Michael Jackson

"King of Pop" dead at 50

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when he began singing with his brothers--Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito--in the Jackson 5. After his early success with bubblegum soul, he struck out on his own, generating innovative, explosive, unstoppable music.

The album "Thriller" alone mixed the dark, serpentine bass and drums and synthesizer approach of "Billie Jean," the grinding Eddie Van Halen guitar solo on "Beat It," and the hiccups and falsettos on "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'."

The peak may have come in 1983, when Motown celebrated its 25th anniversary with an all-star televised concert and Jackson moonwalked off with the show, joining his brothers for a medley of old hits and then leaving them behind with a pointing, crouching, high-kicking, splay-footed, crotch-grabbing run through "Billie Jean."

The audience stood and roared. Jackson raised his fist.

During production of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, Jackson's scalp sustains burns when an explosion sets his hair on fire.

He had strong follow-up albums with 1987's "Bad" and 1991's "Dangerous," but his career began to collapse in 1993 after he was accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. The singer denied any wrongdoing, reached a settlement with the boy's family, reported to be $20 million, and criminal charges were never filed.

Jackson's expressed anger over the allegations on the 1995 album "HIStory," which sold more than 2.4 million copies, but by then, the popularity of Jackson's music was clearly waning even as public fascination with his increasingly erratic behavior was growing.

Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, and they divorced in 1996. Later that year, Jackson married Deborah Rowe, a former nurse for his dermatologist. They had two children together: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, now 12; and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson, 11. Rowe filed for divorce in 1999.

Jackson also had a third child, Prince Michael II. Now 7, Jackson said the boy nicknamed Blanket as a baby was his biological child born from a surrogate mother.

Billboard magazine editorial director Bill Werde said Jackson's star power was unmatched. "The world just lost the biggest pop star in history, no matter how you cut it," Werde said. "He's literally the king of pop."

Jackson's 13 No. 1 one hits on the Billboard charts put him behind only Presley, the Beatles and Mariah Carey, Werde said.

"He was on the eve of potentially redeeming his career a little bit," he said. "People might have started to think of him again in a different light."

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch and AP writers Derrik J. Lang, Solvej Schou, Anthony McCartney and Thomas Watkins in Los Angeles; and Virginia Byrne, Hillel Italie, Nekesa Mumbi Moody and Jocelyn Noveck in New York contributed to this report.

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Michael Jackson Selected Discography:

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Solo albums:

"Got To Be There," 1972.

"Ben," 1972.

"Music & Me," 1973.

"Forever, Michael," 1975.

"Off The Wall," 1979.

"Thriller," 1982.

"Bad," 1987.

"Dangerous," 1991.

"Invincible," 2001.

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Albums by "The Jackson 5," the family R&B quintet that launched Jackson to fame:

"Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5," 1969.

"ABC," 1970.

"Third Album," 1970.

"The Jackson 5 Christmas Album," 1970.

"Goin' Back to Indiana," 1971.

"Maybe Tomorrow," 1971.

"Lookin' Through the Windows," 1972.

"Get It Together," 1973.

"In Japan!," 1973.

"Skywriter," 1973.

"Dancing Machine," 1974.

"Live!," 1974.

"Moving Violation," 1975.

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Albums by "The Jacksons," which formed after the group _ without older brother Jermaine _ left Motown Records for the Epic record label:

"The Jacksons," 1976.

"Goin' Places," 1977.

"Destiny," 1978.

"Triumph," 1980.

"Live," 1981.

"Victory," 1984.

"2300 Jackson Street," 1989.

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"We Are the World," a 1985 charity song co-written by Jackson and Lionel Richie. It reached the top of the charts, featuring the voices of Jackson, Richie, Stevie Wonder, Paul Simon, Tina Turner, Billy Joel, Diana Ross, Bruce Sprinsteen, Ray Charles and a host of others.

August 29, 1958 - June 25, 2009

Michael Jackson

Memory Book

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Posted by: Nina Hamilton