The "Thriller" is gone

Wow! The news is just breaking that Michael Jackson has died at the age of 50 from cardiac arrest.

Like everyone in 1982, I owned Michael's ground-breaking "Thriller" album here (I actually had the cassette tape, remember those?), the one that transformed him into a superstar. From "Billie Jean" to "Beat It," and "The Girl Is Mine" to the title track, this album was the biggest one of its time, making Michael a household name ... at least in my household, when I was in third grade. I still occasionally listen to songs like "PYT (Pretty Young Thing)" and "The Girl Is Mine" today on my iPod.

Soon after watching Michael introduce the world to the moonwalk in spring 1983 while performing "Billie Jean" at the "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" televised special, I remember quickly learning how to do it, starting me on the way to break dancing. (Did I share too much there?!)

The one sequinned glove, getting his hair burned taping a Pepsi commercial, taking Brooke Shields and Emmanuel Lewis to the 1984 Grammys — everything the guy did was major entertainment news. Seriously, watch his "Thriller" music video and tell me that wasn't a landmark piece of pop culture by 1980s standards. I remember being too young to attend his 1984 "Victory" tour with the Jackson Five, but that was that was supposedly the biggest concert of its time.

After that, I admittedly never had the same interest — never bought "Bad" or any of his subsequent releases — and the later court proceedings, as scintillating as they were, never piqued my interest.

Still, Michael was an musical icon — one who influenced many and will, no doubt, be sorely missed.