Michael Jackson is one of the most successful and influential pop artists of all time. He was born in 1958 and began his career as a member of the Jackson 5 recording for Motown with four of his brothers. They hit #1 in the chart with “I Want You Back” in 1969. It was followed by three more consecutive #1 hits. They were the first artists to score number 1 on the popsingles chart with their first four hits. The group's popularity faded in the mid 1970s, but after moving to the CBS record label and simply referred to themselves as the Jacksons, they consistently hit the charts in the late 70s and early 1980s. Among their hits at the time were “Shake Your Body (Down To the Ground)” and “Can You Feel It.”

Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson scored #1 on the pop-singles chart as a solo artist in 1972, while serenading a rat with the title track of the film Ben. He hit the top five with two other early singles. 1971's “Got To Be There” Went to #4 and 1972 “Rockin' Robin” hit #2. Michael Jackson came back to the top of the charts only seven years later with the release of the album Off the Wallin 1979, produced by Quincy Jones. It was at the same time a final sob of disco and an R&B classic that was ringing the 80s. The album peaked at #3 on the album chart, sold over seven million copies and included four top 10 pop singles. The singles “Do not Stop” and “Rock With You” went all the way to #1 on the charts. “Do not Stop 'Til You Enough' won a Grammy Award for Best Male R & B Vocal. In 1982, three years after Off the Wall, Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson collaborated again and created Thriller, the best-selling album of all time. It was preceded by the single “The Girl Is Mine”, a collaboration with Paul McCartney, which reached number 2 in the chart. A month after the album hit the stores, the second single 'Billie Jean' was released and the masterpiece that Thriller is began to unfold. Eventually 28 million copies were sold in the United States and Thriller became the first album to release seven singles in the pop-top 10. “Bille Jean” and “Beat It” both hit #1 and the music video for “Beat It” ripped down barriers for African American artists at MTV. Thriller's music generated a phenomenal eleven Grammy Award nominations. The album won the Album of the Year award and 'Beat It' won the record of the year. “Billie Jean” was named Best R&B Song.

Success

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