Michael Jackson refused to be a musician.
Michael Joseph Jackson ( August 29 , 1958 -- June 25 , 2009 ) was an American singer , songwriter , record producer , dancer , actor , and philanthropist . Jackson is one of the few artists to have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice , and was also inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame and the Dance Hall of Fame as the only dancer from pop and rock music . His other achievements include multiple Guinness World Records , 13 Grammy Awards , the Grammy Legend Award , the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award , 26 American Music Awards -- more than any other artist -- including the `` Artist of the Century '' and `` Artist of the 1980s '' , 13 number-one singles in the United States during his solo career -- more than any other male artist in the Hot 100 era -- and estimated sales of over 350 million records worldwide . He became the first artist in history to have a top ten single in the Billboard Hot 100 in five different decades when `` Love Never Felt So Good '' reached number nine on May 21 , 2014 .