Born in 1958 in Gary, Indiana, Michael Jackson became the lead singer of his family's popular Motown group, the Jackson 5.
He went on to a solo career of astonishing success, delivering No. 1 hits from the albums Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. The "King of Pop" was dogged by allegations of child molestation in his later years, and died just before launching a comeback tour in 2009.