KING OF POP

Michael Jackson performing, doubt as "The Worlds Greatest Performer!"
Born in 1958, Michael Jackson grew up in Gary, Ind., the seventh of nine children. Patriarch Joseph Jackson saw star potential in his sons, and molded Michael, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon into a singing group called the Jackson 5.

Jackson’s next solo album, 1983's “Thriller,” broke industry sales records and erased the divide that separated black music from the American mainstream. Its success enabled him to broker what were believed to be the highest royalty rates ever earned by a recording artist. "Thriller" won eight Grammys, and is estimated to have sold more than 65 million copies world wide.
Jackson with wife Lisa Marie Presley on the balcony of their Euro Disneyland hotel suite. The couple married in 1994, the same year Jackson reached a $23-million settlement with the family of the boy he was accused of abusing.
Jackson thanks fans after winning three World Music Awards in Monaco in May 1993.With 'Bad,' Jackson begins to reveal demons!

Sales of his next album, "Bad," released five years after "Thriller" in 1987, paled beside the figures for its predecessor but still were colossal. In songs like "Dirty Diana," "Smooth Criminal," and "Leave Me Alone," it also began to show an insidious new to Jackson's music. In those songs, filled with negative vibes about women, "Jackson the songwriter was letting loose some demons," according to the authors of "The New Rolling".Jackson married Deborah Jeanne Rowe in Sydney, Australia, in November 1996. The two had been close for 10 years, as Rowe was his dermatologist's nurse. However, the two decided to get married once Rowe became pregnant with their first child, Prince. The two also had a daughter, Paris, before divorcing in 1999. After Jackson and Rowe parted ways, a second son, Prince Michael II, was born to an unknown mother.

In 1993, a 13-year-old boy who had visited Jackson’s Neverland Ranch accused Jackson of molestation. A civil suit was settled out of court for an estimated $20 million and prosecutors subsequently closed their investigation into the molestation charges. "I am not guilty of these allegations," Jackson, then 35, said after the settlement was reached.

Jackson’s signature style still influences performers today. His sequined white glove and fedora hat are just two of the many accessories that made Jackson a fashion icon for the ages.Throughout his career, Jackson has received many landmark awards, including the Living Legend Award at the 35th annual Grammy Awards and the Artist of the Millenium award at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. When Jackson visited Berlin in 2002, fans crowded outside his room at the Hotel Adlon. Jackson emerged on the balcony and shocked many by dangling his baby over the railing.

The cloth that Jackson draped over the baby's face did little to make the bizarre act appear more normal.

Jackson’s death comes just as he was readying to make a career comeback. The pop star was set to launch his “This is it” summer residency in London on July 13. The star reportedly sold out all 50 shows at O2 Arena and sold 750,000 tickets according to Rolling Stone.

Pop star Michael Jackson dead at age 50.

Paramedics found him in a coma at his Bel-Air home today and rushed him to UCLA Medical Center. He was in L.A. rehearsing for a series of concerts in London in July. Los Angeles Fire Department Capt. Steve Ruda told The Times that paramedics responded to a 911 call from the home. When they arrived, Jackson was not breathing. The paramedics performed CPR and took him to UCLA Medical Center, Ruda said.

REST IN PEACE, MICHAEL JACKSON.