I can understand why someone would call him the greatest pop star of all time. When you compare him to guys like Frank, Elvis, The Beatles, etc......his appeal was wider. Kids loved him, adults loved him, people of all cultures loved him....his messages were universal. And that seperates him from Frank, Elvis and the Beatles.

I will always prefer the Off the Wall stuff....but Thriller was an obvious attempt to stretch out his audience beyond the disco/rnb crowd. It'll be interesting to watch all the memorials/perspectives during the next couple days.

He was more than a musician....I don't think he could come close to the musical influence of someone like James Brown....but his real contribution, in my eyes, was the giant pop phenomenon package.....singing, dancing, choreography, theatre, stage production. In these terms, he was the best ever.