Enduring Life | Link your notes

Michael Jackson started in the music business at the age of 11 with his brothers as a member of the Jackson 5. In the early 1980s, he defined the art form of music video with such ground-breaking videos as "Billie Jean," "Beat It" and the epic "Thriller." Jackson's sound, style and dance moves inspired subsequent generations of pop, soul, R&B and hip-hop artists.
Five of Jackson's solo albums – "Off the Wall," "Thriller," "Bad," "Dangerous" and "History," all with Epic Records, a Sony Music label – are among the top-sellers of all time. During his extraordinary career, he sold an estimated 750 million records worldwide, released 13 No.1 singles and became one of a handful of artists to be inducted twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Guinness Book of World Records recognized Jackson as the Most Successful Entertainer of All Time and "Thriller" as the Biggest Selling Album of All Time. Jackson won 13 Grammy Awards and received the American Music Award's Artist of the Century Award.
On June 25, 2009, Jackson collapsed at a rented home in Holmby Hills in Los Angeles. Attempts at resuscitating him by his personal physician were unsuccessful. Los Angeles Fire Department paramedics received a 911 call at 12:21 pm (PDT), and arrived nine minutes later at Jackson's location. He was reportedly not breathing and CPR was performed. Resuscitation efforts continued both en route to the UCLA Medical Center, and for an hour further after arriving at approximately 1:14 pm (20:14 UTC). He was noted to have already been in cardiac arrest by the paramedics who attended his house. Jackson was pronounced dead at about 2:26 pm local time (21:26 UTC). Many news organizations were generally very cautious about the initial reports of his death.
The cause of death has not yet been determined. The case was transferred to the Los Angeles County Coroner for investigation. Jackson's body was transported by helicopter from UCLA to the LA Coroner's offices in Boyle Heights. The autopsy was scheduled for Friday, June 26, 2009. A final verdict on Michael Jackson's autopsy will only be possible after the toxicology test results are confirmed, which could take six to eight weeks. It has been reported that police are searching for Michael Jackson's personal doctor, currently missing, after the star's family suggested he died because of a drug overdose of Demerol, an opioid similar to morphine.
Jackson's death caused a large-scale outpouring of grief among fans, as they gathered outside the UCLA Medical Center and his Holmby Hills home. Fans also gathered in New York City outside the Apollo Theater and in Detroit outside Hitsville U.S.A., the old Motown headquarters – now the Motown Museum – where fans created a shrine.