Michael Jackson: The King of Pop, from Gary to Thriller

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Oldies Music Timeline

Michael Jackson, 1983 — press photo from the Thriller era

Michael Jackson, 1983 — press photo from the Thriller era.
Photo: Uncredited (likely Matthew Rolston), distributed by Epic Records, via Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain.

The King of Pop.

Michael Jackson was an American singer, songwriter and dancer who began as a child star in the Jackson 5 and became the most popular entertainer in the world in the early and mid-1980s. His 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album in history, and his singing, dancing and music videos changed what a pop star could be.

At a Glance

  • Born: Michael Joseph Jackson, 29 August 1958, Gary, Indiana, U.S. — died 25 June 2009, Los Angeles, California, aged 50
  • Also known as: “King of Pop”
  • Genre: Pop, R&B, soul, dance
  • Active: 1964–2009; labels Motown, then Epic
  • Breakthrough: the Jackson 5 as a child; solo stardom with Off the Wall (1979) and Thriller (1982)
  • Studio albums: 10 solo albums in his lifetime, from Got to Be There (1972) to Invincible (2001)

The Biography

A child star in Gary

Michael Joseph Jackson was born on 29 August 1958 in Gary, Indiana, the eighth of ten children in a working-class family. He made his public debut at the age of six as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, the group formed with his brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon. The group signed to Motown and became one of the label’s biggest acts. Jackson began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group; his solo debut album, Got to Be There, was released in January 1972, followed by Ben later that year.

Off the Wall

After leaving Motown for Epic Records, Jackson teamed with producer Quincy Jones for Off the Wall (1979). It included the hit “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough” and established him as a solo artist in his own right, no longer just the former child star of the Jackson 5.

Thriller

Thriller followed on 30 November 1982, and nothing in pop music was ever quite the same again. It became the best-selling album in history, spent 37 weeks at No. 1 in the US, and produced the hits “Billie Jean”, “Beat It” and “Thriller”. At the Grammy Awards in February 1984 Jackson won a record eight trophies in a single night, most of them for Thriller. The 14-minute “Thriller” music video, directed by John Landis and released on 2 December 1983, was later inducted into the National Film Registry — the first music video to be so honoured — and the album itself entered the Library of Congress National Recording Registry in 2007.

On 25 March 1983, during the taping of the Motown 25 television special (aired 16 May 1983), Jackson performed “Billie Jean” solo and debuted the moonwalk, the dance move that became his signature. The performance earned him his first Emmy Award nomination.

Bad, Dangerous and HIStory

Bad (1987) produced five US No. 1 singles. Dangerous followed in 1991, and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I in 1995. In 1985, with Lionel Richie, Jackson co-wrote the charity single “We Are the World”, which raised $63 million for famine relief in the US and Africa and won the Grammy for Song of the Year. Invincible (2001) was his final studio album released in his lifetime.

Later years and death

Jackson’s later career was shadowed by controversy: he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993 and settled out of court in 1994, and in 2005 he was tried and acquitted on other child sexual abuse charges. While preparing for This Is It, a series of comeback concerts in London, he died on 25 June 2009 in Los Angeles, aged 50, from cardiac arrest caused by acute propofol intoxication administered by his personal physician.

Oldies Music Timeline

  • 29 August 1958 — Born Michael Joseph Jackson in Gary, Indiana.
  • 1964 — Public debut as lead singer of the Jackson 5.
  • 1971 — Begins a solo career while still in the Jackson 5.
  • 24 January 1972 — Solo debut album Got to Be There.
  • 10 August 1979 — Off the Wall released, produced by Quincy Jones.
  • 30 November 1982 — Thriller released.
  • 25 March 1983 — Debuts the moonwalk on the Motown 25 special (aired 16 May 1983).
  • 2 December 1983 — “Thriller” music video released, directed by John Landis.
  • February 1984 — Wins a record eight Grammy Awards in one night.
  • 1985 — Co-writes “We Are the World” with Lionel Richie.
  • 31 August 1987 — Bad released.
  • 26 November 1991 — Dangerous released.
  • 1995 — HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I released.
  • 1997 — Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Jackson 5.
  • 2001 — Invincible released; inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist.
  • 25 June 2009 — Dies in Los Angeles, aged 50.

Studio Albums

Got to Be There (1972) · Ben (1972) · Music & Me (1973) · Forever, Michael (1975) · Off the Wall (1979) · Thriller (1982) · Bad (1987) · Dangerous (1991) · HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I (1995) · Invincible (2001)

Note: two posthumous albums of previously unreleased material, Michael (2010) and Xscape (2014), are not counted in the 10 above.

Why They Matter

  • Record sales: estimated at more than 500 million records worldwide as a solo artist, according to Wikipedia’s summary of industry estimates; other sources cite lower totals. No single exact figure is given here, because the sources do not agree on one.
  • Thriller: the best-selling album in history, certified 27× platinum in the US, and named the best-selling album of all time by Guinness World Records in 1985.
  • Grammy Awards: 13 in total, including eight in a single night in 1984, plus the Grammy Legend Award and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
  • Rock & Roll Hall of Fame: inducted twice — in 1997 as a member of the Jackson 5 and in 2001 as a solo artist. Also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame.
  • 13 No. 1 singles on the Billboard Hot 100, and the only artist with a US top-ten single in six decades.

Sources

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