Michael Jackson -

Michael Jackson (Aug. 29, 1958 — June 25, 2009) was an American soul-pop singer and songwriter who rose to fame as the lead vocalist of the Jackson 5.

As an adolescent, he made four solo albums between 1971 and 1975 for Motown. He scored his first solo No. 1 with “Ben,” a 1972 movie theme.

After his family moved to Epic and made three adult albums as The Jacksons, Michael achieved solo superstar status with his 1979 album Off the Wall, an urban contemporary set with the hits “Rock With You” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough.”

Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller spawned seven Top 10 hits and topped the Billboard 200 for two years, becoming the biggest-selling album of all time. His clips for “Billy Jean,” “Beat It,” and the mini-film for “Thriller” brought the music-video medium to mainstream prominence.

Background

Jackson was born Michael Joseph Jackson on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Ind. He was the eighth of ten children born to Katherine Esther Jackson (née Scruse) and Joseph Walter “Joe” Jackson. Katherine played clarinet and piano; Joe, a former boxer, played guitar in the R&B act The Falcons. Michael had five brothers (Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy) and three sisters (Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet). He was eight years younger than the eldest child, Rebbie (b. 1950), and eight years older than lastborn Janet (b. 1966).

In 1964, Michael and Marlon (b. 1957) joined the Jackson Brothers, assembled by Joe and featuring the five older brothers: Jackie (b. 1951), Tito (b. 1953), and Jermaine (b. 1954). Later that year, six-year old Michael became their co-lead vocalist alongside Jermaine. In 1966, the renamed Jackson 5 won a talent contest at Theodore Roosevelt High School, where Michael sang Robert Parker’s “Barefootin’.”

The brothers played the Midwest circuit of black clubs, colloquially known as the Chitlin’ Circuit. Under the strict discipline of their father, they became an accomplished song and dance act opening for name artists on the Stax and Motown labels. After issuing their first single, “Big Boy,” in 1968 on Gary small-press Steeltown Records, the Jackson 5 signed to Motown and moved to Los Angeles. Michael sang on all their big hits, including “I Want You Back” (#1, 1969), “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There” (all #1, 1970), and “Never Can Say Goodbye” (#2, 1971).

In October 1971, Micheal Jackson debuted as a solo singer with the single “Got to Be There” (#4), written by Elliot Willensky and produced by Hal Davis. It became the title-track of Jackson’s debut solo album, released on January 24, 1972.

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