Pop has never known a greater prodigy than Michael Jackson.

By age 9, he already served as the commanding focal point of his talented group of brothers, three of them his senior.

While barely out of toddlerhood, Jackson bore the confident gait, vocal range and unfailing charisma of a star. Before he even reached puberty, he would achieve that status - in the extreme.

The first recordings Jackson made with his family were cut in 1967 for the local label, Steeltown, located close to their hometown: gritty, working-class Gary, Ind. Within one year, those raw songs, and a brief tryout for Motown's Suzanne de Passe, would be enough to convince label czar Berry Gordy he'd found a group capable of bringing to his enormously successful business a whole new level of creativity and excitement.

The first single released by Motown of the Jackson 5 - 1969's "I Want You Back" - put the label's trademark catchy soul sound into italics. A hyperbolic blast of pop, the song pumps along at a dizzying speed, marked by a manic stop-start rhythm, topped by Jackson's quickly escalating cries. The song wasn't just a pop marvel. It begged a nagging question: How could a boy of 11 know a need this deep? The wonderment of it all drew older fans to the child, as surely as his character and charm entranced those closer to his own age.

The string of singles that followed in dizzying succession - "ABC," "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" - rank among the most catchy and exciting recordings in the last half-century of pop. Yet none would have jumped out of the speakers with as much verve were it not for the spark of Jackson's voice.

He used it to great effect, not only blended with those of his brothers' but in solo works, including the yearning single "Got to Be There" and a pitched remake of Bobby Day's "Rockin' Robin."

Though still a boy, his voice nailed a great range of feelings. The wisdom and implicit experience in his singing rivaled that of adult pop-soul icons, from Sam Cooke to Marvin Gaye.

Jackson also served as an ideal teen idol with his adorable looks, easy demeanor and eager fashion sense. From the moment the group began, he and his brothers held the imagination of all young listeners - yet none more than African-Americans, who saw in Jackson a role model of success, grace and talent that they could carry their entire lives.



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