Biography
A star since the age of 10 when The Jackson Five registered four No. 1 hits in 1970, Michael Jackson parlayed his remarkable singing and dancing talents into mega-stardom, the likes of which few entertainers have ever known. By the time he released Thriller in 1982, which quickly became the best-selling album in the history of recorded music, Jackson was the biggest pop icon in the world. Yet at the very height of his fame, allegations of …
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Career Milestones
1964 | First performed in front of classmates and others during a Christmas recital at the age of five |
1964 | Joined the Jackson Brothers - a band formed by brothers Jackie, Tito and Jermaine - as a backup musician |
1965 | Appeared at amateur night at the Apollo in New York City |
1967 | Assumed lead vocals (with Jermaine); group's name was changed to The Jackson 5 |
1967 | With The Jackson 5, recorded several songs for the local record label Steeltown |
1968 | Signed with Berry Gordy's Motown Records after group got out of their previous contract with Steeltown |
1970 | Saw four singles ("I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There") peak at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 |
1971 | Along with brothers, inspired the ABC Saturday morning cartoon series "The Jackson 5"; only appeared in the introduction, however the group's music was used |
1972 | Released first solo No. 1 single "Ben"; also the title song from the movie and album of same name; earned Golden Globe and Oscar nominations for Best Original Song |
1972 | Released first solo album Got to Be There, including the hits "Got to Be There" and "Rockin' Robin" |
1975 | Jackson 5 sued by Motown Records for breach of contract when they announced they were leaving the label; lawsuit eventually settled in 1980 |
1976 | Featured in the musical variety show "The Jacksons" (CBS) |
1976 | First Epic album The Jacksons contained Michael's first published song, "Blues Away" |
1976 | Signed with Epic Records and changed their name to The Jacksons |
1978 | Made film debut as the Scarecrow in "The Wiz"; first collaboration with Quincy Jones, who scored the music |
1979 | Re-teamed with Quincy Jones for the solo album Off the Wall |
1982 | Contributed the song "Someone In the Dark" to the storybook for the film "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial" |
1982 | Released his best-selling album Thriller; also starred in the John Landis-directed "Thriller" video; regarded as the best-selling album and best music video of all time |
1983 | Introduced the moonwalk on the "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" (NBC) television special; garnered an Emmy nomination |
1985 | Bought the catalogue that controls the rights to Beatles songs for $47.5 million |
1985 | Co-wrote the charity single "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie; produced by Quincy Jones |
1986 | Starred in the Francis Ford Coppola-directed 3-D film "Captain EO"; produced by George Lucas and shown at Disney's Epcot Center (until 1994) and in Disneyland's Tomorrowland area for nearly 11 years |
1987 | Released first album to ever generate five No. 1 singles, Bad |
1988 | Released his autobiography Moon Walk |
1989 | Given the title the "King of Pop" by friend Elizabeth Taylor |
1989 | Produced the musical fantasy feature-length film "Moonwalker" |
1989 | Subject of the documentary "Michael Jackson: The Legend Continues" |
1991 | Created controversy with the John Landis-directed video "Black or White" from his Dangerous album |
1993 | Performed during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXVII |
1995 | Released the double album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I; the single "You Are Not Alone" became the first single to debut at No. 1 on both the pop and R&B charts |
1995 | Teamed with sister Janet for the duet "Scream"; earned a Grammy nomination; the video garnered a record 11 MTV Music Video Awards |
1996 | Released the controversial video "Ghosts" on Halloween; first shown in U.S. theaters as a warm-up to "Steven King's Thinner"; later played at the Cannes Film Festival |
1997 | Inducted (along with the Jackson 5) into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame |
1997 | Released Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix album with little publicity |
2001 | Informed head of Sony Music Entertainment Tommy Mottola that he was leaving Sony; they cancelled all his singles releases, video shootings and promotions for his upcoming album |
2001 | Released Invincible album to disappointing sales, which led to conflict with Mottola and Sony |
2002 | Returned to feature films with a cameo appearance in "Men in Black 2" |
2003 | Appeared in a rebuttal to Bashir's report on the two-hour Fox special "Michael Jackson, Take Two: The Interview They Wouldn't Show You" |
2003 | Interviewed by British journalist Martin Bashir for the documentary "Living with Michael Jackson" (aired in the U.K. on ITV and in the U.S. on ABC with Barbara Walters presenting) |
2007 | Bought (with Sony) the Famous Music LLC from Viacom, which gave him the rights to songs by Eminem, Shakira and Beck |
2008 | Issued Thriller 25 to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Thriller; the release comprised of original material from the album |
2009 | Scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at London's O2 arena, when Jackson died from an apparent cardiac arrest |
2010 | Earned a posthumous Grammy Award nomination (Best Male Pop Performance) for "This Is It" |
Awards
1979 | Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male |
1983 | Grammy Award for Album Of The Year |
1983 | Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Performance, Male |
1983 | Grammy Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male |
1983 | Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children |
1983 | Grammy Award for Best Rhythm & Blues Song |
1983 | Grammy Award for Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male |
1983 | Grammy Award for Producer Of The Year, Non-Classical |
1983 | Grammy Award for Record Of The Year |
1983 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Individual Performance In a Variety or Music Program in Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever |
1984 | Grammy Award for Best Video Album |
1985 | Grammy Award for Song Of The Year |
1989 | Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form |
1990 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Achievement In Music and Lyrics in Sammy Davis Jr.'s 60th Anniversary Celebration |
1995 | Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form |