You couldn't help but be captivated by the unbelievably cute
kid with the amazingly controlled falsetto voice and
electric dance moves. He was only 10 years old, when he
exploded onto the music scene, along with his brothers as
the lead singer of the Jackson 5, but he had the stage
presence of a twenty year veteran. Before or since, I
haven't seen a child that talented, that aware, that
dynamic, that charismatic!

I'm talking about Michael Jackson, of course. And if you
didn't have the privilege of seeing him perform as a child--
live or on television, you missed out on the most gifted
child performer in the history of music.

Do yourself a favor and see if you can find a videotape of
some of the Jackson 5's old television appearances, and
you'll see exactly what I'm talking about. They were truly
magical--especially Michael!

The whole world fell in love with the Jackson 5! In the
early seventies, the Jackson 5 were the hottest recording
act on the planet!

They had number one record after number one record, after
number one record. They sold out concerts worldwide. They
were everywhere--television commercials, cereal boxes,
school bookcovers, and on every teeny-bopper magazine. They
even had their very own Saturday morning cartoon! The
Jackson 5 were truly a phenomenom!

The Jackson 5 were all talented in their own right, but it
was little Michael who was the special one--the prodigy--the
genius!

In fact, if Michael hadn't grown up and weirded out on us,
there's little question, he'd be considered the greatest
entertainer of all time. As an adult, he still had the magic
that so captivated us when he was a child.

Actually, despite his current trials and tribulations,
arguably, he's still considered the greatest, if you judge
him strictly on talent and record sales.

Remember, this man holds the Guinness World Record for
having the biggest selling album of all time--"Thriller!" In
addition, in 2000, at the World Music Awards, Jackson was
honored with the Best Selling Male Pop Artist of the
Millennium award. In other words, he was voted the best
selling pop artist of the last thousand years!

Yes, I know he looks like a freak now--or worse, but you
should have seen this kid before the allegations of child
molestations, before the weirdness, before the plastic
surgery. When he was performing on stage, you literally
couldn't take your eyes off of him.

How ironic that is, because now, we can barely stand to look
at him!