Gallery: The Best Break-Out Bands on Rolling Stone's Cover

As this famous cover line says, Michael Jackson was just 11 when he first appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone. During the previous year the Jackson 5 had exploded onto the charts, scoring huge hits with "ABC," "I Want You Back," "I'll Be There" and many others. It was the group's peak, but a decade later Jackson would emerge as one of the most successful recording artists in the history of recorded music.

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This article appears in the April 29, 1971 issue of Rolling Stone. The issue is available in the online archive.

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