Say, say, say... is that a military jacket?

I love Michael Jackson's music. "Dangerous" was one of the first tapes I ever bought, and I swiped my mom's copy of "Thriller" to listen to while training for cross country in high school. (I always skipped "The Girl is Mine." Too sappy for running. Sorry, Sir McCartney.)

But, I won't bore you with my Courtney-hearts-MJ ramblings. What I really want to talk about are military jackets. He wasn't the first performer to don epaulets and metal hardware (hello, Beatles and Jimi Hendrix) — nor will he be the last (Kanye, Beyonce, and Coldplay have all rocked versions as of late.) But did anyone wear the military look as well as Michael? Short answer? No.

Here are some of his bedazzled and sequined numbers through the years:

[At the Grammy Awards, 1984]

[At the Grammy Awards, 1993]

[At a press conference, March 2009]

Michael in the military jacket is an iconic image. True, you have to be a bit eccentric to wear a rhinestone encrusted blazer with shoulder pads — but it was all part of the larger-than-life consummate pop star persona we loved and the style we'll continue to emulate.