B SIDE
52 CARDS · 1 ICON
THE INDEX

The Deck.

Every card in B·SIDE, ordered by icon. Tap any card to enter its full story.

ICON

Michael Jackson

The King of Pop

August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009
52 / 52 CARDS
Enter the world →
  1. 01

    The Moonwalk Debut

    Motown 25, Pasadena Civic Auditorium, March 25, 1983

    moment
    ★ legendary
  2. 02

    Breaking MTV's Colour Barrier

    Billie Jean enters heavy rotation, March 10, 1983

    innovation
    ★ legendary
  3. 03

    He Bought The Beatles

    ATV Music acquisition, August 14, 1985 — $47.5 million

    trivia
    ★ legendary
  4. 04

    The Anti-Gravity Shoe Patent

    US Patent 5,255,452 — filed 1992, granted October 26, 1993

    innovation
    ★ legendary
  5. 05

    The Free Van Halen Solo

    Beat It guitar solo — recorded in one afternoon, 1982

    collaboration
    ★ legendary
  6. 06

    He Couldn't Read a Note

    Composition method, throughout his career

    trivia
    ★ rare
  7. 07

    The Pepsi Fire

    Shrine Auditorium, Los Angeles, January 27, 1984

    moment
    ★ rare
  8. 08

    The Halftime Show, Reinvented

    Super Bowl XXVII, Rose Bowl, January 31, 1993

    performance
    ★ legendary
  9. 09

    We Are The World — One Night, 46 Stars

    A&M Studios, Hollywood, January 28, 1985

    collaboration
    ★ legendary
  10. 10

    The Bad Duet That Never Was

    Quincy Jones offers Prince the duet, 1986

    collaboration
    ★ rare
  11. 11

    Thriller — The First Music Film

    Premiered Dec 2, 1983 — 14 minutes, $500,000 budget

    song
    ★ legendary
  12. 12

    Bubbles, the Chimp

    Rescued from a Texas lab, 1985

    trivia
    ★ common
  13. 13

    First-Ever Hot 100 Debut at #1

    You Are Not Alone, September 2, 1995

    song
    ★ rare
  14. 14

    Bucharest, 1992

    Dangerous Tour, National Stadium, October 1, 1992

    performance
    ★ legendary
  15. 15

    Diana Ross Didn't Discover Them

    Motown signing, July 1968 — the real story

    trivia
    ★ rare
  16. 16

    Four Straight #1 Debut Singles

    Jackson 5 chart record, October 1969 – June 1970

    song
    ★ legendary
  17. 17

    Their Own Saturday-Morning Cartoon

    Jackson 5ive, ABC Television, September 11, 1971

    legacy
    ★ rare
  18. 18

    Got To Be There — Solo at 13

    First solo single, October 7, 1971

    song
    ★ common
  19. 19

    Ben — A Love Song to a Rat

    First solo #1, October 14, 1972

    song
    ★ rare
  20. 20

    The Robot, Live on Soul Train

    Dancing Machine performance, November 17, 1973

    performance
    ★ rare
  21. 21

    The Motown Walkout

    Jacksons leave for Epic Records, June 25, 1975 — exactly 34 years before Michael's death

    trivia
    ★ rare
  22. 22

    The Wiz — Where He Met Quincy

    Universal Pictures film, October 24, 1978

    collaboration
    ★ rare
  23. 23

    His First Self-Produced Song

    Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, July 28, 1979

    song
    ★ rare
  24. 24

    Four Top-10 Singles From One Album

    Off The Wall, August 1979 – August 1980

    album
    ★ legendary
  25. 25

    The Girl Is Mine — Beatle Duet

    Recorded April 14, 1982 — released October 18, 1982

    collaboration
    ★ rare
  26. 26

    The Soul Makossa Borrowing

    Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' / Manu Dibango settlement, 1982 & 2009

    controversy
    ★ rare
  27. 27

    P.Y.T. Was James Ingram's

    Thriller, recorded May 1982

    song
    ★ rare
  28. 28

    The Two-Year Reign

    Thriller — best-selling album of both 1983 AND 1984

    album
    ★ legendary
  29. 29

    The Acusonic Recording Process

    Bruce Swedien's secret weapon, Westlake Studios, 1982

    innovation
    ★ rare
  30. 30

    Smooth Criminal Was a Fred Astaire Tribute

    Short film, released October 24, 1988

    innovation
    ★ legendary
  31. 31

    Man in the Mirror — Born at a Barbecue

    Siedah Garrett demo, summer 1987

    song
    ★ rare
  32. 32

    Wesley Snipes' Film Debut Was in 'Bad'

    Bad short film — directed by Martin Scorsese, released August 31, 1987

    collaboration
    ★ rare
  33. 33

    The Bad Tour — Biggest in History

    September 12, 1987 – January 27, 1989

    performance
    ★ legendary
  34. 34

    Captain EO — Coppola, Lucas, Disney

    Disneyland & Epcot premiere, September 12, 1986

    performance
    ★ legendary
  35. 35

    500 Million Watched at Once

    Black or White global premiere, November 14, 1991

    moment
    ★ legendary
  36. 36

    The Panther Coda Outrage

    Black or White, 4-minute uncensored ending — pulled November 16, 1991

    controversy
    ★ rare
  37. 37

    John Singleton's Egyptian Epic

    Remember the Time short film, January 1992

    collaboration
    ★ rare
  38. 38

    His Secret Duet Partner Was a Princess

    In the Closet, released April 21, 1992

    trivia
    ★ legendary
  39. 39

    Earth Song — UK Christmas #1

    Released November 27, 1995 — six weeks at #1 in Britain

    song
    ★ rare
  40. 40

    Jarvis Cocker Invades the Stage

    Brit Awards 1996, Earls Court, London — February 19, 1996

    moment
    ★ rare
  41. 41

    Two Films for One Song

    They Don't Care About Us — Spike Lee directs both, March 1996

    song
    ★ rare
  42. 42

    The 30-Foot Statue Down the Danube

    HIStory album promotion, June 15, 1995

    innovation
    ★ legendary
  43. 43

    The Single Glove Was a Cover-Up

    First worn at the 1980 American Music Awards

    trivia
    ★ rare
  44. 44

    Elizabeth Taylor Crowned Him

    Soul Train Music Awards, March 12, 1989

    trivia
    ★ rare
  45. 45

    The Most Generous Entertainer in History

    Heal the World Foundation, founded 1992

    legacy
    ★ legendary
  46. 46

    Neverland — His Own Disneyland

    Purchased March 1988, $19.5 million — 2,700 acres

    trivia
    ★ rare
  47. 47

    The 10,000-Book Library

    Neverland Ranch reading room, c. 1990–2005

    trivia
    ★ rare
  48. 48

    He Married Elvis's Daughter

    Lisa Marie Presley — La Vega, Dominican Republic, May 26, 1994

    trivia
    ★ rare
  49. 49

    Madison Square Garden — His Last Reunion

    30th Anniversary concerts, September 7 & 10, 2001

    performance
    ★ legendary
  50. 50

    The Free Willy Surprise

    Will You Be There — Grammy nominee from a kids' movie, 1994

    song
    ★ common
  51. 51

    This Is It — Sold Out in Four Hours

    O2 Arena London residency announced, March 5, 2009

    performance
    ★ legendary
  52. 52

    Goodbye — Watched by 2.5 Billion

    Memorial Service, Staples Center, Los Angeles — July 7, 2009

    moment
    ★ legendary