Michael Jackson: “The King of Pop”Was this title fan-generated or self-imposed? That controversy may never end. Jackson liked to say that he adopted it only after it had become a common catchphrase among his followers, although there was little evidence that it had been in popular usage prior to his insisting that MTV identify him as a royal in 1991. But he also referred to it being used by his pal Elizabeth Taylor, and sure enough, she did refer...
more Michael Jackson: “The King of Pop”Was this title fan-generated or self-imposed? That controversy may never end. Jackson liked to say that he adopted it only after it had become a common catchphrase among his followers, although there was little evidence that it had been in popular usage prior to his insisting that MTV identify him as a royal in 1991. But he also referred to it being used by his pal Elizabeth Taylor, and sure enough, she did refer to him as “the King of Pop, Rock and Soul” in a 1989 introduction. Jackson, modest fellow that he was, lopped off the “rock” and “soul” designations and stuck with being ruler of one country. In later years, the British press came up with a name he hardly embraced: “Wacko Jacko,” eventually shortened to the slightly less derogatory “Jacko.”
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