[00:01.08] Unit 25 Michael Jackson: A Life in the Spotlight On the Motown Records ' 25th anniversary special -- a May 1983 TV extravaganza -- it was Michael Jackson who stopped the show. [00:18.36] At the time Jackson was the most popular musician in American, riding high with his No. 1 album" Thriller". [00:25.55] But something about his exciting performance of" Billie Jean", complete with the patented backward dance moves, raised his stardom to a new level. [00:35.56] Michael Jackson became ubiquitous. [00:39.54] People copied his Jheri curled hair and single gloved, zippered jacket look. [00:44.55] He posed for photos with Ronald and Nancy Reagan at the White House. [00:49.32] He became a Pepsi spokesman, and when his hair caught fire while making a commercial, it was worldwide news. [00:58.20] It all happened very fast -- within a couple of years of the Motown special. [01:03.33] He had not even turned 25 yet, but he 'd been a star for more than half his life. [01:09.19] Michael Jackson was born August 29, 1958, to Joe Jackson, a steelworker, and his wife, Katherine. [01:19.41] By the time he was 6 he had joined his brothers in a musical group organized by his father, [01:25.44] and by the time he was 10, the group -- the Jackson 5 -- had been signed to Motown. [01:33.30] Jackson, a natural performer, soon became the group's front man. The group's popularity waned in the 1970s, [01:41.35] and Michael eventually went solo, releasing the album" Off the Michael eventually became the best selling album in history. [01:56.18] But, as the showbiz saying has it, when you 're on top of the world there's nowhere to go but down. [02:03.25] The pop music landscape was changing, opening up for rap and hip hop. Jackson was seen as out of step. [02:11.15] His 1991's release," Dangerous", only produced one top ranking single --" Black or White" -- and that song earned criticism for its violent ending, [02:22.53] in which Jackson was seen smashing car windows and clutching his crotch. And then" Dangerous" was knocked out of its No. 1 spot on the album charts by Nirvana's" Nevermind. [02:36.21]" A 2001 album," Invincible," did even worse. More attention has been paid to Jackson's private life than his music career, [02:46.37] which has faltered. People started focusing on his eccentricities. He was rumored to sleep in a hyperbaric chamber and to have bought the bones of John Merrick, [02:58.11] the" Elephant Man".( Neither was true) He did have a pet chimpanzee; underwent many plastic surgeries; established an estate filled with zoo animals and amusement park rides. [03:10.31] Meanwhile, Jackson has found himself popular for his short lived marriages, the first to Elvis Presley's daughter, [03:18.49] Lisa Marie. Today the 46-year old singing icon heads to trial on child molestation charges.

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