Michael Jackson Poster. Michael Jackson was an American recording artist. The seventh child of the Jackson family, he made his debut as an entertainer in 1964 as a member of The Jackson Brothers (later renamed The Jackson 5). He then began a solo career in 1971 while still a member of the group, and that successful career led to him being dubbed the “King of Pop” in subsequent years. Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller remains the world’s best-selling album of all time, and four of his other solo studio albums are among the world’s best-selling records: Off the Wall (1979), Bad (1987), Dangerous (1991) and HIStory (1995). Michael Jackson died on June 25th 2009.