The King of Pop Passes to Next World
Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop" who once moonwalked above the music world, died on Thursday as he prepared for a comeback bid to vanquish nightmare years of sexual scandal and financial calamity. He was 50. Jackson died at UCLA Medical Centre after being stricken at his rented home in Holmby Hills. Paramedics tried to resuscitate him at his home for nearly three-quarters of an hour, then rushed him to the hospital, where doctors continued to work on him.
"It is believed he suffered cardiac arrest in his home. However, the cause of his death is unknown until results of the autopsy are known," his brother Jermaine said.
Police said they were investigating, standard procedure in high-profile cases.
Jackson’s death brought a tragic end to a long, bizarre, sometimes farcical decline from his peak in the 1980s, when he was popular music’s premier all-around performer, a uniter of black and white music who shattered the race barrier on MTV, dominated the charts and dazzled even more on stage.
His 1982 album "Thriller" _ which included the blockbuster hits "Beat It," "Billie Jean" and "Thriller" - is the best-selling album of all time, with an estimated 50 million copies sold worldwide.
At the time of his death, Jackson was rehearsing hard for what was to be his greatest comeback: He was scheduled for an unprecedented 50 shows at a London arena, with the first set for July 13.
As word of his death spread, MTV switched its programming
to play videos from Jackson’s heyday.
Radio stations began playing marathons of his hits. Hundreds of people gathered outside the hospital. In New York’s Times Square, a low groan went up in the crowd when a screen flashed that Jackson had died, and people began relaying the news to friends by cell phone.
"No joke. King of Pop is no more. Wow," Michael Harris, 36, of New York City, read from a text message a friend had sent him. "It’s like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."
The public first knew him as a boy in the late 1960s, when he was the precocious, spinning lead singer of the Jackson 5, the singing group he formed with his four older brothers o
ut of Gary, Indiana. Among their No. 1 hits were "I Want You Back," "ABC" and "I’ll Be There."
He was perhaps the most exciting performer of his generation, known for his backward-gliding moonwalk, his feverish, crotch-grabbing dance moves and his high-pitched singing, punctuated with squeals and titters. His single sequined glove, tight, military-style jacket and aviator sunglasses were trademarks, as was his ever-changing, surgically altered appearance.
"For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don’t have the words," said Quincy Jones, who produced "Thriller."
"He was the consummate entertainer and his contributions and legacy will be felt upon the world forever. I’ve lost my little brother today, and part of my soul has gone with him."
Jackson ranked alongside Elvis Presley and the Beatles as the biggest pop sensations of all time.
He united two of music’s biggest names when he was briefly married to Presley’s daughter, Lisa Marie, and Jackson’s death immediately evoked comparisons to that of Presley himself, who died at age 42 in 1977.
As years went by, Jackson became an increasingly freakish figure - a middle-aged man-child weirdly out of touch with grown-up life. His skin became lighter, his nose narrower, and he spoke in a breathy, girlish voice. He often wore a germ mask while travelling, kept a pet chimpanzee named Bubbles as one of his closest companions, and surrounded himself with children at his Neverland ranch, a storybook playland filled with toys, rides and animals. The tabloids dubbed him "Wacko Jacko."
"It seemed to me that his internal essence was at war with the norms of the world. It’s as if he was trying to defy gravity," said Michael Levine, a Hollywood publicist who represented Jackson in the early 1990s. He called Jackson a "disciple of P.T. Barnum" and said the star appeared fragile at the time but was "much more cunning and shrewd about the industry than anyone knew."
Jackson caused a furore in 2002 when he playfully dangled his infant son, Prince Michael II, over a hotel balcony in Berlin while a throng of fans watched from below.
In 2005, he was cleared of charges he molested a 13-year-old cancer survivor at Neverland in 2003. He had been accused of plying the boy with alcohol and groping him, and of engaging in strange and inappropriate behaviour with other children.
The case followed years of rumours about Jackson and young boys. In a TV documentary, he acknowledged sharing his bed with children, a practice he described as sweet and not at all sexual.
Despite the acquittal, the lurid allegations that came out in court took a fearsome
toll on his career and image, and he fell into serious financial trouble.
Michael Joseph Jackson was born Aug. 29, 1958, in Gary. He was 4 years old when he began singing with his brothers _ Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito _ in the Jackson 5. After his early success with bubblegum soul, he struck out on his own, generating innovative, explosive, unstoppable music.
The album "Thriller" alone mixed the dark, serpentine bass and drums and synthesizer approach of "Billie Jean," the grinding Eddie Van Halen solo on "Beat It," and the hiccups and falsettos on "Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’."
The peak may have come in 1983, when Motown celebrated its 25th anniversary with an all-star televised concert and Jackson moonwalked off with the show, joining his brothers for a medley of old hits and then leaving them behind with a pointing, crouching, high-kicking, splay-footed, crotch-grabbing run through "Billie Jean."
The audience stood and roared. Jackson raised his fist.
By then he had cemented his place in pop culture. He got the plum Scarecrow role in the 1978 movie musical "The Wiz," a pop-R&B version of «The Wizard of Oz," that starred Diana Ross as Dorothy.
During production of a 1984 Pepsi commercial, Jackson’s scalp sustains burns when an explosion set his hair on fire.
He had strong follow-up albums with 1987’s "Bad" and 1991’s "Dangerous," but his career began to collapse in 1993 after he was accused of molesting a boy who often stayed at his home. The singer denied any wrongdoing, reached a settlement with the boy’s family, reported to be $20 million, and criminal charges were never filed.
Jackson’s expressed anger over the allegations on the 1995 album "HIStory," which sold more than 2.4 million copies, but by then, the popularity of Jackson’s music was clearly waning, even as public fascination with his increasingly erratic behaviour was growing.
Jackson married Lisa Marie Presley in 1994, and they divorced in 1996. Later that year, Jackson married Deborah Rowe, a former nurse for his dermatologist.
They had two children together: Michael Joseph Jackson Jr., known as Prince Michael, and Paris Michael Katherine Jackson. Rowe filed for divorce in 1999.
Cardiac arrest is an abnormal heart rhythm that stops the heart from pumping blood to the body. It can occur after a heart attack or be caused by other heart problems.
Billboard magazine editorial director Bill Werde said Jackson’s star power was unmatched. "The world just lost the biggest pop star in history, no matter how you cut it," Werde said. "He’s literally the king of pop."
Jackson’s 13 No. 1 one hits on the Billboard charts put him behind only Presley, the Beatles and Mariah Carey, Werde said.
"He was on the eve of potentially redeeming his career a little bit," he said. "People might have started to think of him again in a different light."Michael Jackson: A look back at a pop legend's life
1968: The Jackson 5 signs to Motown.
October 1969: Their debut single "I Want You Back" is released
Dec. 8, 1969: Jackson 5 release their debut album "Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5"
Jan. 24, 1972: Michael Jackson releases his debut album Got To Be There.
February 1972: Jackson had his first number one solo single, "Ben," the title song from a children's thriller about a young boy who befriends a rat.
Jan. 16 1975: Michael Jackson releases his fourth and final album for Motown, "Forever, Michael"
1976: The Jackson 5 change their name to The Jacksons and get their own TV show.
Oct. 24, 1978: Jackson stars alongside Diana Ross in the all-black film musical "The Wiz," a retelling of The Wizard of Oz. Rumor has it he would leave the set without removing his makeup.
Aug. 25, 1979: His album "Off the Wall," the first of three discs produced by Quin
cy Jones, launches him to superstar status. Sells over nineteen million copies worldwide. It produced four Top Ten singles including the nu
mber one hits "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Rock With You."
May 16, 1983: Performs "Billie Jean" at the "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever Special"
and moonwalks for the first time. It will become his signature move.
1984: During the filming of a Pepsi commercial, his hair catches fire. Rumored to have survived serious injury, his extensive plastic surgery begins.
1985: Co-writes "We Are the World" with Lionel Richie.Jackson acquires ATV Publishing, the firm that controlled all the Lennon-McCartney copyrights. It costs him his friendship with McCartney.
1986: Stars in Francis Ford Coppola's "Captain EO" for Walt Disney World's EPCOT Center. It screens at the parks for 12 years.
Sept. 1986: Photos of him in a hyperbaric chamb
er are published in the National Enquirer. Jackson later says it's part of his plan to extend his life beyond its "natural span."
1987: Supposedly tries to buy the Elephant Man's (John Merrick) skeleton for a reported one million dollars.
Aug. 31, 1987: Releases his third and final Quincy Jones album "Bad" which sells over eight million copies. It debuted at number one with the single "I Just Can't Stop Loving You." It was the first album ever to produce five number one hits, the others being "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," and "Dirty Diana."
May 1988: Moves to the Neverland Valley Ranch in California's Santa Ynez Valley
Nov. 26, 1991: Releases the album "Dangerous." Attempts to update his sound, he hires groundbreaking new jack swing producer Teddy Riley. Again, it debuts at number one. It featured the hits "Black or White," "Remember the Time" and "In the Closet."
1992: Invites Oprah Winfrey to his Neverland ranch. He proceeds to tell her he has the skin disorder, vitiligo, and this is why his skin complexion has changed so much. Tells her of the abuse he had to endure at his father's hand and also denies the Elephant Man skeleton story.
1993: A lawsuit is filed against him accusing him of seducing and abusing thirteen-year-old Jordy Chandler.
Dec. 1993: Makes a TV appearance saying he is innocent of the child molestation charges.
1994: Settles lawsuit by paying the plaintiff twenty million dollars. The Los Angeles and Santa Barbara district attorneys do not file child-molestation charges against him.
May 26, 1994: Marries Lisa Marie Presley.
1995: Releases the album "HIStory:Past, Present, Future Book 1" a two-CD set featuring one disc of new material and one of his greatest hits.
Again, it debuted at numberone but was considered a disappointment. Fans already owned the hits and the new tunes weren't strong enough to offset the added cost of the extra disc. Still, the lead single "Scream," a duet with sister Janet debuted at number five, setting a new American chart record that was broken when the follow-up, "You Are Not Alone,"
became the first single ever to enter the Billboard Hot 100 at number one.
Jan. 1996: Lisa Marie Presley files for divorce.
Nov. 14, 1996: Marries his dermatologist's secretary, Debbie Rowe.
1997: Releases "Blood On the Dance Floor," a disc of remixes and rarities. It does not go platinum.
Feb. 13, 1997: Rowe has a baby boy, Prince Michael Joseph, Junior. The godmother is Elizabeth Taylor. The godfather is Macaulay Culkin.
Apr. 3, 1998: Rowe gives birth to Paris Michael Katherine. Macaulay Culkin is the godfather.
Oct. 1999: Divorces Debbie Rowe.
Oct. 30, 2001: Releases the album "Invincible" which sells over eight million copies worldwide.
2001: Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. In the wake of September 11, Jackson puts together an all-star charity benefit single, "What More Can I Give." A new disc "Invincible" is released late in the year under producer Rodney Jerkins. It debuted at number one and quickly went double platinum. Its singles "You Rock My World" and "Butterflies" had rather disappointing showings.
2002: Prince Michael II is born. The identity of the mother is never released.
Nov. 19, 2002: Dangles his newborn son, Prince Michael II (nicknamed "Blanket"), from a Berlin hotel balcony, four stories high.
Nov. 20, 2003: Taken into custody by the Santa Barbara County Sherriff's Department on charges of child molestation. He posts a three million dollar bail.
Jan. 16, 2004: Pleads not guilty to child molestation charges.
Apr. 30, 2004: Pleads not guilty after grand jury indictment.
Feb. 28, 2005: Prosecution opens its case with accusations that Jackson used wine and pornography to seduce the 13-year-old boy. The defense counters that no DNA from the accuser has been found in Jackson's bedroom.
Mar. 10, 2005: Jackson fails to appear in court and the judge threatens to issue an arrest for him. Jackson's lawyer tracks him down at a hospital where he has been admitted for back problems. The judge gives him one hour to appear. He does, and the trial continues.
June 13, 2005: The jury finds Jackson not guilty.
2006: The boxed set "Visionary" was released featuring 20 DualDiscs replicating 20 hit singles with their videos included on the DVD side.
2007: Jackson announced a comeback album was planned for later in the year.
2008: Jackson reaches a settlement with second son of the King of Bahrain over an approximately $10 million failed recording venture.Passes property deeds of Neverland to Sycamore Valley Ranch Company LLC, effectively losing his beloved estate.
2009: Jackson was expected to appear at a string of sold-out shows at London's O2 Arena in July.
http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Music/06/25/michael.jackson.videos.life/index.html#cnnSTCVideo
SOURCE: THE ALL MUSIC GUIDE, CNN and TWOOP Timelines - EDITED AND COMPILED BY JaGs NaiR
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