Michael Joseph
Jackson was
born August 29, 1958, in Gary, IN. Michael was the fifth son of
steelworker Joe Jackson. Michael displayed a talent for
music and dance from an extremely young age. His childhood was
strictly regimented; from the start, he was to an extent sheltered
from the outside
world by his mother's Jehovah's Witness faith, and his father was
by all accounts an often ill-tempered disciplinarian. Joe began
to organize a family musical group around his three eldest sons
in 1962, and Michael joined them the following year, quickly establishing
himself as a dynamic stage performer. The Jackson 5 broke through
to international success on the Motown label in 1970. Michael was
the visual and vocal focus of the Jackson 5. When he was 13, he
was also promoted as a solo artist, and he scored his first hit, "Got
to Be There," in 1971. Subsequent hits included his remake
of "Rockin' Robin" and
"Ben" in 1972.
Michael and the Jackson 5's fortunes declined in
the latter '70s. The group moved to Epic mid-decade, with Michael
temporarily abandoning his solo career and relinquishing group
leadership to other members of what was now called the Jacksons.
The group gradually built back its popularity by writing its own
material.
In 1977, Jackson landed
a starring role alongside Diana Ross
in the all-black film musical The Wiz, a retelling of The
Wizard of Oz; here he met producer/composer Quincy Jones for the
first time.
Michael returned to solo work in 1979 with 'Off
the Wall',
a mature combination of driving dance songs ("Don't Stop ('Til
You Get Enough") and feelingly sung ballads ("She's Out of
My Life") that outsold any previous group or solo effort, and spawned
four Top Ten hits. Want to know more? Click on the arrow.
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