NEVERLAND RANCH

This is an aerial view of Michael Jackson's

Neverland ranch in Santa Ynez Valley,

CalifORNIA., which boasts a mansion, its own zoo, amusement park and Ferris wheel. In 2006, amidst rumors of the singer being in financial trouble, the main house of the ranch was closed. In 2008, the ranch's title was transferred to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company, LLC. Jackson still holds an unknown stake in the ranch.

MJ @JESSE JACKSONS 66 Th BIRTHDAY

Michael Jackson, center,

leads the crowd including

CNN's Larry King, right, in singing Happy Birthday to Rev. Jesse Jackson, left, on the red carpet during the RainbowPUSH Coalition Los Angeles 10th annual awards dinner celebrating Jesse Jackson's 66th birthday, on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2007 in Los Angeles.

WHY HE WAS HANDCUFFED HE WAS A HARD CORE CRIMINAL?

Michael Jackson is taken

into the Santa Barbara County Jail facility, Nov. 20, 2003, to be booked on charges reportedly involving the alleged molestation of a 12-year-old boy at Neverland Ranch. He was later acquited of all charges. Similar allegations surfaced against Jackson in 1993, but they never led to criminal charges

BLOGGER VIEW: I DONT LIKE HADCUFFS IT IS SHAME FOR U.S.MJ HE WAS A CRIMINAL OR WHAT?WHY HE WAS HANDCUFFED?I DONT KNOW.HE WAS NOT A HARDCORE TERRORIST.

GARYJACKSON BIRTH PLACE

Michael Jackson holds

a street sign that he was presented with by Gary Mayor Scott L. King, left, during a news conference in Gary, Ind., June 11, 2003. Jackson returned to his hometown for the first time in nearly two decades and was also presented with a key to the city.

CHARITY:MJ JACKET FOR GERMAN STREET KIDS

Michael Jackson carries

the jacket he wore when

he received his Artist of the Century Award onstage at a charity event in Berlin, Nov. 20, 2002. Jackson brought the jackets he wore at 29 American Music Awards in the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles. These and other clothes from German stars were auctioned to help German street kids. German composer Ralf Siegel paid $16,000 for the jacket shown.

IN COURT

Michael Jackson testifies

in Santa Maria Superior Court,

Nov. 13, 2002, in a trial in which he was accused of cancelling scheduled concert appearances, costing his promoter several million dollars. Jackson had appeared weak and ghostly pale at many of his public appearances at the time, and his own attorneys have said he has been involved in nearly 1,000 lawsuits

MJ PERFORMS WITH BRITNEY SPEARS

Michael Jackson performs

with Britney Spears

during Jackson's "30th Anniversary Celebration, The Solo Years" concert at New York's Madison Square Garden, Sept. 7, 2001. In 2002, Spears offered Jackson birthday wishes onstage at the MTV Video Music Awards and he mistakenly thought he was accepting a special "Artist of the Millennium" trophy, drawing barbs from the show's host and viewers.

IN RUSSIA

Michael Jackson greets

Russian fans on Moscow's Red Square, Sept. 18, 1996, with the Rossiya Hotel visible in the background.

FIRST MARRIAGE

Michael Jackson and wife,

Lisa Marie Presley-Jackson,

open the 11th Annual MTV Video Music Awards at New York's Radio City Music Hall, Sept. 8, 1994. The marriage ended in divorce after less than two years. A second marriage to Debbie Rowe produced two children before they divorced in 1999. Jackson had another child in 2002.

THE HALFTIME SHOW

Michael Jackson performs

during the halftime show

at the Super Bowl XXVII in Pasadena, Calif., on Jan. 31, 1993

HYPERBARIC OXYGEN CHAMBER

Michael Jackson is pictured inside a hyperbaric oxygen

chamber in September 1986. True or not, the singer began making headlines for his eccentricities – that he slept in the chamber, that his best friend was a chimp, that he was trying to buy the Elephant Man's bones – around this time.

AWARD FROM PRESIDENT RONALD REAGAN

Michael Jackson, center,

stands with President Ronald Reagan,

left, and first lady Nancy Reagan on the south lawn of the White House on May 14, 1984, prior to receiving an award from the president for his contribution to the drunk driving awareness program.

WON EIGHT GRAMMY

Michael Jackson is seen

backstage at the 26th

Annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, Feb., 28, 1984, as he poses with the awards he won in eight different categories. Seven were for the blockbuster album "Thriller."

'''THE WIZ''

In this Oct. 4, 1977 file photo,

Diana Ross, center, as Dorothy,

Michael Jackson, right, as Scarecrow, and Nipsey Russell as Tinman perform during filming of the musical "The Wiz" in New York. Ted Ross, portraying the Lion, is partly hidden behind Russell. Ross is one of Jackson's idols.

FIRST SOLO RECORD

Michael Jackson, age 13, poses in his home in Encino,

Calif., in 1972. He earned his first No. 1 solo record that year with "Ben."

THE 5

The Jackson 5 family singing group,

with youngest brother Michael Jackson on lead vocals, signed to Motown records in 1968. Here they perform during the "Sonny and Cher Comedy Hour" in Los Angeles, Calif., Sept. 15, 1972. From left to right: Tito, Marlon, Michael, Jackie and Jermaine

WITH ELIZABETH

Elizabeth Taylor arrives with Michael Jackson at the Pantages Theater in the Hollywood area of Los Angeles, Feb. 16, 1997. Taylor has been one of the singer's strongest supporters over the years

RECORDS AND OTHER ACHIVEMENTS OF MJ

US chart records anJackson's

Thriller (1982)

remained at number one on the Billboard 200 album chart for thirty-seven weeks, second only to the soundtrack for West Side Story.[1] Thriller spent a record 80 consecutive weeks, more than a year and a half, in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200. It was the first of only three albums that have remained in the Top 10 for more than one year (along with Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill and Celine Dion's Falling into You). It is the only album to have sold more copies in the United States than any other in two separate years, topping the sales charts in 1983 and 1984, and selling over 29 million copies to date. Worldwide, its sales total has been estimated at 55 million copies by the Guinness Book of World Records, and at 110 million by Jackson's management; either figure would make "Thriller" the top-selling album in the history of music.
Five of Jackson's albums, Bad, Dangerous, HIStory, Invincible, and the soundtrack to Michael Jackson's This Is It, debuted at number one in the United States.
Jackson was the first artist to chart four Top 10 singles from one album (Off the Wall).
Jackson was the first artist to chart seven Top 10 singles from one album (Thriller), a feat matched only by his sister Janet and Bruce Springsteen.
Jackson is the only artist to chart five number one hits from one LP, Bad ("Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Man in the Mirror", "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", and "Dirty Diana").
With "Thriller"'s "Billie Jean", Jackson became the first artist to simultaneously have the number one album and number one single on Billboard's Pop Charts and Black Charts.
Following changes in Billboard's methodology, Jackson became the first artist to have a song debut at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 ("You Are Not Alone").[1]
Jackson has had 13 #1 singles on Billboard's Hot 100 singles chart, trailing only The Beatles (20), Mariah Carey (18) and Elvis Presley (18 or 17, depending on source). This total does not include "We Are the World", co-written by Jackson and credited to USA for Africa, or the four #1 singles by The Jackson 5.
Jackson had 28 top ten hits on the Billboard Hot 100, one less than The Beatles (29), and trailing Elvis Presley (36) and Madonna (37d achievements

MICHAEL JACKSON:INSPIRATION FOR MANY,MANY ARTISTS ACROSS THE GLOBE

THE LEGEND MJ IS A GREAT INSPIRATION FOR MANY...INCLUDE IN INDIA ALSO.IN INDIA MANY ACTORS COPIED HIS DANCE IN INDIAN CINEMA INDUSTRY.
MJ IS NOT ONLY DANCER,HE WAS A GREAT STYLE CREATORAND GREAT HUMAN TOO.
With stage performances and music videos, Jackson popularized a number of physically complicated dance techniques, such as the robot and the moonwalk. His distinctive musical sound, vocal style and choreography inspired numerous pop, rock, R&B and hip hop artists, while also breaking down cultural, racial and generational barriers.