Police Raid Jackson Ranch

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Dozens of Santa Barbara County sheriff's deputies armed with warrants swarmed Michael Jackson's Neverland Valley ranch Tuesday morning to search the compound. The officers arrived at the gated ranch at 8:30 a.m. to conduct the searches, which are part of an ongoing investigation, Sgt. Chris Pappas said in a statement.

CourtTV reported that the raid was tied to allegations made by an unnamed twelve-year-old boy, though authorities would not comment on those reports. Jackson's spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

The raid came on the same day that Jackson's Number Ones greatest hits album was released. The collection features the new song "One More Chance," written by R. Kelly. A Jackson TV special is scheduled to air on CBS on November 26th.

Jackson and his three children were not at Neverland during the raid because he has been in Las Vegas for three weeks filming footage for the TV special.

In 1993, a fourteen-year-old boy alleged that Jackson had improper sexual contact with him; that case was settled out of court for an undisclosed amount.

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Song Stories

“Everyday People”

Sly and the Family Stone | 1968

"Everyday People" managed to trailblaze in two different ways -- it was one of the first pop hits to deal with the subject of racial harmony, and it utilized Larry Graham's "slap" technique on the bass guitar, which would soon be copied by countless other bassists. Graham once said about his pulsating style, "I'd never done that before … that's where the freedom of creativity came in for the band, that we'd be allowed to do that." In 1978, the song's line "Different strokes for different folks" would be borrowed for the title of the hit television show Diff'rent Strokes.

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