The follow-up, 1982’s Thriller, became one of the best-selling albums of all time and spent an astonishing 37 weeks atop the Billboard 200 its seven singles all reached the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, with two Thriller classics topping the chart. Michael was earning solo hits even before parting ways with the group, although chart hits from the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons are well represented here on this list of his biggest hits.Īlthough 1979’s Quincy Jones-produced Off the Wall was his fifth album, it was there that Michael Jackson the adult artist began to take shape and he began to take those first few bolds steps toward claiming the King of Pop crown. He first saw success as part of the family band the Jackson 5, who notched massive hits for Motown right off the bat.
1 – the most by a male artist – and an additional four songs by the Jackson 5 also topped the chart. It was his dominance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100, however, that entered him into the record books: As a solo artist, 13 of his singles went to No. In a career that spanned almost all 50 years of his life, Michael Jackson became a mainstay on the Billboard charts.
