Michael Jackson Dies at Age 50

It is the passing of a pop music icon. Michael Jackson died Thrsday at the UCLA Medical Center in Los Angeles, California. The exact circumstances of his passing are not yet clear. This tragedy brought an end to his life just as he was making preparations for a concert comeback.

Michael Jackson’s career in music began as part of an act called the Jackson 5 with four of his brothers. At the age of 11 he became a pop superstar as the Jackson 5 released four consecutive #1 hit singles. The group’s fortunes would decline in the 1970’s, but just as he was turning 21 Michael Jackson returned to the pop music spotlight with the landmark Off the Wall album in 1979.

Off the Wall was followed by 1982’s landmark Thriller, the bestselling album of all time. It included an unprecedented seven top 10 pop singles. The album sold 28 million copies in the US alone. Success continued throughout the 1980’s and into the early 1990’s. 1987’s Bad included five #1 pop singles, and 1991’s Dangerous spent over two years on the album chart.

An inevitable decline began in the early 1990’s and was unfortunately accompanied by sometimes bizarre tabloid headlines and personal appearances. Michael Jackson’s final studio album, 2001’s Invincible, was a commercial failure by his lofty standards. It only sold two million copies and included no #1 hit singles. An announcement in March 2009 of a new series of concerts to begin in London in July created ticket buying hysteria among fans selling out enormous numbers of tickets in just hours.

Unfortunately, those concerts will never take place. However, Michael Jackson has left us with a catalog of groundbreaking pop music that will excite and influence pop music fans and musicians for generations to come.

Related links:

 

• Michael Jackson Profile
• Top 10 Michael Jackson Songs
• Michael Jackson in Pictures

 

Share your Michael Jackson memories.

Michael Jackson’s amazing career as a pop star includes the bestselling album of all time, four albums that debuted at #1 on the album chart and four albums that included four or more top 10 pop singles. Read all of the details in the Michael Jackson Discography.

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