When Jackson's Thriller became the all-time bestselling album in 1984, TIME described Michael as an "impossibly insulated innocent. Undeniably sexy. Absolutely safe. Eroticism at arm's length." Some highlights of TIME's past coverage of the boy-man from Neverland:
They are brothers, and taken together they add up to the Jackson Five, a group that in hardly more than a year-has become the biggest thing to hit Pop Capitalism since the advent of the Beatles.
From The Jackson Five at Home
Jun. 14, 1971
Star of records, radio, rock video. A one-man rescue team for the music business. A songwriter who sets the beat for a decade. A dancer with the fanciest feet on the street. A singer who cuts across all boundaries of taste and style, and color too. Michael Jackson, 25 years old.
From Why He's a Thriller
By Jay Cox
Mar. 19, 1984
Katherine Jackson calls me by name and says, 'There have been a lot of rumors about Michael, that he has had operations to have his eyes widened and his cheeks changed and everything. Those things are simply not true. He had only one operation, on his nose. We were hoping you'd set the record straight and put a stop to the rumors. They also say Michael is gay. Michael isn't gay. It's against his religion. It's against God. The Bible speaks against it.' Joe Jackson repeats, 'Michael isn't gay.'
From "He Hasn't Gone Crazy over Success"
By Denise Worrell
Mar. 19, 1984
When the brothers get down to music and launch into Wanna Be Startin' Somethin', Michael, in good voice and fine form, steps forward again. The brothers blaze their way through a set of 16 tunes, and except for three compositions by his older brother Jermaine, Michael sings lead on them all.
From Bringing Back the Magic
By Jay Cox
Jul. 16, 1984
The record business is primed for another monster hit. The great pop-culture dream machine needs the kind of lube job only an icon like Jackson can deliver. With advance orders of 2 million, there will be a lot of Bad around, and it is useless to resist.
From The Badder They Come
By Jay Cox
Sep. 14, 1987
As he revealed in his 90-minute TV chat last week with talk-show empathizer Oprah Winfrey, Jackson is at heart as vulnerable as the handicapped children he generously welcomes to his ranch near Santa Barbara, California.
From Peter Pan Speaks
By Richard Corliss
Feb. 22, 1993
Maybe Jackson is, emotionally, a preteen, getting his wish of an intimate slumber party. His behavior onstage suggests as much: the infamous crotch- grabbing seems as spontaneous as an infant investigating itself. But he is also an adult, 35 this week, and any boy's mother might foresee problems of propriety in letting a man bunk with her boy.
From Who's Bad?
By Richard Corliss
Sep. 6, 1993
Jackson has long identified with Peter Pan (Neverland is the realm of that eternal youth) and seen the children he brings to the ranch as Peter's Lost Boys. But is he living in a different storybook from the one he imagines? Jackson's Neverland could also be Pinocchio's Pleasure Island, where careless lads were transformed into slaves and donkeys.
From The Cuffed One
By Richard Corliss
Dec. 1, 2003
When he finally appeared in Santa Barbara County Superior Court after the judge in his child-molestation case threatened to revoke his $3 million bail, the deposed King of Pop displayed his usual showmanship, even if not his usual sartorial flair.
From Jacko's Bad Day In Court
By Richard Corliss
Mar. 14, 2005
Almost 19 months to the day that Jackson's Neverland Valley Ranch was raided by Santa Barbara County authorities -- and following 32 hours of jury deliberation on the heels of five months of trial -- the fate of the eccentric pop star had been decided by a jury of his peers.
From Michael Jackson's Date With Destiny
By Matt Kettmann
June 14, 2005
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