'''Michael Joseph Jackson''' (born August 29, 1958) is an American musician and entertainer whose successful music career and controversial personal life have been at the forefront of pop culture for the last quarter-century.
Jackson began his musical career at the age of seven as the lead singer of The Jackson 5 and made his first solo recordings in 1971 while remaining a member of the group.
[http://michaeljackson.com/lofi/history-main-1970s.html Michael Jackson - History 1970s November 6, 1971: Michael releases his first solo single "Got To Be There".] He began a full-fledged solo career in 1979 and formally parted with his siblings in 1984.
[http://www.neverland-valley.com/neverland-valley/tours/victory-tour/victory-main.htm Neverland Valley - Victory Tour Interesting facts: At the last show of the tour Michael announced his split from The Jacksons] In his solo career, Jackson recorded and co-produced the best-selling album of all time
[http://www.guinnessrecords.com/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=50890 Guinness Records The best-selling album of all time is Thriller by Michael Jackson] ''Thriller'', with worldwide sales over 51 million; received thirteen Grammy awards;
[http://www.grammy.com/GRAMMY_Awards/Winners/Results.aspx?title=&winner=Michael%20Jackson&year=0&genreID=0&hp=1 Grammy Winners Jackson, Michael - Total: 13] and charted thirteen number-one singles in the U.S. Throughout his four-decade career, Michael Jackson has been awarded numerous honors, including the World Music Award's Best-selling pop male artist of the Millennium, and he is a double-inductee into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (once as a member of The Jackson 5 in 1997, and again in 2001 as a solo artist.)
[http://rockhall.com/hof/inductee.asp?id=1141 Rock hall page for Michael Jackson 2001 inductee: Jackson, Michael] He is also a member of the Songwriter's Hall of Fame.
From 1988 to 2005, Jackson lived on his Neverland Ranch property, on which he built an amusement park and private zoo for economically disadvantaged and terminally ill children. His frequently held sleepover parties received disparaging media coverage after it was revealed that children frequently shared his bed. These occurrences came to light first when he was accused of child sexual abuse in 1993. His sleepover parties were brought into the spotlight again in 2003 during the infamous ''Living with Michael Jackson'' TV Documentary. This resulted in Jackson being tried and acquitted of more child molestation allegations and several other charges in 2005.
Biography
Early life and career: 1966–1980
left|thumb|The cover to Michael Jackson's 1971's ''Got to Be There''.
Michael Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, the second youngest brother of seven and the eighth of ten children by Joseph and Katherine. Jackson began his career early, first singing at a school recital around the age of five, and joined his older brothers as a percussionist in '''The Jackson Brothers'''. In 1966, after taking co-lead singing duties with brother Jermaine, the group's name was changed to ''The Jackson 5''. The group
