Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson left an indelible mark on the sonic landscape and visual aesthetics of the seventies and eighties, emerging as a quintessential figure among twentieth-century luminaries whose singular vision as vocalist, composer, studio architect, and performer reshaped global entertainment and popular discourse. Rising to prominence at the start of the seventies as the standout centerpiece of the Jackson 5, this prodigy soon launched an independent path that yielded his first chart-topping single with the 1972 release “Ben,” the initial entry in a string of thirteen number-one pop hits. His leading turn in The Wiz ignited an enduring alliance with Quincy Jones, whose production stamp defined the luminous disco-era statement Off the Wall in 1979, a collection that introduced a fully realized artist through the consecutive chart leaders “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough” and “Rock with You.” Intent on uniting R&B, rock, and mainstream listeners, Jackson delivered the harder-edged masterpiece Thriller in 1982, which held the Billboard summit for thirty-seven weeks, captured eight Grammy Awards, and stands as the highest-selling album in history; its seven Top Ten singles included the cinematic “Billie Jean” and “Thriller,” both propelled by pioneering videos. “Billie Jean” became the first clip by a Black artist to receive consistent MTV airplay, while Jackson’s rendition of the track at the Motown 25 celebration introduced the moonwalk to a nationwide audience. The technologically advanced successor Bad in 1987 sustained his dominance with five number-one singles. Later hailed as the King of Pop, he enlisted new-jack-swing pioneer Teddy Riley for the global success Dangerous in 1991. Four years afterward, HIStory combined retrospective material with fresh recordings that again reached the summit, while the sleek contemporary R&B outing Invincible in 2001 secured yet another number-one debut yet proved to be his final studio album. Declining health led to his passing in 2009, after which several posthumous projects have kept his singular legacy in circulation.

Those achievements originated in humble circumstances. Born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, as the fifth son of Katherine and Joe Jackson, he grew up under the influence of a Jehovah’s Witness mother and a father who had traded boxing for steelwork while maintaining a parallel interest in guitar. Driven by ambitions of musical fame, Joe organized his sons into a performing unit around 1962; initially comprising the three oldest— Tito, Jackie, and Jermaine—the lineup expanded when Michael joined in 1964 and quickly assumed center stage. Absorbing gestures from James Brown and Jackie Wilson, he anchored the Jackson 5 through local talent-show triumphs and subsequent Midwest soul-club engagements that eventually carried them eastward, culminating in a 1967 amateur victory at the Apollo Theater. Back in Gary, the group issued a pair of 1968 singles on the regional Steeltown label—“(I’m A) Big Boy” and “We Don’t Have to Be Over 21”—before their pivotal opening slot for Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers at Chicago’s Regal Theater brought them to Berry Gordy, Jr.’s attention, resulting in a Motown contract signed in March 1969 and a subsequent relocation to Los Angeles for national exposure.

“I Want You Back,” written and produced by Motown’s newly formed Corporation, appeared in October 1969 while Michael was still eleven; by January 1970 the track had ascended to number one on both pop and R&B charts, transforming the Jackson 5 into an overnight phenomenon that crossed effortlessly onto AM radio. The follow-ups “ABC” and “The Love You Save,” both buoyant examples of bubblegum soul, also topped the charts, as did the ballad showcase “I’ll Be There,” which highlighted Michael’s interpretive range and prompted Motown to develop him as a solo act. His debut single “Got to Be There” closed 1971 at number four on the Hot 100, succeeded by a cover of Bobby Day’s “Rockin’ Robin” that peaked at number two in early 1972. Later that year “Ben,” the theme from an exploitation film concerning a murderous rat, earned him an Oscar nomination for Best Original Song.

Before long, both Michael’s and the Jackson 5’s momentum waned amid changing tastes, adolescent transitions, and contractual friction with the label. A final Motown hit arrived in 1974 with the disco-aligned “Dancing Machine,” after which the group moved to Epic in 1975; Jermaine remained at Motown for his solo pursuits while younger brother Randy stepped in. Following two albums helmed by Gamble & Huff, Michael assumed creative leadership on 1978’s Destiny, co-writing the 1979 smash “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” with Randy. By then he had already forged a substantial solo identity through his Scarecrow portrayal in Sidney Lumet’s 1978 musical The Wiz. Sessions for the soundtrack, featuring his duet with Diana Ross on “Ease on Down the Road,” introduced him to producer Quincy Jones, a jazz and pop mainstay of the fifties and sixties still seeking a breakthrough in the seventies. Their rapport led directly to plans for Michael’s next solo project, though the Jackson 5 first issued Destiny, which further elevated the family’s visibility.

All prior developments served as prelude to Off the Wall, the 1979 album that crystallized Michael Jackson’s independent stature. Working alongside Jones and songwriter Rod Temperton, he deliberately targeted multiple demographics, fashioning a vibrant showcase of his stylistic breadth. Bolstered by the number-one singles “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough” and “Rock with You,” the record climbed to number four on the Billboard 200, moved millions of copies, and accumulated honors—yet fell short of the Album of the Year Grammy, reinforcing Jackson’s determination to secure stronger pop crossover. One additional Jackson 5 album remained: 1980’s Triumph, whose three charting singles—“Lovely One,” “This Place Hotel,” and “Can You Feel It”—benefited from Michael’s heightened profile.

After Triumph he rejoined Jones and Temperton to construct a deliberate mainstream successor. Paul McCartney was enlisted to accentuate soft-rock sensibilities, Eddie Van Halen injected metallic edge, and the remaining tracks traversed disco, pop, and soul with seamless versatility. Although the McCartney duet “The Girl Is Mine” served as the safe lead single from Thriller, the follow-up “Billie Jean” charted at number one across the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada while its groundbreaking video became the first by a Black artist to receive regular MTV rotation, opening the network to additional Black performers. Jackson’s electrifying performance of the song on the May 16, 1983, broadcast of Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever introduced the moonwalk—his signature gliding-backward maneuver—to a national audience and confirmed his arrival as a fully matured artist. “Beat It,” paired with an equally cinematic clip, achieved comparable MTV saturation and propelled Thriller higher; “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Human Nature,” and “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” sustained its number-one run, while the final single received an expansive horror-film treatment directed by John Landis. By the conclusion of its two-year chart residency, Thriller had logged thirty-seven weeks at the summit and sold twenty-nine million copies, establishing it as the best-selling album ever.

Even while Thriller generated sales autonomously, Jackson remained active, reuniting with McCartney for “Say Say Say” on the 1983 album Pipes of Peace and rejoining the Jackson 5 for 1984’s Victory and its accompanying world tour. Shortly before the tour commenced, pyrotechnics during a Pepsi commercial shoot inflicted second-degree burns to his scalp, initiating his use of pain medication. Recognition for philanthropic efforts followed, notably his 1985 collaboration with Lionel Richie on the charity single “We Are the World,” though tabloid speculation intensified around the same period. Acquisition of the Lennon-McCartney songwriting catalog in 1985 ended his partnership with McCartney, while an attempt at film stardom produced the 3D short Captain EO, created with George Lucas and Francis Ford Coppola and screened exclusively at Disney IMAX venues beginning in 1986.

Returning to the studio with Jones, Jackson refined the Thriller blueprint for 1987’s Bad. Following the adult-contemporary lead “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” a duet with then-unknown Siedah Garrett, the album generated five consecutive number-one Hot 100 singles—“Bad,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Man in the Mirror,” and “Dirty Diana”—between 1987 and 1988, with “Another Part of Me” and “Smooth Criminal” also charting strongly. Although Bad did not replicate Thriller’s international dominance, its singles maintained consistent Top Ten placement worldwide, supported by Jackson’s first solo tour, the record-breaking Bad World Tour. Upon its conclusion he adopted the title “King of Pop,” a deliberate counterpoint to Elvis Presley’s designation as “King of Rock & Roll.” He then settled at the Santa Ynez ranch he had acquired in March 1988 and christened Neverland, underscoring his longstanding Peter Pan fascination.

Jackson renegotiated with Sony—by then owner of Epic/CBS—in 1991 and assembled his next project with a range of collaborators, foremost among them Teddy Riley, who steered him toward new jack swing. The lead video “Black or White” sparked controversy that fueled early publicity and propelled the single to number one. “Remember the Time” and “In the Closet” followed into the Top Ten in early 1992, though later singles “Jam,” “Heal the World,” and “Who Is It” posted more modest positions. Jackson’s commercial peak began to recede as personal turmoil mounted: a 1993 accusation of molestation by a thirteen-year-old led to a protracted public and legal ordeal that concluded with an out-of-court settlement in 1995 without formal charges. In May 1994 he married Lisa Marie Presley; the union lasted nineteen months.

He relaunched in 1995 with the double-disc HIStory: Past, Present & Future, Book 1, pairing greatest-hits material with new recordings. Preceded by the double-A-sided single “Childhood” backed with the Janet Jackson duet “Scream,” the set underperformed relative to prior releases yet still yielded major hits, most notably “You Are Not Alone,” the first single to debut at number one on the Hot 100. “They Don’t Care About Us” and “Stranger in Moscow” fared better abroad, while an extensive global tour bolstered international sales. A 1997 companion collection, Blood on the Dance Floor, topped the U.K. charts yet reached only number twenty-four in the United States.

By this juncture Jackson had married his nurse, Debbie Rowe, who became mother to Prince Michael Jackson, Jr. and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. He devoted subsequent years to family and charitable performances before mounting a planned 2001 comeback. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a solo artist that year—the Jackson 5 having already been honored—he staged two major thirtieth-anniversary concerts in September 2001 to launch promotion for Invincible. Largely produced by Rodney Jerkins, the album deliberately echoed Off the Wall on the single “You Rock My World,” which reached number ten ahead of the October release. Invincible debuted at number one in both the United States and United Kingdom but quickly faded without further hit singles.

Music soon yielded to personal matters. A third child, Prince Michael Jackson II, arrived in 2002 amid increasingly erratic public behavior and legal difficulties, including a November 2003 arrest on child-molestation charges from which he was acquitted on all counts in June 2005. During the proceedings Sony issued the 2003 singles compilation Number Ones, featuring the new track “One More Chance.” Additional catalog projects followed: the 2004 box set The Ultimate Collection, the 2006 double-disc Essential Michael Jackson, the 2006 Visionary collectors box, and deluxe reissues in 2008.

Jackson prepared a large-scale 2009 return via the This Is It residency at London’s O2 Arena. While rehearsing in Los Angeles he collapsed at home on the afternoon of June 25, 2009, and was pronounced dead of cardiac arrest at age fifty upon arrival at UCLA Medical Center. Subsequent investigation ruled the death a homicide caused by prescription medication; Dr. Conrad Murray was convicted of involuntary manslaughter.

Posthumous releases appeared swiftly. Motown issued The Remix Suite in October 2009, followed by the concert-rehearsal documentary This Is It and its soundtrack. Vision, a DVD collection, appeared next, while 2010 brought the outtakes album Michael, largely drawn from the Invincible era. The twenty-fifth anniversary of Bad yielded an expanded reissue in 2012. Epic released Xscape in 2014, with L.A. Reid and Timbaland reshaping demos recorded between Thriller and Invincible; preceded by the Top Ten electronic duet “Love Never Felt So Good” with Justin Timberlake, the album received gold certification. Off the Wall received a deluxe reissue in 2016 accompanied by a Spike Lee documentary, and the Halloween-themed compilation Scream arrived in 2017.