Michael Jackson: a music legend

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August the third, it was revealed that Michael Jackson was killed by a shot of the powerful painkiller Demerol. The injection was given by an aide as his personal medic Dr Conrad Murray slept. Dr Murray is reported to have confessed to the police that he had already given the singer a dose of the surgical anaesthetic Propofol that same day. Jackson is feared to have woken when the effects wore off and demanded pain relief. Responding to the complaint, the aide duly administered the Demerol with devastating effects.

Michael Joseph Jackson dubbed the "King of Pop", was one of the most commercially successful entertainers of all time. Jackson was born the seventh of nine children on August 29, 1958 in Gary, Indiana, an industrial suburb of Chicago. Displaying talent as a singer and dancer, he made his debut in 1964 as a member of The Jackson 5.

In 1972, he went solo and released his first album. In 1982, Jackson released Thriller, which became the best-selling album of all time. And in 1993, he debuted his signature Moonwalk dance moves, which were popularized throughout the entertainment world. During his career of over four decades, he sold 750 million copies of albums and won 13 Grammy awards. Only entertainment legends such as Elvis Presley or the Beatles could be compared with him.

After its release in 1979, Jackson's "Off the Wall" was the first album to generate four top-10 hits in the U.S., including the number-one singles "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Rock with You". It reached number three on the Billboard 200 and eventually sold over 20 million copies worldwide. Despite its commercial success, Jackson felt Off the Wall should have made a much bigger impact, and was determined to exceed expectations with his next release.

In 1982, Jackson issued his second Epic album, Thriller. The most commercially successful album of all time remained in the top 10 of the Billboard 200 for 80 consecutive weeks and for 37 of those weeks, it remained at the peak position. It was the first album to have seven Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles, including "Billie Jean", "Beat It," and "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'." Worldwide sales have exceeded 110 million copies.