"I feel privileged to have hung out and worked with Michael. He was a massively talented boy with a gentle soul. His music will be remembered forever and my memories of our time together will be happy ones." -- Paul McCartney
“He was an amazing person and I am lucky to have gotten as close to him as I did and to have had the many experiences and years that we had together. I desperately hope that he can be relieved from his pain, pressure and turmoil now.
He deserves to be free from all of that and I hope he is in a better place or will be.
I also hope that anyone else who feels they have failed to help him can be set free because he hopefully finally is ... I became very ill and emotionally/spiritually exhausted in my quest to save him from certain self-destructive behavior and from the awful vampires and leeches he would always manage to magnetize around him ... The hardest decision I have ever had to make ... was to walk away and let his fate have him." -- ex-wife Lisa Marie Presley
"I am absolutely devastated at this tragic and unexpected news. For Michael to be taken away from us so suddenly at such a young age, I just don't have the words ... To this day, the music we created together on 'Off the Wall,' 'Thriller' and 'Bad' is played in every corner of the world and the reason for that is because he had it all ... talent, grace, professionalism and dedication." -- Quincy Jones, Jackson's longtime music producer
“Really sad news about Michael, he was a talent from on high.” -- Slash, who backed Jackson in concert
“I was lucky enough to know and work with Michael Jackson in his prime," John Landis, who directed Jackson's famous "Thriller" video, said in a statement. "Michael was an extraordinary talent and a truly great international star. He had a troubled and complicated life and despite his gifts, remains a tragic figure. My wife Deborah and I will always have great affection for him.” -- John Landis, who directed Jackson's "Thriller" video
"I can't stop crying over the sad news. I have always admired Michael Jackson. The world has lost one of the greats, but his music will live on forever! My heart goes out to his three children and other members of his family. God bless." -- Madonna
"Dazed in the studio. A major strand of our cultural DNA has left us. RIP MJ. I think we’ll mourn his loss as well as the loss of ourselves as children listening to Thriller on the record player. I truly hope he is memorialized as the ‘83 moonwalking, MTV owning, mesmerizing, unstoppable, invincible Michael Jackson.” -- John Mayer (via Twitter)
“We have lost a genius and a true ambassador of not only Pop music but of all music. He has been an inspiration to multiple generations and I will always cherish the moments I shared with him on stage and all of the things I learned about music from him and the time we spent together.
