Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. Over a four-decade career, his musical achievements broke American racial barriers and made him a dominant figure worldwide. Through his songs, concerts, and fashion, he proliferated visual performance for artists in popular music, popularizing street dance moves such as the moonwalk, the robot, and the anti-gravity lean. Jackson is often deemed the greatest entertainer of all time.

The eighth child of the Jackson family, Michael made his public debut at age six as the lead singer of the Jackson 5, one of Motown's most successful acts. He rose to solo stardom with the album Off the Wall (1979) and achieved unprecedented global success with Thriller (1982), the best-selling album in history. Its short film-style music videos for "Thriller", "Beat It", and "Billie Jean" redefined the medium as an art form. Jackson followed it with Bad (1987), the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". His next two albums Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995) explored socially conscious themes while Invincible (2001) delved into more personal topics.

From the mid-1980s, Jackson came under public scrutiny due to changes in his appearance, relationships, behavior, and lifestyle. He was accused of sexually abusing the child of a family friend in 1993. In 2005, Jackson was tried and acquitted of further such allegations and other charges. In 2009, while preparing for This Is It, a series of comeback concerts, he died from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician Conrad Murray, who was convicted of involuntary manslaughter in 2011. Jackson's death triggered global reactions, creating unprecedented surges of internet traffic and a spike in his music sales. His televised memorial service, held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, is estimated to have been viewed by more than 2.5 billion people.

Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 500 million records. He holds a joint-record for a male solo artist with 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles and is the only artist to have a top-ten single in six decades. One of the most-awarded music artists in history, Jackson received 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, and the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award; 26 American Music Awards; 12 World Music Awards; 8 MTV Video Music Awards; 6 Brit Awards; and 3 presidential honors. He was inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, and the Dance Hall of Fame. Having donated an estimated $500 million, Jackson is credited with setting a standard for celebrity charity. In 2024, half of his music catalogue was sold to Sony for $600 million, the largest music acquisition for a single artist.

Life and career

Early life and the Jackson 5 (1958–1975)

Michael Joseph Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, on August 29, 1958. He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, a working-class African-American family living in a two-bedroom house on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Jackson (née Scruse), played clarinet, cello, and piano, had aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. She was a Jehovah's Witness. His father, Joe Jackson, was a former boxer, crane operator at US Steel, and guitarist for local rhythm and blues band the Falcons. Michael grew up with three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet) and five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy). A sixth brother, Marlon's twin Brandon, died shortly after his birth.

In 1964, Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers—a band formed by their father which included Jackie, Tito and Jermaine—as backup musicians playing congas and tambourine. Michael said his father physically and emotionally abused him during rehearsals; he recalled that Joe often sat in a chair with a belt in his hand, ready to punish any mistakes. Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped Michael. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon denied that their father was abusive and said that the whippings, which had a deeper impact on Michael because he was younger, kept them disciplined and out of trouble. Michael said that during his youth he was lonely and isolated.

Later in 1965, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to the Jackson 5. In 1965, the group won a talent show; Michael performed the dance to Robert Parker's 1965 song "Barefootin'" and sang the Temptations' "My Girl". From 1966 to 1968, the Jacksons 5 toured the Midwest; they frequently played at a string of black clubs known as the Chitlin' Circuit as the opening act for artists such as Sam & Dave, the O'Jays, Gladys Knight and Etta James. The Jackson 5 also performed at clubs and cocktail lounges, where striptease shows were featured, and at local auditoriums and high school dances. In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur night concert at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.

The Jackson 5 recorded several songs for a Gary record label, Steeltown Records; their first single, "Big Boy", was released in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the Jackson 5 to Motown after they opened for Taylor at Chicago's Regal Theater in 1968. Taylor produced some of their early Motown recordings, including a version of "Who's Lovin' You". After signing with Motown, the Jackson family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown executives decided Diana Ross should introduce the Jackson 5 to the public—partly to bolster her career in television—sending off what was considered Motown's last product of its "production line". The Jackson 5 made their first television appearance in 1969 in the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of "It's Your Thing". Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who "quickly emerged as the main draw and lead singer".

In January 1970, "I Want You Back" became the first Jackson 5 song to reach number one on the US Billboard Hot 100; it stayed there for four weeks. Three more singles with Motown topped the chart: "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There". In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large house at Hayvenhurst, a 2-acre (0.81 ha) estate in Encino, California. During this period, Michael developed from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973) and Forever, Michael (1975). "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did a cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".

Michael maintained ties to the Jackson 5. The Jackson 5 were later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists". They were frustrated by Motown's refusal to allow them creative input. Jackson's performance of their top five single "Dancing Machine" on Soul Train popularized the robot dance.

Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)

The Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975, signing with Epic Records and renaming themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time; Jermaine stayed with Motown and pursued a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally, and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this time, wrote songs such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1978), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).

In 1977, Jackson moved to New York City to star as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a musical film directed by Sidney Lumet, alongside Diana Ross, Nipsey Russell, and Ted Ross which was a box-office failure. The film's score was arranged by Quincy Jones, who later produced three of Jackson's solo albums. During his time in New York, Jackson frequented the Studio 54 nightclub, where he heard early hip-hop; this influenced his beatboxing on future tracks such as "Working Day and Night".

Jackson's fifth solo album and first album as an adult, Off the Wall (1979), established him as a solo performer and helped him move from the bubblegum pop of his youth to more complex sounds. It produced four top 10 entries in the US: "Off the Wall", "She's Out of My Life", and the chart-topping singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". The album reached number three on the US Billboard 200 and sold over 20 million copies worldwide. He also won a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for 1979 with "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". At the American Music Awards during the 1980s, he won Favorite Soul/R&B Single for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and two consecutive awards for Favorite Soul/R&B Album as well as Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist. In 1981, Jackson was the American Music Awards winner for Favorite Soul/R&B Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Male Artist.