There will never be another performer quite like Michael Jackson. He has passed at 50, but due to his multi-generational appeal, he seems to have been with us a century.  He was America's cutest child, the world's best dancer and the number one oddity in a universe of weirdness.  We all watched him grow up, make it big, then freak out.

If you choose the word 'trialblazer' to describe him then you can not use it to describe anyone else in the entertainment world. More than Elvis and more than the Beatles, Michael Jackson changed the world. It is easy to focus on the negative aspects of his life, but that would be unfair.  Michael's professional career has shaped the entertainment world. As an early star of early TV, Michael and his brothers in the Jackson 5 were the dawning of racial tolerance in America.  A healing process that reached new levels with the election of Barack Obama. Michael Jackson resonsible for that?  In a way, yes.  By being a African American boy with unfathomable musical talent, Michael and his family were one of the first truly African American familes accepted into lily white America's living rooms via the emerging influence of TV.

 Without the Jacksons there are no Huxtables. there is no Different Strokes. There is no Madonna. You see as a man, Michael began to change the way music was presented. In an era of loud and fast guitars, long hair and bluejeans, Michael put on skin tight, colorful clothing and danced. And boy could he dance. We tend to take many of his moves for granted now but at the time they were beyond fascinating. There was break dancing before Michael, but not after. His stage presence changed the game for pop entertainment. Madonna was nothing more than a female Michael.

And boy could he sell albums. His Thriller has sold over 50 Million alone. His totals are mind boggling. Try this one out for size-500,000,000!  THat's right half a billion albums. That means every single person in America owns 2 Michael Jackson albums or CDs. About the only other thing every single American owns two of is a pair of socks.

Yea he went a little bizzaro over the last few years. He got a little too close to a few young boys, but you must admit his intentions appeared good. He never had a childhood, so he tried to make up for it.  It was cooped as a 5 year old by his father and Barry Gordy of Motown Records.  His youth was stripped away from him as he became the numbber one entertainer on the planet. Can you imagine being Elvis at 12? So he built a fantasy world in his back yard, so he needed a little schooling on how to hold a baby. Which new father doesn't?

He gave us so much. We took so much. Just try to keep your body still when 'ABC' comes on the radio. The King of Pop is dead  and the world has missed a beat. 

 MORE from LA Times:

Brian Oxman, a Jackson family attorney, said he was told by brother Randy Jackson that Michael Jackson collapsed at his home in west Los Angeles, California, Thursday morning.

Family members were told of the situation and were either at the hospital or en route, Oxman said.

"I can only tell you that the family members are crying and I just have not been able to confirm anything, other than to hug them and tell them that I love them," Oxman said.

Fire Capt. Steve Ruda told CNN a 911 call came in from a west Los Angeles residence at 12:21 p.m.

Ruda said Jackson was treated and transferred to the UCLA Medical Center.

Asked specifics of the patient's condition, he said he could not discuss them because of federal privacy laws.

The music icon from Gary, Indiana, is known as the "King of Pop." Jackson had many No. 1 hits and his "Thriller" is the best-selling album of all time. Jackson "as big as it gets" »

Jackson is the seventh of nine children in a well-known musical family. He has three children, Prince Michael I, Paris and Prince Michael II.

At the medical center, every entrance to the emergency room was blocked by security guards. Even hospital staffers were not permitted to enter. A few people stood inside the waiting area, some of them crying. iReport.com: Remembering Michael Jackson

A large crowd was also gathering outside the hospital, according to video footage.