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Last year marked the fortieth anniversary since the release of "Thriller", the multi-million selling album that would help elevate Michael Jackson, who had already been pretty famous since he was five years old, into the role of the world's biggest pop star of all-time. And while that may seem a bit hyperbolic, it is a fact that Jackson's shimmering collection of golden hit songs were inescapable at the time and to this day the album has remained a highly influential master work that still manages to inspire for it's outstanding innovation.
While his previous album, "Off The Wall" was a significant critical and commercial success, Jackson was still unsatisfied with the reception of his work, feeling that it had not received proper recognition by the Grammys. The dance-oriented "Off The Wall" also had the misfortune of being released when a backlash against disco had begun.
He returned to the studio again with producer, Quincy Jones with a game plan of creating a record where every song could be a potential hit single and would appeal to a mass audience. Thirty tracks were recorded over two months with the final album featuring only nine of what were considered the best songs. "Thriller" was released on November 8, 1982 and the first single, "The Girl is Mine", a playful duet with Paul McCartney, had reached number two on the US pop chart.
But it was the follow-up, "Billie Jean" that would begin Jackson's true ascension as a major pop artist. This was helped by getting the music video played on MTV, which had long been resistant to featuring music by Black artists on the channel, with it going into heavy rotation and Jackson's appearance on the television special, "Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever" where after performing with his brothers a medley of their hits, Jackson did the famous "moonwalk" move for the first time while doing this song. At fourteen million copies sold, "Billie Jean" would become one of the best selling singles of all-time.
Then came "Beat It", a beat-driven rock song that featured an electrifying guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen. The video for the single, about a gang rivalry that would be resolved through music, became a classic, further cementing Jackson as a worldwide pop sensation. One of Jackson's most iconic and celebrated songs, "Beat It" would follow "Billie Jean" to the top of the music charts in several countries and sell well over eleven million copies.
The next single, "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" had originally been written for his sister, La Toya, then later recorded for himself during the "Off The Wall" sessions before being re-recorded for "Thriller". This funky dance track, with the famous chant near the end, "Mama-say mama-sah ma-ma-coo-sah" being borrowed from the Cameroonian musician, Manu Dibango's 1972 song "Soul Makossa", would become a top-five hit and continue Jackson's international charting streak.
"Human Nature", the fifth single from the album, went in another direction from Jackson, a sensual ballad written by Steve Porcaro of the band, Toto and John Bettis. The song is now considered a template for the "quiet storm" sound that followed not long after it's successful release.
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", an uptempo jam that features Jackson's sisters, La Toya and Janet on backing vocals, was another top-ten hit.
And we come to the final single released from the album, the title track. While this is my least favorite song on the record, there is no denying the power and appeal of "Thriller", especially when connected to the famous music video. At thirteen minutes in length, an unheard of budget at the time of a half million dollars and directed by filmmaker, John Landis ("The Blues Brothers", "An American Werewolf in London"), the video of "Thriller" is much more of a short film than a promotional clip. The video played up Jackson's love of horror movies with creepy visual effects and elaborate make-up created for a horde of the undead doing the iconic zombie dance with Jackson. And to drive it all home, we have the "master of horror", Vincent Price to recite a spoke-word sequence near the end of the song. "Thriller" went on to become the first music video inducted into the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2009.
And even though the remaining songs from the album: the post-disco tune, "Baby Be Mine" and the lovely romantic ballad, "The Lady in My Life" were not released as singles, they both received some radio play.
"Thriller" went on to sell an incredible seventy million copies worldwide, staying in the top-ten on Billboard Hot 200 Album chart for a year, making it the second best selling album of all-time in the US. And Jackson got his Grammy recognition, receiving a record of eight awards in one evening which included Record of The Year for "Beat It" and Album of The Year.
Jackson would later be surrounded by several serious accusations involving child abuse (which he was never charged), other scandals and controversy which included his dramatically changed physical appearance. But none of that could distract from the brilliance that is "Thriller", an album that completely changed the game in pop music. This record may have been motivated by the frustrated ego of a talented artist but his determination pushed his creativity, expanding the barriers the music industry had self-imposed and helped open the door for other African-American performers to reach their full potential.
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