Michael Joseph Jackson is an American musician and entertainer whose successful music career and controversial personal life have been at the forefront of pop culture for the last quarter-century. Jackson began his musical career at the age of seven as the lead singer of The Jackson 5 and made his first solo recordings in 1971. He began a full-fledged solo career in 1979 and formally parted with his siblings in 1984. Jackson recorded and co-produced the best-selling album of all time Thriller.