Michael Jackson
1958 — 2009 · The King of Pop; the most commercially successful Black recording artist of the twentieth century; principal commercial-music architect of the contemporary international entertainment industry
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on the twenty-ninth of August 1958 in Gary, Indiana, the eighth of ten children of Joseph Walter Jackson — a crane operator and former amateur boxer — and Katherine Jackson, who nurtured the household's abiding love of music. From this working-class steel town rose a family ensemble that would carry the name Jackson across the world.
As the incandescent lead voice of the Jackson 5, Michael reached the summit of the American charts while still a child; the group's "I Want You Back" topped the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970. He was a prodigy whose gift seemed larger than the boy who bore it, and audiences knew at once they were witnessing something rare.
His solo ascent transformed popular music itself. Off the Wall (1979) announced his artistry in full, and Thriller (1982) became the best-selling album in history, generating seven top-ten singles and redefining what a record, a music video, and a live performance could be. Bad (1987) followed, the first album to yield five U.S. number-one singles.
Across a career crowned by thirteen Grammy Awards and two inductions into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, he stood as the most commercially successful Black recording artist of the twentieth century and a principal architect of modern global entertainment. He died on the twenty-fifth of June 2009 in Los Angeles. The King of Pop is honored here — a life whose sound still moves the world.
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