Born the seventh in a family of nine children in Gary, Indiana, Jackson was launched into show business when his father, a steel-mill worker by trade, assembled a singing group called the Jackson Five with 5-year-old Michael and his four older brothers. Initially, Joseph included Michael in the lineup as a novelty, but it became immediately obvious that his wee son had prodigious musical abilities: his voice possessed a maturity belied by his young years, and his crowd-charming charisma superseded that of most seasoned entertainers.

The Jackson Five moved quickly from local talent contests to a recording contract with Motown. The group generated six top-five singles between 1969 and 1971 including "I Want You Back" and "ABC" and would remain a hit-making machine throughout the '70s. As if the pressure of fronting a chart-topping band weren't enough for the adolescent, Jackson was soon tapped by Motown to do solo recordings.

Britney began performing at an early age, and when she was 8, she auditioned for the Mickey Mouse Club. Although she was too young for the show, a producer helped her secure an agent in New York City where Britney spent the next three years studying dance and music. She also had bit roles in commercials, theatre and films. When she tuned 11, Britney was old enough to earn a spot on the Mickey Mouse Club and starred on the popular show for two years, relocating with her family to Orlando.

Propelled by such No. 1 hits as "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You," the disc sold ten million copies and was barraged with critical praise for its barrier-busting blend of soul and rock and its good-time boogie vibe. (Rolling Stone's notoriously hard-to-please critic, David Marsh, proclaimed Off the Wall "a masterpiece of modern record making.")

His 1982 blockbuster Thriller became the biggest-selling album of all time (probably his best-known accomplishment), and he was the first black artist to find stardom on MTV, breaking down innumerable boundaries both for his race and for music video as an art form.

In 1993, Jackson consented to a rare interview with Oprah Winfrey. A huge prime-time audience tuned in to hear Jackson discuss his evolving appearance (which he attributed to a skin pigmentation deficiency and "only two" plastic surgery procedures), his romantic life (he named Brooke Shields as a girlfriend), and his Peter Pan-like existence at his Neverland ranch and amusement park near Los Angeles.

In 1995, Jackson attempted to put the focus back on his music by preparing HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1, a two-CD set featuring one disc of new material and one of his greatest hits. The album debuted at number one, but the format backfired on Jackson: his fans already owned the hits, and the new album simply wasn't strong enough to offset the added cost of the extra disc for many more casual listeners