Michael Jackson's Billie Jean has been voted the greatest dance record of all time in a poll conducted by BBC Radio 2. Listeners were asked to pick their favourite track from a shortlist of 20.
Produced by Quincy Jones and released in 1983, Billie Jean appeared on Jackson's Thriller, which is still the best-selling album in music history (could this account for its place at the top of the chart?).
Second place went to Donna Summer's Giorgio Moroder-produced I Feel Love. Released in 1977, the song's synthesized backing track is routinely credited with changing the face of dance music forever.
The original shortlist was drawn up by a panel of music experts that included DJs Trevor Nelson and Danny Rampling. The full top 10 is as follows:
1. Michael Jackson - Billie Jean
2. Donna Summer - I Feel Love
3. James Brown - Get Up (I Feel Like Being A) Sex Machine
4. Rhythim Is Rhythim - Strings Of Life
5. Alison Limerick - Where Love Lives
6. Soul II Soul - Keep On Movin'
7. Fingers Inc. - Can You Feel It
8. Inner City - Big Fun
9. S'Express - Theme From S'Express
10. The Charades - Key To My Happiness
So, is this the right result? Great though Billie Jean is, MusicRadar's vote would have gone to I Feel Love, which is both a fantastic record in its own right and hugely influential.
