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Jackson first tasted success as the youngest member of family band The Jackson 5. At seven years old, fresh-faced Michael already stood out from his brothers (not untalented in their own right) with his confidant falsetto and ability to win a crowd. The Motown band performed in flamboyant matching jumpsuits and their singles like "ABC" and "I Want You Back" were all upbeat, disco/R&B hits. Complicated disputes with Motown records followed, and The Jackson 5 more or less disbanded. While working on cult blaxploitation classic The Wiz, Jackson met hit-marker Quincy Jones who agreed to produce his first non-Jackson 5 solo disc, Off the Wall. Off the Wall introduced fans to an all-grown-up Michael who was much more likely to flash his bedroom eyes than his babyfaced dimples. His newly developed high, smooth singing voice was nearly unreal. In 1982, he dropped the biggest bomb in pop music history - Thriller. Yielding seven hit singles and selling 60 million (!!) copies, it's still an all-time best seller. Michael Jackson also blazed trails with his lavish music videos, using them to showcase his smooth-stiff dance style and signature Moon Walk. "Thriller," "Beat It" and the paranoid-sexy "Billy Jean" almost single-handedly made MTV possible, and the tracks still rock a club today.

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