The Essential Michael Jackson by Jackson. A re-titled release in the UK was planned on July 6, 2009 as "The Hits", but was cancelled upon Jackson's death. As of 2018, the album was certified 4× platinum in the US. The Essential Michael Jackson The Essential Michael Jackson is a greatest hits compilation album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on July 19, 2005, by Sony Music's catalog division Legacy Recordings as part of "The Essential" series. The two-disc compilation features thirty-eight hit songs by Michael Jackson, from his days at Motown Records with The Jackson 5 in the late 1960s and early
Tito Jackson become the official lead singer of the group. In 1965, they changed their name from the Jackson Brothers to the Jackson Five, and won several talent shows around the Gary area. After winning the Amateur Night competition for The Apollo Theater in August 1967, Joe Jackson began to work part-time at the steel mill to help his sons secure a recording contract. The group signed with Steeltown Records in Gary, Indiana, in November of that year. In January 1968, the Jackson Five's first single, "Big Boy," was released on the Steeltown label. In 1969, the Jackson 5 signed with Motown