Michael Jackson

When Jackson's father formed the Jackson Five, a singing quintet comprising his sons, five-year-old Michael, the youngest, was the lead singer. From its first recordings, beginning in 1969, the group was a favourite of young, including preteen, audiences; Motown Records songwriters provided their material, and impressive dance routines choreographed by Michael contributed to their popularity. After they were renamed the Jacksons in 1976, the brothers wrote more adult songs for recordings, which they produced themselves. They played on their own network television series during the 1970s, and a television cartoon series was based on them.Michael remained a member of the Jacksons until 1984.

Meanwhile Michael Jackson had begun recording under his own name in 1971, and he sang in the film musical The Wiz (1978). His 1979 album Off the Wall sold about 10 million copies throughout the world. Noted for his "moon-walk" dancing style and coy sex appeal, Jackson made videos of "Billie Jean" and "Beat It," both composed and choreographed by him; they were shown on MTV cable television, helping the album from which they were taken, Thriller (1982), to sell more than 40 million copies. He outbid Paul McCartney and Yoko Ono to acquire, for $47.5 million, the publishing rights to more than 250 songs composed by the John Lennon-Paul McCartney team.

A collector of animals, Jackson brought his pet chimpanzee and 300-pound snake to the recording sessions that produced Bad (1987); his subsequent albums were Dangerous (1991) and HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book 1 (1995).

A lawsuit charging him with child molestation was dropped in 1994 when he made a financial arrangement with the parents of a 14-year-old boy. In that same year Jackson made a widely publicized marriage with Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis; the marriage ended in 1996. Several of Jackson's siblings, most notably his sister Janet, also enjoyed success as rock singers.