The King of Pop

Michael Jackson (1958-2009) earned the title "King of Pop" not through self-promotion but through unprecedented commercial and artistic achievement. Thriller (1982) is the best-selling album of all time with over 70 million copies sold. Seven of its nine tracks became top-ten singles. No album before or since has matched that ratio of hits.

Jackson started performing at five years old with the Jackson 5, hitting number one on the Billboard charts at age eleven with "I Want You Back." By 1982, he was already a veteran with two decades of experience. Thriller was not a debut — it was a master class from an artist who had been refining his craft since childhood.