From his early years as the 10-year-old singer of the Jackson 5 to his 1980s music and videos that shaped the decade in pop music to the trials and travails that fascinated the world to the unprecedented public outpuring of grief following his untimely death, Michael Jackson lived the most public of lives. In honor of the Kind of Pop, Billboard.com takes a look back at some of the iconic images that marked both the high and low points of his extraordinary life.
Michael Jackson Photo Timeline
Michael Jackson’s Top 50 Billboard Hits
Michael Jackson: It’s A Wonderful Afterlife
How Michael Jackson Made $1 Billion Since His Death
To celebrate the King of Pop, we take a look back at some of the iconic images from Michael Jackson’s extraordinary life.
MICHAEL JACKSON’S TOP 50 BILLBOARD HIT SONGS
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To celebrate the King of Pop, we take a look back at some of the iconic images from Michael Jackson’s extraordinary life.
MICHAEL JACKSON’S TOP 50 BILLBOARD HIT SONGS108703-1958_michael_jackson_born_617_409
Aug. 29, 1958: Michael Joseph Jackson is born in Gary, Ind., the seventh of nine children.
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1966: After several years of training, The Jackson 5 hit the stage for the first time.
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March 1969: With 10-year-old Michael as lead singer, the Jackson 5 signs with Motown Records.
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December 18, 1969: The group’s debut album, “Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5,” is released, spawning just one single “I Want You Back,” its first No. 1.
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May 18, 1970: “ABC” is released, becoming the second No. 1 single for the Jackson 5.
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January 24, 1972: While still singing with the Jackson 5, Michael releases his first solo album, “Got To Be There.” It spawns his first No. 1 hit as a solo artist, “Ben.”
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October 24, 1978: Jackson makes his on-screen debut starring as Scarecrow in “The Wiz.”
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August 10, 1979: “Off the Wall,” Jackson’s first solo album as an adult and first collaboration with producer Quincy Jones, is released.
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November 30, 1982: Jackson releases “Thriller,” which will becomes the world’s best-selling album of all time.
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May 16, 1983: Jackson moonwalks his way into history on the “Motown 25” television special, electrifying viewers by singing and dancing to “Billie Jean” wearing his signature outfit.
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February 28, 1984: “Thriller” wins a record-breaking 8 Grammy Awards.
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January 27, 1984: During production of a Pepsi-Cola commercial, Jackson’s scalp is badly burned when an explosion sets his hair on fire.
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January, 1985: Jackson and Lionel Richie write “We Are the World,” a precedent-setting song produced to raise money for victims of the Ethiopian famine.
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September 18, 1986: Captain EO, a 3-D film starring Jackson, premieres at Disneyland.
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Aug. 31, 1987: Jackson’s seventh studio album, “Bad,” is released. With five No. 1 singles, “Bad” sells at least 22 million copies worldwide.
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Nov. 26, 1991: Jackson releases “Dangerous,” his eighth studio album; the video for lead single “Black Or White” stirs up controversy.
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Feb. 10, 1993: In a televised interview with Oprah, Jackson reveals he was diagnosed with vitiligo, a genetic disorder that causes his skin color to fade.
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August 24, 1993: Jackson is accused of sexually assaulting a 13-year-old boy who often stayed overnight at his home. Denying wrongdoing, he settles with the family (reportedly for $20 million) and no charges are filed.
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May 26, 1994: Jackson marries Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis, in the Dominican Republic. They divorce two years later.
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May 6, 1997: Michael and the rest of the Jackson 5 are inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
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Feb. 13, 1997: Jackson’s second wife, Debbie Rowe, gives birth to his first child, a son named Prince Michael Jackson Jr.
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April 3, 1998: Jackson and Rowe’s daughter, Paris Michael Katherine Jackson is born. The two divorce the following year.
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October 30, 2001: “Invincible”, Jackson’s tenth and final studio album, is released.
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March 19, 2001: Jackson receives his second Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction, this time as a solo artist.
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Feb 21, 2002: The year Jackson’s third child nicknamed “Blanket” is born to a surrogate mother, he dangled the baby over a balcony in Berlin as fans watched from below. He later called the incident a “terrible mistake.”
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February 6, 2003: When “Living With Michael Jackson” is aired, his comments about kids spending the night prompt an investigation. In Nov., they raid Neverland Ranch and he is booked on suspicion of child molestation.
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June 13, 2005: A judge clears Jackson of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003.
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August 2005: Following his acquittal of molestation charges, Jackson relocates with his children to Bahrain.
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March 16, 2006: As a result of the financial burden of his 2005 trial, Jackson is forced to close his 2,600-acre Neverland Valley Ranch, but a deal with investors in March 2008 allows him to maintain ownership of the ranch.
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March 5, 2009: Jackson announces he will perform 10 shows at London’s 02 Arena in July, eventually 50 shows are booked. Tickets sell out within hours.
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June 25, 2009: After being rushed to UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, Michael Jackson dies at the age of 50.
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July 2009: Two weeks after his death, Jackson once again rules Billboard charts, selling more than 1.2 million albums and more than 4 million digital downloads, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
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July 7, 2009: A public memorial is held for Jackson at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.
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October 28, 2009: “This Is It,” a film made up of footage from 100 rehearsal hours for Jackson’s planned 02 Arena shows, premieres in theaters.
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June 14, 2010: Jackson is posthumously inducted into the Apollo Legends Hall of Fame along with Aretha Franklin.
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October 2011: Cirque du Soleil combined its acrobatic magic with the King of Pop’s music for this lavish, ongoing traveling production that kicked off in the fall of 2011 and has since repeatedly topped Billboard’s Top Tours chart. In 2013, Cirque du Soleil also launched “Michael Jackson One” in Las Vegas.
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May 2014: “Xscape,” an album crafted by a team of superproducers including Timbaland and Rodney Jerkins who sifted through nearly two decades of MJ’s studio outtakes, arrives with fanfare in May 2014. The record includes the Michael Jackson-Justin Timberlake duet, “Love Never Felt So Good” as a bonus track.
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May 18, 2014: The King rose from his throne live on national TV thanks to hologram tech at the 2014 Billboard Music Awards. Performing “Slave to the Rhythm” from the “Xscape” album, hologram Michael grooved like the man fans all over miss dearly.
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Michael Jackson, the King of Pop.
