Michael Jackson, "King of Pop": Death of a Legend

Michael Jackson, the acclaimed "King of Pop" and one of the bestselling music artists in history, died Thursday, June 25, of an apparent cardiac arrest. His "Thriller" album, which is considered one of the greatest albums ever recorded, is the biggest selling album of all time, selling in excess of 100 million copies worldwide. He was 50.

Attempts to resuscitate the pop star's heart had gone on for an hour before the doctor's admitted defeat and declared him dead. Jermaine Jackson, Michael's older brother, issued a brief statement from the UCLA Medical Centre where Michael Jackson was brought shortly after his heart stopped beating.

Jermaine Jackson, close to tears, said, "May our love be with you always Michael."

He read the statement: "My brother, the legendary king of pop, Michael Jackson died on Thursday June 25 2009 at 2:26 pm [Pacific time]. It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. The cause of his death is unknown until the results of the autopsy."

"His personal physician, who was with him at the time, attempted to resuscitate my brother, as did the paramedics who transported him to Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Centre.

"Upon arrival at the hospital at approximately 1:14 p.m. a team of doctors, including emergency physicians and cardiologists, attempted to resuscitate him for a period of more than one hour. This was unsuccessful.

"Our family requests that the media please respect our privacy at this tough time."

Hundreds of fans gathered outside the Ronald Reagan Memorial Medical Centre awaiting word about the condition of their music hero. But when the news broke that Michael Jackson had died, instead of an emotional breaking down and drifting away, the gathered fans seemed to draw strength from each other and stayed on into the night, singing and dancing and remembering their fallen icon.

Michael Jackson began his music career with his brothers in the Jackson 5 and by the age of 11, everyone knew who he was. He began a solo career in 1972 with some success, but continued to write and record with his brothers. But it was 1979's "Off The Wall" that established Michael Jackson as a solo force to be reckoned with. Teaming up with record producer Quincy Jones, the album would garner numerous awards, including a Grammy, and make Michael Jackson the first artist in history to place four songs in the Top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.

Collaborating with Quincy Jones again, Jackson released "Thriller" in 1982. The album would stay in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 80 consecutive weeks, produce seven Top 10 singles in the Billboard Hot 100 (another first), and go on to become the biggest selling album ever worldwide. The videos shot for the singles of "Thriller" would change the way the world looked at music and help a new cable television network called MTV become an industry giant.

Although subsequent albums sold considerably less and the music icon found himself in financial straits in recent years, not to mention a couple of high-profile court cases, his concerts, when he toured, would continue to sell out worldwide. Unfortunately, as Michael Jackson's music career waned, his private life became the source of increasing tabloid media attention, often exacerbated by Jackson's own bizarre antics and public pronouncements.

Earlier this spring, Michael Jackson announced that he was going to do one more tour. He maintained it would be his last.

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Sources:

CNN Television
Timesonline.co.uk
Billboard.com