Gary, Indiana native Michael Jackson, the King of Pop, is dead. The singer, songwriter and dancer whose career reached unprecedented peaks of sales and attention, died Thursday. He was 50.
Jermaine Jackson, who performed with his brother, confirmed the death in a brief news conference Thursday evening. Mr. Jackson said that his brother had been in a coma and in cardiac arrest when he was taken U.C.L.A. Medical Center, a six-minute drive from the rented mansion in which he was living, shortly after noon by Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics. He was pronounced dead at 2:26 p.m. Pacific time. His brother added that an autopsy might be performed as early as Friday.
As with Elvis Presley or The Beatles, it is impossible to calculate the full impact he had on the world of music. At his height, he was indisputably the biggest star in the world and has sold more than 750 million albums. Radio stations across the country reacted to his death with marathon sessions of his songs. MTV, which was born in part as a result of Mr. Jackson’s groundbreaking videos, reprised its early days as a music channel by showing his biggest hits.
From his days as the youngest brother in the Jackson 5 to his solo career in the 1980s and early 1990s, Mr. Jackson was responsible for a string of hits like “I Want You Back,†“I’ll Be There,†“Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough,†“Billie Jean†and “Black and White†that exploited his high voice, infectious energy, and ear for irresistible hooks.
As a solo performer, Mr. Jackson ushered in the age of pop as a global product — not to mention an age of spectacle and pop culture celebrity. His early career with his brothers gave way to a solo act in which he became more character than singer: his sequined glove, his whitened face, his Moonwalk dance move became embedded in the cultural firmament.
