It features artists who surf and surfers who paint, pop icons like Gidget and serious works that struggle with the meaning of American colonialism.

Noting performances placed greater emphasis on theatricality over vocal prowess, the tour received numerous stellar reviews based on Jackson's showmanship, choreography, and socially conscious message, drawing frequent comparison to pop icons Prince and her brother Michael Jackson.

And he again demonstrated a flair for apt comparisons to pop icons.

Though his work has evolved considerably over the past few decades, he has become known and revered for his exploration of commercialism and references to pop culture images and icons.

The radical editing in that serie also refers to pop cultural icons and is supported by their titles i.e. "Personal Jesus", "Pink Mist", "Transmission" and "You don't look so good".

His imagery ranges from 19th century Native leaders to pop icons including Janet Jackson and Brooke Shields.

More recently, he has performed with the Loser's Lounge, a group that produces over-the-top tributes to pop icons, and in a music and comedy review called "What I Like About Jew."

Indeed, the show has become so hot again that a list of its recent guests reads like a "People" magazine guide to pop icons: Madonna, Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney and Luke Perry.

As jazz inches its way into the mainstream, through everything from television commercials to increased spending by major record companies, players who might never have had an audience outside jazz are finding themselves pop icons.

When it comes to pop icons of the past half century, Jim Morrison surely ranks with Marilyn Monroe and James Dean.