Michael Joseph Jackson was born August 29, 1958, in Gary, IN. The fifth son of steelworker Joe Jackson, Michael displayed a talent for music and dance from an extremely young age. His childhood was strictly regimented; from the start, he was to an extent sheltered from the outside world by his mother's Jehovah's Witness faith, and his father was by all accounts an often ill-tempered disciplinarian. Joe began to organize a family musical group around his three eldest sons in 1962, and Michael joined them the following year, quickly establishing himself as a dynamic stage performer. The Jackson 5 broke through to international success on the Motown label in 1970. Micheal was the visual and vocal focus of the Jackson 5. When he was 13, he was also promoted as a solo artist, and he scored his first hit, "Got to Be There," in 1971. Subsequent hits included his remake of "Rockin' Robin" and "Ben" in 1972.

Micheal and the Jackson 5's fortunes declined in the latter '70s. The group moved to Epic mid-decade, with Michael temporarily abandoning his solo career and relinquishing group leadership to other members of what was now called the Jacksons. The group gradually built back its popularity by writing its own material.

In 1977, Jackson landed a starring role alongside Diana Ross in the all-black film musical The Wiz, a retelling of The Wizard of Oz; here he met producer/composer Quincy Jones for the first time.

Micheal returned to solo work in 1979 with 'Off the Wall', a mature combination of driving dance songs ("Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough") and feelingly sung ballads ("She's Out of My Life") that outsold any previous group or solo effort, and spawned four Top Ten hits.

Micheal again recorded and toured with the Jacksons, but his next album, Thriller, produced by Quincy Jones in 1982 became a musical phenomenon. Jackson brought in Paul McCartney for a duet, guitarist Eddie Van Halen for a jaw-dropping solo, and Vincent Price for a creepy recitation. It was no surprise that Thriller was a hit. In fact it was the biggest-selling album of all time, moving 20 million copies in the U.S. alone and including seven Top Ten hits. The video of "Thriller" was selected as the best video of all time and featured Jackson leading a dance troupe of rotting zombies, with loads of horror-film makeup and effects. MTV played the clips to death, garnering massive publicity for Jackson and droves of viewers for the then 'new' cable network. Jackson sealed his own phenomenon by debuting his signature "moonwalk" dance step on May 16,1983 on Motown's televised 25th anniversary special; though he didn't invent the moonwalk (as he himself was quick to point out), it became as much of a Jackson signature as his vocal hiccups or single white-sequined glove.

At the end of 1983, Michael was again on top of the singles charts, this time as part of a second duet with McCartney, "Say Say Say." In 1984, Jackson re-joined his brothers one last time for the album Victory, whose supporting tour was one of the biggest (and priciest) of the year. The following year, he and Lionel Richie co-wrote the anthemic "We Are the World" for the all-star famine-relief effort USA for Africa; it became one of the fastest-selling singles ever.

His follow-up album, Bad, produced by Quincy Jones in 1987 was accompanied by a solo world tour. Bad sold six million copies in the US. This time 'Only' six of its seven singles hit the Top Ten, but five in a row hit #1. The tour became the highest-grossing tour of all time.

Michael Jackson was unquestionably the biggest pop star of the '80s, and certainly one of the most popular recording artists of all time.

In late 1991, Micheal returned with 'Dangerous', which, by mid-1992, had sold four million copies and spawned the hits "Black and White," "Remember the Time," "In the Closet," and "Jam." Micheal's second world tour, launched in Europe in June 1992, continued into 1993.

Even at this early stage, wild rumors about Jackson's private life were swirling. His shyness and reluctance to grant interviews (ironically, due in part to his concerns about being misrepresented) only encouraged more speculation. Some pointed to his soft-spoken, still girlish voice as evidence that he'd undergone hormone treatments to preserve the high, flexible range of his youth; stories were told about Jackson sleeping in a hyperbaric chamber to slow the aging process, and purchasing the skeleton of John Merrick, the Elephant Man (Jackson did view the bones in the London Hospital, but did not buy them). One of the rumors that was definitely true was that Jackson owned the rights to the Beatles' catalog; in 1985, he acquired ATV Publishing, the firm that controlled all the Lennon-McCartney copyrights (among others), which wound up costing him his friendship with McCartney.

As Jackson's career began, very gradually, to descend from the dizzying heights of his peak years, most of the media's attention focused on his increasingly bizarre eccentricities; he was often depicted as a child who never grew up being completely sheltered from adult reality by a life spent in show business. The snickering turned to scandal in 1993, when Jackson was accused of molesting a 13-year-old boy; although he categorically denied the charges, his 1994 out-of-court settlement failed to restore his tarnished image. Many felt the settlement was tantamount to an admission of guilt, and when Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, the move was perceived as a desperate ploy to rehabilitate his image; the marriage broke up just 19 months later, seemingly lending credence to the charge.

Micheal began working on 'HIStory' soon after the settlement. HIStory, released on June 20 1995, contained one disc of Jackson's greatest hits and one disc of new material.

Jackson bought a large ranch in California which he dubbed Neverland, and filled it with amusement park rides and animals. This only fueled the public's perception of him as a somewhat bizarre eccentric obsessed with recapturing his childhood. He underwent cosmetic surgery several times, which led to accusations from the black community that his gradually lightening skin tone was the result of an intentional effort to become whiter; a few years later, Jackson revealed that he had a disorder called vitiligo, in which pigment disappears from the skin, leaving large white blotches and making direct sunlight dangerous.

In late 1996, Jackson remarried to nurse Debbie Rowe; over the next two years, the couple had two children, a son Prince Michael Jackson Jr. and a daughter Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. However, Jackson and Rowe divorced in late 1999. In 2001, Jackson was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and later held a massive concert at Madison Square Garden to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his first solo record. Among the guests, the show featured the first on-stage reunion of the Jacksons since the Victory tour.

In the wake of September 11, Jackson put together an all-star charity benefit single, "What More Can I Give." His new album, Invincible, was released late in the year, marking the first time he'd issued a collection of entirely new material since Dangerous; it found him working heavily with urban soul production wizard Rodney Jerkins. Invincible debuted at number one and quickly went double-platinum; however, its initial singles, "You Rock My World" and "Butterflies," had rather disappointing showings on the charts, with the latter not even reaching the Top Ten. To compound matters, the expensive "What More Can I Give" single and video were cancelled by Sony after executive producer Marc Schaffel was revealed to work in pornography.

From that point, Jackson's career took an extreme turn towards the bizarre, starting with MTV's annual Video Awards. When Britney Spears presented him with a birthday cake, an offhand remark about being the artist of the millennium inspired a rambling Jackson to accept a meaningless trophy (which everyone presenting onstage received) as an actual Artist of the Millennium award. Next came accusations from a promotional company over his promises of a tour and several appearances that he then cancelled. Jackson arrived in court late, gave a drowsy testimony, and inspired gasps when he removed a surgical mask to reveal his nose had caved in from a botched cosmetic surgery. Only days later, German fans were horrified when Jackson came to the balcony of his hotel suite and briefly dangled his 11-month old baby Prince Michael II (nicknamed "Blanket" by Jackson) over the edge with one arm. Although he apologized the next day, claiming he had gotten caught up in the moment, this only did more to cement the King of Pop's public image as an out-of-control millionaire.

2003 turned out to not be Jackson's year as in November his Neverland Ranch was extensively searched by police who subsequently arrested him. It took until 2005 however for Jackson to appear in court.

1. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
2. Baby Be Mine
3. The Girl Is Mine - (with Paul McCartney)
4. Thriller
5. Beat It
6. Billie Jean
7. Human Nature
8. P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
9. The Lady In My Life
10. Someone in the dark (bonus track)
11. Billie Jean (bonus track)
12. Carousel (bonus track)
    

1. Bad
2. The Way You Make Me Feel
3. Speed Demon
4. Liberian Girl
5. Just Good Friends
6. Another Part Of Me
7. Man In The Mirror
8. I Just Can't Stop Loving You
9. Dirty Diana
10. Smooth Criminal
11. Leave Me Alone

Blood On The Dance Floor
US | UK

1. Blood On The Dance Floor
2. Morphine
3. Superfly Sister
4. Ghosts
5. Is It Scary
6. Scream Louder - (with Janet Jackson, Flyte Tyme Remix)
7. Money - (Fire Island Radio Edit)
8. 2 Bad - (Refugee Camp Mix)
9. Stranger In Moscow - (Tee's In-House Club Mix)
10. This Time Around - (D.M. Radio Mix)
11. Earth Song - (Hani's Club Experience)
12. You Are Not Alone - (Classic Club Mix)
13. History - (Tony Moran's HIStory Lesson)

Disc: 1

1. Billie Jean
2. The Way You Make Me Feel
3. Black Or White
4. Rock With You
5. She's Out Of My Life
6. Bad
7. I Just Can't Stop Loving You
8. Man In The Mirror
9. Thriller
10. Beat It
11. The Girl Is Mine
12. Remember The Time
13. Don't Stop Til You Get Enough
14. Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'
15. Heal The World

Disc: 2

1. Scream - (with Janet Jackson)
2. They Don't Care About Us
3. Stranger In Moscow
4. This Time Around
5. Earth Song
6. D.S. 7. Money
7. Come Together
8. You Are Not Alone
9. Childhood
10. Tabloid Junkie
11. Bad
12. HIStory
13. Little Susie
14. Smile

1. Rockin' Robin
2. Got To Be There
3. Maria (You Were The Only One)
4. You've Got A Friend
5. Girl Don't Take Your Love From Me
6. I Wanna Be Where You Are
7. Don't Let It Get You Down
8. We've Got Forever
9. My Girl
10. Cinderella Stay A While
11. I Like You The Way You Are (Don't Change Your Love On Me)