Michael Jackson, center, with brothers, from left, Tito, Jermaine, Jackie, Marlon and Randy were signed as the group Jackson 5 by Motown Records in the late 1960s. Jackson 5.


A young Michael Jackson. He was born in Gary, Indiana, the seventh of nine children.


Michael Jackson with Ed Sullivan. Jackson and his brothers first performed together at a talent show when Jackson was 6.


The Jackson 5 -- from left, Jackie, Tito, Michael, Jermaine and Marlon -- attended the NAACP Image Awards in 1970.


Micahel Jackson, at 13, practices in his home in Encino in 1972, the year he made his first solo album.


The Jackson 5, Michael at center, announce the Grammy award for best R&B vocal performance by a duo or group in 1976.


Michael Jackson in 1978 at Chasen's Restaurant in Beverly Hills.


Michael Jackson's "Thriller" held the No. 1 spot for 37 weeks in 1982 and '83, and seven of its tracks made the Top 10.


Jackson lays down some moves in the zombie dance scene from his 1982 "Thriller" music video.


Jackson's "Thriller" sold 21 million copies in the United States and at least 27 million worldwide.


Jackson in 1984 at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium during the first night of his national tour. The year before, he unveiled his signature "moonwalk" dance move while performing "Billie Jean" during an NBC special.


Michael Jackson, with music conductor Quincy Jones, embraces an armful of Grammys at the 1984 award show.


In 1993, Jackson keeps 10-month-old Adam Huntsman company as the boy waits to be immunized at the Watts Health Foundation. That same year he was accused of sexually abusing a 13-year-old boy.


Jackson with wife Lisa Marie Presley on the balcony of their Euro Disneyland hotel suite. The couple married in 1994, the same year Jackson reached a $23-million settlement with the family of the boy he was accused of abusing


Jackson and Presley at Neverland ranch in Santa Ynez, Calif., where they welcomed children for the World Children's Conference.


ackson and Presley with Diane Sawyer. Jackson once said of the marriage, "Just think, nobody thought this would last." The couple divorced in 1996.


Jackson's music video "Childhood" premiered on NBC in 1995.


Slash from Guns N' Roses joins Michael Jackson on stage during the opening of the 1995 MTV Video Music Awards.


Jackson performs at the 1996 World Music Awards.


A masked Michael Jackson with Debbie Rowe, whom he married in 1996 after divorcing Presley. The couple had two children but never lived together.


Jackson and Saudi Prince Al Waleed bin Talal announce in 1996 the formation of a joint venture called Kingdom Entertainment.


Jackson waves to a crowd of thousands in front of the Sydney Opera House in 1997. He was presented with a music award there from record company Sony.


Michael Jackson arrives with Elizabeth Taylor at her 65th birthday party at the Pantages Theater.


Jackson, wearing a mask, peeks out from behind the curtains of a van as he leaves for Singapore's national stadium in 1997.


Jackson joins hands with Warsaw Mayor Marcin Swiecicki in 1997 after signing a preliminary letter of intent to build a theme park in the Polish capital.


Jackson sings with his trademark white glove during his "30th Anniversary Celebration: The Solo Years" concert in 2001 at New York's Madison Square Garden.


Michael Jackson's Neverland ranch in Santa Ynez, Calif.


Jackson and Elizabeth Taylor attend a tribute to Rock Hudson.


Jackson gained much publicity after holding a child from a third-floor balcony at Hotel Adlon in Berlin, where he received the Bambi 2002 media award for his lifetime achievement in music.


Michael Jackson arrives to testify in Santa Maria Superior Court on Nov 13, 2002. He was accused of canceling concerts appearances and costing a promoter millions of dollars.


Jackson testified in a Santa Maria Superior Court on Nov.13, 2002, in a trial in which he is accused of canceling concert appearances, costing the promoter several million dollars. German-based promoter Marcel Avram accused Jackson of breach of contract and fraud, alleging Jackson backed out of two New Year's Eve shows in 1999.


This booking photo released by the Santa Barbara County Sheriff's Department on Nov. 20, 2003, shows Jackson after his arrest after being charged with multiple counts of molesting a child.


An unmarked law enforcement vehicle arrives at Neverland, Jackson's estate in the Santa Ynez Valley.


Jackson and sister Janet walk back to the Santa Maria courthouse after a lunch break from a pretrial hearing on Aug. 16, 2004. Jackson's lawyers had subpoenaed Santa Barbara County Dist. Atty. Thomas Sneddon to testify during a hearing on the probe of Bradley Miller, a private investigator who had ties to Jackson.


In his first interview since being charged with child molestation, Jackson denied the allegations and insisted there was nothing wrong with sleeping with children, according to excerpts released Dec. 26, 2003, by CBS News. "Before I would hurt a child, I would slit my wrists," Jackson told Ed Bradley in an interview.


Jackson walks into Santa Maria Superior Court in May 2005 on the fifth day of his child molestation trail. Jackson was charged in a 10-count indictment with molesting a boy, plying him with liquor and conspiring to commit child abduction, false imprisonment and extortion. He has pleaded innocent.


Michael Jackson's hair flies in the wind as he departs the Santa Barbara County courthouse on April 29, 2005, after court adjourned for the day in his child molestation trial.


Michael Jackson at a news conference at the O2 arena in London. Jackson pushed back the first four of his comeback concerts in London this year, but organizers had said the decision was not linked to his health.


Michael Jackson memorabilia : Jackson's crown, ceremonial scepter and jewel-encrusted glove on display in Beverly Hills were saved from an auction after a legal settlement.