Michael Jackson, King of Pop dies at age 50
Posted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 11:05 pm
From Bloomberg, the lastest update on the story:
Michael Jackson, Tormented ‘King of Pop,’ Dies at 50 (Update2)
By Laurence Arnold, David Wilson and Andy Fixmer
June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Jackson, the pop music and dance innovator who died yesterday at 50, achieved worldwide fame rivaling that of the Beatles and Elvis Presley before his own behavior tarnished his image in later years.
Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. local time at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, said Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. An examination begins today to determine the cause of death, he said in an interview.
The singer, who was preparing for his first series of concerts in more than a decade, appeared to have suffered a cardiac arrest in his home, UCLA medical center officials said in a statement. His personal physician, who was there at the time, tried to resuscitate Jackson, as did paramedics and doctors later at the hospital, according to the statement.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a 911 call around 12:21 p.m. in the 100 block of Carolwood Drive in the wealthy Bel-Air area of Los Angeles, Captain Steve Ruda said in an interview. Jackson wasn’t breathing when they arrived. Medics treated the singer before taking him to the hospital.
As a singer, songwriter, dancer and self-proclaimed “King of Pop,” Jackson “transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since,” according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2001. “He has enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known only to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra.”
750 Million Records
Jackson, who’s won 13 Grammy Awards and sold more than 750 million records, rose to stardom by performing with his brothers in the Jackson 5, then moved on to a solo career that peaked with the 1982 release of “Thriller,” the biggest-selling album in history. In his later years, he became tabloid fodder as plastic surgery altered his appearance, faced allegations of child sexual abuse and refinanced debt to stave off bankruptcy.
In March, Jackson announced he would perform in a series of 50 London concerts promoted by Anschutz Entertainment Group to raise money. In 2006, Jackson gave Sony Corp. an option to buy half of his 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, allowing him to refinance about $300 million of loans.
At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing for the sold-out shows at London’s 20,000-seat O2 arena, with the first concert set for July.
‘Tragic News’
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic news today about Michael Jackson,” Thomas J. Barrack, chairman and chief executive of Colony Capital LLC, the Los Angeles-based company that was financing the comeback, said in a statement. “We were privileged to help support his return to public life for his family, friends and fans, who meant so much to him.”
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh child of a musically gifted family. He was 11 years old when the Jackson 5’s first single, “I Want You Back,” climbed to No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s charts in 1970.
His solo career began in 1971 with the single “Got to Be There.” “Thriller,” his 1982 recording, and especially the 14-minute video made for the title song and released a year later, propelled Jackson into the upper echelon of pop stardom. It topped the charts for 37 weeks, according to Billboard.
“Michael Jackson was a brilliant troubadour for his generation, a genius whose music reflected the passion and creativity of an era,” Sony Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer said in a statement. Sony owns the rights for Jackson’s “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous” and “HIStory” albums, according to the company.
‘Thriller,’ ‘Billie Jean’
“Billie Jean,” the second single from the “Thriller” album, led the charts for another seven weeks in 1983. It was with that song that Jackson introduced his famous and much- imitated “moonwalk” dance move. His 1987 album, “Bad,” produced seven more hit singles, including the title song.
“Through his music, Michael Jackson touched the lives of generations of fans worldwide,” said Dave Johnson, chairman and chief executive of Warner/Chappell Music, which owns publishing rights to some of the singer’s catalog.
Jackson’s career gradually took a back seat to his behavior. He reshaped his nose with multiple plastic surgeries and befriended a chimpanzee named Bubbles. He was reported to have slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and bought the bones of John Merrick, the so-called Elephant Man.
Presley Marriage
Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, in 1994. They divorced within two years. He then married a nurse, Deborah Jeanne Rowe, and they had a son, Michael Jr., and a daughter, Paris. A third child, Prince Michael II, known as Blanket, was born to Jackson and a surrogate mother in 2002.
Jackson and Rowe had met when Jackson received treatment for vitiligo, a rare disorder that discolors the face and body. Jackson disclosed he had the condition in 1993 to answer critics who said he was intentionally bleaching his skin. A Beverly Hills, California, dermatologist, Arnold Klein, came forward to confirm the claim and say he was treating the pop star.
Jackson also had brushes with the law. In 1993, lawyers for a 13-year-old boy accused him of sexual abuse in a civil lawsuit. Jackson denied the accusations and reached an out-of-court settlement, with the terms kept secret.
Molestation Charges
In June 2005, he was acquitted by a jury in Santa Maria, California, of charges that he sexually molested a 13-year-old boy in 2003 and served alcohol to the boy with the intent to molest him.
Jackson spent many years out of the public eye, behind the walls of the Neverland Ranch amusement park-like estate in California. In that time, reports of financial difficulty arose.
An auction of some of Jackson’s possessions in Beverly Hills was called off in April after the singer sued to block the sale of about 2,000 items, including a trademark crystal-covered glove, a 1999 Rolls Royce Silver Seraph and the entry gate to the ranch.
To fans and associates in the music industry, it was the songs and performances that mattered.
“He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever,” Quincy Jones, Jackson’s longtime producer, said in a statement. “To this day, the music we created together on ‘Off The Wall,’ ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ is played in every corner of the world.”
Last Tour
Jackson’s last series of concerts was the HIStory Tour in 1996-1997 and his last studio album was “Invincible” in 2001. He performed at halftime of Super Bowl XXVII in 1993.
“Of all the thousands of entertainers I have worked with, Michael was the most outstanding,” producer Dick Clark said in a statement. “Many have tried and will try to copy him, but his talent will never be matched.”
Hundreds of fans gathered along Westwood Plaza, near the hospital, as word of the singer’s death spread. Pop radio stations in Los Angeles and around the country switched to Jackson’s music.
“Everything you hear now and heard growing up probably had some Michael Jackson influence,” said Q. Dixon, 24, a sociology major at UCLA. “He was mostly about energy and love. He was just a wonderful person,” she said
Michael Jackson, Tormented ‘King of Pop,’ Dies at 50 (Update2)
By Laurence Arnold, David Wilson and Andy Fixmer
June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Michael Jackson, the pop music and dance innovator who died yesterday at 50, achieved worldwide fame rivaling that of the Beatles and Elvis Presley before his own behavior tarnished his image in later years.
Jackson was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. local time at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, said Lt. Fred Corral of the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. An examination begins today to determine the cause of death, he said in an interview.
The singer, who was preparing for his first series of concerts in more than a decade, appeared to have suffered a cardiac arrest in his home, UCLA medical center officials said in a statement. His personal physician, who was there at the time, tried to resuscitate Jackson, as did paramedics and doctors later at the hospital, according to the statement.
Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics responded to a 911 call around 12:21 p.m. in the 100 block of Carolwood Drive in the wealthy Bel-Air area of Los Angeles, Captain Steve Ruda said in an interview. Jackson wasn’t breathing when they arrived. Medics treated the singer before taking him to the hospital.
As a singer, songwriter, dancer and self-proclaimed “King of Pop,” Jackson “transfixed the world like few entertainers before or since,” according to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, which inducted him in 2001. “He has enjoyed a level of superstardom previously known only to Elvis Presley, the Beatles and Frank Sinatra.”
750 Million Records
Jackson, who’s won 13 Grammy Awards and sold more than 750 million records, rose to stardom by performing with his brothers in the Jackson 5, then moved on to a solo career that peaked with the 1982 release of “Thriller,” the biggest-selling album in history. In his later years, he became tabloid fodder as plastic surgery altered his appearance, faced allegations of child sexual abuse and refinanced debt to stave off bankruptcy.
In March, Jackson announced he would perform in a series of 50 London concerts promoted by Anschutz Entertainment Group to raise money. In 2006, Jackson gave Sony Corp. an option to buy half of his 50 percent stake in Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, allowing him to refinance about $300 million of loans.
At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing for the sold-out shows at London’s 20,000-seat O2 arena, with the first concert set for July.
‘Tragic News’
“We are deeply saddened by the tragic news today about Michael Jackson,” Thomas J. Barrack, chairman and chief executive of Colony Capital LLC, the Los Angeles-based company that was financing the comeback, said in a statement. “We were privileged to help support his return to public life for his family, friends and fans, who meant so much to him.”
Michael Joseph Jackson was born on Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary, Indiana, the seventh child of a musically gifted family. He was 11 years old when the Jackson 5’s first single, “I Want You Back,” climbed to No. 1 on Billboard magazine’s charts in 1970.
His solo career began in 1971 with the single “Got to Be There.” “Thriller,” his 1982 recording, and especially the 14-minute video made for the title song and released a year later, propelled Jackson into the upper echelon of pop stardom. It topped the charts for 37 weeks, according to Billboard.
“Michael Jackson was a brilliant troubadour for his generation, a genius whose music reflected the passion and creativity of an era,” Sony Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard Stringer said in a statement. Sony owns the rights for Jackson’s “Off the Wall,” “Thriller,” “Bad,” “Dangerous” and “HIStory” albums, according to the company.
‘Thriller,’ ‘Billie Jean’
“Billie Jean,” the second single from the “Thriller” album, led the charts for another seven weeks in 1983. It was with that song that Jackson introduced his famous and much- imitated “moonwalk” dance move. His 1987 album, “Bad,” produced seven more hit singles, including the title song.
“Through his music, Michael Jackson touched the lives of generations of fans worldwide,” said Dave Johnson, chairman and chief executive of Warner/Chappell Music, which owns publishing rights to some of the singer’s catalog.
Jackson’s career gradually took a back seat to his behavior. He reshaped his nose with multiple plastic surgeries and befriended a chimpanzee named Bubbles. He was reported to have slept in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber and bought the bones of John Merrick, the so-called Elephant Man.
Presley Marriage
Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley, daughter of Elvis Presley, in 1994. They divorced within two years. He then married a nurse, Deborah Jeanne Rowe, and they had a son, Michael Jr., and a daughter, Paris. A third child, Prince Michael II, known as Blanket, was born to Jackson and a surrogate mother in 2002.
Jackson and Rowe had met when Jackson received treatment for vitiligo, a rare disorder that discolors the face and body. Jackson disclosed he had the condition in 1993 to answer critics who said he was intentionally bleaching his skin. A Beverly Hills, California, dermatologist, Arnold Klein, came forward to confirm the claim and say he was treating the pop star.
Jackson also had brushes with the law. In 1993, lawyers for a 13-year-old boy accused him of sexual abuse in a civil lawsuit. Jackson denied the accusations and reached an out-of-court settlement, with the terms kept secret.
Molestation Charges
In June 2005, he was acquitted by a jury in Santa Maria, California, of charges that he sexually molested a 13-year-old boy in 2003 and served alcohol to the boy with the intent to molest him.
Jackson spent many years out of the public eye, behind the walls of the Neverland Ranch amusement park-like estate in California. In that time, reports of financial difficulty arose.
An auction of some of Jackson’s possessions in Beverly Hills was called off in April after the singer sued to block the sale of about 2,000 items, including a trademark crystal-covered glove, a 1999 Rolls Royce Silver Seraph and the entry gate to the ranch.
To fans and associates in the music industry, it was the songs and performances that mattered.
“He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever,” Quincy Jones, Jackson’s longtime producer, said in a statement. “To this day, the music we created together on ‘Off The Wall,’ ‘Thriller’ and ‘Bad’ is played in every corner of the world.”
Last Tour
Jackson’s last series of concerts was the HIStory Tour in 1996-1997 and his last studio album was “Invincible” in 2001. He performed at halftime of Super Bowl XXVII in 1993.
“Of all the thousands of entertainers I have worked with, Michael was the most outstanding,” producer Dick Clark said in a statement. “Many have tried and will try to copy him, but his talent will never be matched.”
Hundreds of fans gathered along Westwood Plaza, near the hospital, as word of the singer’s death spread. Pop radio stations in Los Angeles and around the country switched to Jackson’s music.
“Everything you hear now and heard growing up probably had some Michael Jackson influence,” said Q. Dixon, 24, a sociology major at UCLA. “He was mostly about energy and love. He was just a wonderful person,” she said
