Being born in the early 70's, my childhood memories begin around 1980. I have vague memories of Jimmy Carter's presidency, but I can vividly remember the assassination attempts on President Reagan and Pope John Paul II. With those events, I had the events that mark the beginning of my coherent, linear memories, my first "I remember where I was when I heard the news" moments. But they didn't define my childhood.

That distinction belongs to the genesis of MTV. Loving every minute of which video MTV might show next, I watched every free minute I had. Videos could duke it out every Friday night, and no one got hurt. Bryan Adams told me that "It" cuts like a knife. I didn't know what that meant, but I knew I wanted to get me some. Boy George verified that my dreams were red, gold, and green, even when I didn't remember them. Cyndi Lauper told my 10-year-old mind something I didn't learn from hanging out with all the other nitwit boys: girls like to have fun, too. Who knew? And one of the best parts of the MTV experience was that J.J. Jackson, Martha Quinn, Alan Hunter, Nina Blackwood, and Mark Goodman were like brilliant older siblings showing me the way through the glorious explosion of 80's pop music.

So I was saddened to learn that J.J. Jackson passed away on Wednesday night from an apparent heart attack.

Jackson helped define the term "VJ" as one of the first on-air personalities on MTV when the channel launched in 1981. During his five-year tenure with the network, Jackson interviewed some of the top names of the day and was part of some key music milestones. Jackson covered the 1985 Live Aid benefit concert in London and helped to "unmask" Kiss during a 1982 interview. He also hosted the debut episode of MTV's long-running "120 Minutes" in 1986, and brought music titans like Robert Plant and Pete Townshend to the then-fledgling channel.
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Besides his endeavors in television, Jackson also logged a thick résumé in radio. Prior to his MTV days, Jackson was a rock-radio staple, first at WBCN-FM in Boston, and later at a few stations in Los Angeles. His voice even made it to the big screen, as a DJ in the 1976 movie "Car Wash." After his VJ days, Jackson returned to radio in the Los Angeles area.

Here is MTV's statement, released yesterday:

"J.J. Jackson's deep passion for music, his ease and good humor on air, and his welcoming style really set the tone for the early days of MTV. He was a big part of the channel's success and we are sure he is in the music section of heaven, with lots of his friends and heroes. We are fortunate to have had him as a part of the MTV family. He will be greatly missed."

J.J. Jackson's enthusiasm is what I remember most from the early days of MTV. He seemed to be having fun all the time. On camera, he never seemed annoyed having to interview bands, unlike so many current VJs on MTV. His attitude was always focused on how great it was to be at the center of creativity and fashion and culture that was growing out of the new artistic medium MTV created. Hit or miss, music was supposed to be fun. He showed that every time he was on camera.

Here's a quote from Mark Goodman that explains this well:

"J.J. was really a gentle man," he remembered. "He was smart. As I think of him, I think of him laughing. The guy had this huge laugh. He was a rabid music fan. Rod Stewart was a friend of his, guys in Led Zeppelin were friends of his. He championed these bands early on when they were kind of just getting going. He did Bruce Springsteen's first television interview. J.J. was a great guy. For the five of us, he was the wise DJ. He was the guy who had been through it all and was able to always put a mature perspective to things. He wound up handling the spotlight that was thrust on us better than any of us."

Most of the time, it's the crimson-tainted sheen of nostalgia through which we remember the "good old days". Remembering J.J. Jackson, I know those days really were good.