However you probably already know that…
“Thriller” was a song recorded by Michael Jackson, which was released originally as a single in November 1983 in the US by Epic Records. The song was then later released in January 1984 worldwide. “Thriller” was the seventh and final single to be released prior to the release of Jackson’s sixth studio album with the same name.
The song “Thriller” has earned many accolades since ints release in 1983. Some of these accolades include a certified 7x platinum by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association of America), a 12x worldwide platinum, a Grammy award, and induction into the National Film Registry. At the time of Jackson’s death in 2009, “Thriller” was his best performing single with over 167,000 copies being sold worldwide. As of 2020 the song has over 6 million copies in the United States alone.
Success on The Charts:
The song charted in the top 100 in seven different countries throughout the corse of 1983–1985. Some notable positions are:
Number 4 — United States
Number 3 — Canada
Number 10 — United Kingdom
Since 2006 the song has reached the charts every October in the United Kingdom. While since 2013 it has reached the charts every October in the United States.
How “Thriller” Was Made:
‘Thriller” was written by English songwriter Rod Temperton, head writer of Jackson’s previous album “Off The Wall” in 1979. The song was written in 1982 with the intent to hi-light Jackson’s love for film, however it would go thought many different revisions due to Epic Records (Jackson’s label) insisting that the song must be the title track. The would go throughout many different names before production decided on the name “Thriller”, some of the alternative names were “Starlight” and “Midnight Man”.
“Thriller” was recorded in a span of eight weeks by record producer Quincy Jones and engineer Bruce Swedien. The song was composed to represent a mixture of disco, funk, and RnB sounds of the time. To better incorporate the influences of film Swiden had Jackson record his vocals in many different rooms to change the tones and pitches and background sounds, such as the background vocals being recorded in a shower stall, or Jackson recording the wolf howls himself after Swiden’s Great Danes failed to do the job. Instruments used for the production of the song include an electric guitar, pipe organ, trumpet, fugal horn, and flute are used to name a few. Other sounds incorporated into the song include creaking floors, thunder, winds, howling dogs, and wooden doors.
There is three versions of the song. The album version (the version released on the radio) which includes a closing spoken-word from horror movie actor Vincent Prince. Which was decided on last minute when Jones’s then wife asked Jones and Jackson if her friend could work on the song with him. On the day of recording Temperton wrote the lyrics to Prince’s spoke piece in the taxi to the recording studio. Other versions include a special edit (which is often used in movies and T.V), as well as a remixed shortened version that is often used on the radio.
The Significance Of The “Thriller” Music Video:
The “Thriller” music video was released in December 1983. The video was created by John Landis and Michael Jackson. Model Ola Ray plays Jackson’s girlfriend in the music video. Epic Records told Jackson that he should release a third music video to help advertise his sixth album after his to previous singles fell of the charts. Jackson commissioned Landis to help him produce the music video after watching his work on the movie “An American Werewolf In London” from years prior.
The video features three different acts. The first act shows a movie scene where two high schoolers from the 50’s are on a later night date, the moon turns full and then the boyfriend turns into a werwolf and chases the girlfriend into the words. The scene then cuts to a boyfriend and girlfriend sitting in a movie theatre on a date. The couple then leave the theatre and the second act of the video starts. The second act starts the begin of the actual song where Jackson dances around his love interest taunting her about being afraid of spooky things. She then turn back towards him and find that he’s turned into a zombie and the dance break starts. After the dance break the girlfriend runs into an abandoned house to escape from the zombie hoard which starts the third act of the video. The closing act is of the video of of the girlfriend waking up to realize the who experience was a nightmare, however when Jackson turns around the final shot of the music video shows him with werwolf eyes.
The budget for the music video was one of the largest in music history for its time. It was so large in fact that Epic Records was hesitant to follow through with the music video, which was proven further when Jackson had to get loans from his T.V executive friends for the project. Jackson created the iconic Zombie dance with help from choreographer Michael Peters, where they spent multiple hours making random poses and facial expressions in a mirror to mimic those of zombies seen in horror movies of the time. Jackson’s iconic jacket was created by Landis’s wife Deborah Nadoolman, which was created using its iconic red colours to contrast the dark and gloomy colour scheme of the sets and costumes used within the music video. Days before the music video was set to be released members of Jackson’s church insisted that he should leave the convent due to the music video showing things they classified “disturbing in nature”, Jackson formally apologized to all he offended and promised to not show imagery of that nature in a music video again, while putting a warning at the beginning of the video to say that the imagery doesn't reflect his viewpoints.
The music video debut with great success, playing regularly on MTV. After the release of the music video, the “Thriller” album doubled its previous sales, while the music video itself earned over a million copies on VHS. The music video earned both a grammy for “Best Video Album” of the year, and three different MTV awards after its release as well.
The Songs Ever Lasting Legacy:
As of 2021 the song “Thriller” was released 38 years ago. Currently it has almost 800 million views on youtube and is constantly streamed of both Apple Music and Spotify. Everything aspect of the song and music video “Thriller” changed its divisions of the music industry in a way that the industry as a whole would probably be no where near what its like today without it. The everlasting impact and determination of creating a one of a kind classics, created a large butterfly effect to expand the music industry’s artistry and its acceptance of peoples creative processes forever.
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Authors Notes:
The intent of this article was to highlight the production and backstory of one of Halloweens most iconic songs. In no way do I condone the actions of Michael Jackson outside of his music career.
*All images and links are used and taken from the intent with the intent to be used for education and are not that of my own.
