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Michael Jackson's unique blend of soul, funk and rock made him the biggest pop act in the world.

Beyond this, his business acumen and intuitive understanding of the music market allowed him to showcase his remarkable talents.

Michael Jackson sold records by the million - and broke records too.

With the soulful vocal presence of Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder and the dance moves of James Brown, Jackson's appeal crossed both national and racial boundaries.

His first break came in 1968, when the Jackson Five signed to the Motown label, and he was just 11 when the group released its first single.

WORLDWIDE ALBUM SALES
Off The Wall: 19m
Thriller: 65m
Bad: 28m
Dangerous: 29m
HIStory: 18m
Invincible: 8m
Hits like I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save, and I'll Be There, which all went to number one in the United States in 1970, made the Jackson Five the first group in pop history to have their first four singles top the charts.

Before long, the youngest member of the Jackson Five was beginning to outstrip his brothers.

A series of solo hits, including Got To Be There, Rockin' Robin and Ben - the maudlin, yet chart-topping, paean to a rat - had shown that the promise of early years had come to fruition.

By the mid-1970s, both Michael's, and his brothers', careers were beginning to stall. Motown has ended its interest in the group, which had re-signed - as the Jacksons - to the Epic label.

But it was while Michael was working on the film musical The Wiz, an all-black retelling of the Wizard of Oz - in which he played the Scarecrow to Diana Ross's Dorothy - that he met the man who would turn him into a superstar and transform the world of popular music.

Music producer, composer and arranger, Quincy Jones, who could already boast a formidable track record, having created hits for artists like Frank Sinatra, Aretha Franklin and George Benson, took Jackson's raw talent and moulded it into an awesome new sound.

Video extravaganza

Their first collaboration, Off The Wall, released in 1979, became the first album to provide four top ten US hits for an artist: the title track, Don't Stop Till You Get Enough, Rock With You and She's Out of My Life.


Jackson the child wonder in 1972 on Top of the Pops
Four years later came Thriller, the album which would define his career. A heady mix of disco, R&B and funk, its nine tracks spawned seven hit singles and became the best-selling album of all time, with at least 55 million copies bought to date.

Having already experimented with video on Off The Wall, Jackson now took the new medium to new heights.
WORLDWIDE ALBUM SALES
Off The Wall: 19m
Thriller: 65m
Bad: 28m
Dangerous: 29m
HIStory: 18m
Invincible: 8m
The John Landis-directed film, accompanying the album's title track, was a 16-minute big-budget extravaganza, featuring cutting-edge special effects and the voice of veteran horror actor, Vincent Price.

The Thriller video, and its companion, Beat It, also ended MTV's neglect of black artists, while making the mini-musical blockbuster de rigueur for any self-respecting pop star.
source: bbc.com