Singer, songwriter. Born August 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, as the seventh of nine children. Jackson and his brothers Jackie, Tito, Marlon, and Jermaine were assembled into a singing group when Michael was only five years old. Despite his extremely young age, he soon distinguished himself as a singer and dancer of prodigious ability. No mere child prodigy, Michael had a gift for vocal phrasing that was not only well beyond his years, but would have been …showed first 75 words of 2010 total…

…showed last 75 words of 2010 total…on 20/20, though Jackson claimed it to be "a gross distortion of the truth." Even when beset by rumor and scandal--and such has been his situation for much of his career--Michael Jackson has masterfully translated adversity into greater fame. While many argue that his work has been uneven, his contribution to modern pop has been enormous. Indeed, Jackson redefined stardom for the video era, and popular culture would never be the same. Not even there lives.