Michael Joseph Jackson[2][3] (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)[4] was an American singer-songwriter, actor, and businessman. Often referred to as the King of Pop,[5][6] his contributions to music, dance, and fashion, along with his publicized personal life, made him a global figure in popolare culture for over four decades.

The eighth child of the Jackson family, he debuted on the professional Musica scene along with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1968, and began his solo career in 1971. In the early 1980s, Jackson became a dominant figure in popolare music. The Musica video for his songs, including those of "Beat It", "Billie Jean", and "Thriller", were credited with breaking down racial barriers and with transforming the medium into an art form and promotional tool. The popularity of these video helped to bring the then-relatively-new Televisione channel MTV to fame. With video such as "Black o White" and "Scream", he continued to innovate the medium throughout the 1990s, as well as forging a reputation as a touring solo artist. Through stage and video performances, Jackson popularized a number of complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk, to which he gave the name. His distinctive sound and style has influenced numerous hip hop, post-disco, contemporary R&B, pop, and rock artists.

Jackson's 1982 album Thriller is the best-selling album of all time. His other albums, including Off the bacheca (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991), and HIStory (1995), also rank among the world's best-selling. Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice. He was also inducted into the Dance Hall of Fame as the first and only dancer from pop and rock music.