Alice Cooper: "Michael Jackson was easily as influential as James Brown, and that's saying a lot. We had Vincent Price in common. I used him first on 'Welcome To My Nightmare' in 1975, and he later used him on 'Thriller'. Nobody moved like Michael, he was truly the King of Pop."

Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell bassist Geezer Butler: "Saddened and shocked to hear of the passing of Michael Jackson. He truly was, and always will be, a true icon. 'Thriller' was one of the greatest pop masterpieces of all time. A sad day for our world. R.I.P."

QUEEN guitarist Brian May: "Hard to know what to say -- what to feel. I find myself wondering what might have happened on his tour... The number of dates in the U.K. that he had committed to was insane. I did have a feeling it was impossible, but I was so shocked to hear that he went so suddenly. Very sad. Of course, I still think of him as a boy -- he used to come and see us (QUEEN) play when we were on tour in the States, and he and Freddie [Mercury] became close friends, close enough to record a couple of tracks together at Michael's house. Tracks which have never seen the light of day. Michael was the boy star of the JACKSON FIVE, and always the most screamed at. I remember in their show, they tried very hard to make all the brothers equal in the presentation, but it was abundantly obvious that all most of the girl fans really wanted to see was little Michael. It was Michael who heard our track 'Another One Bites the Dust' when he came to see us on 'The Game' tour ... and told us we were mad if we didn't release it as a single." May also says that Jackson would attend Queen's performance when the band toured America, and that Jackson and Queen singer Freddie Mercury were friends. The two had also collaborated on material that has not been released.

"It's so sad and shocking," said former Beatle Paul McCartney, who worked with Jackson on several songs (including "Say Say Say" and "The Girl is Mine"), but feuded with the singer after Jackson purchased the publishing rights to the Beatles catalog in a manner that McCartney felt was underhanded. But, according to The Associated Press, he said, "I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy man with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever."

Eddie Van Halen: "I am really shocked; as I'm sure the world is, to hear the news. I had the pleasure of working with Michael on 'Beat It' back in '83 -- one of my fondest memories in my career. Michael will be missed and may he rest in peace."

POISON drummer Rikki Rockett: "Michael Jackson -- huge loss!!! The words genius and musical are used in the same sentence too often. Not in the case of Michael Jackson. His musical expression will never be topped and his inspiration will live forever. R.I.P."

SLASH: "Michael Jackson was one of the most talented & dynamic performer/singer/songwriters I ever had the pleasure of working with, he was amazing."

More Rock News