The most successful all-round singer, songwriter, dancer, entertainer of all time, Michael Jackson changed popular culture forever.  From his dazzling debut as the youngest member and lead singer of the Jackson 5 sibling troupe in 1964 through his solo career peak with Thriller, to his bizarre and much-scrutinized private life, Jackson  remained a mesmerizing talent until his untimely death in 2009, age 50.  His glittering and controversial career yielded only ten original solo studio albums in the 37 years which followed his 1972 debut, Got To Be There.

His Worldwide Sales

United States 89.3 million

United Kingdom 18 million

Germany 10.9 million

France 10.1 million

Australia 5.4 million

Canada 4.5 million

Mexico 3.3 million

Holland 1.9 million

Austria 1 million

Switzerland 900,000

Spain 720,000

Sweden 660,000

Finland 340,000

His Best-Selling Albums

1. Thriller 1982

2. Bad 1987

3. Dangerous 1991

4. HIStory - Past, Present and Future, Book 1 1995

5. Off The Wall 1979

6. Number Ones 2003

7. The Essential Michael Jackson 2005

8. Michael Jackson's This Is It 2009

9. Invincible 2001

10. Blood on the Dancefloor - History in the Mix 1997

Thriller spent 37 weeks atop the US Album chart, more than any other 9non-soundtrack) album in history, and sold more copies in two successive years (1983 and 1984) than any other release.  It is the biggest-selling album of all time, worldwide with estimated global sales now over 100 million.

The UK's Favourite Michael Jackson Songs

1. Thriller

2. Billie Jean

3. Beat It

4. You Rock My World

5. Man In The Mirror

6. The Way You Make Me Feel

7. Smooth Criminal

8. Bad

9. Black Or White

10. Don't Stop Till You Get Enough

Following his death, Britain's performing rights society, PRS for Music revealed that "Thriller" is the UK's most-played Micahel Jackson song.  The chart was compiled with PRS for Music's unique performance database, which is used to make accurate royalty payments to songwriters, composers and music publishers.

Filmography

In addition to his groundbreaking video creations - in themselves, mini-films - Jackson appeared in seven movies:

The Wiz (1978), Captain EO (1986), Moonwalker (1988), Ghosts (1997), Men in Black II (2002), Miss Cast Away and the Island Girls (2004) and Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009).

His Number One Hit Singles In The UK

One Day In Your Life June 27, 1981

Billie Jean March 5, 1983

I Just Can't Stop Loving You August 15, 1987

Black Or White November 23, 1991

You Are Not Alone September 9, 1995

Earth Song December 9, 1995

Blood On The Dance Floor May 3, 1997

His Number One Hit Singles In The USA

Ben Oct 14, 1972

Don't Stop Till You Get Enough Oct 13, 1979

Rock With You Jan 19, 1980

Billie Jean Mar 5, 1983

Beat It Apr 30, 1983

Say Say Say Dec 10, 1983

I Just Can't Stop Loving You Sep 19, 1987

Bad Oct 24, 1987

The Way You Make Me Feel Jan 23, 1988

The Man In The Mirror Mar 26, 1988

Dirty Diana Jul 2, 1988

Black Or White Dec 7, 1991

You Are Not Alone Sep 2, 1995

His Grammy Sweep

On February 28, 1984, the day after the Pepsi-Cola commercial premiered on MTV and a week after he won trophies for Best British Album (Thriller) and Best International Solo Artist at the third annual BRIT Awards in London, Jackson walked away with an unprecedented eight Grammys at the 26th annual ceremonies:

Album of the Year (Thriller)

Best Engineered Recording (Non-Classical) (Thriller)

Record of the Year (Beat It)

Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male (Beat It)

Best New Rhythm & Blues Song (Billie Jean)

Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male (Thriller)

Producer of the Year

Best Recording For Children (E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial)

The Dangerous Tour

Jackson's Dangerous world tour opened in Munich, West Germany, at the Olympic Stadium on June 27, 1992 and closed in Mexico City, Mexico on November 11, 1993 (three months earlier than planned due to illness).  Sponsored by Pepsi-Cola, Jackson performed to some 3,900,000 fans at 89 concerts on four continents.  Two Beoing 747 jet aircrafts were used to transport more than 100 tons of stage equipment to each city. (500,000 cassette copies of the singel "Someone Put Your Hand Out", previously unavailable anywhere, were released in Europe through a Pepsi deal made possible by returning tokens printed on Pepsi packaging.)

The Catalogue

In March 2010, Sony Corp, Jackson's longtime record company, signed the most expensive deal in music history - with the Michael Jackson Estate.  The ten-album agreement over seven years combined new collections of previously unreleased songs and new compilations (including the 2009 This Is It soundtrack) for a reported $250 million payment to the Estate.  Since his death, nine months earlier, Sony had already sold some 31 million Michael Jackson albums.

The Madison Square Garden Concerts - September 2001

The all-star lineup comprised the following:

The Jacksons, Whiteny Houston, Britney Spears, Monica, Al Jarreau, Gladys Knight, Usher, Luther Vandross, Dionne Warwick, Liza Minnelli, Marc Anthony, *NSync, Shaggy, Slash, Billy Gilman

The Michael Jackson Public Memorial Service - July 7, 2009

The following artists offered tributes:

Mariah Carey with Trey Lorenz performed I'll Be There

Lionel Richie performed Jesus Is Love

Stevie Wonder performed Never Dreamed You'd Leave In Summer

Jennifer Hudson performed Will You Be There

John Mayer performed Human Nature

Jermaine Jackson performed Smile

Usher performed Gone Too Soon

Shaheen Jafargholi performed Who's Lovin' You

Andre Crouch Choir performed Soon And Very Soon

After 12 days of unrelenting media coverage following his death, the Micheal Jackson Public Memorial Service took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles immediately following a private memorial at Forest Lawn cemetery attended by family members and 100 invited guests.