Michael Jackson, The King of Pop, died on June 25, 2009 at the age of 50. He was born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana and was the seventh of nine children. At the age of five, Michael became the lead singer of his brother’s group, The Jackson Five (later known as The Jacksons.) In 1978, he played the Scarecrow in the movie version of “The Wiz.” His “Thriller” album, in 1982, became the best selling album of all times with sales of over forty million copies. He also appeared in a fifteen minute film, “Captain EO” that played exclusively at Disneyland and Disney World. His eleven Grammy Awards signifies the popularity of the artist, composer and dancer. He had many hits with The Jackson Five, but his solo hits are what made him the superstar that he was. Here is a list of Michael Jackson’s Top 25 most popular solo hits:
1. Billie Jean – 1983
2. Say Say Say – 1983 – One of two songs he made popular with Paul McCartney.
3. Rock With You – 1980
4. Beat It – 1983 – This song features Eddie Van Halen on lead guitar.
5. Man In The Mirror – 1988 – The gospel group, The Andrae Crouch Choir were featured as background vocalists.
6. Bad – 1987 – Jimmy Smith does the organ solo on the title song from this album.
7. The Way You Make Me Feel – 1987 – The second single from the “Bad” album.
8. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough – 1979
9. Ben – 1972 – Michael’s first number one song from the movie of the same title.
10. I Just Can’t Stop Loving You – 1987 – The second single from the “Thriller” album.
11. Dirty Diana – 1988 – Billy Idol’s guitarist, Steve Stevens, was featured on this single.
12. The Girl Is Mine – 1983 – The other single that Paul McCartney helped make popular.
13. Rockin’ Robin – 1972 – A remake of a 1958 hit made popular by Bobby Day.
14. Got To Be There – 1971 – Michael’s first solo hit.
15. Thriller – The title cut from the best selling album in history.
16. Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ – 1983
17. Human Nature – 1983
18. Smooth Criminal – 1988 – One of many songs produced by Quincy Jones.
19. Off The Wall – 1980 – Title cut from another popular album.
20. She’s Out Of My Life – 1980 – Another cut from the “Off The Wall” album.
21. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) – 1983
22. Another Part Of Me – 1988
23. I Wanna Be Where You Are – 1972
24. Just A Little Bit Of You – 1975 – Michael’s last single with the Motown label.
25. Farewell My Summer Love – 1984 – With the popularity of the “Thriller” album, Motown released this single, which was a remix from a 1973 recording.
According to Billboard magazine, Michael had eleven songs reach the top of the charts on his own. Another four went to the summit while he was singing with his brothers.
Michael Jackson, no matter how controversial, left us with some great music that will be listened and danced to for generations to come.
