The King of Pop Remembered

Memorial Service

Michael Jackson emerged from childhood superstardom to become the entertainment world's most influential singer and dancer before his life and career deteriorated in a freakish series of scandals.

He died unexpectedly at the age of 50 after suffering cardiac arrest in his home, a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s.

Read the latest: Lawyer for doctor: Jackson had pulse when found

Following the release of "Thriller" in 1982, Jackson became popular music's premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage. "Thriller" remains the biggest-selling album of all time, with more than 26 million copies.

Music critic Ben Fong Torres on online sales of Michael Jackson music

Music critic Ben Fong Torres on the career and impact of Michael Jackson

Dave Sholin, former Program Director at KFRC, on Jackson's talent as a performer

Jayn, music director of Alice 97.3, on Jackson's impact on music video

His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks second only to his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.

As years went by, he became an increasingly freakish figure, a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grownup life. His skin became lighter and his nose narrower.

Outside the UCLA hospital where Jackson died

Jackson surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, often wore a germ mask while traveling and kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions.

In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him. The case took a fearsome toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.

Lisa Marie Presley's Blog

Robert Thompson from the Bleier Center for TV and Pop Culture on how Michael Jackson was able defy assumptions and break barriers, from race, gender and age

CBS' Peter King speaks with Orlando Sentinel Columnist Jim Abbott on the entertainer's 'second home,' Walt Disney World

St. John of KMVQ MOViN on Jackson's influence today

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