Michael Jackson Albums As Solo Efforts

The Guinness World Book Of Records states that Michael Jackson is the most successful entertainer of all. A few short years after he learned to walk, he was performing for the world. He began singing with his brothers in the Jackson Five. Fans say the last seven Michael Jackson Albums released while he was alive were created with unadulterated, external influence.

Motown controlled Michael and the Jackson Five prior to 1979. After success with “The Wiz”, Quincy Jones agreed to work with Michael on his first totally-solo – album. Quincy produced “Off The Wall” in August, 1979.

Michael had number-one success with “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough” and “Rock With You” in the United States. Over 20 million copies of “Off The Wall” have been sold. Quincy Jones suggested that Michael perform “Girlfriend” – a song Paul McCartney had written a few years earlier just for Michael.

The best selling album of all time was released on November 30, 1982. “Thriller” launched Michael’s popularity into super-star status. There is no exact number of this album’s sales on record, but estimates range between seventy-five million to one-hundred and ten million world-wide.

An unprecedented music video – that played more like a short film – and the premiere of the “Moonwalk” during Motown’s twenty-fifth Anniversary show in 1983 pushed album sales even higher. The album was awarded a record eight Grammy’s – including Album of the Year. Paul McCartney appeared on this album as well; and the duet with Michael “The Girl Is Mine” found the number two position on the US charts. “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” made it to number one as singles. The title track “Thriller” only made it to number four; but the music video was a first – in many ways – for all music videos to follow.

Virtually impossible to beat, Michael never made another album as popular as “Thriller”. Quincy continued with Michael to produce “Bad.” The song that best personifies Michael Jackson came from this album. “Man In The Mirror” was very popular with the media and fans following Michael’s death in 2009.

In the United States, “Bad” managed 5 number-one hits. “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” – a duet with Michael and Siedah Garrett – was one of these. Thirty-million copies of “Bad” have been sold since its release in August, 1987. Michael spent over two years perfecting this work.

“Dangerous” was released on a Thursday. Sony would usually release new albums on a Monday. Three days following November 26, “Dangerous” broke the record as the fastest selling album – to reach number one – ever. Only “Black Or White” became a number-one single in the USA. The single also broke a long-standing Beatles’ record, jumping 32 places on the Pop singles’ charts. That Beatles single was “Let It Be” from 1970.

The cleverly named “History” album was a thirty song, two album effort. Fifteen greatest hits; and fifteen brand new songs can be found on “History.” Michael not only sang, he played keys, percussion and guitar on this album. He also performed “Scream” with his famous sister Janet Jackson. Along with “Scream”, “You Are Not Alone” became a US top single. The album boasts more than 15 million sales worldwide.

Michael’s second-to-last album release was “Blood On The Dance Floor.” It was originally slated to be a promotional effort for his “History” tour throughout Europe. Five new songs accompanied eight remixes from the “History” album. Some tracks were recorded in different countries as Michael toured. It became the best selling remix album of all time.

“Invincible” was released at the end of October, 2001. Sixteen new songs are found on this album. Not only were there a good number of songs; Michael said that he wanted to make this album “more fun” by releasing it as five different covers. “Invincible” – like “Blood On The Dance Floor” before it – wasn’t promoted as aggressively by Sony, but still managed to sell more than eight-million copies to date.

Michael Jackson sang for over 40 years in the public eye. From his beginnings with his family, through the Motown solo years and up until his death, he never stopped what he did best. Of all the Michael Jackson albums, these seven, arguably promote exactly who he was and what he wanted to sing throughout his entire career.

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