HIStory
...and Blood on the Dancefloor
In 1995 MJ released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The
first disc, HIStory Begins, was a 15-track greatest hits album, and was later reissued
as Greatest Hits – HIStory Vol. I in 2001, while the second disc, HIStory Continues,
contained 15 new songs. It is the best-selling multiple-disc album of all-time, with 20
million copies sold worldwide.
The first single released from the album was the double A-side "Scream/Childhood".
"Scream" was a duet, performed with Jackson's youngest sister Janet. "You Are Not
Alone" was the second single released from HIStory; it holds the Guinness World
Record for the first song ever to debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.
In late 1995, Jackson was rushed to a hospital after collapsing during rehearsals for
a televised performance; the incident was caused by a stress related panic attack.
"Earth Song" was the third single released from HIStory, and topped the UK singles
chart for six weeks over Christmas 1995; it sold a million copies, making it Jackson's
most successful single in the UK.
In early 1996, the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) issued a press release charging
Jackson with antisemitism regarding lyrics in the song "They Don't Care About Us",
the fourth single from HIStory. The song had originally been recorded with lyrics that
included the phrase "Jew me, sue me", and "Kick me, kike me". The ADL complained
and Jackson responded by saying he would re-record the lyrics before the album went
into production. However the ADL's press release charged that Jackson had per-
formed the song live and included the lyrics in question during the live performance.
The dispute over the lyrics upset long-time Jackson friend Steven Spielberg, who
considered the song anti-semitic.
The HIStory World Tour began on September 7, 1996, and finished on October 15,
1997. Jackson performed 82 concerts in 58 cities to over 4.5 million fans. The show,
which visited 5 continents and 35 countries, became Jackson's most successful in
terms of audience figures.
In 1997, Jackson released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix, which con-
tained remixes of hit singles from HIStory and five new songs. Worldwide sales stand
at 6 million copies as of 2007, making it the best selling remix albums ever released.
Throughout June 1999, Jackson was involved in a number of charitable events. He
joined Luciano Pavarotti for a benefit concert in Modena, Italy. The show was in sup-
port of the non-profit organization Warchild, and raised a million dollars for the refu-
gees of Kosovo, as well as additional funds for the children of Guatemala.
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