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The most phenomenal popular-music success
since Elvis Presley and the Beatles, singer-dancer Michael
Joe Jackson, b. Gary, Ind., Aug. 29, 1958, is a brilliant
entertainer. Born to a musical family, he and his brothers
formed the Jackson Five in the early 1960s and, beginning
in 1968, gained fame through their MOTOWN recordings and their
television appearances. Young, talented, sexy, and cute, the
group made a remarkable series of hits with Michael as lead
singer. By the mid-1970s the brothers had grown up and their
appeal began to wane.
In 1978, Michael introduced his new persona. He was no longer
a child, but a child-man--delicate, frail, with a tremulous,
often girlish voice--yet he was a powerful performer. His
solo album Off the Wall (1978) catapulted him back to fame.
Thriller (1982), boosted by Jackson's elaborate music videos,
soon became the best-selling album of all time, eventually
selling over 40 million copies worldwide.
In 1984, Jackson reunited with his brothers for an album,
Victory, and a six-month tour which broke attendance records.
In 1985, he co-wrote the famine-relief anthem "We Are
the World" with Lionel Richie.
Bad (1987) was a commercial letdown, in comparison to Thriller,
yet it sold over 24 million copies worldwide. In 1991 Jackson
signed a record and film deal with Sony Entertainment that
Sony executives hoped would net the company $1 billion, and
released Dangerous, which immediately topped the charts.
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