The Essential Michael Jackson 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 1970s to his 2001 hit "You Rock My World". On August 26, 2008, "The Essential Michael Jackson 3.0" was released in the US as a limited edition containing an additional disc of seven songs performed
The Jackson 5 replaced him. Motown sued them for breach of contract but allowed the group to record for Epic, as long as they changed their name because Motown owned the name Jackson 5. The brothers renamed themselves the Jacksons. In November 1976, following the debut of the family's weekly variety series, the Jacksons released their self-titled CBS debut under the Philadelphia International subsidiary, produced by Gamble & Huff. Featuring "Enjoy Yourself" and "Show You the Way to Go", the album went gold but failed to generate the sales the brothers had enjoyed while at Motown. A follow-up, "Goin' Places", fizzled. Renewing their