Thriller is the sixth studio album by the 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 pop, R&B, rock, post-disco, funk, and adult contemporary music.Recording sessions took place between April and November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a production budget of $750,000, assisted by producer Quincy Jones.
Of the album’s nine tracks, four were written by Jackson. Seven singles were released from the album, all of which reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. Three of the singles had music videos released. “Baby Be Mine” and “The Lady in My Life” were the only tracks that were not released as singles. In just over a year, Thriller became—and currently remains—the best-selling album of all time, with sales of 65 million copies worldwide according to various sources. In the United States, it also tied with the Eagles’ Their Greatest Hits (1971–1975) as the best-selling album at 29 million units shipped.The album won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including for Album of the Year.
Thriller enabled Jackson to break down racial barriers in pop music via his appearances on MTV and meeting with President of the United States 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, demo recordings and the song “Someone in the Dark”, which was a Grammy-winning track from the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook. In 2008, the album was reissued again as Thriller 25, containing re-mixes that feature contemporary artists, a previously unreleased song, and a DVD, which features the short films from the album and the Motown 25 performance of “Billie Jean”.
Thriller was ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003, and was listed by the National Association of Recording Merchandisers at number three in its “Definitive 200” albums of all time. The Thriller album was included in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry of culturally significant recordings, and the Thriller video was included in the National Film Preservation Board’s National Film Registry of “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant films”. In 2012, Slant Magazine listed the album at number one on its list of “Best Albums of the 1980s”
Tracks
1 Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’ (Quincy Jones, Michael Jackson) 6:03 2 Baby Be Mine (Rod Temperton) 4:20 3 The Girl Is Mine (Michael Jackson) 3:42 4 Thriller (Rod Temperton) 6:00 5 Beat It (Michael Jackson) 4:18 6 Billie Jean (Michael Jackson) 4:54 7 Human Nature (Steve Porcaro, John Bettis) 4:06 8 P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing) (James Ingram, Quincy Jones) 3:59 9 The Lady In My Life (Rod Temperton) 4:59
Musicians
1 Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’
Bass - Louis Johnson Guitar - David Williams Piano - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - Bill Wolfer Synthesizer - Michael Boddicker Trombone - Bill Reichenbach Trumpet - Gary Grant Trumpet - Jerry Hey Percussion - Paulinho Da Costa Background Vocals - Becky Lopez Background Vocals - Benny Hull Background Vocals - James Ingram Background Vocals - Julia Tillman Waters Background Vocals - Maxine Willard Waters Background Vocals - Oren Waters Vocals - Michael Jackson
2 Baby Be Mine
Drums - Leon Chancler Guitar - David Williams Keyboards - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - David Paich Synthesizer - Michael Boddicker Trombone - Bill Reichenbach Trumpet - Gary Grant Trumpet - Jerry Hey Sax - Larry Williams Flute - Larry Williams Vocals - Michael Jackson
3 The Girl Is Mine
Bass - Louis Johnson Drums - Jeffrey Porcaro Guitar - Steve Lukather Guitar - Dean Parks Piano - Greg Phillinganes Piano - David Paich Synthesizer - David Foster Vocals - Paul McCartney Vocals - Michael Jackson
4 Thriller
Guitar - David Williams Synthesizer - Brian Banks Synthesizer - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - Rod Temperton Trombone - Bill Reichenbach Trumpet - Gary Grant Trumpet - Jerry Hey Vocals - Michael Jackson
5 Beat It
Bass - Steve Lukather Drums - Jeffrey Porcaro Guitar - Steve Lukather Guitar - Paul Jackson Jr Guitar (solo) - Eddie van Halen Keyboards - Bill Wolfer Piano - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - Tom Bahler Synthesizer - Greg Smith Synthesizer - Steve Porcaro Percussion - Michael Jackson Vocals - Michael Jackson
6 Billie Jean
Bass - Louis Johnson Drums - Leon Chancler Guitar - Dean Parks Piano - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - Greg Smith Synthesizer - Bill Wolfer Vocals - Michael Jackson
7 Human Nature
Drums - Jeffrey Porcaro Guitar - Steve Lukather Synthesizer - David Paich Synthesizer - Steve Porcaro Sampler - Michael Boddicker Percussion - Paulinho Da Costa Vocals - Michael Jackson
8 P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)
Bass - Louis Johnson Drums - Leon Chancler Guitar - Paul Jackson Jr Keyboards - James Ingram Synthesizer - Greg Phillinganes Vocoder - Michael Boddicker Background Vocals - Howard Hewett Background Vocals - James Ingram Background Vocals - Becky Lopez Background Vocals - Benny Hull Background Vocals - Janet Jackson Background Vocals - Steven Ray Vocals - Michael Jackson
9 The Lady In My Life
Bass - Louis Johnson Drums - Jeffrey Porcaro Guitar - Paul Jackson Jr Piano - Greg Phillinganes Synthesizer - David Paich Synthesizer - Steve Porcaro Sampler - Michael Boddicker Vocals - Michael Jackson
Liner Notes
Producer – Quincy Jones Co-producer – Michael Jackson (Track 1) Arranged By (Horns) – Jerry Hey (Tracks 1, 2, 4) Arranged By (Horns) – Michael Jackson (Track 1) Arranged By (Rhythm) – Michael Jackson (Track 1, 5) Arranged By (Rhythm) – Quincy Jones (Track 1, 3, 5) Arranged By (Rhythm) – David Paich (Track 3) Arranged By (Vocals) – Michael Jackson (Track 1, 3, 5) Arranged By (Vocals) – Quincy Jones (Track 3) Arranged By (Vocals, Rhythm) – Rod Temperton (Track 2, 4) Arranged By (Vocals, Rhythm) – Michael Jackson (Track 6) Arranged By (Strings) – Jerry Hey (Track 3, 6) Arranged By (Synthesizer) – David Foster (Track 3) Arranged By – David Paich (Track 7) Arranged By – Steve Lukather (Track 7) Arranged By – Steve Porcaro (Track 7) Arranged By – James Ingram (Track 8) Arranged By – Quincy Jones (Track 8) Arranged By – Rod Temperton (Track 9) Concertmaster – Gerald Vinci (Track 3 Conductor (Strings) – Jerry Hey (Track 3 Engineer (Assistant) – Mark Ettel, Steve Bates Engineer (Technical) – Matt Forger Mastered By – Bernie Grundman Mixed By – Bruce Swedien Recorded By – Bruce Swedien Recorded By (Additional Sound Sources) – Humberto Gatica, Matt Forger Recorded By (Guitar Solo) – Donn Landee (Track 5) Illustration – Michael Jackson Photography- Dick Zimmerman Typography – Mac James Mastered At Customatrix Recorded At Ocean Way Recording Recorded A Westlake Audio Phonographic Copyright CBS Inc Copyright CBS Inc Copyright Mijac Music Copyright Rodsongs Copyright Porcara Music Copyright John Bettis Music Copyright Eiseman Music Co. Copyright Hen-Al Music Copyright Kings Road Music Copyright Yellow Brick Road Music
