Michael Jackson's 40 years in the public eye, as both a beloved performer and a tabloid curiosity, were crammed with a plethora of headline-grabbing moments.
From Moonwalking to baby-dangling and everything in between, there was nary a dull moment for the King of Pop. Some of it was astonishing and some of it was appalling, but it was all a part of what made up the legend of Michael Jackson.
From the little boy who sang "ABC" to Jacko at his most wacko, here are 25 moments -- ranked in order of importance -- that defined Michael Jackson, for better or for worse.
1. Moonwalk!: Michael electrifies the audience on the Motown 25 anniversary TV show, which airs in May 1983, with "Billie Jean" and a stunning moonwalk in which he seems to defy all laws of physics.
2. Puts the 'M' in MTV: He breaks the color barrier and kick-starts MTV into overdrive in 1983 with the sheer creative and popular force of "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and the mini-movie epic, "Thriller." The fledgling music TV channel had been, up to then, largely a closed shop to black performers.
3. Grammy sweep: Any doubt that 1984 is Jackson's year is wiped clean when the bajillion-selling "Thriller" wins a record eight Grammys, including Record of the Year (for "Beat It") and Album of the Year (for "Thriller"). Only Santana, with 2000's "Supernatural," is able to match the feat.
4. Gordy's green light: At the behest of Motown singer/producer Bobby Taylor, Jackson and his brothers -- who had previously won the amateur show at the famed Apollo Theater in New York -- audition in the summer of 1968 for Berry Gordy Jr. at the Motown offices in the Donovan Building in Detroit. Michael bowls over Gordy with his James Brown dance moves and confident singing, and the boss orders video cameras to roll.
5. Hit machine: The Jackson 5's first four Motown singles -- "I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" -- hit No. 1 in a breathtaking nine-month period in 1970.
6. Meets 'The Wiz': Michael meets Quincy Jones on the set of "The Wiz," the updated, urban version of the "Wizard of Oz," for which Jones has written the music. The songwriter/producer finds Jackson's wide-eyed wonder artistically intriguing, and agrees to produce his next album, which would become "Off the Wall."
7. Goes 'Off': Pulls off a feat, changing his image from bubblegum pop to adult star with "Off the Wall" in 1979, which sells 10 million copies.
8. Claims 'Victory': Reunites with his brothers on the massive "Victory" tour in 1984, a 55-date cacophony of lights, lasers, a King Arthur-like storyline and music video-style theatrics that becomes the highest grossing tour to date, with the brothers performing their Motown and Epic hits.
9. Dangles his baby: Presents his 9-month-old baby, Prince Michael II, to a crowd below by dangling him over the balcony of a Berlin hotel room in November 2002. After years of bizarre behavior, the incident is the most frightening, and provokes ire from a public who thinks "Wacko Jacko" has finally gone too far.
10. Pens 'We are the World': Together with Lionel Richie, Jackson writes the all-star charity single, which becomes a worldwide No. 1 smash in 1985.
11. Marries Lisa Marie Presley: Jackson's lifelong fascination with Elvis Presley is taken to a new level when he marries his daughter in 1994. They divorce less than two years later, but not before awkwardly smooching each other on live TV at the 1994 MTV Video Music Awards.
12. 'Bad' does good: Jackson releases his "Thriller" follow-up "Bad" in 1987; the album includes five No. 1 singles, including "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Man in the Mirror."
13. Purchases Neverland: Jackson moves to Neverland Ranch, a 2,800-acre property near Santa Barbara, Calif., and builds his own amusement park and zoo on site. Its name is taken from "Peter Pan," and reinforces Jackson's identification with the story of the boy who could never grow old.
14. Aww, rats: Scores his first solo No. 1 hit in 1972 with "Ben," a love song to a rat from the film "Willard."
15. Buddies up to McCartney: Forges a close friendship with former Beatle Paul McCartney, with whom he collaborates on songs like "The Girl is Mine" and "Say Say Say." The two men, both fans of vaudeville-like theatrics, film several colorful videos, but when Jackson buys the Beatles catalog of songs -- which McCartney had been desperately trying to get back -- the friendship cools.
16. Album sales resurrected: Following his death, three of his hits compilations sell more than 100,000 copies, proving Jackson's death brings his music back to life.
17. Not guilty: Exonerated of child molestation, conspiracy and alcohol charges in California in 2005. A frail Jackson, flanked by his family, wipes away tears when he hears the verdict.
18. Up in flames: At the height of his fame in 1984, Jackson is so hot he literally bursts into flames when his hair catches fire on the set of a Pepsi ad. He is treated for second-degree burns.
19. Releases "HIStory": To promote the 2-disc set, made up of both hits and new material, giant statues of Jackson in military garb are shipped around Europe (Jackson was never very good at subtle). The 1995 set's new material -- including "They Don't Care About Us" and "Scream," his duet with sister Janet Jackson -- is marked by an anger unseen in his previous work.
20. A 'Super' performance: Jackson, joined by 3,500 local children, performs "Heal the World" at the Super Bowl halftime show in 1993, which is in many ways a precursor to the current, superstar-driven Super Bowl halftime shows of today.
21. 'Black or White' shocks: Eyebrows are raised when Jackson's controversial "Black or White" video premieres on prime time TV in November 1991. The video features a revolutionary face-morphing sequence, but ends on a weird note with a four-minute sequence of Jackson suggestively grabbing his crotch and violently destroying an automobile, which is later removed from the video.
22. Bashed by Bashir: Jackson consents to an interview in 2003 with British journalist Martin Bashir on the recommendation of his friend, Uri Geller. Bashir is granted access to Jackson over weeks, and the resulting sensationalist program focused tightly on allegations of child molestation. Geller came to view Bashir's approach to him as "deception."
23. Announces comeback tour: "This is it," he announces at a London press conference in March 2009 -- a pronouncement that would turn out to be oddly prophetic.
24. Glove stolen: Jackson's white beaded glove is stolen from Detroit's Motown Historical Museum in 1991. Jackson had donated the glove, a hat and a stage uniform to the museum in 1988. A tipster leads police to a home in rural Grand Blanc and the glove is recovered.
25. Accepts non-existent award: Britney Spears presents Michael Jackson with a birthday cake at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards, a gesture Jackson mistakes as winning the non-existent "Artist of the Millennium" award. Hey, no one ever said the King of Pop had a small ego.
source: detnews.com
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