Jackson Michael Joseph, *29 August 1958 Gary, Indiana, †25 June 2009 Los Angeles, American singer, composer, songwriter, dancer, and record producer. He had numerous musically talented siblings who became involved in popular music under the inspiration and guidance of their father, guitarist Joseph Jackson. In 1967, the vocal quintet the Jackson Five was formed, debuting in 1969 with the album I’m a Big Boy Now. Between 1969 and 1975, the group released the hits: I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save, I’ll Be There, Mama’s Pearl, Never Can Say Goodbye, and Dancing Machine. The Jackson Five were a child version of the African American male vocal groups of the 1960s, such as the Temptations, the Four Tops, and the Miracles; they incorporated elements of their shows (facial expressions, dance), adding youthful charm and maximizing the intensity of their expression. In 1976, following a partial lineup change, they renamed themselves the Jacksons and released further hits: Enjoy Yourself, Shake Your Body, and State of Shock.
Jackson made his solo debut in 1971 with the song Got to Be There, gradually gaining greater control over his albums, repertoire, style, and sound. As a child, he imitated James Brown, in the 1970s, he began to resemble Smokey Robinson, the leader of the Miracles. The turning point in his career came in 1978 with his role in the film musical The Wiz (the hit Ease on Down the Road in a duet with Diana Ross), in which he played the lead role of the Scarecrow (in 1986, the film was broadcast on TV Polska under the title Czarnoksiężnik z krainy Oz). The Wiz marked the beginning of Jackson’s ongoing collaboration with music producer Quincy Jones, with whom he created the platinum albums Off the Wall (1979), Thriller (1982), and Bad (1987). The Thriller album (which won a Grammy in 1984) was accompanied by a TV music film of the same title and the documentary The Making of Thriller. In 1985, Jackson co-wrote the anti-racist song We Are the World with L. Richie (which won Grammy Awards for Song of the Year and Record of the Year in 1986), and he also appeared in the film Captain EO.
Jackson’s music, undoubtedly commercial, is difficult to characterize, as it had moved far away from the pop soul promoted in the 1970s by both the Jackson family and Jackson himself. Stylistically, Jackson, a singer with a high, boyish voice, was closer to D. Ross. The high sales figures of his albums were influenced by the atmosphere of sensation (announcements of retirement, plastic surgeries, a change in religious orientation, promoting vegetarianism, etc.) that Jackson created around himself starting in 1984. In 1988, a Polish reissue of the album Bad was released (PN Muza). Hits: Got to Be There, Rockin’ Robin, Ben, Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough, Rock with You, Off the Wall, She’s Out of My Life, The Girl Is Mine (duet with Paul McCartney), Billie Jean, Beat It, Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing), Say Say Say (duet with McCartney), Thriller, Bad, The Way You Make Me Feel, Man in the Mirror, Get It (duet with Stevie Wonder), Dirty Diana, Black or White, Remember the Time, Scream (duet with sister Janet), You Are Not Alone.
Jermaine Jackson, Janet Jackson (with 1980s hits such as When I Think of You, Miss You Much, Escapade, and Black Cat), and La Toya Jackson also gained popularity as solo artists.
