Jan. 7 in history

19 Years Ago --- Big Apple's New Fifth Avenue Location The Vancouver Sun January 07, 1987 Meanwhile, king of pop Michael Jackson is reported so thrilled with the Big Apple's new Fifth Avenue location of the toy store F.A.O. Schwarz he wants to rent it out... After a recent visit to the giant store's glass-encased quarters in the General Motors Building, the singer asked the owner's wife, Jan Harris, if he could rent the store for the night, says New York magazine's Jan. 5 issue. "That's as far as it's gone at the moment," said store spokesman Erin O'Malley. --- 18 Years Ago --- Bad and Boss USA Today January 07, 1988 Michael Jackson, back from Australia, performs March 3 at New York's Madison Square Garden to benefit the United Negro College Fund. Other Garden dates are being talked about, but expect his Bad USA tour to start in the Midwest. His road rival: Bruce Springsteen, who'll kick off a 22-city tour in late February. Those dates won't be announced for at least a week. --- 17 Years Ago --- The TV Ads That Hit the Spot The Washington Post January 07, 1989 No. 1: Pepsi-Cola and Diet Pepsi Pepsi is among the few major national advertisers currently using celebrity pitchpersons including, at the time of this survey, yachtsman Dennis Conner, actress Teri Garr and heavyweight champ Mike Tyson (with cameo appearances by Robin Givens and Donald Trump). But viewers cited two commercials most often, the VST researchers found: "Outfoxed," in which the eternally adorable Michael J. Fox braves a snarling mutt to fetch his sweetie a Diet Pepsi, and "Chase," a cliffhanger starring Michael Jackson with a retooled version of "Bad" for a soundtrack. --- 13 Years Ago --- NAACP Image Awards Honors Michael Jackson As Entertainer Of The Year Sentinel January 07, 1993 Legendary superstar Michael Jackson, recognized as the world's best loved and most celebrated performer, will receive the "Silver Anniversary Entertainment of the Year Award" at the Annual NAACP Image Awards, it was announced recently by Dr. William F. Gibson, chairman of the NAACP's National Board of Directors. Jackson will receive the honor at the awards ceremony, which will take place on Saturday, Jan. 16, at the Pasadena Civic Auditorium. "His achievements in the entertainment world are legendary," said Dr. Gibson in making the announcement. "He has surpassed himself again and again, almost beyond belief. His consistent level of excellence is a stellar example of what the Image Awards are all about. "We honor him for his great talent, and we heartily salute him for his generosity to others as well," Gibson added. Currently celebrating its Silver Anniversary, the NAACP Image Awards was created by the Beverly Hills/Hollywood branch of the NAACP to recognize and honor those individuals who have contributed to the positive portrayal of African Americans. The theme of this year's Image Awards is, "A Celebration of Change." Criteria for selecting the Entertainer of the Year includes: artistic excellence, community service and humanitarian efforts. Past recipients of the award have included: Eddie Murphy, Oprah Winfrey, Patti LaBelle, and Whoopi Goldberg. The story of Michael's meteoric rise to fame began professionally at the age of six, when he and his four brothers performed as the Jackson 5 in their first paying shows in Gary, Indiana. In 1969, one year after winning amateur night at Harlem's legendary Apollo Theater, the Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records -- opening a brand new chapter in recording history. Between 1969 and 1970, with Michael as the 11-year-old lead singer, the Jackson 5 charted four consecutive number one singles: "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There." Beginning in 1971, Michael established himself as a solo artist as well, with singles "Got To Be There," "Rockin' Robin," "I Wanna Be Where You Are," and the number one hit, "Ben." After signing with Epic Records in 1976, the group became the Jacksons, and within two years they were assuming writing and producing responsibilities on their platinum LP "Destiny." With the 1979 release of his Epic debut solo album, "Off the Wall," Michael became the first solo recording artist ever to place four singles from the same LP in the nation's Top 10. "Thriller," Michael's follow-up album, was released on December 1, 1982, and to date, the album holds the Guinness world record for being the largest selling album in the history of the recording industry, with sales in excess of 50 million copies. It remains the first, and only, album in history to generate seven Top 10 singles. Including the five No. 1 singles from his 1987 release, "Bad," Michael achieved a record nine No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100 during the 1980s -- more than any other artist in the decade. And in addition to having two of the biggest selling albums of all time, Michael Jackson has the biggest selling singles in history with the 1980s' anthem, "We Are The World." During his nearly three decades as an entertainer, Michael has displayed a multitude of talents. Whether with his 1978 screen debut in "The Wiz," his best-selling autobiography, "Moonwalk," his theatrical film and record-breaking video "Moonwalker," Michael Jackson has consistently expanded the boundaries of artistic expression, transcending all barriers and surpassing all expectations. Michael's generosity to charitable causes is as boundless as the number of awards he has received. In 1990, for his philanthropic activities for children, President George Bush and Friends of the Capitol Children's Museum honored Michael as "Entertainer of the Decade" -- a distinction he also received from the American Cinema Awards Foundation. During the same year, the Los Angeles Area Council, Boy Scouts of America, created the "Michael Jackson Good Scout Humanitarian Award" for humanitarian efforts toward mankind, with Michael as the first recipient. In 1991, MTV renamed its Video Vanguard Award (which Michael received in 1988) in his honor -- The Michael Jackson Video Vanguard Award. Michael continues to be at the forefront of the entertainment industry. In March of 1991, Sony Software announced a long-term, multimedia partnership establishing the Jackson Entertainment complex, enabling Michael to collaborate in a vast range of endeavors with Sony Music, Columbia Pictures Entertainment and Sony Electronic Publishing in encompassing records, theatrical films, television and short films. In November of 1991, Michael released "Dangerous," which contains 76-minutes of music in the form of 14 songs, 12 of which were written or co-written by Michael, including "Black or White" and "Remember The Time." As part of its Silver Anniversary celebration, the NAACP Image Awards salutes the innumerable contributions and achievements of this consummate artist. The 25th Annual NAACP Image Awards is a production of the NAACP, Dr. William F. Gibson, chairman, National Board of Directors. The show is produced for the seventh year by Hamilton Cloud. Anheuser-Busch Companies, the world's largest brewer, is the official sponsor. The show will be broadcast nationally at 11:30 p.m. (10:30 p.m. central), on Jan. 23, on NBC for the seventh consecutive year. --- --- Daily Briefing Seattle Times January 07, 1993 DRAWING POWER: Singer Michael Jackson has acquired a reputation as a hotel-room Van Gogh. He doodles on bed sheets, napkins, tablecloths, even paints self-portraits on pillowcases. Hotel executives report maids and other employees have gotten hundreds of dollars for creations fished from laundry hampers. --- 12 Years Ago --- Jackson Surprises Audience Journal Star January 07, 1994 Michael Jackson turned up at the NAACP's Image Awards show on Wednesday night in Pasadena, Calif., to a sustained standing ovation and chants of "Michael, Michael," after which he told the audience that "not only am I presumed innocent, I am innocent. And I know that the truth will be my salvation." The pop star, the NAACP's entertainer of the year last year, made a surprise appearance to present an award to Debbie Allen for outstanding choreography. "God be with you, Michael," Allen said. "We're all on your side." --- 8 Years Ago --- Michael Jackson Group Wall Street Journal (Europe) January 07, 1998 Michael Jackson hopes to sign a final agreement in May to build his $500 million amusement park in Warsaw -- if the question of land ownership is resolved, the singer's representative in Poland said... --- 4 Years Ago --- Lisa Marie, Michael Chat As Nicolas Burns Chicago Sun Times January 07, 2002 While friends are predicting wedding bells will soon ring for Nicolas Cage and his love, Lisa Marie Presley, those same pals are also saying Cage is giving Presley an ultimatum. Reportedly, the actor is VERY tired of his girlfriend's continuing obsession with her ex-hubby, Michael Jackson. While a close Cage associate laughs off some press reports claiming Cage has demanded Presley stop ALL contact with Jackson ("Or else!"), he does stress the Oscar winner has asked his intended to "cool it," regarding Jackson. Though divorced, the daughter of "The King" speaks to the "King of Pop" quite frequently and also is a regular phone chatter with Jackson's mother, to whom she's remained close. Apparently, Cage is somewhat jealous of her relationship with Jackson and bored with her constantly bringing him up in conversation. Of course, Cage does not mind talking with Lisa Marie about her late father. As everyone knows, the actor is a HUGE fan of Elvis, who would have celebrated his 67th birthday on Tuesday. --- --- Jackson To Appear On American Music Awards Providence Journal January 07, 2002 The battle between Dick Clark and Michael Greene, and their music award shows, escalated last week. Clark told television viewers during his New Year's special that "Michael Jackson is a man of his word," and that the pop star would appear on Clark's American Music Awards show, which is scheduled to air Wednesday. A Jackson management spokesman said the star would do both shows. Jackson was pressured to back out of the AMA awards, according to a lawsuit filed by Clark against Greene, CEO of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, which awards the Grammys. The suit alleges that the Grammys' policy of barring performers from other awards shows induced Jackson to break his verbal contract with Clark. --- 3 Years Ago --- Defending Michael Jackson The Providence Journal January 07, 2003 The worldwide media via The Associated Press are trying to make singer-dancer Michael Jackson out to be an animal by mischaracterizing his actions with his baby, and mislabeling a photo of him with his baby held over a balcony in Berlin. The story first appeared in The Journal on Nov. 20, stating that Mr. Jackson was dangling his baby over the balcony. There was no photo with this first story, but at the time I suspected the slant of the story because I know how the news media struggle to make news out of nothing. On Nov. 21 there was a picture that showed Michael Jackson cradling his son as he held him over the balcony, for a crowd of fans who were gathered below. The photo was mislabeled At the zoo to suggest, for the readers who could not see the contrary for themselves, that this was an outrageous thing to do. The article went on to describe how the media were outraged by this, and tabloids demanded an investigation. There was another AP story in the same section of The Journal that calmly reported on the public performance of an autopsy before a paying audience of 500 in London, quoting patrons who said it was a fascinating experience. Mr. Jackson did not dangerously dangle his child over the balcony; he held the child over the balcony which he later acknowledged he should not have done. And he did it only after someone in the crowd had held up a Save the Children sign. Though misguided, his action was apparently a show of support for the sentiment. The media, however, distorted the gesture to take advantage of Jackson's celebrity. Shame on them! ---