Full Text of HR0544 96th General Assembly
HR0544 96TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY
|
|
|
HR0544 |
|
LRB096 13384 KXB 28107 r |
|
| 1 |
| HOUSE RESOLUTION
| 2 |
| WHEREAS, The members of the Illinois House of | 3 |
| Representatives and State Representative Monique D. Davis are | 4 |
| saddened to learn of the death of
Michael Jackson, who passed | 5 |
| away on June 25, 2009; and
| 6 |
| WHEREAS, Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 | 7 |
| in Gary, Indiana to Joseph and Katherine Jackson; at the age of | 8 |
| 4, he began singing with his brothers, Marlon, Jermaine, | 9 |
| Jackie, and Tito, as the Jackson 5; and
| 10 |
| WHEREAS, By 1968, the Jacksons had cut singles for a local | 11 |
| Indiana label called Steeltown; at an engagement that year at | 12 |
| Harlem's famed Apollo Theater, singer Gladys Knight and pianist | 13 |
| Billy Taylor saw their act and recommended them to Motown | 14 |
| founder Berry Gordy; and
| 15 |
| WHEREAS, Motown moved the Jacksons to California, and in | 16 |
| August 1968 they gave a breakthrough performance at a Beverly | 17 |
| Hills club called The Daisy; their first album, "Diana Ross | 18 |
| Presents the Jackson 5," was released in December 1969, and it | 19 |
| yielded the No. 1 hit "I Want You Back," with 11-year-old | 20 |
| Michael on the lead vocals; "ABC," "I’ll Be There," and other | 21 |
| hits followed, and the group soon had their own television | 22 |
| series, a Saturday morning cartoon, and an array of licensed |
|
|
|
HR0544 |
- 2 - |
LRB096 13384 KXB 28107 r |
|
| 1 |
| merchandise aimed at youngsters; and | 2 |
| WHEREAS, By 1972, Michael Jackson had his first solo album, | 3 |
| "Got to Be There," which included the title hit as well as | 4 |
| "Rockin' Robin"; his first solo No. 1 single came the same | 5 |
| year, the theme song from the movie "Ben"; and | 6 |
| WHEREAS, In 1978, Michael made his film debut as the | 7 |
| Scarecrow in "The Wiz," a black-cast adaptation of "The Wizard | 8 |
| of Oz"; the movie launched a creative and commercial | 9 |
| partnership with "Wiz" music director Quincy Jones; "Off the | 10 |
| Wall" was released in 1979, his debut album on the Epic label; | 11 |
| it sold 5 million copies in the United States and 2 million | 12 |
| abroad and generated four Top 10 singles; and | 13 |
| WHEREAS, "Thriller," was released near the end of 1982 and | 14 |
| became the best-selling studio album in history and a cultural | 15 |
| landmark; not only did "Thriller" smash sales records as the | 16 |
| bestselling album of 1983, but it made Michael Jackson the | 17 |
| first artist to top four charts simultaneously: "Thriller" was | 18 |
| the No. 1 pop single, pop album, R & B single, and R & B album; | 19 |
| and | 20 |
| WHEREAS, In a Motown TV special in 1983, Michael Jackson, | 21 |
| then 24, electrified the nation with his Moonwalk, a dance step | 22 |
| that created the illusion of levitation; he took the stage in a |
|
|
|
HR0544 |
- 3 - |
LRB096 13384 KXB 28107 r |
|
| 1 |
| black sequined jacket, silver shirt, black fedora, and black | 2 |
| trousers that skimmed the tops of his white socks; the final | 3 |
| touch was a single white glove, studded with rhinestones; and | 4 |
| WHEREAS, In 1985, Michael Jackson co-wrote "We Are The | 5 |
| World" with Lionel Richie; he and Lionel Richie recorded the | 6 |
| album under the name USA for Africa, along with popular | 7 |
| recording artists of the time; the song became one the | 8 |
| best-selling singles of all time, with 20 million copies sold | 9 |
| and millions of dollars raised to help fight famine in Africa; | 10 |
| and
| 11 |
| WHEREAS, He was preparing for what would be a series of 50 | 12 |
| concerts starting on July 13, 2009 at London's famed 02 arena; | 13 |
| and
| 14 |
| WHEREAS, Michael Jackson is survived by his children, | 15 |
| Prince Michael Jr., Paris Michael Katherine, and Prince Michael | 16 |
| II; his parents; and his siblings Maureen, Jackie, Tito, | 17 |
| Jermaine, Marlon, Randy, LaToya, and Janet; therefore, be it
| 18 |
| RESOLVED, BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE | 19 |
| NINETY-SIXTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that we | 20 |
| mourn, along with his family, friends, and legion of fans | 21 |
| worldwide, the passing of musical icon Michael Jackson; and be | 22 |
| it further
|
|
|
|
HR0544 |
- 4 - |
LRB096 13384 KXB 28107 r |
|
| 1 |
| RESOLVED, That a suitable copy of this resolution be | 2 |
| presented to the family of Michael Jackson as an expression of | 3 |
| our sympathy.
|
|