Frank Kogan

Don't think I was claiming that "Beat It" was a template -- of course it's just one among many. Though I do think because it was so huge and in the air at the time (and I recall lots of talk at the time about how "revolutionary" an idea it was bringing Eddie Van Halen into the fold -- regardless of whether that WAS a revolutionary thing to do or not) it may have been more directly an inspiration than, say, Funkadelic or Flash or Bambaata (the latter two of whom I assume you list because of what they would play as DJs, moreso than what kind of records they made).