Born the seventh in a family of nine children in Gary, Indiana, Jackson was launched into show business when his father, a steel-mill worker by trade, assembled a singing group called the Jackson Five with 5-year-old Michael and his four older brothers. Initially, Joseph included Michael in the lineup as a novelty, but it became immediately obvious that his wee son had prodigious musical abilities: his voice possessed a maturity belied by his young years, and his crowd-charming charisma superseded that of most seasoned entertainers. Buoyed by the young prodigy's talents, the Jackson Five moved quickly from local talent contests to a recording contract with Motown. The group generated six top-five singles between 1969 and 1971 — including "I Want You Back" and "ABC" — and would remain a hit-making machine throughout the '70s. As if the pressure of fronting a chart-topping band weren't enough for the adolescent, Jackson was soon tapped by Motown to do solo recordings.

The label was assured it had a superstar in the making, when, in 1971, Jackson's first on-his-own single, "I'll Be There," hit No. 4 on the charts. In addition to his work with his brothers, Jackson recorded more hit solo singles — including "Rockin' Robin" and "Ben" — and solo albums for Motown; in 1976, he and the Jackson Five signed with Epic. During the late '70s, Jackson made a brief foray into film, starring opposite Diana Ross in The Wiz (1978), an African-American update of The Wizard of Oz. The project was unexceptional, save for the fact that it introduced Jackson to legendary producer Quincy Jones, who arranged and conducted the film's score. Jones and Jackson collaborated on the singer's next solo project, Off the Wall (1979), an album that transformed the child star into an adult superstar.

Propelled by such No. 1 hits as "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You," the disc sold ten million copies and was barraged with critical praise for its barrier-busting blend of soul and rock and its good-time boogie vibe. (Rolling Stone's notoriously hard-to-please critic, David Marsh, proclaimed Off the Wall "a masterpiece of modern record making.") It seemed impossible that the ever-blossoming artist could top himself, but that's exactly what he did with the 1982 release of a little record he called Thriller. As history notes, the Jones-produced Thriller sold upwards of 40 million copies (more than any album before or since) and received critical kudos and an unprecedented eight Grammy awards.

The album charted a record six top-ten singles, beginning in November 1982 with the Paul McCartney duet, "The Girl Is Mine," and ending a whopping 16 months later with the title track. Jackson sustained Thriller's momentum with the help of music videos, which were gaining rominence thanks to the newborn MTV network. Jackson's brilliant song-and-dance videos for "Billie Jean," "Beat It," and "Thriller" not only helped pioneer the medium (and break MTV's color barrier, for that atter), but they drew praise from such esteemed hoofers as Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly.