Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is widely regarded as one of the most culturally significant figures of the 20th century. His musical achievements broke American racial barriers and made him a dominant figure worldwide. Through his songs, music videos, concerts, and fashion, he transformed visual performance in popular music, popularizing street dance moves such as the moonwalk, the robot, and the anti-gravity lean. Jackson is often deemed the greatest entertainer of all time.
The eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, he made his public debut at age six as the lead singer of the Jackson 5. Jackson rose to solo stardom with Off the Wall (1979) and achieved unprecedented global success with Thriller (1982), the best-selling album in history. The music videos for "Thriller", "Beat It", and "Billie Jean" redefined the medium. Bad (1987) was the first album to produce five US Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles: "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", and "Dirty Diana". Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995) were also successful. Jackson's final album, Invincible (2001), is the most expensive ever made.
From the mid-1980s, Jackson came under public scrutiny for his relationships, lifestyle, and changing appearance. He was accused of sexually abusing a child in 1993 and settled out of court in 1994. In 2005, he was tried and acquitted on other child sexual abuse charges. While preparing for This Is It, a series of comeback concerts, he died in 2009 from an overdose of propofol administered by his personal physician, Conrad Murray. His death caused unprecedented surges in internet traffic and a spike in music sales. Posthumous Jackson releases include the documentary Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) and the albums Michael (2010) and Xscape (2014). The 2019 documentary Leaving Neverland detailed further child sexual abuse allegations against Jackson.
Jackson is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of more than 500 million records worldwide as a solo artist. He is one of three musicians, alongside Paul McCartney and Phil Collins, to have sold more than 100 million records both as a solo artist and as a principal member of a band. He scored 13 number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 and is the only artist to have a US top-ten single in six decades. His accolades include 13 Grammy Awards, the Grammy Legend Award, the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 26 American Music Awards, 12 World Music Awards, 8 MTV Video Music Awards, 6 Brit Awards, and 3 US presidential honors. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, as well as the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame. Having donated an estimated $500 million, Jackson is credited with setting a standard for celebrity charity. The 2026 film Michael is the highest-grossing biographical film of all time, while Jackson's music catalog remains the highest-selling for any solo musician.
Early life and the Jackson 5 (1958–1975)
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana. He was the eighth of ten children in the Jackson family, an African-American working-class household living in a two-bedroom home on Jackson Street. His mother, Katherine Jackson (née Scruse), a Jehovah's Witness, played clarinet, cello, and piano; she aspired to be a country-and-western performer, and worked part-time at Sears. His father, Joe Jackson, was a former boxer and a crane operator at US Steel, who also played guitar for the local rhythm and blues group the Falcons. Through his father, Michael had Native American (Choctaw) ancestry; his great-grandfather, Israel Nero Jackson, utilized and sold traditional Indigenous herbal medicine, a practice passed down from his father, July "Jack" Gale, an US Army scout who had married a Black slave named Gina before the Civil War. Michael had three sisters—Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet—and five brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Randy. A sixth brother, Brandon, Marlon's twin, died shortly after birth.
Michael and Marlon joined the Jackson Brothers in 1964, a band their father formed that already included Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine. They initially performed as backup musicians, playing congas and tambourine. Michael later said that his father physically and emotionally abused him, recalling that during rehearsals Joe often sat with a belt in hand, ready to punish mistakes. Joe acknowledged that he regularly whipped him. Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon denied that their father was abusive, saying the whippings—felt more intensely by Michael because he was younger—kept the group disciplined. Michael described his youth as lonely.
By late 1965, Michael began sharing lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group's name was changed to the Jackson 5. They won a talent show that year in which Michael danced to Robert Parker's "Barefootin'" and sang the Temptations' "My Girl". From 1966 to 1968, the Jackson 5 toured throughout the Midwest, performing frequently on the Chitlin' Circuit as an opening act for artists such as Sam & Dave, the O'Jays, Gladys Knight, and Etta James. They also performed in clubs and cocktail lounges that featured striptease shows, as well as at local auditoriums and high school dances. In August 1967, while touring the East Coast, they won a weekly amateur night competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem.
The Jackson 5 recorded several songs for the Gary-based label Steeltown Records, releasing their first single, "Big Boy", in 1968. Bobby Taylor of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers brought the group to Motown after they opened for him at Chicago's Regal Theater that year. Taylor produced some of their early Motown recordings, including a version of "Who's Lovin' You". After signing with Motown, the Jackson family relocated to Los Angeles. In 1969, Motown executives decided that Diana Ross would introduce the Jackson 5 to the public—partly to support her emerging television career—launching what was considered Motown's final product of its "production line". The group made its first television appearance that year at the Miss Black America pageant, performing a cover of "It's Your Thing". Rolling Stone later described the young Michael as "a prodigy" with "overwhelming musical gifts" who quickly became the group's main attraction and lead singer.
In January 1970, "I Want You Back" became the Jackson 5's first single to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100, remaining at the top for four weeks. Three additional Motown singles—"ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There"—also reached number one. In May 1971, the Jackson family moved into a large home on Hayvenhurst Avenue, a 2-acre (0.81 ha) estate in Encino, California. During this period, Michael developed from a child performer into a teen idol. Between 1972 and 1975, he released four solo studio albums with Motown: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975). "Got to Be There" and "Ben", the title tracks from his first two solo albums, sold well as singles, as did his cover of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin".
Michael remained involved with the Jackson 5. The group was later described as "a cutting-edge example of black crossover artists". They grew frustrated with Motown's refusal to grant them creative input. Michael's performance of their top five single "Dancing Machine" on Soul Train helped popularize the robot dance.
Move to Epic and Off the Wall (1975–1981)
The Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975, signing with Epic Records and renaming themselves the Jacksons. Their younger brother Randy joined the band around this time, while Jermaine remained with Motown to pursue a solo career. The Jacksons continued to tour internationally and released six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Michael, the group's main songwriter during this period, wrote songs such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" (1978), "This Place Hotel" (1980), and "Can You Feel It" (1980).