  Michael Jackson was born in
Indiana on August 29, 1958 the seventh of
nine children. The self-proclaimed "King
of Pop" grew up in one of the most
popular singing groups in the 70s, became a
legendary solo performer in the 80s, and
metamorphosed into one of the most
controversial and freakish figures of the
90s. Although controversy and rumors persist
about Jackson "the man," Jackson
"the artist" can be considered a
legend in the field and a genius of musical
creativity.
 At age 5, Jackson was the lead
singer of his brother's group, The Jackson 5. The group became huge
in 1970 on the Motown label with several #1
hits on pop and R&B radio. In the early
70s, Jackson also found solo success (and his
first cover on Rolling
Stone in 1971) with
his songs "Got To Be There,"
"Rockin' Robin," and his first solo
#1 hit, "Ben" from the LPs, Got
To Be There and Ben released in 1972,
and Music
& Me released in 1973.
In 1972, Jackson won 2 Billboard Awards for
Singles Artist of the Year and Male Singles
Artist of the Year and a Golden Globe Award
for "Ben." Throughout the 70s,
Jackson continued to sing with his brother as
The Jacksons and another solo LP in 1975,
Forever
Michael. In 1978,
Jackson took a turn at acting when he played
the scarecrow in the movie musical The
Wiz.
 Jackson's solo
success began to explode with the release of Off
The Wall. Jackson became one of
the few artists (at that time) to have 4 Top
10 singles from the same LP. The LP included
2 #1 hits, "Rock With You" and "Don't
Stop Till You Get Enough" as well as 2
more Top 10 hits: "Off
The Wall" and "She's
Out Of My Life." Off
The Wall eventually sold over 7 million
copies in the U.S. and was Jackson's first
major collaboration with Quincy Jones.
 The single "Don't Stop 'Til
You Get Enough" was certified gold.
Off
The Wall was certified platinum.
 # 7
Singles Artist of the Year
 Jackson hit the Top 10 and #1 for 3 weeks with "Rock With You."
Jackson won 3 American Music
Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B Album (Off
The Wall), Favorite Soul/R&B Male
Artist,
and Favorite Soul/R&B
Single
("Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough").
 Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"Off
The Wall."
Jackson won a Grammy
Award for Best R&B Vocal Performance -
Male
("Don't Stop Till You Get Enough")
and was nominated for Best Disco Recording ("Don't Stop Till
You Get Enough").
The single "Rock With You" was certified
gold.
Jackson hit the Top 10 with "Off
The Wall."
 Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"She's
Out Of My Life."
Jackson hit the Top 10 with "She's
Out Of My Life."
Jackson topped the Billboard
Year-End Charts as the Top Hot 100
Singles Artist, Top Hot 100 Singles Artist -
Male, Top Soul Artist (singles & albums),
Top Soul Album (Off
The Wall), Top Soul Artist - Male
(singles & albums), Top Soul Album
Artist, Top Soul Album Artist - Male, Top Hot
Soul Singles Artist, and Top Hot Soul Singles
Artist - Male.
 # 192
Singles Artist of the Year
 Jackson won 2 more American Music
Awards for Favorite Soul/R&B Male
Artist
and Favorite Soul/R&B
Album
(Off
The Wall) and was nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Off
The Wall).
Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"One Day In Your Life."
 # 134
Singles Artist of the Year
 Jackson released his landmark LP
Thriller. The LP became
legendary and spawned a record 7 Top 10 hits,
including the #1 hits "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and
"Thriller."
Jackson teamed up with Paul
McCartney and
hit the Top 40 and Top 10 with"The Girl Is Mine"
 # 1
Singles Artist of the Year (# 1 Male
Artist of the Year)
Thriller was certified
platinum.
 Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"Billie Jean."
Jackson appeared on the cover of
Rolling
Stone.
Jackson hit the Top 10 with "Billie Jean."
 Jackson hit #1 for 7 weeks with "Billie Jean."
Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"Beat It."
The single "Billie Jean" was certified
gold.
Jackson hit the Top 10 and #1 for 3 weeks with "Beat It."
Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"Wanna
Be Startin' Somethin'."
Thriller spent the majority of
1983 at the top of the LP charts and into
1984 (a total of 37 weeks at #1). Thriller sold over 51 million
copies worldwide (25 million in the U.S.) and
is the best-selling LP in history. Thriller also revolutionized
the concept of the music video. Jackson was
the first major black artist to appear
regularly on MTV, and pop/r&b music was
now beginning to replace MTV's devotion to
heavy metal bands. Jackson's videos were also
presented as mini-movies with dazzling and
daring contents.
The single "Beat It" was certified
gold.
 Jackson hit the Top 10 with "Wanna
Be Startin' Somethin'."
Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"Human Nature."
Jackson hit the Top 10 with "Human Nature."
 Jackson teamed up with Paul
McCartney and
hit the Top 40 and Top 10 with"Say Say Say" from McCartney's
LP Pipes
Of Peace.
Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young
Thing)."
Jackson hit the Top 10 with "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young
Thing)."
Jackson hit #1 for 3 weeks with Paul
McCartney with"Say Say Say."
 Jackson's awards for Thriller began in 1983. He won
13 Billboard Awards, 5 Billboard Video
Awards, and was named Rolling
Stone magazine's #1 Artists of the
Year (Reader's Poll).
 # 32
Singles Artist of the Year
The awards for Thriller continued
with 7 American Music
Awards including Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist, Favorite Pop/Rock Single ("Billie Jean"), Favorite Pop/Rock Album (Thriller), Favorite Pop/Rock
Video and Favorite Soul/R&B Video ("Beat It), Favorite Soul/R&B Male
Artist,
Favorite Soul/R&B
Album
(Thriller), and Jackson was
honored with the Award of Merit. Jackson was
also nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Video,
Favorite Soul/R&B Video, and Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Billie Jean").
During filming of a Pepsi
commercial, Jackson's hair caught fire.
Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"Thriller."
 Jackson was nominated for 12 Grammy
Awards and walked home with 8: Record of the Year and Best Rock Vocal Performance -
Male
("Beat It"), Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance -
Male (Thriller), Best R&B Vocal Performance -
Male
and Best R&B Song (songwriter) ("Billie Jean"), Best Recording
for Children (narration) (E.T. The
Extra-Terrestrial), and Producer of the
Year (Non-classical) (with Quincy Jones). Jackson also was
nominated for Song of the Year (songwriter) ("Beat It" and "Billie Jean"), Best R&B Song (songwriter) ("Wanna
Be Startin' Somethin'"), and Best Pop Vocal Performance by a
Duo or GroupMcCartney). ("The Girl Is
Mine" with Paul
 Jackson hit the Top 10 and #1
for a week with "Thriller."
Jackson appeared on the cover of
Rolling
Stone.
Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"Farewell My Summer Love
 Jackson's video achievements
were honored at the MTV Video Music
Awards with 3 awards (Best Overall Performance, Viewer's Choice, and Best Choreography ("Thriller") and was
nominated for Video of the Year, Best Male Video, and Best Concept Video.
Older songs by Jackson were
released as Farewell My Summer Love.
Thriller was certified 20x
platinum.
Jackson was nominated for 3 American Music
Awards for Favorite Pop/Rock Album and Favorite Soul/R&B Album (Thriller), and Favorite Soul/R&B Male
Artist.
Jackson won a Grammy
Award for Best
Video, Long Form (Making Michael
Jackson's Thriller) and was nominated
for Best R&B Vocal
Performance by a Duo or Group ("Tell Me I'm Not
Dreaming" with Jermaine Jackson).
Off
The Wall was certified 5x platinum.
Jackson won a Grammy
Award for Song of the Year (songwriter) ("We
Are The World" with Lionel Richie).
 # 20
Singles Artist of the Year
 When Bad was released, Jackson
toured alone worldwide. The LP gave Jackson 5
more #1 hits including "Dirty Diana," "I Just Can't Stop
Loving You," and "Man In The Mirror."
Jackson hit the Top 40 and Top 10 with Seidah
Garrett with "I Just Can't Stop
Loving You."
"I Just Can't Stop
Loving You" was certified gold and
hit #1 for 2 weeks.
Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"Bad."
 Jackson hit the Top 10 and #1 for 2 weeks with "Bad."
Bad was certified 3x
platinum.
Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"The Way You Make Me
Feel."
 Bad was certified 4x
platinum.
Jackson hit the Top 10 with "The Way You Make Me
Feel."
 # 2
Singles Artist of the Year
Jackson hit #1 for a week with "The Way You Make Me
Feel."
Jackson released his
autobiography, Moonwalk.
Jackson won an American Music
Award for Favorite Soul/R&B Single ("Bad") and was
nominated for Favorite Pop/Rock Male Artist.
 Jackson hit the Top 40 with
"Man In The Mirror."
Jackson hit the Top 10 and #1 for 2 weeks with "Man In The Mirror."
Jackson was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Pop Vocal Performance -
Male ( | 
