Thriller

Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982 by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall. Thriller explores similar genres to those of Off the Wall, including funk, soul, pop, easy listening, R&B, rock and post-disco music.[1][2]

Recording sessions took place between April and November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a production budget of $750,000.[3] Assisted by producer Quincy Jones, Jackson wrote four of Thriller's nine tracks. In just over a year, Thriller became—and currently remains—the best-selling album of all time, with estimated sales between 57-110 million copies worldwide, and as the best-selling album in the United States.[4] Seven of the album's nine songs were released as singles, and all reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards at the 1984 Grammys.

Thriller cemented Jackson's status as one of the preeminent pop stars of the late 20th century, and enabled him to break down racial barriers via his appearances on MTV and meeting with President Ronald Reagan at the White House. The album was one of the first to use music videos as successful promotional tools—the videos for "Thriller", "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" all received regular rotation on MTV. In 2001, a special edition issue of the album was released, which contains additional audio interviews, a demo recording and the song "Someone In the Dark", which was a Grammy-winning track from the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook.[5] In 2008, the album was reissued again as Thriller 25, containing re-mixes that feature contemporary artists, a previously unreleased song and a DVD.

Thriller ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003[6], and was listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers at number three in its Definitive 200 Albums of All Time. The Thriller video was preserved by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry, as it was deemed "culturally significant".

Released :November 30, 1982

Recorded :April-November 1982
Westlake Recording Studios
(Los Angeles, California)

Genre: R&B, pop, rock

Length :42:19

Label: Epic

Producer: Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones


1."Thriller" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album of the same name. It was released on January 23, 1984 by Epic Records, as the seventh single from the album. The song has appeared on multiple greatest hits compilation albums from Jackson, including HIStory (1995) and This Is It (2009). It was written by Rod Temperton and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. The song, which has a voice-over rap from actor Vincent Price, had originally been titled "Starlight".

Musically "Thriller" is a dance-oriented song; the song's instruments include a bassline and synthesizer. Jackson's voice is heard in a low register while a continuous arrangement of synthesizers is heard along the bassline. In the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard, and the lyrics contain frightening themes and elements. "Thriller" received positive reviews from critics, though the song was outshone by its music video. "Thriller" became Jackson's seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from the album, while reaching the top of the charts in France and Belgium and the top ten in other countries.

"Thriller" was adapted into a highly successful music video, known independently as "Michael Jackson's Thriller". At fourteen minutes the video is substantially longer than the song, which ties together a narrative featuring Jackson and actress Ola Ray in a setting heavily inspired by horror films of the 1950s. In the video's most iconic scene, Jackson leads other actors costumed as zombies in a choreographed dance routine. Though it garnered some criticism for its occult theme and violent imagery, the video was immediately popular and received high critical acclaim, being nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 and winning three. Since its release "Thriller" has been often labeled the greatest music video ever made. In 2009 it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the first music video ever selected.

Released January 23, 1984 (1984-01-23)
Format 7", 12", CD single
Recorded 1982
Genre Dance-pop, funk
Length 4:37
(See track listings)
Label Epic Records
Writer(s) Rod Temperton
Producer Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones


2."Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson and co-produced by Quincy Jones for the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). Eddie Van Halen was drafted to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo. Following the successful chart performances of the Thriller singles "The Girl Is Mine" and "Billie Jean", "Beat It" was released on February 14, 1983 as the album's third single. The song was promoted with a short film that featured Jackson bringing two gangs together through the power of dance.

A commercial success, "Beat It" was awarded two Grammy Awards and two American Music Awards and was inducted into the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame. "Beat It" (along with the song's music video) propelled Thriller into becoming the best-selling album of all time. The single was certified platinum in 1989. Rolling Stone magazine placed "Beat It" in the 337th spot on its list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time[2] and on the list of The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[3]

In the decades since its release, "Beat It" has been covered, parodied, and sampled by numerous artists including Fergie, Weird Al Yankovic, and Fall Out Boy. The song was also featured in the National Highway Safety Commission's anti-drunk driving campaign.

Released February 14, 1983 (1983-02-14)
Recorded 1982
Genre Hard rock
Length 4:18
Label Epic Records
Writer(s) Michael Jackson
Producer Michael Jackson
Quincy Jones
Certification Platinum (RIAA)
Gold (RIANZ)[1]




3."Human Nature" is an R&B song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written by Steve Porcaro and John Bettis, and produced by Quincy Jones for the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). Initially, Porcaro had recorded a rough demo of the song on a cassette, which was then given to Jones. Enjoying the demo, Jones had the ballad included on the Thriller album. The song was the last selected for the album, ousting "Carousel" from the final track listing.

"Human Nature" was released on July 3, 1983, as the album's fifth single. Although not released in the UK, the song achieved chart success in the US. Reaching number two on Billboard's Hot Adult Contemporary chart and number seven on the Hot 100, the song became Jackson's fifth Top 10 hit from Thriller. In New Zealand the single reached number 11. The ballad garnered many positive reviews from music critics. "Human Nature" has been covered and sampled by numerous artists, including Miles Davis, SWV, Nas, Jason Nevins, Alicia Keys and Boyz II Men.

Released July 3, 1983
Format 7" single
Recorded 1982
Genre R&B
Length 4:06 (Album version)
3:45 (Single version)
Label Epic Records
Writer(s) Steve Porcaro
John Bettis
Producer Quincy Jones


4."Billie Jean" is a dance-pop R&B song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written by Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones for the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). Originally disliked by Jones, the track was almost removed from the album after he and Jackson had disagreements regarding it. There are contradictory claims to what the song's lyrics refer to. One suggests that they are derived from a real-life experience, in which a mentally ill female fan claimed that Jackson had fathered one of her twins. Jackson himself, however, stated that "Billie Jean" was based on groupies he had encountered. The song is well known for its distinctive bass line and Jackson's vocal hiccups. The song was mixed 91 times by audio engineer Bruce Swedien before it was finalized.

Following the successful chart performances of the single "The Girl Is Mine" and the album Thriller, "Billie Jean" was released on January 2, 1983, as the collection's second single. It became a worldwide commercial and critical success; "Billie Jean" was one of the best-selling singles of 1983, and topped both the US and UK charts simultaneously. In other countries, "Billie Jean" topped the charts of Spain and Switzerland, reached the top ten in Austria, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden, and peaked at number 45 in France. Considered to be one of the most revolutionary songs in history, "Billie Jean" was certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 1989.

Awarded numerous honors—including two Grammy Awards, one American Music Award and an induction into the Music Video Producers Hall of Fame—the song and corresponding music video propelled Thriller to the status of best-selling album of all time. The song was promoted with a short film that broke down MTV's racial barrier as the first video by a black artist to be aired by the channel, and an Emmy-nominated performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, in which Jackson premiered "the moonwalk". The song was also promoted through Jackson's Pepsi commercials; during the filming of one commercial, Jackson's scalp was severely burned. Covered by modern artists, "Billie Jean" sealed Jackson's status as an international pop icon.

Released January 2, 1983 (1983-01-02)
Format 7" single
12" single
Recorded 1982
Genre Dance-pop
R&B
Funk
Length 4:55 (album/single version)
6:22 (original 12" version)
2:20 (home demo version)
Label Epic Records
Writer(s) Michael Jackson
Producer Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones
Certification Gold


5."The Girl Is Mine" is a song by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. The track was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones for the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). The song was recorded at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, from April 14 to 16, 1982. The year before, Jackson and McCartney had recorded "Say Say Say" and "The Man" for the latter's fifth solo album, Pipes of Peace (1983). Some of the public were not impressed by "The Girl Is Mine"; they felt that Jackson and Quincy Jones had created a song for the white pop audience.[1]

Despite the public feeling, "The Girl Is Mine" achieved success in the music charts. Aside from topping the R&B singles chart, the single peaked at number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number eight in the UK. By 1985, it had sold 1.3 million copies, and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least one million units. "The Girl Is Mine" has been the subject of two plagiarism lawsuits. Both instances required Jackson to testify in court, and each lawsuit found in the favour of the singer and his record label. In 2008, for the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller, Black Eyed Peas singer will.i.am remixed "The Girl Is Mine". The remix received generally unfavourable reviews from music critics.

Released October 18, 1982
Recorded April 14–16, 1982 at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles
Genre Pop
Length 3:42
Label Epic
Writer(s) Michael Jackson
Producer Michael Jackson
Quincy Jones