Friday morning.. Driving to work.. Radio playing 95.5.. The song -  “Give in to me”.. And I was immediately transported way back to my growing up days..

Michael Jackson was everywhere.. He was the bedrock of music to me and so many of other teenagers all over the globe.. I remember standing in front of the mirror and trying his moves to “Beat it”, “They don’t really care about us”, “Bad”, “Thriller”, and many more.. He was definitely the best performer the world has ever seen after Elvis. A revolutionary, I remember him performing “Black or White” with Slash. I am a rock n roll fan and many people would not admit that they would listen to Michael Jackson, the "King of Pop". And that is why I just hate that phrase. He is just as pop as maybe Bryan Adams. He got Slash to play with him. He got Eddie Van Halen to play with him. Quincy Jones at the zenith of his career collaborated with him. Paul McCartney sang with him. His songs "Beat it" and "Give in to me" have one of the best guitar solos of all time. And you can also listen to his screaming vocals in songs like "Bad" and "Dirty Diana". Let me tell you he has more rock element than many of the bands.

His album “Thriller” is still the highest selling album of all time with over 45 million copies sold worldwide. The video of “Thriller” will always be one of the most cherished video of all time. "Thriller" and "Scream" revolutionized the way videos were made. The song “Heal the world” will always be played in the schools and colleges around the globe.. "We are the world" will always be played on radio on every World children's Day. "Black or white" will always be played on "World Anti Racism day" and so will "Gone too soon" on "World Aids Day". It is just unbelivable what this man has acheiveed so far in his life...

And then the song fades out and the news is broken out to me that this great performer is dead! When Kurt died I was not old enough to realize what had happened. But now I know..

You may want to go into all the controversies surrounding him. But the fact is that he has been a legend, one of the finest musician and performer the world saw in the past century and there is no denying the fact that he has influenced all of us. We all have tried on the tight pants, the white socks, and the moon walk. But it is not over. We can still celebrate the fact that his music will always be there with us. He will always be alive in our hearts.

 In his words:

 You and I must make a pact
We must bring salvation back
Where there is love, I'll be there
I'll reach out my hand to you
I'll have faith in all you do
Just call my name and I'll be there

My 20 most favorite Michael Jackson's songs:

20. Don't stop till you get enough
19. The girl is mine
18. The way you make me feel
17. Man in the mirror
16. Remember the time
15. I just can't stop loving you
14. Will you be there
13. Smooth Criminal
12. Billie Jean
11. Who is it?
10. I'll be there
9. Heal the world
8. Dangerous
7. Bad
6. Thriller
5. Dirty Diana
4. Black or white
3. They don't really care about us
2. Give in to me
1. Beat it