Michael Jackson

He married twice in his lifetime. His first marriage was with Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, in 1994 but this union which did not last long and the two divorced in 1996.

He married long-time friend Deborah Jeanne Rowe, a dermatology nurse, in 1997. The couple was blessed with two children, Michael Joseph Jackson Jr and Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson. The two separated in 1999. He had a third child, Prince Michael Jackson II, from a surrogate mother through artificial insemination.

The King of Pop passed away unexpectedly following a cardiac arrest on June 25, 2009. His sudden and tragic death raised a global outburst of grief as millions mourned his death.

Born in an African-American working class family, he was eighth of the ten children of the couple Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson and Katherine Esther Scruse. While his father worked as a steel mill worker, his mother was a sincere Jehovah Witness.

From a very young age, he was a music lover. Initially starting as a backup musician, he soon found his way as a lead singer in the family band, the Jackson 5.

The Jackson 5 started touring Midwest, extensively performing at black clubs. In 1967, they released their first single, ‘Big Boy’ with Steeltown record label but the same failed to interest the audience.

In 1968, they signed a contract with Motown Records, which required them to relocate to Los Angeles. Following year, they came up with their first album, ‘Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5’. Its first single, ‘I Want You Back’ was a chartbuster and was followed by bestsellers ‘ABC’, ‘The Love You Save’, and ‘I'll Be There’, each of which peaked at No 1 on Billboard Hot 100.

In addition to the band, he launched his solo career as well - his first ever solo single being ‘Got to Be There’. The song met with runaway success and established his reputation as a solo artist.

The Jackson 5 band withdrew its association with Motown Records in 1975. The same year, they tied up with Epic Records under a new name ‘the Jacksons’.

From 1976 to 1984, the band toured internationally and released six new albums. He became a leading songwriter for the group, writing numerous hits one after the other.

His eight albums have made whooping sales of 1 billion units worldwide and earned him $750 million in his lifetime, with five of his albums gaining world’s best-selling records. ‘Thriller’ has been the biggest selling album with reported sales of 65 million units.