U guys, can we STOP talking about Thriller "statistics" just for ONCE??? All those facts have been told and retold and run into the ground, we all know theml Let's share our PERSONAL memories of listening to the album, and watching the videos or whatever. Please? Thank you.

Back to our regularly scheduled thread.

who gives a shit...

love777 said:

u must give a SHIT cos u wasted time posting SHIT.

happy b-day thriller

flawless album,i cant even say that about any of Prince's releases (except PurpleRain)

Here's a little trivia about the 'Thriller' album...


***Eddie Van Halen plays the guitar solo on "Beat It" but he refused to make a cameo in the video because he didn't really think the song would be a big hit.I kid you not!

***The original version of "Billie Jean" featured a long,haunting intro that was discarded,and Michael was really disappointed.

***The bassline on the song "Thriller" was actually "borrowed" from Rick James' 1981 hit "Give It To Me Baby".

***Quincy originally intended to produce 'Thriller' in early 1982 and it was tentatively scheduled for a summer release.But,he got involved with producing a Donna Summer album instead,and 'Thriller' was delayed.

***But Michael spent that extra time composing songs on his own.He wrote "Billie Jean"(in 1981) and "Beat It" before going into the studio with Quincy.

***Speaking of "Billie Jean",there were two 1984 songs that borrowed its' distinctive sound...The Bar Kay's "Dirty Dancer" and Billy Ocean's "Caribbean Queen (No More Love On The Run)".

Have any of you guys heard the demo to The Girl Is Mine? It's just MJ singing it alone and it sounds SO much better. Maybe Ebony & Ivory would have been passable if it was solo Stevie.

I remember when 'Thriller' first came out.Our local R&B station (KSOL) obtained an advance copy a few days before release,and they spent several days airing five new songs: "Beat It","The Lady In My Life","P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)","Baby Be Mine",and the title track.I thought these new songs were great,but who knew that this album would blow up the way it did?

Alot of people think "The Girl Is Mine" is corny,but I think it's a nice song with a great melody.It's certainly more listenable than "Ebony and Ivory"...lol...in his biography,producer Quincy Jones says that,when people heard this first single,they were like "So,this is ALL you got to offer?" It seems that Quincy,Michael and Epic Records deliberately wanted to release a weaker song as the first single,to save the best for later.It was a wise strategy.

In 1983,'Thriller' was unstoppable.You really couldn't go anywhere without hearing this album.I used to take the bus to school every morning,and my bus driver would play this cassette every single day.Back in 1983,Walkmans were still new and one of my classmates would be playing the cassette every day at school.When 'Billie Jean' was released as the second single,the album really took off.That song STILL sounds fresh to this day! That beat,that memorable bassline,those haunting synth lines,Michael's effective vocal delivery...that one song is simply breathtaking!! I actually heard "Billie Jean" at a nightclub the other night,and people went crazy when it came on.That's the impact of a really great pop song.

And then came the videos.Michael's videos were *EVENTS*.I remember the kids in school would rush home to catch his videos on MTV.The "Billie Jean" video is my favorite.At the time,many MTV videos were very simplistic.In many cases,music videos just showed the artist or band lip-syncing the song in a bare studio.Michael took the whole concept up a few notches.The way the ground lights up with his every move...his awesome dance moves during the second verse...his dramatic encounter with Billie at the end of the song.It was nothing short of incredible.Likewise,the "Beat It" video killed almost everything else that was being shown on MTV at the time.People went crazy when they saw Michael in that cool,red jacket with all the zippers,doing those kickass dance moves.It's almost a sin to call the "Thriller" video a "video" because it is so much more.It's more like a mini-movie.

But back to the music.'Thriller' is a masterpiece from beginning to end.There is no filler on this album.The opening track "Wanna Be Startin Something" is a powerful,take-no-prisoners rave-up that could STILL get a party jumpin'."Beat It" simply rocks."Human Nature" is a gorgeous gem that even Miles Davis played in concert."The Lady In My Life" has become a Quiet Storm staple,and with good reason.It's a sensational ballad with a kickass melody and arrangement.The funky "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" is irresistible and catchy."Billie Jean" is the album's amazing centerpiece,a pulsing,intoxicating uptempo track that,lyrically,deals with an interesting topic (a paternity suit).It wasn't your average bubblegum pop hit."Baby Be Mine" is a charming R&B track that,like everything else on the album,could have easily been a hit single too."The Girl Is Mine" sounded so good on the radio in the fall of 1982.And despite some silly lyrics,the title track is another winning song,with a cool rap by Vincent Price.


Throughout 1983 and much of 1984,Michaelmania was unlike anything I had ever seen.I used to see people wearing one white glove,and the "Beat It" and "Thriller" jackets were seen everywhere.Young girls would have MJ pins all over their shirts and jackets.Whenever MJ would make a TV appearance (such as the Motown 25th Anniversary,or the various Awards shows),the next day in school,that's ALL people would be talking about.I remember the girls at school complaining that Mike took Brooke Shields with him as his date..."How dare he date her! She's just using him"

I really don't think we'll see another album like 'Thriller' in this lifetime.No album by ANY artist will ever sell that many copies,or have the same kind of impact around the world.But I'm "thrilled" to have been around for all of that.

I used to like "Can't Get Outta The Rain{extended version of You Can't Win" which was the B-side of "The Girl Is Mine" single. Nothing really special about it, just has a nice musical backdrop to it.

DavidEye said:

I Agree Completely.MJ:you can take all the Boy Groups,Britney,CHristina,"Titanic",Garth Brooks,2Pac,Will Smith,etc.. you can COmbine whatever has been Huge in the Past Decade&Change&you still don't measure up too Half what "MichaelMania" was all about IMHO.nothing like the Magic then or since IMHO.

hey did anyone get the re-release of Thriller??? I heard they put new stuff on it? demos or something??? what were the extras/new stuff?

Yeah I remember that was one of the first albums I personally went out and bought with my own money.. (not asking for it from my parents)

album still rocks!! all the hits are nice.. but I love "Lady of my life" & "human nature"

I only wish MJ after this didn't try to make "remakes/sequels" to it.. with all the same vibe.. in music,name and just trying to top it.

But still the best of his work

hey did anyone get the re-release of Thriller??? I heard they put new stuff on it? demos or something??? what were the extras/new stuff?

locoarts said:

as DavidEye mentioned all the extra things added:but MJ I could tell was truly Pissed with Sony because the songs were Edited out"Carousal" was edited out&there was Orginally gonna be a couple extra songs on it.Off the wall was suppose too have 2-3 more songs as a Bonus."Bad" was suppose too have 3-4 extra songs&"Dangerous" was suppose too have a Extra Disc of Material but MJ wanted too be rid of Sony.

Hopefully one day Michael will release a multi-disc box set that spans his entire career.He can add all the bonus tracks that are still in his vaults.

Btw,what's the story behind Anita Baker's song "Mystery"? Years ago,I heard that this song was originally offered to Michael (for 'Thriller' or 'Bad'?) and he turned it down.So,Anita took it and added it to her 1986 'Rapture' album.

DavidEye said:

I think I rememeber reading something like there were 100 unreleased songs from the Thriller sessions{that didn't make the final cut, as well as, around 100 for the Bad. Anybody else remember reading this??? That's a lot of songs if that's the case.

Brother915 said:

That's correct! Quincy has said that,when they recording the 'Thriller' and 'Bad' albums,they went through dozens of songs.I know of at least two outtakes from 'Bad'...one is an anti-crack song that was recorded with Run DMC,and the other is a funk track that was recorded with Roger Troutman of Zapp.

Brother915 said:

That's correct! Quincy has said that,when they recording the 'Thriller' and 'Bad' albums,they went through dozens of songs.I know of at least two outtakes from 'Bad'...one is an anti-crack song that was recorded with Run DMC,and the other is a funk track that was recorded with Roger Troutman of Zapp.

Hopefully one day Michael will release a multi-disc box set that spans his entire career.He can add all the bonus tracks that are still in his vaults.

Btw,what's the story behind Anita Baker's song "Mystery"? Years ago,I heard that this song was originally offered to Michael (for 'Thriller' or 'Bad'?) and he turned it down.So,Anita took it and added it to her 1986 'Rapture' album.

I also remembr reading that there were many many songs in the vaults from the Dangeroussessions.

Brother915 said:

MJ reportedly cut around 70 songs for the Dangerous project. Work started as early as 1989 and Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds was recruited to co-produce the record. However, his songs were rejected in favour of the New Jack Swing style pioneered by Teddy Riley.

I've often wondered if the tepid 'You Are My Life' from the Invincible record was included just to appease Babyface.

love777 said:

dont be disrespectful to Thriller..it saved the industry ya know.

rdhull said:

I'm not sure it saved the record industry, but it definitly changed it, and i think MJ is highly responsible for the crap (Titney, NStink,...) we got today.
I didn't say Thriller was crap though, don't get me wrong, but it was a new way to promote music and now we got all this shit & it's getting worst all the time.
I wonder how would sound contemporary "pop" music, if MJ didn't release Thriller ??

Brother915 said:

MJ reportedly cut around 70 songs for the Dangerous project. Work started as early as 1989 and Kenneth 'Babyface' Edmonds was recruited to co-produce the record. However, his songs were rejected in favour of the New Jack Swing style pioneered by Teddy Riley.

I've often wondered if the tepid 'You Are My Life' from the Invincible record was included just to appease Babyface.