Michael Jackson’s 50 Top Songs on the Billboard Hot 100

Hot 100 Peak Position: 16
Peak Date: August 26, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 10
Jackson's Billboard chart history began with a streak of extraordinary success, as the Jackson 5's first 20 entries on what's now known as Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs all reached the top 10. This song marked the 10th top 10 in-a-row for the act on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, reaching No. 5 in 1972. On the Billboard Hot 100, the track peaked at No. 16. The title cut from the group's fifth studio album illustrated the maturation of Michael, then 13, from boy soprano to the tenor who would subsequently reign as the King of Pop.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 28
Peak Date: October 6, 1973
Weeks On Chart: 13   
The Jacksons' 1984 Victory album spawned multiple hits, including this funky rock number, which peaked at No. 17 on the Hot 100. While it was the second single from Victory, it yielded the first music video produced for the album. Ironically, though Michael and Jermaine Jackson share lead on the song, neither appears in the clip, which was choreographed by Paula Abdul.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 28
Peak Date: October 6, 1973
Weeks On Chart: 13

In 1973, Michael and his brothers weren't begging girls to stick around just yet. In fact, the Jackson 5's funk-flavored pop single "Get It Together" featured sweet vocals delivering a not-so-sweet message: "Get up off your high horse, girl." The band wasn't messing around in its lyrics or on the charts. Although the song peaked at No. 28 on the Hot 100, it was a No. 2 smash for the group on Billboard's R&B songs chart.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: September 22, 2001
Weeks On Chart: 20

The lead single from Jackson’s 2001 studio album Invincible peaked at No. 10 on the Hot 100. Co-produced by Jackson and Rodney Jerkins, the song was ushered in by an unsurprisingly lavish music video directed by Paul Hunter. The clip features Chris Tucker as Jackson’s comic foil, along with turns from Michael Madsen and Marlon Brando.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 22
Peak Date: February 14, 1981
Weeks On Chart: 16

"Heartbreak Hotel" was released June 17, 1980, and was the second single off the Jacksons' Triumph album. It peaked at No. 22 on the Hot 100. "One time Michael called me into a Hollywood studio to play a solo on a song that turned out to be 'Heartbreak Hotel,' " says Paul Jackson Jr., his longtime guitarist. "I asked him what kind of solo he wanted. The solo I played on the record is what he sang to me note for note."

Hot 100 Peak Position: 18
Peak Date: December 16, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 12

The Jackson 5 lent its soulful pop to the 1970s musical Pippin in the form of the track "Corner of the Sky." In line with the musical's plot, "Corner" is about seeking out happiness in life ("But I won't rest/ 'Til I know I have it all"). The song, which also appeared on the Jackson 5's 1973 album Skywriter, hit No. 18 on the Hot 100 and No. 9 on Billboard's R&B songs chart.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 13
Peak Date: May 27, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 9

Few songs show off artists' vocal chops as well as this one, and the Jackson 5 reinforced their timeless family harmonies on this well-loved doo-wop classic. Thurston Harris introduced the song to pop audiences in 1957 and it has since been recorded by a wide range of acts, including the Allman Brothers, Huey Lewis & the News and Aaron Carter. The Jackson 5's version reached No. 8 on the R&B songs chart and No. 13 on the Hot 100 in 1972.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 16
Peak Date: July 15, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 11

"I Want to Be Where You Are" was released May 2, 1972, and appears on the album Got to Be There. It was Jackson's third consecutive top 40 pop hit in the beginning of his solo career with Motown. The single peaked at No. 16 on the Hot 100 and would become one of Jackson's most covered songs, with Marvin Gaye, the Fugees and Jason Weaver also recording their own renditions.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 14
Peak Date: January 26, 2002
Weeks On Chart: 20

In what remains his last studio album, Invincible in 2001 served as the long-awaited follow-up to 1991's Dangerous. The former set featured three neo-soul-styled tracks, including "Butterflies." With the help of British duo Floetry on backing vocals, the single peaked at No. 14 on the Hot 100.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 15
Peak Date: March 22, 1975
Weeks On Chart: 14

1975's "I Am Love" by the Jackson 5 was part soulful ballad (led by Jermaine) and part Michael-fronted, danceable funk/rock. But no matter the musical style, the message was the same: the brothers weren't letting their loves get away. The song was the Jackson 5's last top 20 hit with Motown, reaching No. 15 on the Hot 100 in 1975. It also went to No. 5 on Billboard's R&B songs chart.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 12
Peak Date: November 15, 1980
Weeks On Chart: 18

Once the Jackson 5 grew up and parted ways with Motown, they became the Jacksons — and they knew all about the growing pains that come with young romance. The 1980 funk song "Lovely One" sees Michael, backed by brothers Jackie, Tito, Randy and Marlon, confronting a skeptical lover and trying to prove his dedication. The track peaked at No. 12 on the Hot 100 but hit No. 2 on Billboard's R&B songs chart and No. 1 on the Dance Club Songs chart.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 11
Peak Date: September 10, 1988
Weeks On Chart: 13

Released as the sixth single from Jackson’s Bad album in summer 1988, the synthy uptempo hit was actually first heard nearly two years earlier, in the most unlikely of places. On Sept. 12, 1986, visitors at the Epcot theme park at the Walt Disney World resort in Orlando, Fla. got the first public taste of the song, one of two new compositions recorded for Jackson’s star turn in the 3D film Captain EO, which premiered that day in the park. The song ultimately reached No. 11 on the Hot 100. By 1998, all of the Captain EO attractions had ended their runs at the assorted Disney Parks throughout the world. The company was moved, however, to return the show to its parks in 2010, starting with Disneyland’s version.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: November 26, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 16

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" was released Sept. 19, 1983, as the sixth single from the Thriller album and features Janet Jackson and LaToya Jackson on backup vocals. The single peaked at No. 10 on the Hot 100, becoming the sixth consecutive top 10 song from the album. "P.Y.T." has been sampled by many artists, including Monica on "All Eyez on Me" and Kanye West on "Good Life."

Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: January 22, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 10

Written and produced by The Corporation, a Motown collective assembled specifically for cranking out Jackson hits, "Sugar Daddy" peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's R&B songs chart. Older brothers Tito and Jermaine backed up Michael on the poppy, organ-filled ditty, which featured multiple food-related entendres ("I've got your lollipop / Well, my flavor's long lastin', girl"). It was included as a new track on the group's 1971 Greatest Hits album.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 6
Peak Date: May 30, 1992
Weeks On Chart: 20

When the public first got a listen of "In the Closet" on Jackson's 1991 Dangerous album, people immediately began to wonder who his female duet partner was on the song. She was billed only as "Mystery Girl" in the set's liner notes and some began to assume — perhaps because of her whispery, come-hither vibe — that it was Madonna. As it turns out, the mysterious woman was revealed to be, of all people, Princess Stephanie of Monaco. But folks weren't far off in their theories: "In the Closet" was initially conceived as a collaboration between the King and Queen of Pop. The pair, however, couldn't come to an agreement on the song's direction and the singers parted ways.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: April 12, 1980
Weeks On Chart: 17

When the title track to his fifth studio album debuted on the Hot 100 dated Feb. 16, 1980, Jackson was following up back-to-back No. 1s for the first time in his solo career. The single could not match the success of the album's previous singles, but managed to land the album's third top 10 peak, reaching No. 10 in April 1980.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 10
Peak Date: June 21, 1980
Weeks On Chart: 16

Quincy Jones used simple instrumentation to produce this ballad from Off the Wall. Over the lyrics "I don't know whether to laugh or cry / I don't know whether to live or die," the song's tempo sounds nearly at a stand-still compared to his best-known dance jams. (Jackson is even heard crying at song's end). The cut peaked at No. 10 on the Hot 100 in 1980.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 5
Peak Date: June 17, 1995
Weeks On Chart: 17

The double A-side single was released as the lead off Jackson’s 1995 set, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. “Scream” was his first duet with sister Janet Jackson; the song is an effort to retaliate against the media’s obsession with his personal life and it resulted in a memorable video directed by Mark Romanek. “Childhood” was solely written and composed by Michael. The single peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 7
Peak Date: September 11, 1993
Weeks On Chart: 20

This gospel-tinged track became the seventh song to reach the Hot 100's top 40 from Jackson's Dangerous album, peaking at No. 7 in 1993. The song was truly a whale of a hit: doubling as the theme to the film Free Willy, it won the MTV Movie Award for Best Song in a Movie in 1994. American Idol season nine finalist Michael Lynche introduced the song to a new generation with his faithful rendition.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 7
Peak Date: September 17, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 14

As one of seven consecutive Hot 100 top 10s from Jackson's Thriller album, "Human Nature" was the mellowest. It also spent the least amount of time on the chart of the set's seven singles (14 weeks), peaking at No. 7. Female R&B trio SWV carried elements of the song to No. 2 in 1993 with its "Right Here"/"Human Nature" mash-up sampling Jackson's original recording.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 7
Peak Date: January 14, 1989
Weeks On Chart: 15

"Smooth Criminal," like "Thriller," is one of Michael Jackson's songs whose memory in the public's collective consciousness is intrinsically tied to its music video. With "Smooth Criminal," Jackson further lifted the art of music videos, serving as the centerpiece of his theatrical film Moonwalker, co-starring Joe Pesci. "Smooth Criminal" was the seventh and final single from Jackson's Bad album, peaking at No. 7 on the Hot 100 in January 1989.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: February 27, 1971
Weeks On Chart: 10

"Mama's Pearl" features pretty mature lyrics for the young Michael: "You send cold chills up and down my spine / We kiss for thrills, then you draw the line," he belts over classic Motown string arrangements and plucky piano. Peaking at No. 2 on both the Hot 100 and Billboard's R&B songs charts in 1971, the song was the second single from the group's Third Album.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 6
Peak Date: February 19, 1977
Weeks On Chart: 21

The Jacksons' first single after their departure from Motown and subsequent name change from the Jackson 5, 1976's "Enjoy Yourself" featured jazzy, cheery horns and a funky guitar lick. Imploring the listener to "enjoy yourself with me," the voice of the then 18-year-old Michael bridged the gap between his cutesy pre-adolescent falsetto and his more mature adult tone. Audiences apparently enjoyed the track — it hit No. 6 on the Hot 100 and No. 2 on Billboard's R&B songs chart.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 4
Peak Date: March 3, 1984
Weeks On Chart: 14

“Thriller” was one of seven top 10 singles from the groundbreaking album of the same name, which leads with 33-times Platinum status, according to the RIAA, ahead of the Eagles’ Greatest Hits 1971-1975 (29-times Platinum). Written by Rod Temperton and featuring Vincent Price’s iconic cameo, Jackson’s zombie fest peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100. “After Off the Wall,” producer Quincy Jones recalls, “we were kicking booty and fearless; ready to do anything. It was a very exciting time.”

Hot 100 Peak Position: 7
Peak Date: May 19, 1979
Weeks On Chart: 22

In one of the most familiar hooks in dance music history, Michael Jackson implores listeners, "Let's dance / Let's shout / Shake your body down to the ground." The track was produced, written, and performed by the talented brothers and ended up being their biggest dance record ever. The song was a mainstream success and charted at No. 3 on Billboard's R&B songs chart, and No. 7 on the Hot 100.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 5
Peak Date: July 16, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 15

To say that 1983 was the year of Michael Jackson would be a gross understatement. Between January and December, he charted seven Hot 100 top 10 hits, six from Thriller. This single was the fourth released from the set and peaked at No. 5 on the Hot 100. The song returned to the chart in 2008 after Jackson reissued Thriller in an expanded 25th anniversary form, with a remix of this song by Akon. The redux peaked at No. 81.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 3
Peak Date: March 7, 1992
Weeks On Chart: 20

Partnered with producer Teddy Riley, Jackson’s eighth studio album Dangerous in 1991 marked the singer’s leap into New Jack Swing. This single peaked at No. 3 on the Hot 100 in March 1992. Its video premiered not just on cable (BET and MTV), but the Fox network, as well. The star-studded clip includes appearances by Eddie Murphy, supermodel Iman and Earvin “Magic” Johnson.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 3
Peak Date: August 4, 1984
Weeks On Chart: 15

With lead vocals shared between Michael and the Rolling Stones' Mick Jagger, "State of Shock" was the first single from the Jacksons' much-anticipated 1984 reunion album Victory. The single entered the Hot 100 at No. 30 on June 30 — at that point the second-highest entry of the year — and peaked at No. 3. "State of Shock" initially began as a duet between Jackson and Queen's Freddie Mercury when the two were collaborating on material in the early '80s. Though the Mercury version was never released, you can easily find demo recordings of it floating around the web.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (one week)
Peak Date: September 2, 1995
Weeks On Chart: 20

Written and co-produced by R. Kelly, "You Are Not Alone" made history as the first song to enter the Hot 100 at No. 1, bowing atop the chart dated Sept. 2, 1995. The ballad became Jackson's last No. 1 to date and the 13th of his solo career, a sum that stands as the most by a male artist in the chart's history.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (one week)
Peak Date: October 14, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 16

Jackson scored his first No. 1 Hot 100 single as a solo artist with this love song to a trained rat. The title track to the 1972 hit movie spent one week at No. 1 in mid-October. In Fred Bronson's The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, the song's co-writer Don Black says, "When Michael saw the song, he was anxious to do it. He [was] quite an animal lover — very sensitive. He enjoyed anything that crawls or flies."

Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: May 8, 1971
Weeks On Chart: 12

Not many 12-year-olds can maturely depict a romantic situation like Michael did in the Jackson 5's hit single, "Never Can Say Goodbye." Michael describes a situation where he is incapable of leaving his partner, no matter how close he gets. "There's that same unhappy feeling / There's that anguish / There's that doubt," Michael expertly croons in the ballad. The song struck a chord with a relating crowd, charting at No. 1 on Billboard's R&B songs chart and No. 2 on the Hot 100.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: April 22, 1972
Weeks On Chart: 13

Michael Jackson's cover of "Rockin' Robin" by Bobby Day reached No. 2 on the Hot 100 and Billboard's R&B songs chart in 1972. 13-year-old Michael brings playfulness to the classic, with more advanced production including a bird-like melody. The star keenly reports on a popular local songbird, "All the little birdies on Jaybird street / Love to hear the robin go tweet, tweet, tweet" — not dissimilar from the effect Jackson's singing had on his audience.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: October 13, 1979
Weeks On Chart: 21

While Michael had first topped the Hot 100 apart from the Jackson 5 with the ballad "Ben" at age 14 in 1972, his second No. 1 and first on Epic Records set in motion his monumental rise to superstardom as a solo performer, while introducing fans to a more mature artist in both sound and lyrical content. This Michael Jackson song ushered in his Off the Wall album and became the first of the set's four Hot 100 top 10s.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: July 2, 1988
Weeks On Chart: 14

In the world of stalky, creepy women in Michael Jackson’s lyrics, “Dirty Diana” is right up there with “Billie Jean” and Susie from “Blood on the Dance Floor.” The R&B/rock tune about a groupie gone all sorts of wrong features Steve Stevens on guitar and became the Bad album’s fifth and final No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1988. With the song’s coronation, Jackson set a record that still stands for most Hot 100 No. 1s (five) from one album. (Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream equaled the mark with five No. 1s in 2010-11.)

Hot 100 Peak Position: 4
Peak Date: December 11, 1971
Weeks On Chart: 14

Smartly capitalizing on the group's immense success, Motown Records released Michael's debut single while the Jackson 5 was still enjoying chart achievements with its third album. "Got to Be There" peaked at No. 4 on the Hot 100 dated Dec. 11, 1971, the same date as the debut of the Jackson 5's "Sugar Daddy," which would later peak at No. 10.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
Peak Date: October 24, 1987
Weeks On Chart: 14

Although braggadocious at first listen, Jackson's "Bad" was actually inspired by a real-life story about a boy who went off to a private boarding school and was murdered out of jealousy when he returned back home. The track was helmed by longtime producer Quincy Jones and released as the second single from the Bad album. The song peaked at No. 1 on the Hot 100, staying there for two weeks.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: September 19, 1987
Weeks On Chart: 14

Despite the majority of uptempo tracks on Bad, Epic introduced the follow-up album to Thriller with a sleek, sultry love song. This duet with Quincy Jones protégé Siedah Garrett soared to No. 1 on the Hot 100 in its seventh week in September 1987. The cut scaled Adult Contemporary even more quickly, reaching the summit in four weeks to become Jackson's second of two career leaders on the list, following "The Girl Is Mine," with Paul McCartney, in 1982-83.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (7 weeks)
Peak Date: December 7, 1991
Weeks On Chart: 20

The pop music landscape was shifting in late 1991, with Nirvana introducing grunge and rap gaining a larger foothold. Jackson’s appeal, however, proved impenetrable with the first single from Dangerous. Featuring guitarist Slash, “Black or White” tallied seven weeks atop the Hot 100, matching “Billie Jean” for Jackson’s longest reign. The song’s video remains memorable for its pioneering use of morphing technology and subsequently deleted scenes of Jackson violently smashing car windows against a backdrop of racist graffiti.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: January 23, 1988
Weeks On Chart: 18

The third single from Bad became the album's third consecutive Hot 100 No. 1 in January 1988, marking Jackson's only set to yield more than two toppers ("Bad" would eventually yield a record five Hot 100 leaders; see No. 17, "Dirty Diana"). In 2005, veteran pop crooner Paul Anka stamped a lounge spin on the song on his jazz-inflected covers album, Rock Swings.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
Peak Date: June 27, 1970
Weeks On Chart: 13

Jackson knew all about growing up too fast and trying to preserve youth. That's why it comes as no surprise that 1970's "The Love You Save," by the Jackson 5, finds him, along with brother Jermaine, warning a "fast" girl to slow down atop an uptempo production. "The Jackson 5 was the only group in history to have their first four singles go to [No. 1]," Motown founder Berry Gordy wrote in the introduction to Jackson's 1988 autobiography Moonwalk. "For Michael, it was the inspiration to break all the rest [of the chart records]. And he did."

Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: January 8, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 18

Surprising to some, "The Girl Is Mine" was actually the first single from Michael Jackson's 1982 Thriller album — not "Billie Jean" or "Beat It." A duet with McCartney, the song was released in October 1982 and quickly debuted on the Hot 100 at No. 45, eventually rising to No. 2. "The Girl Is Mine" also famously kicked off an incredible run of hits from the Thriller album; It was the first of seven straight Hot 100 top 10 hits from the release, the first album to yield such a streak.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
Peak Date: April 25, 1970
Weeks On Chart: 13

In somewhat of a case of chart fortune-telling, it was perhaps fitting that the Jackson 5's second Hot 100 No. 1 dislodged The Beatles' second-to-last No. 1, "Let It Be," from the top of the chart dated April 25, 1970, as arguably the most influential group in the history of pop music symbolically passed the baton to the format's future King. The Jackson 5's next leader, "The Love You Save" (see No. 11), would likewise bump The Beatles' last No. 1, "The Long and Winding Road," from the summit in June 1970.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (1 week)
Peak Date: January 31, 1970
Weeks On Chart: 19

A new era in Motown's storied history — and one of the most impressive chart resumes in Billboard's archives — began rather unassumingly. Michael Jackson's six-decade tenancy on the Billboard charts began the week of Nov. 15, 1969, when the then-11-year-old and his four brothers entered the chart at No. 90 with "I Want You Back." On Jan. 31, 1970, the song completed the first of Jackson's 17 trips to the top (four with the Jackson 5, 13 solo).

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (2 weeks)
Peak Date: March 26, 1988
Weeks On Chart: 17

When “Man in the Mirror” reached No. 1 on the Hot 100 in 1988, Jackson became the first artist in the chart’s history to pull four No. 1 songs from one album — in this case, Bad. After Jackson’s death in 2009, “Mirror” re-entered the U.K. singles chart at No. 11 and peaked at No. 2. “I wrote the music, and [Siedah Garrett] wrote the words,” co-writer Glen Ballard told Billboard in 2001. “It only took a couple of hours to write.”

Hot 100 Peak Position: 2
Peak Date: May 18, 1974
Weeks On Chart: 22

The funky, early-disco title track from the group's 1974 album danced close to the top of the Hot 100, halting at No. 2 (stuck behind Ray Stevens' "The Streak.") "Dancing Machine" was the final Hot 100 top 10 for the group on Motown Records, as the act departed the label for Epic in 1976, re-christened as The Jacksons.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (4 weeks)
Peak Date: January 19, 1980
Weeks On Chart: 24

Penned by British songwriter Rod Temperton of the R&B group Heatwave, Jackson's third No. 1 spent four weeks in the Hot 100's top slot, the longest of any of his singles at the time. The track ranked at No. 4 on Billboard's top Hot 100 songs of 1980, helping Jackson earn Top Singles Artist honors that year.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (3 weeks)
Peak Date: April 30, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 25

Jackson wasted little time in achieving his second Hot 100 No. 1 from Thriller, with only two weeks separating the last of seven weeks on top for "Billie Jean" and the first frame in charge for "Beat It." The dancefloor gem "Beat It" also reached No. 14 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart, thanks to Eddie Van Halen's guitar work.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (5 weeks)
Peak Date: October 17, 1970
Weeks On Chart: 16

This single was the last and longest-reigning (five weeks) of four consecutive Hot 100 No. 1s in 1970 for the brothers from Gary, Indiana. The group earned seven more Hot 100 top 10s by the end of its active recording career in 1989 but never again reached No. 1. Mariah Carey — who was seven months old when the Jackson 5's version of the song topped the Hot 100 — returned the composition to the chart's top spot when her version from MTV's Unplugged series led the list for two weeks in 1992.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (7 weeks)
Peak Date: March 5, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 24

Jackson was already a superstar after earning three solo Hot 100 No. 1s — including two from Off the Wall, his first album for Epic — but “Billie Jean” propelled the singer to a true worldwide sensation. With seven weeks at No. 1, the song perhaps most famously introduced the iconic Thriller album to the masses.

Hot 100 Peak Position: 1 (six weeks)
Peak Date: December 10, 1983
Weeks On Chart: 22

After the success of Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson's "The Girl Is Mine" duet, the former Beatle recruited the King of Pop for this collaboration on his 1983 album, Pipes of Peace. "Paul and I shared the same idea of how a pop song should work and it was a real treat to work with him," Jackson wrote in Moonwalk.

MORE MICHAEL:
Photo Gallery: Michael Jackson's Life In Pictures