Top 10 Michael Jackson Songs
From enlisting Eddie Van Halen for the guitar solo in "Beat It" to borrowing the now famous refrain "Mama-se, mama-sa, mama-coo-sa" from a Cameroonian saxophonist, Michael Jackson's very best songs drew from influences far and wide
"Beat It"
Jackson never got much credit for being a pioneer, but his melding of rock and R&B preceded the meeting of Run-D.M.C. and Aerosmith by four years. Besides featuring one of the best guitar solos in pop history (provided free of charge by Eddie Van Halen, in a move his accountant no doubt regrets) it's the best example of Jackson's ability to bridge moods and genres. It's tense and spooky, it rocks, and yet you can't help but to dance to it. It's Jackson's best.
Watch TIME's video "Appreciating Michael Jackson, the Musician."
View the full list for "Top 10 Michael Jackson Songs"Latest Lists
Most Popular »
- The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell
- The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
- The Gospel of Glee: Is It Anti-Christian?
- Obama's 'Mistakes': Way Too Early to Judge
- In His Cave, a Palestinian Farmer Makes a Stand
- Pie
- Couple Crashes Obama's State Dinner
- Unemployment
- How a Little Town in Peru Is Becoming a Hotspot
- When Thanksgiving Comes to Afghanistan
- The Growing Backlash Against Overparenting
- The '00s: Goodbye (at Last) to the Decade From Hell
- The Gospel of Glee: Is It Anti-Christian?
- When Thanksgiving Comes to Afghanistan
- Obama's 'Mistakes': Way Too Early to Judge
- In His Cave, a Palestinian Farmer Makes a Stand
- Ahmadinejad in Brazil: Why Lula Defies the U.S.
- Zhu Zhu Mania: Hamster Toys Are Ruling Christmas
- How a Little Town in Peru Is Becoming a Hotspot
- Five Things the U.S. Can Learn from China
RSS