After Jackson decided to add an organ solo to 'Bad,' he and producer Quincy Jones both agreed it had to be Jimmy Smith. That interview revealed some interesting details of Smith's involvement with Michael Jackson. Jimmy Smith's style of playing the Hammond B3 made him one of the most imitated musical artists on the planet for several decades, right up there with Elvis (Jackson's father-in-law.) Thankfully, in 1990 critic/journalist Dennis Polow had the foresight to preserve a bit of music history and did an interview with Jimmy Smith.

Not widely known is the fact that Jimmy Smith was recruited to provide the organ solo. The critically acclaimed accompanying short film/music video was directed by Martin Scorsese and was shown on CBS television at prime timeit's indelibly etched in the memory of millions of people. Released in September of 1987, the single 'Bad' reached the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100 list in October and spent two weeks there. Michael Jackson & Jimmy Smith Although this list isn't a raking, this pairing would be a worthy contender for the top spot.

Feel free to share some other possibilities in the comments section. Jazz musicians who do a lot of studio work are another possibility, for example, bassist Nathan East on Daft Punk's 'Get Lucky.' This list (not a ranking) focuses primarily on pop music, and excludes some otherwise obvious possibilities, such as rock artists Steely Dan and Santana mentioned in previous columns. There are quite a few examples of jazz musicians making cameo appearances on pop recordings. Equally important, it's low-hanging fruit and ripe for picking. One of my go-to approaches is finding common ground, and pop music is perhaps the sweetest fruit growing there. The 'So You Don't Like Jazz' column explores ways to do just that. It's a good bet that most of us have heard people say they don't like jazz, or even worse, drop the H-bomb, 'I hate jazz.' If you choose to engage, the key is to tread lightly and tailor an approach that considers the tastes and sensibilities of the other person.

Jimmy smith big band charts