Michael Jackson

Gary to Motown

Michael Jackson was born on 29 August 1958 in Gary, Indiana, the eighth of ten children. He joined his brothers' group in 1964, and by late 1965 he and Jermaine shared the lead vocals as the Jackson 5. Bobby Taylor brought them to Motown in 1968. In January 1970 I Want You Back became their first number one on the Billboard Hot 100, and ABC, The Love You Save and I'll Be There followed it to the top. Between 1972 and 1975 Jackson also made four solo albums for Motown: Got to Be There, Ben, Music & Me and Forever, Michael. The brothers left for Epic Records in 1975 and became the Jacksons, and Michael wrote some of their songs, among them Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) in 1978.

Off the Wall

In 1977 Jackson moved to New York to play the Scarecrow in The Wiz. Quincy Jones arranged the film's score and agreed to produce Jackson's next solo record. Off the Wall came out on 10 August 1979, his first album for Epic. It reached three on the Billboard Top LPs and Tape chart, and Jackson became the first solo artist with four top 10 hits on the Hot 100 from one album. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough won him his first solo Grammy, for best male R&B vocal performance. He was disappointed that the album won only that one, and wanted to do better with the next.

Thriller

Jones produced Thriller too, recording it at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles between April and November 1982. It was released on 29 November 1982 and spent a record 37 weeks at number one on the Billboard chart. Seven of its singles reached the Hot 100 top ten, and Billie Jean and Beat It both went to number one. The video for the title song, Thriller, premiered on MTV on 2 December 1983, and the album won a record eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year. At the Motown 25 special, recorded on 25 March 1983, Jackson performed Billie Jean and danced the moonwalk in public for the first time. Thriller has sold an estimated 70 million copies worldwide and remains the best-selling album of all time.

Bad and Dangerous

Bad followed on 31 August 1987, the last album Jackson made with Jones. He wrote all but two of its tracks, and it produced five US number ones, the first album to do so, among them Man in the Mirror. Smooth Criminal reached seven. The Bad tour ran from September 1987 to January 1989. For Dangerous, released in November 1991, Jackson turned to Teddy Riley, Bill Bottrell and Bruce Swedien instead of Jones. Black or White spent seven weeks at number one, the album was the best-selling in the world in 1992, and Jackson played the Super Bowl XXVII halftime show in January 1993. The Dangerous World Tour grossed $100 million, but he canceled the rest of it in November 1993.

Later years

In the second half of 1993 Jackson was accused of sexually abusing a boy. He denied it. A civil lawsuit was settled in January 1994, the police never filed criminal charges, and the investigation was closed in September 1994. HIStory arrived in June 1995 as a double album of hits and new songs, and You Are Not Alone became the first song to debut at number one on the Hot 100. Invincible followed on 30 October 2001, his last studio album and, at close to $30 million, reportedly the most expensive ever made. In 2005 he stood trial in California and was acquitted on all counts on 13 June.

Jackson was preparing for This Is It, a series of concerts in London, when he died on 25 June 2009 at age 50, from cardiac arrest caused by a propofol and benzodiazepine overdose. His physician Conrad Murray was found guilty of involuntary manslaughter. The 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland featured allegations of child sexual abuse made against him by Wade Robson and James Safechuck. He entered the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Jackson 5 in 1997 and as a solo artist in 2001.