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A look at the career of Michael Jackson

(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-06-26 15:20

A look at the life and career of Michael Jackson:

* August 29, 1958: Michael Joseph Jackson is born in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children.

* 1963: After several years of training, The Jackson 5 begin to perform in public.

* December 14, 1969: The Jackson 5 appear on the "The Ed Sullivan Show."

* 1970: Their first album, "Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," includes the hit singles "I Want You Back" and "I'll Be There," which go to No. 1.

* 1972: While still singing with the Jackson 5, Michael Jackson puts out his first solo album, "Got to Be There."

* 1979: Jackson's first solo album as an adult, "Off the Wall," is released. He becomes the first solo artist to place four singles from the same record in the top 10.

* 1982: His album "Thriller" wins a record eight Grammys and becomes the world's biggest selling record of all time. Along with the title track, it includes the songs "Billie Jean" and "Beat It."

* 1983: Jackson electrifies the 50 million viewers of the "Motown 25" television special by singing and dancing to "Billie Jean" while wearing a black fedora, one white glove, and pants that end above his ankles.

* 1984: During production of a Pepsi-Cola commercial, Jackson's scalp sustains burns when an explosion sets his hair on fire.

* 1985: Jackson and Lionel Richie write what becomes one of the fastest-selling singles ever with "We Are the World." The song was produced to raise money for victims of the Ethiopian famine. Jackson also pays $47.5 million for the rights to more than 250 songs written by John Lennon and Paul McCartney.

* 1987: His album "Bad" produces five No. 1 singles and sells at least 22 million copies worldwide.

* 1993: Jackson reveals in a TV interview that he had an inherited disorder that caused his skin pigmentation to fade. He was also accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. The singer denied any wrongdoing, reached a settlement with the boy's family, reported to be $20 million, and criminal charges were never filed.

* 1994: Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley in the Dominican Republic. They divorce two years later.

* 1995: Releases the album "HIStory: Past, Present, and Future Book I." In August, the song "You Are Not Alone" becomes the first single in pop music history to enter the Billboard chart at No. 1.

* 1997: The album, "Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix," sells in the hundreds of thousands worldwide, disappointing numbers for Jackson.

* 2002: Jackson playfully dangles infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.

* 2003: ABC airs the British documentary, "Living With Michael Jackson." Jackson's comments about allowing kids spend the night in his bedroom prompted authorities to look into his relationships with children.

* 2005: A judge clears Jackson of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behavior with other children.

* 2006: Plagued by financial problems since his trial, Jackson closes the house on his 2,600-acre (1,052-hectare) Neverland Ranch estate in California, laying off most of the staff after agreeing to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars in back wages to avoid a lawsuit by state labor officials.