Revisiting Michael Jackson's life and legacy in photos

American soul pop group the Jackson Five, five brothers from Indiana who were signed to Berry Gordy's Motown record label circa 1972.

The Jackson 5, from left, Tito, Marlon, Michael, Jackie and Jermaine, performed during the "Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" in Los Angeles on Sept. 15, 1972.

The six members of the American pop group The Jackson 5 or The Jacksons in London, November 1972. They are brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, Michael (top right) and Randy Jackson.

R&B quintet The Jackson 5 pose for a portrait with their instruments, 1968, Chicago.

Boy Band The Jackson 5, front row from left: Marlon Jackson, Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson, and back row from left: Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Tito Jackson at a London airport, Nov. 3, 1972.

At age 13, Michael Jackson of the Jackson 5 rehearses for the Royal Variety performance in London, Oct. 29, 1972. Michael was the lead singer of the group and interested in every aspect of entertainment.

Jackson (with Nicolette Larson) won three American Music Awards on Jan. 18, 1980: favorite soul/R&B male artist, favorite soul/R&B single for "Don't stop 'Till You Get Enough" and favorite soul/R&B album for "Off the Wall."

In the "Thriller" video, Jackson played a young man who takes his girl on a scary movie date. As the full moon rises, he frightens her by changing into into a zombie and breaking into dance with other zombie characters. All the while, he's belting out his new hit song.

Paramedics wheel Michael Jackson into Brotman Memorial Hospital in Los Angeles after being burned during the filming of a Pepsi commercial, Jan. 27, 1984. Exploding fireworks set his jacket and hair on fire giving him second degree burns on his scalp.

Jackson and Quincy Jones at the Grammy Awards at Shrine Auditorium, Feb. 28, 1984. Jackson won eight Grammys for his work on "Thriller."

Jackson performed during the Jackson 5 Victory Tour at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City on July 6, 1984.

Jackson performs an open-air concert in West Berlin on June 19, 1988.

On June 27, 1988, he performed at the Parc des Prince stadium in Paris. 

Jackson's Bad Tour at Wembley Stadium in London is in the "Guinness Book of World Records," with 504,000 people attending seven sold-out shows in the summer of 1988, more than any other artist at the time.

Michael Jackson's eighth album, "Dangerous," debuted on Nov. 26, 1991, atop the Billboard 200 and was the bestselling album in 1982. Hits include "Black or White."

For the love of children and his own attempts to recapture his childhood, Jackson built his Neverland ranch in California.

Jackson commanded the stage during the halftime show at Super Bowl XXVII between the Dallas Cowboys and the Buffalo Bills on Jan. 31, 1993, in Pasadena, California.

One word to describe Michael Jackson’s halftime show costume? Iconic. So iconic that it even acted as inspiration for Beyoncé’s outfit more than 20 years later for Super Bowl 50.

Jackson performed at the Hippodrome de Vincennes in Paris on Sept. 13, 1992.

1993 delivered highs and lows for the superstar. On Dec. 22, Jackson delivered a televised statement from Neverland, proclaiming himself innocent of child molestation accusations. Anthony Pellicano, a security consultant, was hired to fight the molestation claims. Although Pellicano branded the alleged victim's civil lawsuit extortion, Jackson ended up settling out of court, paying the teenage plaintiff a reported $15 million-plus, and the case never went to trial.

On April 18, 1995, Jackson and wife Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson welcomed 46 members of the World Children's Congress representing 17 countries to Neverland.

The entertainer kept it cutting edge, collaborating with his younger sister Janet in their video "Scream," released in 1995. At the MTV Video Music Awards on Sept. 7, they were nominated for 11 awards and won for best dance video.

Jackson wanted to start a family and married Debbie Rowe, a nurse who cared for him after numerous plastic surgery procedures. They're seen in this April 28, 1996, file photo, in Pasadena, California. Rowe told a Los Angeles jury in 2013 that injuries and medical conditions left the singer feeling disfigured and forced him to wear wigs and de-pigment his skin. These difficult treatments, she said, were made harder by Jackson's superstar status.

On Nov. 10, 1996, in Auckland, New Zealand, Jackson was on the HIStory tour at Ericsson Stadium.

Another milestone: Jackson, center, joined Motown Records mogul Berry Gordy, second from left, and his brothers Marlon, left, Tito, Jackie, front, and Jermaine, as the Jackson 5 were in inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on May 6, 1997.

At the benefit concert "Michael Jackson & Friends" at Olympic Stadium in Munich, Germany, June 27, 1999.

Jackson was inducted individually to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2001.

The consummate showman got some air during his performance at the Democratic National Committee benefit concert, "A Night at the Apollo," at the world-famous Apollo Theater in New York in April 2002.

On Nov. 13, 2002, Jackson testified in Santa Maria Superior Court at a trial in which he was accused of canceling concert appearances, costing the promoter several million dollars. 

Jackson gestured to fans from atop his SUV after his arraignment on child molestation charges at the courthouse in Santa Maria, California, on Jan. 16, 2004. Fans waited every day for a glimpse of the King of Pop during the trial.

Rarely without an umbrella to protect his sensitive skin, Jackson flashed a peace sign as he left the courthouse with his father, Joe Jackson, and his mother, Katherine Jackson, after his arraignment. Jackson pleaded not guilty to a grand jury indictment of numerous child molestation charges on April 30, 2004.

LaToya, Michael and Janet Jackson left the courthouse during a lunch break at a pretrial hearing in Michael's molestation case in Santa Maria, California, on Aug. 16, 2004.

At one point in the molestation trial, it was feared Jackson would be held in contempt for showing up late. He complained of back pain and eventually arrived March 10, 2005, in pajamas and a suit jacket, supported by his security men as he walked into Santa Barbara County Superior Court.

Michael Jackson with his father Joe.

On most days, the King of Pop was dressed to the nines for his court appearances. On June 13, 2005, Jackson was acquitted on all counts. After the trial, he largely withdrew from public life. 

On March 5, 2009, Michael Jackson held a press conference to announce he would play a series of comeback concerts in London in July, his first major shows for over a decade. Four years after his infamous child abuse trial, the 50-year-old confirmed he would play 10 gigs at the giant London O2 arena starting on July 8.

A little more than three months later the King of Pop was dead. On June 25, 2009, Jackson died at UCLA Medical Center after going into cardiac arrest at his rented home. Fans adorned his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Paris Katherine Jackson, 11, was comforted by the Jackson family – Marlon, Tito, Jermaine, Randy, Rebbie and Janet – after speaking during her father's public memorial service at Staples Center on July 7, 2009.

Epic released "Xscape," a posthumous Michael Jackson album, on May 13, 2014. Five years after Jackson's death, the singer remained a pop-culture powerhouse, appearing as a hologram onstage at the Billboard Music Awards and generating tens of millions of dollars in sales and royalties.

A TV cameraman filmed the scene as vehicles exited the Forest Lawn Memorial Park, the final resting place of Michael Jackson, in Glendale, California, on June 25, 2014, the fifth anniversary of his death.

A street artist displayed his tribute to Jackson near the singer's star along Hollywood Boulevard.

Fans lit dozens of candles as they gathered around Jackson's star on Hollywood Boulevard.

Four Michael Jackson impersonators pose outside of Jackson's mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale, California on the 5th anniversary of Jackson's death, June 25, 2014. Fans from around the world gathered at the resting place to pay their respects and remember the King of Pop who died of an overdose of the anesthetic drug Propofol five years prior.

Michael Jackson fans take photos of drawings, flowers, letters and other items left by fans outside Jackson's mausoleum at the Forest Lawn Memorial Park cemetery in Glendale, California, on the 5th anniversary of Jackson's death, June 25, 2014.

After the trademark aviator sunglasses were stolen off this Michael Jackson statue in Rio de Janeiro, workers had to secure it against future vandalization. Jackson shot his "They Don't Care About Us" video in Brazil.

Kosovo artist Alkent Pozhegu works on a mosaic made of grains showing a portrait of Michael Jackson on the 15th anniversary of his death in Gjakova, Kosovo, June 25, 2024.