- "Thriller," the singer's career-defining album, has gone platinum 28 times over according to the RIAA, making it the top-selling studio album in the United States of all time. (Billboard)
- He was Nicole Ritchie’s godfather. (People)
- In May 1983, he premiered his iconic “Moonwalk” at the Motown 25th Anniversary Special. (Rock and Roll Hall of Fame)
- His video for the song “Billie Jean” is widely regarded as breaking the color barrier on MTV. (Blender, The Guardian)
- Michael Jackson released his first single in October 1969 at 11 years old with The Jackson 5. (Billboard)
- In 1972, Jackson had his first No. 1 solo single, "Ben," the title song from a children's thriller about a young boy who befriends Ben, the highly intelligent leader of a gang of rats. (Billboard)
- In "The Wiz" (1978) Jackson took on the role of the Scarecrow in a re-imagining of "The Wizard of Oz." (EW.com)
- Jackson holds numerous Guinness World Records including the most Grammy Awards won in a year, most hit singles in the United Kingdom charts in a year, best selling album of all time, longest span of No. 1 hits by an R&B artist, best selling music video, highest annual earnings ever for a pop star, and most successful pop music family. (guinnessworldrecords.com)
- Jackson had planned a series of concerts at London’s O2 Arena, scheduled to begin July 13 and run through the early months of 2010.
- In 2004, he was ranked No. 35 on Rolling Stone's list of The Greatest Artists of All Time. He was ranked No. 25 on a 2008 list of The 100 Greatest Singers of All Time, and "Thriller" was ranked No. 20 on a 2003 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time. (Rolling Stone)
