Legacy Artists 

 Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson’s remarkable career scaled unparalleled global, musical, commercial, critical and cultural heights. He revolutionized so many aspects of his art, from electrifying live performances to groundbreaking use of video, short and full length and he continue to personify innovation. His short films, including those for “Beat It”, “Billie Jean”, and “Thriller” transformed the medium from a promotional tool into an art form. No other individual contributed more to this art form than Michael, a contribution recognized by the Library of Congress when they inducted “Thriller” into the National Film Registry, the first and only music video to be include in this elite collection of only a few hundred films. In addition, through his use of spectacular imagery in films and orchestrated stage effects, Jackson launched a new era of creativity in live stage performances that continues to influence countless artists in hip hop, contemporary R&B, pop, and rock and roll.

“The more I think about Michael and talk about Michael,” said Berry Gordy, “the more I think that ‘King of Pop’ is not good enough. I think he is simply the greatest entertainer that ever lived.”

Michael Jackson’s primary cultural achievement, more than his sales numbers, awards, countless proteges or even philanthropy is in breaking barriers that typically divide humanity. His popularity forced radio stations and television like MTV, to finally drop the excuse of rock/R&B divisions and the perceived lack of commerciality of black produced music. He put those myths to rest.

The eighth child of the Jackson family, Jackson made his professional debut in 1964 with his elder brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon as a member of the Jackson 5. He signed with Epic Records and became a superstar with his 1979 solo debut Off the Wall. The album was a sonic revelation and was at the time the biggest selling album ever by a black artist.

His next album Thriller (1982) remains the best-selling album of all time, with sales in excess of 100 million copies worldwide and is the first album in RIAA Gold & Platinum Program history to be certified in excess of 30X multi-Platinum for U.S. sales. In addition, his albums Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and History (1995), along with Off The Wall, also rank among the best-selling of all time.

A prolific songwriter, Michael penned more than 150 songs, with more than 20 reaching multi-million performance status. Michael’s compositions include some of the most iconic songs of all time whose messages are also as relevant today as when they werefirst released: ”Billie Jean”; “Beat It”, “We Are The World”, ”Smooth Criminal”; “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin”; “They Don’t Care About Us”; “Earth Song”; “Black or White”; ”Bad”; ”Love Never Felt So Good”; ”Can You Feel It”; ”Heal the World” and more. The King of Pop remains one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with estimated sales of over 1 billion records worldwide. He had 13 Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era, and was the first artist to have a top-ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades and also the first artist to have five consecutive #1 hits from the same album.

His honors include 15 Grammy Awards, six Brit Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and 39 Guinness World Records, including the “Most Successful Entertainer of All Time” and an award for his charitable efforts as the Most Charities Supported by a Pop Star. Jackson’s inductions include the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice, the Vocal Group Hall of Fame, the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Dance Hall of Fame (the only recording artist to be inducted), the Black Music and Entertainment Walk of Fame and the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame.

“Michael Jackson’s This is It” became the highest grossing music documentary of all time. There have been two record setting Michael Jackson-Cirque du Soleil shows. A history making touring show, “Michael Jackson THE IMMORTAL World Tour”, played four continents, 157 cities, was seen by 3.7 million fans and became the #8 top grossing tour of all time, and the critically acclaimed “Michael Jackson ONE”, a permanent show at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, which gave Cirque its biggest opening ever in Las Vegas. With this show’s upcoming reopening after the temporary shut down due to the COVID pandemic and performances of “MJ the Musical”, the long anticipated Broadway musical set to open in December 2021, the relevancy and influence of the iconic artist and his music show no signs of slowing down.

With over 80 million followers on social media, 22 million YouTube subscribers and 7.3 billion streams last year alone, it is clear Michael Jackson remains one of the most popular artists of all time.