AUGUST 29, 1958: A megastar is born
Michael Joseph Jackson is born in Gary, Ind., the seventh child of Joe and Katherine Jackson. Joe, who performs in a band called the Falcons, encourages his sons to form a group themselves. From an early age it is clear that Michael is the most talented sibling. At four, he becomes lead singer of the band, which initially plays shows under the name the Ripple and the Waves plus Michael.
1964: Jackson and his brother Marlon join the Jackson Brothers, a band started by their older siblings Jackie, Tito and Jermaine. After playing percussion, Michael soon begins singing backup vocals and dancing. By 8, he takes on lead vocals with Jermaine, and the group becomes known as the Jackson 5.
1968: MOTOWN AND RISE TO FAME: The group signs with powerhouse label Motown Records in 1968. The Jackson 5 becomes the first act to have its first four singles on a major label reach No. 1 on the charts. The hits include “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I”ll Be There.”
MARCH 11, 1969: The Jacksons sign to Motown
Jackson and his brothers sign with Berry Gordy’s Motown and are taken under the wing of the company’s star Diana Ross (the newly rechristened act’s first album will be called Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5). Gordy informs journalists that Jackson is 8 years old (he’s actually two years older) to make him appear even more precociously talented. ”Berry Gordy called and said, ‘We signed this new act,”’ says Shelley Berger, who managed the young group. ”So I go to the studio, and there’s these five kids. Michael just started, and I almost fell down. I said to myself, ‘Oh my God, this is Sammy Davis.’ It was electric. A 9-year-old kid. I mean, he wasn’t a kid. This was an adult at 9 years old.”
1969: The Jackson 5 break big
The band’s first Motown single, ”I Want You Back,” is a No. 1 hit and shifts more than two million copies. Their next song, ”ABC,” sells even more and also tops the charts, as does their third 45, ”The Love You Save.” ”Michael was something special even then,” says Otis Williams, a singer with Motown legends the Temptations. ”I listened to their version of the Miracles’ ‘Who’s Loving You’ and Michael did a riff at the end, the little minor notes, and all that. I said, ‘Now, wait a minute. You would expect that from Sam Cooke or Jackie Wilson. But not a little kid.”’ Says Berger, ”A star was born out of the first three singles — not a star, a superstar.”
1972: Michael Jackson at age 13, the youngest member of the singing group Jackson Five, posed in his home in Encino, Calif.. Jackson became a superstar more than three decades ago as an irresistibly cute kid with apple cheeks and an afro.
1972: Jackson establishes himself as a solo act
Jackson releases the single ”Ben.” The song is from the film of the same name about the friendship between a boy and a rat. While the subject matter may be strange — though not for Jackson, who had kept rodents as pets — ”Ben” is the singer’s first solo No. 1. ”I went to New York, out to the Westbury Music Fair, and I saw them perform,” says Ron Alexenburg, a record-company executive who would later sign the Jacksons to CBS. ”They were still on Motown at the time. I was just terribly impressed. When Michael sang ‘Ben,’ which was about a rat, I said, ‘Anybody who can have a song like that and have it go No. 1, I believe has a big career.’ And I was right.”
1975: The Jackson 5 leave Motown
The brothers leave Gordy’s label and sign with CBS. In part, the split with Motown is caused by poor sales of Jackson’s fourth solo album, Forever Michael, which peaks at a lowly 101. ”This was a chance for Joe Jackson to gain control back of the group, which he had lost,” says Berger. ”When their contract was finally up, Joe had his chance to get control of the group. The last place he was going to stay was at Motown.” Says Alexenburg, ”It was everyone but Jermaine. Jermaine was at the time I believe married to Berry Gordy’s daughter, and he didn’t want any part of it. Or he was told not to have any part of it.” [laughs]
OCTOBER 1978: Jackson makes his big-screen debut
The singer stars as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, a reworking of The Wizard of Oz that also features Diana Ross as Dorothy. The film is not a commercial success, but it introduces Jackson to producer Quincy Jones, who is the film’s musical director. Jones will produce Jackson’s next three albums.
AUGUST 1979: Jackson releases Off The Wall
Jackson’s fifth album is released the same month he turns 21 and is easily the most successful solo collection of his career up to that point.
1979: The performer breaks his nose during a dance routine. He has rhinoplasty surgery but complains of breathing difficulties. The operation is believed to be the first of many cosmetic enhancements.
DECEMBER 1, 1982: Jackson releases Thriller
The singer’s Off The Wall follow-up is again overseen by Quincy Jones, who, prior to the album’s release, cautions Jackson that it is unlikely to match the commercial success of its predecessor. Lead single ”The Girl Is Mine” — a collaboration with Paul McCartney — doesn’t top the charts. But ”Beat It” and ”Billie Jean” are both No. 1s. And the singles keep coming: ”Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” ”Human Nature,” ”PYT”… ”I put the camera on my shoulder, and as I tracked back along that street he did those twists and turns and up on his toes,” says Steve Barron, who directed the ”Beat It” clip. ”You just knew in that moment this was going to be a whole different level of extraordinary, beyond anything we’d seen before.”
MARCH 25, 1983: Jackson debuts the moonwalk
Jackson performs a very special dance step during his performance of ”Billie Jean” on a TV special to commemorate Motown’s 25th anniversary. ”The Four Tops and the Temps did our little segment and everyone was going crazy,” says the Temptations’ Otis Williams. ”But when Michael went into ‘Billie Jean’ and that moonwalk, he stole the show.” ”’Billie Jean,’ was a hit for CBS, not Motown,” recalls Rick Ludwin, the NBC executive responsible for the Motown 25 special. ”Nonetheless, you throw out all those rules. That moment was just — I wish I could think of a better word than electrifying. It was magical. And the crowd went nuts. He was a giant star, but that put him in the stratosphere.”
1983: Michael Jackson performs in the video for “Beat It,” the third single from the Thriller album. The song went platinum and won two Grammys.
DECEMBER 1983: MTV debuts the Thriller video
Director John Landis spends an outlandish-for-the-times $600,000 making the horror-themed clip for the title track from Thriller, the seventh single to be released off the album. That proves a wise investment when sales of Thriller triple after MTV screens the video. ”I was lucky enough to know and work with Michael Jackson in his prime,” Landis said in a statement issued after Jackson’s death. ”Michael was an extraordinary talent and a truly great international star. He had a troubled and complicated life and despite his gifts, remains a tragic figure.”
Motown 25 TV special (1983)
MOONWALK: Jackson’s trademark dance move makes its debut on March 25, when he performs live on the “Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever” TV special. While singing “Billie Jean,” Jackson awes viewers with a move that makes him appear to be stepping forward as he glides backward.
There was no shortage of star power on hand for this televised tribute to the label that first introduced the world to the Jackson 5. But Michael stole the show with a single stride during his performance of ”Billie Jean,” gliding backward with effortless grace in a move that would forever after be known as the moonwalk.
1984: At the height of his popularity, Michael Jackson received an award from President Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan for his contribution to the drunk driving awareness program.
1984: Actress Brooke Shields, left, accompanied Michael Jackson to 11th Annual American Music Awards.
JULY-DECEMBER 1984: The Victory tour
Jackson reunites with his brothers for the Victory album, and they then embark on an extremely lucrative Victory tour, which is put together by boxing promoter Don King.
JANUARY 22, 1985: ”We Are The World” session
A small army of music stars, including Bruce Springsteen, Billy Joel, Bob Dylan, Bette Midler, Huey Lewis, Lionel Richie, and Jackson, gather at A&M studios in Los Angeles to record the charity single ”We Are The World,” written by Richie and Jackson. ”I stood right next to him, because I had the line right after he did,” says Lewis. ”We had to share a position there for a couple hours. And we chatted. He said lots of nice things about my songs, and he knew our stuff, and he was just sweet, sweet, sweet.”
1985: Buying the Beatles
Jackson purchases the U.K. company ATV music, which controls the publishing of a vast number of songs, including the Beatles’ back catalog. The move angers Jackson’s former collaborator Paul McCartney, who had lectured the younger star on the lucrative nature of the song-publishing industry.
SEPTEMBER 1986: Captain EO premieres
The Jackson-starring 3-D fantasy movie Captain EO debuts at the Epcot Center and Disneyland. The film is directed by Godfather auteur Francis Ford Coppola. ”There was this one big move at the beginning where we’d bring our arms out; it looked like a karate kind of move,” says dancer/choreographer Marlene Lang Clayman, who appeared in Captain EO. ”I literally nailed Michael in the head and he fell to the ground. I was like, ‘Oh God, I’m fired.’ He just said, ‘You’re strong’ and laughed. It was electrifying, the energy you felt off of him. He gave 100 percent, every time.”
AUGUST 31, 1987: Jackson releases Bad
Five years after Thriller, Jackson returned with a new look and a harder-edged pop sound. While not quite as big a success as Thriller — and really, what is? — Bad nonetheless made some nice additions to Jackson’s growing collection of gold and platinum plaques. Singles including the title track, ”Smooth Criminal,” ”Man in the Mirror,” and ”The Way You Make Me Feel” all dominated radio.
Although Bad sells less than Thriller, it still shifts around 30 million units worldwide and is the first album ever to feature five No. 1 hits: ”I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” ”Bad,” ”The Way You Make Me Feel,” ”Man in the Mirror,” and ”Dirty Diana.” The video for the title track is directed by Martin Scorsese. ”Michael Jackson was extraordinary,” Scorsese said in a statement after Jackson’s death. ”When we worked together on ‘Bad,’ I was in awe of his absolute mastery of movement on the one hand, and of the music on the other. He was wonderful to work with, an absolute professional at all times, and — it really goes without saying — a true artist. It will be a while before I can get used to the idea that he’s no longer with us.”
1988: Jackson’s autobiography, “Moon Walk,” hits shelves and becomes a best seller. The book, named after Jackson’s signature dance move and edited by Jackie Onassis, details beatings he and his siblings received at the hands of their father. “If you messed up, you got hit,” Jackson writes, “sometimes with a belt, sometimes with a switch.”
November 26, 1991: Jackson releases Dangerous
The singer’s repeatedly delayed eighth solo collection is the first in a new six-album deal with Sony. Lead single ”Black Or White” features guitar playing from Slash and an accompanying clip that stars Jackson and Macaulay Culkin. The album will be certified platinum seven times.
February 10, 1993: Oprah interview
ABC airs a primetime special in which Oprah Winfrey interviews the singer at Neverland and quizzes the King of Pop about the way his facial structure and skin color have changed over time. Jackson admits to having had a nose job but claims that he suffers from ”a skin disorder that destroys the pigmentation of my skin.”
1993 SCANDAL: Jackson’s success takes a huge hit when he is accused of child molestation by 13-year-old Jordan Chandler and his father, Evan, once a friend of the singer. Jackson’s home is searched by police. Alleged victims are said to include actor Macaulay Culkin, who appeared in the “Black or White” video. (In a later trial, Culkin testifies in Jackson’s defense that the claims are “absolutely ridiculous.”) Jackson’s lawyers brand the accusations as a plot to squeeze money from the star. The following year, Jackson settles with the Chandlers out of court.
Marriage to Lisa Marie Presley (1994)
Tabloids went wild in March 1994 when Jackson wed the late Elvis Presley’s daughter, uniting two houses of pop-culture royalty. Even more controversial was the lengthy kiss they shared during the MTV Video Music Awards that fall. The couple ultimately split in 1996.
June 20, 1995: Jackson releases HIStory
The full title of this two-disc set: HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The lead single is ”Scream,” a duet with his sister Janet. The accompanying clip is directed by Mark Romanek. ”My mother visited the set, and Michael immediately charmed her, asking her to hold his jacket while he filmed, giving her a warm hug and kiss as he left the set each day,” says Romanek. ”My mom felt like she had a new best friend. The chance to experience the phenomenon of his gift from only a few feet away was the treat of a lifetime. Over those ten days of filming, I felt like I had the single greatest job in the world. And I think, perhaps, I actually did.”
November 14, 1996: Jackson marries Debbie Rowe
Following a show in Sydney, Jackson marries Debbie Rowe, a nurse. Jackson’s new wife gives birth to a boy on February 14, 1997. The singer names him Prince Michael Jackson Jr. The couple have a daughter named Paris Michael Katherine on April 3 1998. Rowe will file for divorce in October of the next year. ”I got to see him a lot with Paris and Prince,” says Bayer Sager. ”I just want to say that he was a wonderful father. His concern for them and his love for them — cutting their food, and things people don’t talk about. I just want to go on record saying that I saw him as a good father. I think that’s important with all the other stuff that has been around.”
1997: Michael Jackson, left, performs during his concert at the Green Point Stadium in Cape Town, October 4, 1997. This was the first concert on his South African tour.
Charity concert with Pavarotti (1999)
Jackson lay low for most of the late ’90s, quietly beginning a family after marrying nurse Deborah Rowe. One notable public appearance was this high-profile concert to raise funds for global refugees.
2000: Michael Jackson performs on stage during the grand finale of the ‘Miracle on 34th Street’ holiday concert presented by radio station WKTU at New York’s Madison Square Garden.
September 7 and 10, 2001: 30th anniversary shows
Jackson hosts a brace of shows at Madison Square Garden to mark three decades as a solo performer and promote his forthcoming album, Invincible. The concerts feature performances by Jackson, Britney Spears, and ‘N Sync, among others. However, the massively expensive Invincible sells a disappointing 2 million copies in the U.S. ”One of the more fun things that happened that weekend was just spending some down time with the guy,” recalls ‘N Sync’s JC Chasez. ”He had a million things to do, but he was so gracious and took the time to talk.”
Invincible (2001)
A decade after his last proper album, Jackson finally came out with a new disc. While it sold very well, and fans praised singles like ”Butterflies” and ”You Rock My World,” critical reception was mixed, and it began to seem that the zeitgeist had passed Jackson by.
2002:Michael Jackson performs “Dangerous” during a taping of the American Bandstand’s 50th anniversary show.
2002: An uproar followed after Michael Jackson held his child Prince Michael II, his head hidden by a towel, over a balcony of the Adlon Hotel in Berlin. Jackson, in Germany to attend an awards ceremony, had been waving to German fans, when he brought the baby onto the balcony.
2002: Michael Jackson testifies in court in Santa Maria, Calif. in connection with a $21 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by a German concert promoter. Jackson was ordered to pay more than $5 million. The case later went to arbitration.
August 2005: Jackson relocates to the Middle East
After being cleared of the child-abuse charges, the singer heads to Dubai, where he will spend much of the following year.
April 2007: Plotting a comeback
It is announced that Jackson has signed a recording agreement with 2 Seas Records, which is owned by Sheik Abdulla bin Hamad Al Khalifa, son of the king of Bahrain. In a statement, the singer says that he is ”incredibly excited about my new venture and I am enjoying being back in the studio making music.” Jackson records tracks — still unreleased — with both the Black Eyed Peas’ will.i.am and Akon. ”He wanted to change the world with this new album,” says Akon. ”I’m not sure how close the album was to being done, but he was doing a lot of recording. So I don’t think he was too far away from it.”
February 12, 2008: Reissue of Thriller
Jackson re-releases his classic album in a deluxe version that features remixes by Kanye West and will.i.am, along with a new version of ”Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin”’ that features Akon. ”It was one of my favorite records, that’s why I chose to do it,” says Akon. ”He gave me 100 percent control. He said, ‘Listen Akon, I want you to do this record like it was yours. Pretend I never had this record.’ And that’s exactly what I did. He didn’t change a single note. He heard it and he loved it. He’s probably the easiest artist I’ve ever worked with.”
”This Is It” return concerts announced (2009)
Reports of a comeback album in the works circulated throughout Jackson’s post-trial years, but new music never materialized. In March of this year, Jackson held a press conference in London to announce a series of arena concerts scheduled to occur this July. They were to have been a final farewell to his career as a live performer.
THURSDAY, JUNE 25, 2009: Jackson, age 50, is hospitalized in Los Angeles following a heart attack and dies.
