The Jackson 5 signed a new contract with CBS Records in the summer of 1975, first joining the Philadelphia International Records division and then Epic Records.[1] Motown Records sued the group for breach of contract;[2] as a result of the legal proceedings, which were further complicated by the fact that Jermaine Jackson was married to Motown president Berry Gordy's daughter, the band lost the rights to use the Jackson 5 name and logo.[2] Jermaine left the group, staying with Motown; the group was renamed to The Jacksons, featuring youngest brother Randy as Jermaine's replacement.[2] After the name change, the band continued to tour internationally, releasing six more albums between 1976 and 1984. Jermaine re-joined in 1983, making The Jacksons a sextet. From 1976 to 1984, Michael Jackson was the lead songwriter of the group, writing hits such as "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "This Place Hotel" and "Can You Feel It".[3] In 1978, he starred as Scarecrow in the film adaptation of the Broadway musical The Wiz, with former label mate Diana Ross playing Dorothy.[4] The musical scores were arranged by Quincy Jones, who established a partnership with Jackson during the film's production and agreed to produce the singer's solo album, Off the Wall.[5] (save for Jackson 5 article)
The production ran for 94 minutes, and included live performances of "Man in the Mirror" and "Come Together". The film also included three music videos: "Speed Demon", "Leave Me Alone" and "Smooth Criminal".[6] (Save for Moonwalker)
The album was highly anticipated; in Los Angeles, armed robbers stole 30,000 copies of the new album from an airport warehouse before its official release.[8] (Save for Dangerous)
Slash appeared at Jackson's MTV Music Video Awards 1995 performance during "Black or White", played a solo and played along to the opening of "Billie Jean".[9] (HIStory promo)
It featured scenes construed as having a sexual nature as well as depictions of violence. The offending scenes in the final half of the fourteen-minute version were edited out to prevent the video from being banned, and Jackson apologized.[10] Along with Jackson, it featured Macaulay Culkin, Peggy Lipton and George Wendt. (Save for "Black or White")
and sold 3.6 million copies in the UK.[11] (Save for Bad)
sold 1.5 million copies in the UK.[11] (save for HIStory)
and sold 1.5 million copies in the UK.[11] (Save for Number Ones)
Jackson offered to pay for the "Thriller" music video using his own money, as his label felt the album had already been a success and that a third video was therefore unnecessary. He was persuaded not to use his own earnings, instead making a documentary of the video's production, called "The Making of Thriller". He and John Landis convinced MTV to pay for the production of the documentary and thus the music video that went along with it. The video was successful, with Jackson garnering a sizable profit.[12][13] (Save for "Thriller" video)
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