Michael Jackson. You have and will continue to mean so much to generations of people. You defined what it meant to be a music icon. You taught us the full potential of a music video. You showed us that dancing can be cool. You made one of the finest examples of a Popular World Music.

Yeah, there was a time when the crotch grabbing during dances got out of hand (although it gave us an excuse to intersperse spazzy dance routines with our own crotch grabs amongst parents and elders!). We were bummed that you couldn't see that you were a naturally handsome dude the way that we all did. The fascination with Peter Pan and animals was a little weird, but we didn't care... because you were Michael FREAKIN' Jackson.

More than anything we all wished you could understand that we loved you for your music, performance, and humanity.

Thanks for the music. Thanks for the entertainment. Thanks for that awesome glove and swagger. You will be remembered as more than a talented human being. You will be remembered as a superhero. :-)

Here are a few of my favorite Michael Jackson bits:

SMOOTH CRIMINAL

REMEMBER THE TIME

THRILLER

MJ, PRINCE & JAMES BROWN