's
nine-year partnership with Quincy Jones.
Their next collaboration
was the album "Thriller" in 1982.
The first single released,
"The Girl is Mine,"
did not suggest great things.
It was a nice pop song.
A duet with Paul McCartney,
got to Number 2, I think, a million seller
but not a classic.
Then "Billie Jean."
And the ground moves beneath us.
"Billie Jean" is probably
Michael's most famous song.
It became this big hit
with a very unusual theme.
It's a darker song.
It's a song about distrust
and anxiety and paranoia.
Michael was beginning to write songs
that maybe got people to dance still,
but also that were exploring
some of the things that he was experiencing.
The "Billie Jean" story, from my memory,
was to do with all the fans
that used to come to see them,
especially The Jackson 5 time.
And I think Michael was really shocked
at the way people were so sycophantic
about them.
He had an amazing, amazing, creative mind
that he would take this fanaticism,
that was aimed at him
and turn it into this,
kind of, story in a song.
With "Billie Jean" you've just
got this classic bass line,
and then you just have
this amazing...the strings,
and the kind of atmosphere of it.
Sometimes Michael doesn't get the credit
that he deserves as a composer,
but this was a song that Michael had
very close to finished at his home studio.
But then they brought it in
and just polished that and perfected it.
The "Billie Jean" video was impressive
because you can see
it was an actual film set.
And every time he would walk on the steps,
the lights would come on.
He's practiced these dance steps
until he knows them in his sleep.
He mastered everything.
The timing was impeccable.
It was incredible how he
was able to take a set
and turn it into...
...something that you couldn't
get your eyes off of.
From the time he was walking
down the street,
past the buildings, you were captivated.
I mean, it's quite a simple idea
when you think about it,
but he executes it in a way
that had you mesmerized.
It's a historic hit for a variety of reasons.
It forced MTV to play videos
by black artists.
Walter Yetnikoff, who was
the head of CBS at the time, said,
"If you don't put 'Billie Jean' on,
you're not getting our videos."
Because "Billie Jean" was such a big hit.
And MTV had to recant
and ever since then, of course,
there have been black artists on MTV.
"Beat It," the third single from "Thriller,"
with its Van Halen guitar solo,
managed to broaden Michael Jackson's appeal,
bringing in rock fans.
The title track "Thriller" was released
as the fourth single.
Written by Rod Temperton,
the writing talent behind several
of Michael Jackson's songs,
it was in a class of its own.
It's an A-team. You've got Rod Temperton,
who's an amazing writer,
you've got Quincy Jones,
the most incredible producer of all time.
Then you've got this incredible artist,
Michael Jackson.
Three incredible musicians,
who are just at the top of what they do.
This is what created "Thriller."
You knew from the very first introduction,
the minute you hear that, you're hooked.
It's just incredible.
It's such a powerful intro.
The video was unprecedented for its time
with a duration of over 14 minutes.
John Landis,
who's this renowned director, comes in.
He's done horror but with kind of
a satiric edge to it.
And so, he comes in, combines
his talents with Michael Jackson,
and you get this video,
that becomes a phenomenon.
Prosthetics created
by visual effects artist Rick Baker,
and dazzling choreography
made for an impressive video.
It was so popular that a documentary,
"The Making of Michael Jackson's Thriller,"
became the world's largest-selling
home video.
Everybody was obsessed.
When you're walking down the street,
everyone was dressing like Michael Jackson.
Everyone had the same clothes on.
I mean, we're talking...
Everyone was "Thriller."
Everyone became Michael Jackson.
That's how big of a phenomenon it was.
One memorable part of the single
is the distinctive, spooky voice
of horror movie actor, Vincent Price.
They had begun recording,
and Quincy Jones said,
you know, "what if we
brought in Vincent Price?"
And Michael didn't know
who he was at the time,
but once Quincy, kind
of, familiarized him,
Michael was all on board,
and they brought in Vincent Price,
and I think it took one or two takes.
The album "Thriller" became a huge hit,
reaching Number 1 in the United States
and the United Kingdom | at the same time.
It remained in the Top 10
in the US Billboard chart for an entire year.
An incredible seven of the nine songs
were Top 10 singles.
Michael's ability to fuse different
musical influences was unique.
He was drawing from such a rich,
diverse background.
So he was fusing things
that normally wouldn't be fused.
It's one thing for Michael
to be mimicking James Brown,
it's another thing for Michael
Jackson to be fusing James Brown
with, you know, Fred Astaire,
or Charlie Chaplin.
When you see it in his short films,
and when you hear it in his music,
you can kind of see how he's bringing
different elements together.
Today, "Thriller" retains its position
as the world's best-selling
record of all time,
with an estimated
110 million copies sold worldwide.
During the 1980s,
Michael Jackson was as
famous internationally
as many of the world's leading political
and religious figures.
By the age of only 25,
the New York Times summed him up
as a musical phenomenon,
stating that in the world of pop music,
there is Michael Jackson,
and then there's everybody else.
Michael Jackson is one of the few artists
who have been inducted
into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice.
His awards include,
eight Guinness World Records,
including one for "Thriller"
as the world's best-selling album,
13 Grammy awards,
and 13 Number 1 singles
in his solo career.
Michael was honored with a star
on Hollywood Boulevard
and received a further accolade
when he was presented with
a Greatest Artist of the Decade Award
by President Bush at the White House.
Those who performed
or recorded with Michael,
often spoke of how impressive
he was to work with.
Michael was looking for three males
and a female, and...
So four of us went in together and...
The four of us had worked together
in studio situations before.
We had auditioned for him,
and we were video-taped,
and he liked us, and he's completely
tuned in to what he's doing.
As well as being tuned in
to what you're doing behind him.
And that's nice for a singer because
he can appreciate what we do
because it's what he does.
And he has an ear for that.
And if you do something that he likes,
then he comments on it,
and you don't always get that
with really big people, you know.
He could be just tuned in what he's doing
and then split, but he's not, you know.
He knows exactly what's going on,
and he appreciates what's making his show
exactly what he saw in the very beginning.
It was at the 25th anniversary of Motown,
in 1982,
that Michael, singing "Billie Jean,"
unveiled his now famous moonwalk.
He was re-interpreting the song in new ways,
and allowing people to experience it
both sonically and visually.
It received worldwide media coverage.
By this time, MTV,
which had, in the past, been reluctant
to give airtime to black artists,
was scoring its top ratings
with Michael's videos.
A bizarre firework accident in 1984,
when Michael was performing "Billie Jean"
with his four brothers for
a Pepsi-Cola commercial,
resulted in Michael suffering
second-degree burns to his head.
Plastic surgery was required
to restore his appearance.
Brian Oxman, the Jackson family lawyer,
claims the medication prescribed
to Michael Jackson during this time
led to his long-term addiction
to painkillers.
When he burnt his hair
at the Pepsi commercial,
he started using painkillers then.
He then fell from a stage
and broke his leg,
he also cracked a vertebrae in his back,
and those things
have caused him terrible pain.
In 1987, the album ""Bad"" was released.
""Bad"" is the last of the trilogy
produced by Quincy Jones.
By the time "Bad" comes around,
Michael's self-image has changed.
With "Off The Wall," he wanted to make
an important hit album.
After "Off The Wall,"
he felt the work under recognized,
and was hungry for mass acceptance
across the pop world.
He achieved that with "Thriller."
So now, he's beginning
to worry about his personal image.
And so he poses on the sleeve
of "Bad" looking like a tough guy.
In that respect,
"Bad" was the beginning of the
personality cult of Michael Jackson.
The title track "Bad" was actually intended
as a duet with Prince.
Michael had already written the song,
and Prince really liked it,
and Prince said that he'd, you know,
it'd be a number one hit.
But he felt like it was set up
for Michael to win.
You know, because they were going
to do this big music video
where they're, kind of, having a dance-off,
and, you know, all this kind of drama to it.
So Prince backed out,
and Michael ended up doing it as a solo,
and it was a Number 1 hit.
Michael's new, edgier look
took some admirers by surprise.
It was a huge change for everyone.
We couldn't believe his image
would change that much.
Gone were the suits
and his hair had, like, Jheri Curl,
you know, like, a wet look.
And he had on this leather jacket, you know
with, you know, very rock star.
We'd never seen Michael look
hard like that, you know.
It was, like he looked like
he was this rock man.
At the time, I have to be honest,
when I heard "Bad"
I was a little bit, like,
I don't know if I'm feeling him doing that.
But what made me change my mind
was the video.
Because when I saw the video I was
just, like, wow, this is great!
Because they were in the subway.
You can't help but watch that.
And that made the song better
for me visually.
By now, Michael Jackson
was at the peak of his fame,
with the Bad Tour attracting
huge media attention the world over.
Before taking to the stage in the UK,
Michael presented Prince Charles
and Princess Diana
with a 300,000-pound check,
from the proceeds
6of his Wembley concerts
for the Prince's Trust,
a charity supporting disadvantaged children.
Michael presented Princess Diana
with two custom-made
Bad World Tour jackets.
One each for her young sons
Prince William and Prince Harry.
In 1988,
Michael Jackson set up, built
and conceived, I guess, Neverland,
which is obviously the place
where he would go on to live
for most of the rest of his life.
Here was a grown man
at the peak of his success
who felt the need to live
in a huge amusement park.
Named after the mythical island
in JM Barrie's novel "Peter Pan,"
Neverland was Michael's fantasy theme park.
It had a zoo, Ferris wheel
and other over-the-top amusements.
Built on a 3,000-acre ranch
in Santa Barbara, California,
Neverland was maintained
by 54 full-time staff.
It was a child's dream world.
Michael even had a pet chimpanzee.
I was invited to Neverland.
The gates opened,
the wooden gates opened.
It's, like, this yellow, brick road,
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,
and Disney World all combined.
You know, it was just...
It was an escape.
There was a time we went over to Neverland
and my little girls
were about 6 and 7 then.
And we spent a week
with Michael in Neverland
and we went on all the rides,
we went around the zoo.
We had our own cinema.
We could see whatever film
we wanted to see.
And at the end of the week
that we were there,
I said to the girls, I said, "Okay,
we've been here for a week,"
"what's the best thing you like
about Neverland?"
And my two girls both at exactly
the same time said, "Michael."
This was a man who, having the money
to do anything with his property,
chose to make it look like a child's home.
Obviously, he had created
a paradise for children.
But not just other children,
him, the child, as well.
Michael would invite children,
especially sick children,
to spend the day there,
hoping to create warm childhood memories
for his many young visitors.
The thing that struck me about Neverland
is it was packed with under-privileged
children from around the world.
And there was coach-loads,
and it cost so much millions to run.
Throughout his life,
Michael Jackson was a passionate
supporter of charity.
In 1992,
he set up his own charity foundation
that he called Heal the World,
the name of a track from "Dangerous,"
the album he had just released.
Are we blind to the fact
that our children are raging
against the indifference,
crying out against the abandonment,
of thundering against the neglect.
Heal the Kids is about doing something
about making a difference
in trying to help adults
and parents realize
that it is our power to change
to the world that our children live in.
He did so much for charity.
I mean, this was a tireless giver.
He was a total absolute giver.
What they would try to do
in the media would try...
They would try to say that,
you know, his charity ran out of money,
and you'd hear stories like that.
It's not being run properly.
They haven't really gone
into how much he has done
regarding terminally ill children,
cancer-stricken kids.
I mean, this is someone
who's done so much.
You don't see that side
of him very often.
They don't say much
about it in the media,
and I think that's sad.
Michael gave so much.
I think he's the most generous entertainer
that's ever lived.
I think that's in the Guinness
Book of Records.
He's second to Bill Gates as a person,
for all that he's given.
Michael, it's now my great pleasure
to present you with a check
for one million dollars.
This represents the money Pepsi-Cola pledges
to raise in Europe this summer.
With our best wishes for Heal the World.
In America, the song "Black or White"
was the most successful track
from "Dangerous."
What people often forget
with the "Black or White" video
is that it was Michael's
most controversial video,
and it was censored.
You have this main part of it
that most people are familiar with,
you know, where it's kind of
a celebration of diversity.
What happens after the end
of the main music video
is a black panther sneaks off of the stage,
and then Michael's conveying,
kind of, the darker side
of the song and of racism.
And Michael Jackson just unleashes
this raw expression of indignation
and, you know, conveys violence.
He's breaking in windows, you know.
There's this, like, sexuality to it,
but it's an aggressive sexuality.
And so people didn't know
what to make of it.
When we first saw Dangerous
and saw Michael's image
completely change again,
and he had become even whiter,
I think everyone was very, very concerned.
And everyone was starting to think
he didn't like being black anymore.
Then he comes out with the song
from "Dangerous" called "Black or White,
and we suddenly went,
"Oh, for goodness sake."
"You've gone whiter, and then you put
out a song called 'Black or White.'"
"What's going on here?"
Many people thought that Michael Jackson,
over a period of time,
had been bleaching his skin.
So this was a real statement for him
because he was essentially responding
to those criticisms through song
and saying,
"Why does it matter if I'm black or white?"
It's only later on obviously,
way down the road,
like, what, 15 years later
you find out that he had vitiligo,
which is a serious skin condition
where you completely lose pigment.
He definitely had vitiligo,
which, you know, the interesting thing
about that is that
a lot of people didn't believe him.
And, you know,
it took really until he died
and the autopsy report actually
indicated that he had vitiligo.
Stars were all about mystery then.
It's not like now where you know
everything about an artist.
The artist was supposed to be an enigma.
And I don't feel that they thought
it was the right thing to tell the public
what was really going on with Michael.
Imagine being somebody that grows up
in front of the world,
and you have this pretty unusual
skin condition
and people are saying things like,
"You are ashamed of your race,"
you know, and "You don't want to be black.
You're trying to be white."
Michael's appearance had altered so much,
it was clear the changes weren't all to do
with his skin condition.
If you're going to understand
why Michael Jackson
would have plastic surgery,
you've got to understand
that he was a human being.
And he was subject to the insecurities
that we all have.
And when, at an early age,
he was frequently criticized
by his father, it hurt him.
And having been told numerous times
his nose was too big,
when he could afford to not have it so big,
he made it smaller.
All of those experiences when he was young
contributed to this kind of desire
to change his physical appearance.
And he was also an artist.
And he kind of began to treat
his face as a work of art.
You know, he had this kind of
various ideals of perfection
that he was trying to achieve physically.
Michael Jackson's dramatic
change in appearance
prompted all sorts of media speculation.
There were rumors that he and his sister
Latoya, were the same person.
And that he was trying
to make himself look like Diana Ross.
It's been said that Michael
Jackson underwent plastic surgery
to make himself look more like you.
I don't think so.
-Is that true?
-Well, I don't think he has.
No one's ever told me.
He's never told me that. I don't think so.
But is it unnerving for you
to have a young man
that's undergone plastic surgery
to make himself look like you?
Well, I don't think he's trying to look
like me. I really don't.
I think he wants to look like
what he perceives is makes him
feel happy about himself, you know.
I don't think he's
trying to look like me.
I do think he's quite
beautiful though, by the way.
So many people really don't know him,
and they don't give him a chance,
and they're so ready to criticize.
And I think what happens
is when you see genius,
and when you see a talent that is
just unstoppable and untouchable,
the first reaction people have
is to criticize it
because it scares them, it
threatens them, and it, sort of...
In order to augment
their own self-worth,
they feel that they have to belittle him.
Just back up. You get all you want.
In the summer of 1993,
Michael Jackson's life
was turned upside down
when he was accused of sexually abusing
a 13-year-old boy.
The accusations of child abuse
at his Neverland Ranch,
were immediately denied.
The case was settled out of court
for a reputed 20 million dollars,
and no formal charges were brought.
Now, if this really went on,
do you think a father would accept money?
That that would make it okay?
That that would make
everything all right?
It doesn't make any sense.
I know that if that
were my son, I'm sorry,
I don't care if you gave me
a billion dollars.
I want to see you either behind bars or dead
for doing that to my son or my daughter.
It's crazy.
The guy was after money.
That's what he wanted.
It was just after this, in May 1994,
that he married Lisa Marie Presley.
Whose father was one of the few men
who could rival Michael's worldwide fame.
The marriage to Lisa Marie Presley
was completely fascinating.
I mean, it dominated the tabloid agenda
both in the UK and in the US.
Here was the biggest music star,
of the last decade, undisputedly,
marrying the daughter of the biggest
music star of all time, Elvis Presley.
At the time, he was in the midst
of these allegations,
all of a sudden, people were very,
very concerned about the way that he looked.
He was incredibly gaunt.
Incredibly white, looked surgically enhanced,
and not in a good way.
So, why would this young, beautiful,
up-and-coming daughter
of a famous celebrity
decide to enter into this marriage.
Someone who's Michael Jackson,
the biggest star in the world,
he can't really just walk down the road
and go out with anyone, can he?
I mean, think about it.
His demographic would have to be
someone like, you know, Lisa.
I think that's probably why,
in his mind, it would have been okay
because she would get his level of fame
and notoriety and everything else.
I mean, it was completely fascinating.
And I think to this day,
no one really knows
what the situation was
between Michael Jackson
and Lisa Marie Presley.
She hasn't spoken about it much
and it was a very bizarre chapter
in both of their lives.
Despite media speculation about
the credibility of the relationship,
Lisa Marie and Michael
publicly denounced rumors
and declared their love was genuine.
The marriage was short-lived and ended
on amicable terms in 1996.
Within a year of the separation,
Michael's association with his
dermatologist's assistant, Deborah Rowe,
led to an announcement that
she was pregnant with his first child.
Michael had wanted kids for a long time.
In fact, he had wanted kids
with Lisa Marie Presley,
which is one of the reasons
why they got a divorce.
And with Debbie Rowe
she came to Michael and said
that she would give him a child.
And that she would essentially
be a surrogate mother
and provide Michael what he always wanted,
which was to have children.
Soon after this,
the couple were married in Australia.
Deborah gave birth to a son,
Prince Michael Jackson Jr.,
followed by a daughter,
Paris Michael Katherine.
But the relationship was not to last.
By autumn 1999,
the couple announced
their intention to divorce
with full custody of the children
going to Michael.
In 2002, Michael announced
the birth of another son,
Prince Michael II, also known as Blanket.
And to this day, the mother's name
remains a mystery.
The single, "You Are Not Alone,
from Michael's album "History,"
released in 1995,
remains, commercially,
one of Michael Jackson's
most successful songs.
The lyrics to "You Are Not Alone,"
from his first album
since the child sex abuse allegations,
managed to link the incidents of Michael's
recent past and media obsession with him
with a feeling of isolation.
"You Are Not Alone" is one of those songs
that can be interpreted
in a variety of ways.
I think a lot of people, when they heard it,
interpreted it as a love song.
But it was also a song where it conveyed
a certain degree of isolation.
The toll of a life in the spotlight.
It was a real Michael Jackson ballad
in the true sense of the word.
And it did become a huge hit for him,
I guess, really against all odds
because the music video
was incredibly strange.
I mean, it featured Michael Jackson
almost naked
under the sheets with his wife,
Lisa Marie Presley.
And it was a very odd music video.
But the song has been one
of Michael's most enduring yet.
Michael's music was increasingly dealing
with the world issues he saw as important.
You start to see it
with the "Dangerous" album,
with the "History" album,
a lot of the songs, you know,
it's no longer about relationships
or dancing, you know.
Michael's tackling big, social themes.
It was very interesting actually
because the release of "History"
did not go down well.
It was a greatest hits package
combined with a new album,
and there were a whole load of stunts
which were really derided.
For example, Michael Jackson
deciding to send
a massive statue of himself
down the River Thames in London
despite him being still caught up in
all these allegations of child abuse.
But actually, I always felt like "History"6
was probably his most
underrated album ever.
I mean, some of the songs to come
from "History" are completely iconic.
"They Don't Really Care About Us,"
"Earth Song,"
"Scream,"
"You Are Not Alone."
It was a huge album.
But by that point it almost didn't matter
what Michael Jackson released.
There were enough questions
about him as a person
that actually his music
was again overshadowed.
All through his life,
the more Michael tried
to protect his privacy,
the more fascinated
the press became with him.
And the more absurd the stories became.
99.9% of what's written
about him is, was false.
I read that his nose went missing.
I think it was in the Daily Mail.
That's, I mean, that's absolutely crazy.
But I think what it is that
perhaps there's an ounce of truth
in what's written,
but it's totally embellished.
You know what the media's like.
It's called propaganda.
They take anything and they blow it out.
We're family.
You saw the way we grew up
in the two-bedroom house.
Family is more important
than all the success in anything,
and we're always going to hold on to that.
Their whole thing is to divide
and conquer and to separate us.
We're family.
We're family. We have children.
We hurt just like everyone else.
He was very hurt
by the misreportings in the press.
But I think he, his defense mechanism
was actually was not to read them.
Don't let it, you know.
They're going to say whatever
they're going to say anyways,
so just don't read,
don't get involved with that.
And I said to him one day I said,
"Why don't you just sue them?"
And he said,
"Mark, if I was to sue everyone..."
"...that wrote something about me
that was untrue,"
"I'd be in court every single day."
So it just wasn't worth it for him.
So he just decided to let it go.
In 2001,
"Invincible" became the last album
of new material
that Michael Jackson released
during his lifetime.
Though it received mixed reviews
and suffered from the fallout
of a dispute with Sony,
it still managed to make it to Number 1
in 11 countries, including the US.
But as time went on,
Michael's life as a musician
was almost eclipsed
by the endless gossip
surrounding his lifestyle.
Curiosity and controversy
were his constant companions.
An incident in 2002,
which was circulated around the world,
showed Michael holding his baby
out of a Berlin hotel window
for his chanting fans to see.
It created uproar.
I was in the room when it happened.
When I saw it on the camera, I thought,
"Oh God, that looks really awful."
But actually below the window
of the hotel is a ledge
that comes out quite a way.
And if Michael had held
the baby quite firmly anyway
and it was just a gesture to say
"This is my new child," you know.
And then it got...
He got absolutely slammed for it.
But that baby was in no danger at all, ever.
And in fact, when we didn't
think anything of it
until after he'd done it.
And the fans were all clapping
and cheering.
Until the next day,
when it came out in the papers
and we were...
And then I saw the news clip, and I thought,
"Well, yeah, that does look
a bit scary."
It was foolhardy.
Therefore we must ask ourselves,
"Why did he do it?"
And the answer is that...
...the feelings he had,
which motivated him to do it,
were greater than even
his concern for the child.
And that is,
"I want to present to you my new cub,"
as in "The Lion King," at the beginning,
the circle of life,
when the new cub is held up.
Of course, in this case it happened to be
over the balcony, which was really dumb.
But he didn't think about that.
I'm sure he didn't look down and think,
"Oh, is there a balcony or not?"
He was just holding the kid up.
The incident naturally led to all sorts
of speculation in the press
about Michael's abilities as a father.
Much worse was to come.
In 2003,
he was accused of sexually
abusing another boy.
And this time he was charged
and taken to court.
As Michael professed his innocence,
on the surface, he appeared to
be handling the situation well.
But the lengthy trial took its toll.
I would like to thank
the fans around the world.
Could you speak up, please?
I would like to thank
the fans around the world,
for your love and your support
from every corner of the Earth.
My family, who's been very supportive.
My brother, Randy, who's been incredible.
I want to thank the community
of Santa Maria.
I want you to know that
I love the community
of Santa Maria very much.
It's my community. I love the people.
I will always love the people.
My children were born in this community.
My home is in this community.
I will always love this community
from the bottom of my heart.
That's why I moved here.
Thank you very much.
When I first met Michael,
he had control in his life.
And I think the control started
slipping away 2003 onwards
when he sank deeper into despair
over the false accusations.
In the last few weeks,
a large amount of ugly, malicious
information has been released
into the media about me.
The information is disgusting and false.
It took a lot out of him.
I mean, he didn't eat very well,
sleeping very badly.
And that probably took 10 years off him,
I should think.
Please keep an open mind
and let me have my day in court.
I deserve a fair trial
like every other American citizen.
I will be acquitted and vindicated
when the truth is told.
When the trial began,
hordes of Michael supporters held vigil
for him outside the courthouse.
When Michael arrived at court,
he jumped on the top of his car
and started dancing.
And the pressure was enormous for him.
I mean, of course we knew that
he was innocent of all charges,
but you know, a lot of innocent men
have been found guilty,
and evidence can fall
one way or the other.
So the stress of three months of
going to court every single day.
He looked thin.
He looked anemic, almost.
I mean, he was it was just...
I think that really was probably
the worst thing in his life
as far as his health goes
and his mental state.
The child sex abuse trial was something
that Michael Jackson had always
wanted to avoid.
This was his worst nightmare.
He was pretty clear to those around him
that he thought a trial of this kind
would kill him.
And the effect on his health
was really significant.
I think we all remember those pictures
of Michael Jackson
turning up in court in his pajamas
or just not turning up at all.
He was in terrible discomfort
during the entire trial proceedings.
He's going to go home, recuperate,
rest and relax,
and he'll be back on Monday,
and he's looking forward to being here.
And he went to the emergency
room this morning,
and he was given medications.
So he'll be back on Monday
and we all thank you so very much.
You take care.
There was very limited sympathy for him.
I mean, the tabloid headlines
the day he did turn up to court in
his pajamas was "Banana in Pajamas."
I think the world felt, for the first time,
at least the world of the media,
that actually, maybe,
these years and years and years
of managing to get around the law,
however he'd done that,
had finally caught up with Michael.
I'd like to let the world know
that I'm behind my son.
I don't believe any of this stuff
that's being written about him
because I raised him, and I know I mean,
that's just a statement people are making.
We support our brother
whole heartedly, and...
...we stand by his side, and there is
we're in the process of planning a trip
with the whole family to visit him.
On June the 13th, 2005,
Michael Jackson was found not guilty.
And completely cleared of all charges.
There was no African-American on the jury.
With so many search warrants,
so many months of investigation
so many million dollars,
and they didn't even
get an alcohol charge.
They put it in to get something,
they didn't even get that.
It didn't go to show how guilty he was.
It went to show how innocent he is,
how clean he is.
They went through his house
with a fine comb.
And the lady that brought the charges
later went and ended up in jail for fraud.
So, you know, I mean, Michael was a victim.
It's thought that the anxiety
caused by the trial
had a serious, detrimental effect
on Michael's health.
And this stress,
along with the constant pain he felt
with his back and other ailments,
led to a dependency on prescription drugs.
The man was in pain, and there
was no question about it.
He needed to have certain medications,
but the problem becomes
the overuse of medications.
And that's something which people,
I think all people find
very difficult to control.
He simply wasn't able to control it.
Over the years, Michael's friends
claimed they did their best
to help him overcome his dependency.
I warned him many times.
I shouted at him on several occasions.
And I actually told him verbally,
"Michael, this will kill you."
"Michael, you will die."
When I went into his bathroom,
I saw lots and lots of pillboxes
and various different medication.
And in there, there was Demerol,
there was Paxil, Zoloft.
Demerol is a painkiller.
And Paxil and Zoloft,
they're antidepressants.
When I saw these things in the bathroom,
I wasn't thinking,
"Oh, you know, he's he's a drug addict,"
or anything like that.
I was thinking, "Maybe he's sick,"
and I wanted to know.
And I kept on asking him,
"What's happening?"
And he was like, "No, everything's routine.
It's all okay."
In the years following
the sexual abuse trial,
despite being cleared of the charges,
Michael, in many ways,
appeared a broken man.
There were then numerous reports
that Michael Jackson
was having financial problems.
And he was no longer enjoying
the same level of success with his music.
The world wasn't prepared
to see beyond Michael's eccentricities.
And the scandals that had
overshadowed his life.
Michael Jackson is an incredible artist,
you know.
And artists aren't
always normal, you know.
In fact, some of the greatest artists
are very eccentric
and very unique, very different.
And Michael was a great artist.
He lived his life in a different way,
in an unusual way.
But when we go back to those songs,
when we go back to those videos,
when we go back to those albums,
we find just an incredibly rich,
diverse array of art
that deserves attention.
Michael's enduring appeal
was proved in March 2009
when he announced a number
of comeback concerts
at the O2 arena in London.
London welcomes The King of Pop!
Mr Michael Jackson!
These will be...
...my final show performances in London.
This is it and see you in July.
Michael Jackson's announcement
of 10 concerts here
is certainly a coup for the O2 arena.
And if those concerts go well,
the expectation is that
he'll add many more dates.
But questions still remain about whether
the Michael Jackson of today
can still cut it live on such a big stage.
It's a staggering show.
That's what Michael Jackson does.
And so therefore, you're talking about
absolute the the top of all of energy.
I mean, he has to be, you know,
almost plugged into glucose
because that's the only way
he's going to get through it.
Well, money was a huge factor
for Michael Jackson over his final years.
He was broke.
He had lived well beyond his means.
So the idea behind these farewell concerts
that he was very passionate about
was not only that he could go out
in the way he wanted to onstage,
but also that'd he'd make
the millions and millions of dollars
which he desperately needed.
Thousands of fans from all over the world
converged on the O2 arena to buy tickets.
Proving that the megastar's appeal
was as strong as it had ever been.
We came from the west of Ireland yesterday,
or on Wednesday morning
and we've been queuing since.
It was so hard to get the tickets,
so I just well, I'll just take the risk
and just come down here and spend the night.
I just don't care.
When you're looking forward to something,
you don't really suffer.
That we had rain or our tent got flooded.
But just 'cause we knew that
we were going to see Michael,
none of that stuff matters
because we're here for Michael.
We'll do anything.
Let me state this.
The man came back,
sold out a bigger tour than
he's ever done in his heyday.
It sold out 50 dates,
I think something
like a million tickets in four hours.
So he was very loved
and he was very supported.
I don't think he has to prove
anything to pull it off.
I mean, he's a legend. He is.
I mean, Michael Jackson's going
to turn up and do his shows,
and everybody will see that,
you know, the next chapter.
There were conflicting reports
on the state of Michael Jackson's health
in the lead-up to the concerts.
Last time I saw Michael was
at the conference at the O2.
You know, they say he looked high.
They say he looked sedated.
I would say...
...he looked that he was focused.
The last time I saw Michael
was in March 2009.
And to me, he did look underweight.
He did, he looked a lot thinner
than I'd ever seen him before.
And I don't think
he looked particularly healthy.
He just seemed frail to me.
Michael Jackson weighed correct
for his height.
He had the best dietician
that you can get.
The initial announcement was of 10 concerts,
which were going to held at the O2 arena,
a massive venue in East London,
and after they sold out,
they just kept adding dates.
I don't think it was reasonable
to expect somebody of 50
to do 50 concerts in six months.
I just think that's too hard.
He just didn't have enough time
to prepare for it, you know.
And so much was riding on that,
and it put an enormous strain on him,
enormous strain.
And I just don't think
it was very fair on him.
And I think, in some respects,
it was quite irresponsible,
very irresponsible.
After Michael announced the concerts,
he stayed in London,
and my family came up,
and we spent the weekend with Michael
before he flew back to the States.
He was in a really good, positive mood.
I mean, he was in such
a positive frame of mind.
Best I've seen him for a long time.
He told me his children
had never seen him perform.
They'd seen, obviously, video
and DVD footage of him on stage,
but they'd never actually seen him live.
So this was something he not
only was doing for his fans,
but mainly for his children.
I pulled him aside and said,
"Mikey, why now?"
Okay, and he said to me, he said,
"Because you know what?"
"My kids are old enough, and I'm still
young enough to do what I do,"
"and I wanted them to see me, you know,
in my prime in what I do."
But the children never would see him perform.
The world would never see the comeback
Michael Jackson had promised.
Fire Paramedic 33, what is the emergency?
Yes, sir, I need to... I need an ambulance
as soon as possible, sir.
Okay, sir. What's your address?
It's 100 North Carolwood Drive,
Los Angeles, California. 90077.
You said "Carolwood"?
Carolwood Drive, yes.
On June 25th, 2009,
the Los Angeles Fire Department responded
to the 100 block of Carolwood
at 12:21 and 18 seconds.
Unfortunately at the time,
the dispatcher answered the phone call,
and never once did the caller ever identify
to the Los Angeles Fire Department
that the person that needed
our help was Michael Jackson.
And what's the problem?
Exactly what happened?
Sir, I have awe have a gentleman here
that needs help, and he's not breathing.
He's not breathing, and we need...
we're trying to pump him, but he's not...
Okay. How old is he?
-He's 50 years old, sir.
-50? Okay.
He's unconscious. He's not breathing?
-Yes, he's not breathing, sir.
-Okay. And he's not conscious either?
-He's not breathing? Okay.
-No, he's not conscious, sir.
All right. Do you have...is he on the floor?
Where is he at right now?
-He's on the bed, sir. He's on the bed.
-Okay, let's get him on the floor.
Okay, let's get him down to the floor.
I'm going to help you
with CPR right now, okay?
When our paramedic heard that it was being
CPR was being conducted on the bed,
gave explicit, direct, emphatic direction
for that patient to be moved from the bed
and CPR to be done on the ground.
Okay, let's get him down to the floor.
I'm going to help you
with CPR right now, okay?
-We need him to get...
-We're already on our way there.
I'm going to do as much as I can
to help you over the phone.
We're already on our way.
Did anybody see him?
Yes, we have a personal doctor here
with him, sir, but...
Oh, you have a doctor there?
Dr Murray said that he would take
full responsibility for the patient.
What that does for us is that
now the doctor becomes the highest
level of a medical authority.
If he would have denied, we would have
asked him to step aside,
and the paramedics would have been
the highest medical authority
to give care to Michael Jackson.
He's not responding to anything.
No he's not responding
to CPR or anything, sir.
Oh, okay.
Well, we're on our way there.
If you guys are doing CPR and
you're instructed by a doctor,
he has a higher authority than me.
-I think they're on scene.
-Okay.
Did anybody witness what happened?
No, just the doctor, sir.
The doctor has been the only one here.
Okay, so did the doctor see what happened?
Doctor, did you see what happened, sir?
Sir, if you just if you can please...
We're on our way. We're on our way.
The question is why did it take
Dr Murray so long to dial 911?
Only Dr Murray can answer that question.
Obviously, fast response save lives.
Why Dr Murray took so long
and whoever long,
he noticed that Michael Jackson was down,
it's unexplainable to us.
I'm just passing these questions
on to my paramedics
while they're on the way there, sir.
Thank you, sir.
He's pumping the chest.
But he's not responding
to anything, sir, please.
Okay, okay. We're on our way.
We work 45 minutes because, as paramedics,
we call it the golden hour.
Obviously, we try to tell the community
when someone is pulseless and non-breathing,
you call 911 immediately wherever you live.
We're less than a mile away.
We'll be there shortly.
Thank you, sir. Thank you.
Call us back if you need anything else.
The singer, Michael Jackson,
is reported to have died
about three hours ago.
He was not breathing
when paramedics arrived.
They performed heart massage,
and then they took him
to the UCLA Medical Center in the city,
where he's said to have gone
into a deep coma.
He was pronounced dead a short time ago.
The singer had been due in London
for a series of concerts during the summer.
I am somewhat numb.
I am shocked at the passing
of Michael Jackson, you know.
It's like a dream, a bad dream.
He was so much like a son to me.
It's just hard to realize
that Michael Jackson is not here.
Unless you are a fan of Michael Jackson
in a way that so many millions of people are,
and the way that I am, you can't begin to
understand the loss that we're feeling.
I don't know. I can't stop crying.
He meant so much to me.
It's hard to deal with it,
and it's still hard to believe.
I think you saw
when Michael Jackson died,
something that maybe
certain people didn't expect,
which is that there was this huge
outpouring across the world.
There were just generations
of Michael Jackson fans
that were celebrating his life because
his work resonated for them.
And it resonated across cultures,
it resonated across age groups,
across generations.
Michael's work was able to cross divisions,
and reach people.
After a small, private funeral,
Jackson's death triggered
a global outpouring of grief,
and it was reported that as many as
one billion people around the world
watched his public memorial service.
The star-studded, emotional ceremony
took place
at the Los Angeles Staples Center.
It saddens me that there are
so many people in Los Angeles
who, when he died,
claimed to be his friend,
and yet, where were they?
Why didn't they help him?
I think we drove him to a lot of things.
The world could have done more
to appreciate him, to let him know,
"Enjoy yourself. We love you.
You're good. You're very good."
It's sad that we wanted
so much from the man
that we kept saying, "more, more, more,"
rather than saying,
"Hey, no more from you."
"Rest up. Enjoy your life."
Michael had been rehearsing in LA
right up to the night before he died.
Getting set for his upcoming London shows.
So there were serious questions
about what had caused him,
a man who appeared so fit,
to die so unexpectedly
at the age of just 50.
Just the night before he died,
Jackson was here at the Staples Center in LA
rehearsing for his upcoming London shows.
And by all accounts,
it was a pretty energetic performance,
running through 10 or 11 songs and dances.
After which, Jackson's manager,
says the singer came up and put his arm
around him and told him,
"I am so happy. This is really our time."
At these rather less-glamorous studios,
Jackson had a tough schedule
for the last few months.
The people here who watched him rehearse
said he was thin and frail,
but he seemed fit.
He was, you know, up to par.
He was at his best and he was ready to...
to come back and just wow us all away.
A documentary featuring Michael
preparing for the This Is It Tour,
the comeback that was never to be,
shows an energetic performer.
He wanted to come back badly in a great way.
He was a perfectionist,
so he wanted these concerts
to be close to perfection,
and that creates stress.
That creates anxiety.
He reportedly had once said
to Lisa Marie Presley,
"I have this terrible feeling I'm going
to go the way your old man did,"
meaning die young.
But actually, he really
did go the way of Elvis,
which is that they both had an incredible
number of drugs in their body.
I thought that for the past 15 years,
Michael had obviously been
on a downward trajectory
in terms of his relationship with reality,
and his perception of himself.
What really was the shocker
was the revelation of the extent
of the drug use,
which no responsible physician
would have allowed.
Within hours of his death
from cardiac arrest,
police became suspicious about the doctors
who provided Jackson with
a steady supply of prescription drugs,
though it was over seven months
before Dr Conrad Murray was arrested,
and another 18 months
before he was brought to trial.
Within six weeks,
Murray had been found guilty
of involuntary manslaughter.
He was sentenced
to the maximum jail term of four years,
bringing some kind of closure
for Michael Jackson's family
and many fans the world over.
The court has determined
that the appropriate term
is the high term of four years.
Of course, Michael's musical legacy
will live on.
Just as Dr Murray began his jail sentence,
Cirque De Soleil embarked on a 47-city
Immortal World Tour
celebrating Michael Jackson.
The most elaborate of many tributes
that have followed the singer's death.
Another sign that, despite his troubled life,
Michael Jackson will always be remembered
for his extraordinary musical genius.
You're talking about someone
who's not just a great artist,
great writer, great performer,
but he was a visualist as well,
he was incredible.
Nobody creates the attention,
demands the attention
that Michael Jackson does.
A Michael Jackson doesn't just come along
once in a century or a life time.
He only comes along once.
We had the benefit of enjoying him
while he was here,
and we will enjoy him forever
through his music.
There was something genuine.
There was something exuberant.
There was something that
just radiated life in his work,
life in all of its extremes.
Even when Michael Jackson sang a cliche,
he could inject it with life.
And that was his gift.