One late Friday night, an 8-year-old and her big sister sat watching "Friday Night Videos" and were forever changed by the experience.

That particular Friday, the video for "Billie Jean" aired, and I was in love. In love with the beat, the sound, the moves, the man. It was like nothing I’d heard or seen before. I had to have the album immediately. I listened to it on our record player over and over. I had the album cover sitting open on my dresser so I could stare at the cute guy in the white suit with the baby tigers. My sister had plastered our room with posters of him. And when we visited the local roller rink, the video for "Thriller" was shown every half hour on a large projector. There was no skating when that video played -- everyone stood and stared at the dancing zombies.

And that was fine with me. Like many kids in the ‘80s, I wanted to immerse myself in everything MJ.

As time passed, I know that Michael became somewhat of a joke with all of his eccentricities and his strange affinity for children. I think that much of this stemmed from his never really having had a childhood or knowing what normalcy was. I think today we should concentrate on Michael’s contributions to music and dance. He was the best entertainer of our time and deserves to be remembered that way. He truly was the ‘King of Pop’ and forever will be. Thanks for the memories, the music, the moves.

What are your memories of Michael Jackson? Do you have a favorite video, song, moment?