Whacked-out child stars are legion (Butch Patrick, Danny Bonaduce, Britney Spears, Gary Coleman, Todd Bridges, Dana Plato, Lance Kerwin, etc., etc...). Successes are rare (can you think of anyone besides Ron Howard?). While fame can mess up anyone, it seems to be especially tough for kids. But unlike most child stars, Michael Jackson had tremendous talent. Besides fame, that talent brought him absolute boatloads of money at a young age. More money than any of us can really imagine. With that money, he was able to indulge his every impulse and fantasy and was also able to buy his way out of trouble more than once. That it would all come to no good end was pretty predictable. It's a sad story, and even though the jury said "not guilty" it's hard to deny that he probably did hurt some kids.
I never gave this much thought until yesterday, and I'd certainly never gone looking for MJ videos before. But I do like the way he sounded when he was young. Listen to this one.
YouTube - I'll Be There Acapella