Ellen is also particularly intolerant of the expression Roz Chast so cleverly skewers above and though I cringe at the sound of it too, the top tier in my poppycock pantheon is reserved for anything that begins, ends or contains..."The best ever."  or "the greatest ever" or some equivalent variation, including "the worst ever".

"The greatest Pop song ever", the Guy on the radio (NPR) declares, and that's all I need to make a quick dash to the dial, but curiosity gets the best of me and I let him continue. The value of Art, I like to think, is in providing a counterbalance to all that is quantified, calculated and judged in measurable and  competitive terms--and yet here's this guy going on and on about the greatest (by far he claims) Pop Song of all time.  And he's getting so long winded about it that I'm beginning to think I won't have the patience to stay tuned long enough to find out what it is.  And then he drops the charade and reveals that he's parodying the pretentiousness of those who would seriously entertain such a premise --and he only indulged his little conceit in order to share his enthusiasm for the song that he considers as great as any Pop Tune ever recorded and....  Ok, enough, .....now WHAT'S THE SONG?!!

Well, here's a cover version ( that begins after some goofing around) by the suddenly hot and happening quartet Lake Street Dive that couldn't be further from the original, and yet it somehow seems to work and calls attention to how strong the song is.




And since I got started, I'll continue with another version by one of my finger style heroes Adam Rafferty who combines an ability to keep that all important bass line going while finding the sweetest ways to voice the melody.



and if you're still with me, and waiting for young Michael and his siblings doing the original , then sorry, cause though I love that track...you can go find that easily for yourself.  Or just go here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3cNOWubexrU

There are scores of other cover versions from various sources that range from toddlers to seniors with everything from Tubas to Ukeleles and hailing from all over the globe and all having a good time.

And...for the record, the ones who started it all included:

• Lead vocals Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Jackie Jackson
• Background vocals by Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Tito Jackson, 
• Jackie Jackson and Marlon Jackson
• Written, produced and arranged by The Corporation  (Berry Gordy,Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizelland Deke Richards)
• Keyboards  Freddie Perren
• Piano Joe Sample
• Guitar  David T. Walker, Louis Shelton and Don Peake
• Bass guitar  Wilton Felder  (that's right, that terrific line is Felder!  not James Jamerson) 
• Drums Gene Pello
• Tambourine  Sandra Crouch