“We wanted to be sure to get a tribute song out there before anyone else did,” she said.

She seems thrilled to be singing on the tribute to Jackson.

“He was my icon. I’m 46 years old and he’s all in my childhood memories,” Dittlinger said.

Baker’s voice is reminiscent of country music legend George Jones.

Although he was singing rhythm and blues with the Robert White Trio when he met Jackson, Baker has since crossed over to country.

“My heroes were Merle Haggard and Johnny Cash,” he said.

Baker has recorded several single LP’s throughout his career and has hosted several radio programs with such pseudonyms as Harry O and Oliver Stone. After a stint in the Air Force, Baker was a disc jockey in Florida, perhaps one of the first black DJs in that state.

Baker made a cameo appearance in the 1973 hit movie, “Walking Tall,” as the bass player for The Jimmy Church Band. Now his songs reflect his Christian beliefs.

He prefers country music but Baker said he did listen to Jackson’s songs after the young singer left the Jackson 5 and struck out on his own. “I grew up listening to him. He was only one year younger than me.”

“He's moved on to another stage to play.”

“It really makes you think about your own mortality,” Baker said of Jackson’s passing.

“He left us, and now the king of pop is gone.”

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The tributes to Michael Jackson, who died June 25, are flowing across the Internet.

— The Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Philippines, known for their orange-suit dance routines, perform the full zombie dance from “Thriller” and a separate tribute mix at YouTube.com. Search for “CPDRC” or “dancing inmates.”