Michael Jackson (1958-2009)

[mrjukebox]

According to TMZ.com,superstar Michael Jackson has passed away at the age of 50-Cause of death was cardiac arrest-Attempts to revive Jackson were unsuccessful-Jackson emerged as one of the top recording acts of the rock era-He started with his four other brothers in The Jackson Five & then had tremendous success as a solo artist-His 1982 album "Thriller" is one of the biggest selling albums of all time.

[caseyfantwo]

Confirmed: Superstar Michael Jackson has died at the age of 50.

[pizzzzza]

I'm sure I speak for a lot of us when I say "I'm stunned".....

RIP MJ

[Rob Durkee]

By ROCKIN' ROBIN

Michael Jackson, the celebrated "King Of Pop" who thrilled a generation of pop and R&B music fans with his music, his on-stage moonwalking dance moves and the celebrated best-selling album, "Thriller", died today (Thursday, June 25, 2009) at the age of 50.

The circumstances surrounding his passing were extremely sketchy at presstime. It's believed Jackson was not breathing when Los Angeles fire department paramedics arrived at his Los Angeles home at about 12:30 p.m. local time. He reportedly was rushed to UCLA Medical Center, where he eventually was pronounced dead. This writer initially heard of Jackson's passing a little past 3 p.m. Pacific time. At that time, two news sources reported his death but others were reporting that he was still alive but in a coma. An official announcement of his passing was relayed to the public by 4 p.m. Pacific time (or, 7 p.m. Eastern time).

The Michael Jackson legacy is spelled out in a plethora of chart and sales feats. If you combined his solo, Jackson Five/Jacksons and duets on the Cash Box pop chart alone, it adds up to at least 21 #1's, 36 Top 10's, 56 Top 40's and 68 chart hits. His 1982 album release, "Thriller," ranks as the biggest selling album of all time with over 40 million copies sold. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), his records have sold over 61.5 million copies in the USA alone. In 1995, his "You Are Not Alone" became the first single release ever to debut at #1 on one principle pop chart.

Michael Joe Jackson was born on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana. His father, Joe Jackson Sr., had a music background as a member of the Falcons, who had a 1959 pop hit with "You're So Fine." Among the Falcons' members were Eddie Floyd, Wilson Pickett and Joe Stubbs, the brother of the Four Tops' Levi Stubbs. While working as a crane operator, Joe Jackson Sr. began forming and directing a family group/band in the late 1960's, starting with sons Tito, Jermaine and Jackie. Marlon and Michael would later join to form the Jackson Five.

There are two significant facts that have been frequently misunderstood regarding the Jackson Five in the group's early years. First, it wasn't Diana Ross who discovered the group and recommended it to Motown Records. Instead, it was Bobby Taylor of the Vancouvers, who were a Motown act touring through Gary when it discovered the J-Five.

Secondly, the Jackson Five did not reach #1 with their first six singles releases. That's because the group had a nationwide singles release around March, 1968, with "Big Boy" on the Steeltown label, an affiliate of Atlantic Records. "Big Boy" bombed as a single release. Nevertheless, the Jackson Five exploded onto the pop and R&B scene starting in late 1969. The group reached #1 on the Cash Box pop chart with its first six USA singles releases..."I Want You Back," "ABC," "The Love You Save," "I'll Be There," "Mama's Pearl" and "Never Can Say Goodbye." The Jackson Five would also hit #1 with "Dancing Machine" in 1974.

The Jackson Five became the Jacksons in 1977 and cranked out three more top 10's with "Enjoy Yourself," "Shake Your Body (Down To The Ground" and "State Of Shock."

Believe it or not, Michael Jackson sang lead vocals on seven #1 hits before becoming a teenager. That seventh #1 was Michael's first solo hit, "Got To Be There." He also had #1 solo 1970's hits with "Rockin' Robin" and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." He helped usher in the 1980's with another chart-topper, "Rock With You."

His late 1982 release, "Thriller" and his moonwalking antics on the Motown-25 TV special in the spring of 1983 when made him a superstar. His mid-80's #1's included "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and his duet with Paul McCartney, "Say Say Say" (which was American Top's choice as the #1 song of 1984). His "Bad" album netted five more #1's with "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man In The Mirror" and "Dirty Diana." He also had 1990's #1's with "Black Or White" and "Remember The Time."

Sadly, Michael Jackson's immense fame was accompanied by controversy. He would eventually be cleared of molesting a 13-year-old cancer survivor in 2005 but not before having to pay the young teen's family millions of dollars to settle the case. Jackson's image took a huge hit and the millions he paid in attorney's fees and other expenses hurt him deeply financially. Meanwhile, his skin became whiter and his nose would narrow in size.

Nevertheless, in spite of the many jokes told about him, Michael Jackson was still widely loved and admired by millions of fans. They'll remember him for his Neverland ranch in the Santa Barbara area, his pet chimp Bubbles and his music. Many of his fans flocked to the UCLA Medical Center, so much so that police had to rope off the area. In New York's Times Square, the crowd there let out a huge groan when word of Jackson's death was announced. Fans would text message to other friends and relatives. One of them, 36-year-old Michael Harris of New York City, said, "It's like when Kennedy was assassinated. I will always remember being in Times Square when Michael Jackson died."

[vto66]

For my very own Long Distance Dedication to the memory of Michael, to his surviving family members and to remind his many, many fans that his music will live on forever, I offer his aptly-titled 1971 hit "Never Can Say Goodbye."

[jedijake]

Still completely stunned. Seeing the headlines on TV or on the internet seems like some sort of surreal movie or something absolutely unreal.

He is easily one of the top 3 artists in the history of American Top 40 (Elton John and Madonna being the other 2). He at least helped to if not completely defined a popular generation.

I began listening to AT40 around the time Thriller came out and it was actually the very first album I ever owned.

In many ways, it seemed that we "lost" the Michael Jackson we all grew up with years ago. That being the case, this is still absolutely heartbreaking and shocking.

[upland1425]

You may want to listen to this all day long ....

player.play.it/player/player.html?&id=2223

All Michael Jackson Channel by AOL-CBS Radio.

[upland1425]

From Taylor on Radio-Info (June 29, 2009):
radio-info.com/newsletter/html/tri-06292009.html

“Airplay of Michael Jackson showed up at stations across a dozen formats”, says Mediabase.
"The five most-played tracks were "Billie Jean" (1,168 spins detected), "Rock with You" (909), "Thriller" (894), "Man in the Mirror" (799) and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (708).
The day before Jackson died, Mediabase detected a total of 511 spins for music by either him, the Jackson 5 or the Jacksons. On Thursday, that number of spins for U.S. stations exploded to 15,413 – and I wouldn’t be surprised if it ran much higher on Friday. Kevin McCabe and Anthony Acampora of Musicrunch did the analysis of Mediabase data and figured out that literally a dozen formats, of all kinds, responded to Jackson’s death. Mediabase Senior VP of Music Initiatives Alissa Pollack says Jackson "was quite possibly the most well-known and influential performer of the past quarter century." The airplay tends to back that up.
Mediabase was also able to break out most-played MJ singles by format – for top 40 it was Billie Jean, Thriller and Beat It. For urban it was Rock with You, Billie Jean and Pretty Young Thing. For classic hits it was Rock with You, I’ll Be There and ABC."

[mrjukebox]

Wow!-That's rather impressive.

[easye]

According to Billboard's website, Michael Jackson will have 9 of the 10 top Pop Albums this week:

1. Number Ones - Michael Jackson (2003)
2. The Essential Michael Jackson - Michael Jackson (2005)
3. Thriller - Michael Jackson (1982)
4. Off the Wall - Michael Jackson (1979)
5. Jackson 5: The Ultimate Collection - Jackson 5 (1995)
6. Bad - Michael Jackson (1987)
7. Dangerous - Michael Jackson (1991)
8. Greatest Hits: HIStory - Volume 1 - Michael Jackson (2001)
9. The Ultimate Collection - Michael Jackson - (2004)

Also of note:

- Jackson's solo albums sold 415,000 this past week The week previous, he sold a combined 10,000 and for the year it was 297,000.
- On the Digital Album Chart, he has the top 4 & 6 of the top 10.
- Michael also set a record by having 25 of the 75 on the Digital Songs chart. "Thriller" is #2, "Man In The Mirror" #3, "Billie Jean" #4, "The Way You Make Me Feel" #6, "Beat It" #7, and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" at #8.


Source
www.billboard.com/bbcom/news/michael-jackson-breaks-billboard-charts-1003989310.story

[mstgator]

Jul 1, 2009 1:21:48 GMT -5 easye said:

According to Billboard's website, Michael Jackson will have 9 of the 10 top Pop Albums this week:

1. Number Ones - Michael Jackson (2003)
2. The Essential Michael Jackson - Michael Jackson (2005)
3. Thriller - Michael Jackson (1982)
4. Off the Wall - Michael Jackson (1979)
5. Jackson 5: The Ultimate Collection - Jackson 5 (1995)
6. Bad - Michael Jackson (1987)
7. Dangerous - Michael Jackson (1991)
8. Greatest Hits: HIStory - Volume 1 - Michael Jackson (2001)
9. The Ultimate Collection - Michael Jackson - (2004)

That's actually 9 of the top 10 catalog albums, although the top three did outsell the #1 album on the main Billboard 200 chart (by the Black Eyed Peas).