Guinness Book of World Records 2006: Michael JacksonBiggest-selling Album Ever: Thriller

Wednesday, 17 August 2005

The best-selling album of all time is Thriller by Michael Jackson (USA), with global sales of over 51 million copies to date since 1982. The success of the album also helped Jackson win a record eight Grammy Awards in 1984.

Other Guinness Record titles held by Michael:

Longest Music Video
Michael Jackson's part feature film, part music video, Ghosts (USA, 1996), is 35 min long and was based on an original concept by horror writer Stephen King. Jackson plays five different roles in the video, directed by Stan Winston.

Most Valuable Sculpture By A Living Artist
Michael Jackson and Bubbles, a porcelain sculpture created by the artist Jeff Koons in 1988 sold for $5,616,750 at Sotheby's in New York on May 15, 2001. The piece measures 106.7 x 179.1 x 82.6 cm (42 x 70.5 x 32.5 in) and is described as a mix of pop culture and high art. The sculpture shows Michael Jackson reclining with his arm around his pet monkey.

Most Grammy Awards Won In A Year By A Person
At the 26th Annual Grammy Awards in 1984 Michael Jackson won eight Grammy awards, which included Best Male Rock Vocal Performance for "Beat It," Record Of The Year with "Beat It," and Album of The Year with Thriller.

Most Valuable Oscar
David O Selznick's 1940 Best Film Oscar for Gone With The Wind (USA, 1939) was bought by the singer, Michael Jackson, for $1,542,000 on June 12, 1999, at Sotheby's, New York. The pop star made his bid by phone.

Guinness Book of World Records 1986
Largest Ever Endorsement For Product Promotion - $15 million for Pepsi

Guinness Book Of World Records 1993
Lifetime Achievement Award

Honorable Mention
Greatest Distance Moonwalked in One Hour
Adam Hall of San Francisco, California, was over the moon aftering moonwalking through the backstreets of Denver, Colorado, for a distance of 2.41 km (1.5 miles) in one hour on October 22, 2002. A "moonwalk support crew" shadowed 25-year-old Adam in an automobile, measuring his distance with an odometer.
The record-setting walk formed part of a longer "Moonwalk for Earth" relay with Ramsey Brookhart (USA) and Joshua Dodd (USA), an attempt to raise awareness of renewable forms of energy. "We live under this brown cloud," said Hall, "and people don't seem to understand how much of that comes from burning coal to provide electricity. We want people to know that there are other ways to make electricity."

The Moonwalk is the creation of pop king Michael Jackson. He first electrified audiences with the incredible backwards glide on May 16, 1983, during a performance of "Billie Jean" on Motown’s 25th Anniversary Special TV broadcast.


Source: Guinness Book of World Records and mjjsource.com