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. He began a full-fledged solo
career in 1979 and formally parted with his siblings in 1984. In
his solo career, Jackson recorded and co-produced the best-selling
album of all time Thriller, with worldwide sales over 51 million,
received thirteen Grammy awards 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.) 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.
