Three years ago we lost
Michael Jackson and as the Jackson family dukes out The King of Pop's estate in public, we look to celebrate the music that Jackson left with us forever in the month that he would have celebrated his 53rd birthday. In 1995, after being accused of child sex abuse and molestation and marrying
Elvis' daughter, Jackson had a lot to say and like most artists, he said it all in the medium he knew best. In June of '95 he released a double album that was part Greatest Hits collection and part new material called
HIStory: Past, Present and Future Book 1. The title, which looked like it said "His Story," played like a audio timeline of Jackson's work as a solo artist and in the idea that this was the first "book" or chapter in his life story, where would Jackson go from here? While the first disc was all songs everyone knew by heart, it was disc two that shocked everyone, for the first time ever we heard a pissed off Michael Jackson thanks to songs like "They Don't Care About Us," "Tabloid Junkie,""Scream" and his cover of
The Beatles, "Come Together" - which he owned since he bought the Fab Four's catalogue from
Paul McCartney in the 80's. His songs were focused at his childlike innocence, his rage at the press, his rage at those pointing the finger at him and the way people were being treated around the world. While Jackson gave himself a voice and stood up for what he felt was his innocence, he was still torn down. By the end of his HIStory world tour, he would not work nor release anything until 2001's disappointing Invincible.
HIStory maybe the final mark of the Jackson we remember, the musical icon and man that helped us all see and feel things we would not have known existed. While a second book of
HIStory was never released, we can only imagine what he would have had to say then if he lived.
