1982 Michael Jackson – Thriller

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
The Girl Is Mine (Michael Jackson) 3:42
4  Thriller (Rod Temperton) 6:00
Beat It (Michael Jackson) 4:18
Billie Jean (Michael Jackson) 4:54
Human Nature (Steve Porcaro, John Betis) 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 Michael Jackson
Background Vocals Oren Waters


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


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


4 Thriller

Guitar David Williams
Synthesizer Brian Banks
Synthesizer Greg Phillinganes
Synthesizer Rod Temperton
Trombone Bill Reichenbach
Trumpet Gary Grant
Trumpet Jerry Hey


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


6 Billie Jean

Bass Louis Johnson
Drums Leon Chancler
Guitar Dean Parks
Piano Greg Phillinganes
Synthesizer Greg Phillinganes
Synthesizer Greg Smith
Synthesizer Bill Wolfer


7 Human Nature

Drums Jeffrey Porcaro
Guitar Steve Lukather
Synthesizer David Paich
Synthesizer Steve Porcaro
Sampler Michael Boddicker
Percussion Paulinho Da Costa


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


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

Liner Notes

Producer – Quincy Jones
Co-producer – Michael Jackson (Track 1)
Arranged By (Horn Arrangement) – Jerry Hey (Tracks 1, 2, 4)
Arranged By (Horn Arrangement) – Michael Jackson (Track 1)
Arranged By (Rhythm Arrangement) – Michael Jackson (Track 1, 5)
Arranged By (Rhythm Arrangement) – Quincy Jones (Track 1, 3, 5)
Arranged By (Vocal Arrangement) – Michael Jackson (Track 1, 3, 5)
Arranged By (Vocal, Rhythm And Synthesizer Arrangement) – Rod Temperton (Track 2, 4)
Arranged By (Vocal, Rhythm And Synthesizer Arrangement) – Michael Jackson (Track 6)
Arranged By (Rhythm Arrangement) – David Paich (Track 3)
Arranged By (Strings) – Jerry Hey (Track 3, 6)
Arranged By (Synthesizer Arrangement) – David Foster (Track 3)
Arranged By (Vocal Arrangement) – Quincy Jones (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
Recorded By (Additional Sound Sources) – Humberto Gatica, Matt Forger
Recorded By, Mixed By – Bruce Swedien
Recorded By (Guitar Solo) – Donn Landee (Track 5)

Illustration (Inner Sleeve Drawings) – Michael Jackson
Other (Styling) – Valadé / Design Pool
Photography By – Dick Zimmerman
Typography (Lettering) – Mac James

Phonographic Copyright (p) – CBS Inc.
Copyright (c) – CBS Inc.
Distributed By – CBS Disques
Produced For – Quincy Jones Productions
Recorded At – Ocean Way Recording
Recorded At – Westlake Audio
Copyright (c) – Mijac Music
Copyright (c) – Rodsongs
Copyright (c) – Porcara Music
Copyright (c) – John Bettis Music
Copyright (c) – Eiseman Music Co.
Copyright (c) – Hen-Al Music
Copyright (c) – Kings Road Music
Copyright (c) – Yellow Brick Road Music
Published By – Mijac Music
Published By – Rodsongs
Published By – Porcara Music
Published By – John Bettis Music
Published By – Eiseman Music Co.
Published By – Hen-Al Music
Published By – Kings Road Music
Published By – Yellow Brick Road Music