Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)

Michael Jackson - Thriller (1982)

Tracklist front / back album covers

Side one

1. "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"   6:03

2. "Baby Be Mine"   4:21

3. "The Girl Is Mine" (with Paul McCartney)   3:42

4. "Thriller"   5:58

Side two

1. "Beat It"   4:18

2. "Billie Jean"   4:54

3. "Human Nature"   4:06

4. "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"   3:59

5. "The Lady in My Life"   5:00

Total length:   42:16

2001 special edition bonus tracks

10. "Quincy Jones Interview #1"   2:19

11. "Someone in the Dark"   4:48

12. "Quincy Jones Interview #2"   2:04

13. "Billie Jean" (Home Demo from 1981)   2:21

14. "Quincy Jones Interview #3"   3:11

15. "Rod Temperton Interview #1"   4:04

16. "Quincy Jones Interview #4"   1:33

17. "Voice Over Session From "Thriller""   2:53

18. "Rod Temperton Interview #2"   4:03

19. "Quincy Jones Interview #5"   2:02

20. "Carousel"   1:50

21. "Quincy Jones Interview #6"   1:18

Total length:   74:42

Notes

^[a] signifies a co-producer

Sides one and two were combined as tracks 1–9 on CD reissues.

Michael Jackson Band Members / Musicians

Tom Bahler – Synclavier (track 5)

Brian Banks – synthesizer (track 4), synthesizer programming (2)

Steve Bates – assistant engineer (tracks 3, 7–9)

Michael Boddicker – synthesizers (tracks 1, 2), Emulator (6–9), Vocoder (8), background vocals (1)

Bruce Cannon – effects (track 4)

Leon "Ndugu" Chancler – drums (tracks 2, 6, 8)

Paulinho da Costa – percussion (tracks 1, 7)

Mark Ettel – assistant engineer (tracks 3, 7–9)

Matt Forger – engineer (tracks 2, 3, 7–9)

David Foster – synthesizer (track 3), synthesizer arrangement (3)

Humberto Gatica – engineer (tracks 3, 7–9)

Gary Grant – trumpet and flugelhorn (tracks 1, 2, 4)

Bernie Grundman – mastering engineer (tracks 2, 3, 7–9)

Nelson Hayes – bathroom stomp board (track 1)

Howard Hewett – background vocals (track 8)

Jerry Hey – horn arrangements, trumpet, and flugelhorn (tracks 1, 2, 4), string arrangements (3, 6), strings conductor (3)

Bunny Hull – background vocals (tracks 1, 8)

James Ingram – background vocals (tracks 1, 8), keyboards, handclaps, and musical arrangements (8)

Janet Jackson – background vocals (track 8)

La Toya Jackson – background vocals (track 8)

Michael Jackson – co-producer (tracks 1, 3, 5, 6), lead vocals (all tracks), background vocals (1–7, 9), programming (1, 4), drum case beater (track 5), handclaps (8), horn arrangements and bathroom stomp board (1), vocal arrangements (1, 3, 5, 6), rhythm arrangements (1, 5, 6), synthesizer arrangements (6)

Paul Jackson Jr. – guitar (tracks 5, 8, 9)

Louis Johnson – bass guitar (tracks 1, 3, 6, 8, 9), handclaps (8)

Quincy Jones – producer (all tracks), rhythm arrangements (tracks 1, 3, 5), vocal arrangements (3), musical arrangements (8)

Becky López – background vocals (tracks 1, 8)

Jerry Lubbock – strings conductor (track 6)

Steve Lukather – guitars (tracks 3, 5, 7), bass guitar (5), musical arrangements (7)

Anthony Marinelli – synthesizer programming (tracks 2, 4)

Paul McCartney – lead vocals (track 3)

David Paich – synthesizers (tracks 2, 7, 9), rhythm arrangements and piano (3), musical arrangements (7)

Dean Parks – guitar (track 3)

Greg Phillinganes – keyboards (2, 4), synthesizers (1, 2, 4–6, 8), Fender Rhodes (1, 3, 5, 6, 9), synthesizer programming and handclaps (8)

Jeff Porcaro – drums (tracks 3, 5, 7, 9)

Steve Porcaro – synthesizers (tracks 5, 7, 9), synthesizer programming (2, 3, 5, 7), musical arrangements (7)

Vincent Price – voice-over (track 4)

Steven Ray – bathroom stomp board (track 1), handclaps (8)

Bill Reichenbach – trombone (tracks 1, 2, 4)

Greg Smith – Synergy (track 5), synthesizer (6)

Bruce Swedien – recording engineer and audio mixer (all tracks), effects (4)

Chris Shepard – vibraslap (track 5)

Rod Temperton – synthesizer (track 4), rhythm and vocal arrangements (2, 4, 9)

Eddie Van Halen – guitar solo (track 5)

Jerry Vinci – concertmaster (track 3)

Julia Waters – background vocals (track 1)

Maxine Waters – background vocals (track 1)

Oren Waters – background vocals (track 1)

David Williams – guitar (tracks 1, 2, 4, 6)

Larry Williams – saxophone and flute (tracks 1, 2, 4)

Bill Wolfer – keyboards (track 5), synthesizer (1, 6), programming (6)

Thriller is the 6th studio album by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records. It was produced by Quincy Jones, who had previously worked with Jackson on his 1979 album Off the Wall. Jackson wanted to create an album where "every song was a killer". With the ongoing backlash against disco music at the time, he moved in a new musical direction, resulting in a mix of pop, post-disco, rock, funk, and R&B sounds. Thriller foreshadows the contradictory themes of Jackson's personal life, as he began using a motif of paranoia and darker themes. The album features a single guest appearance, with Paul McCartney becoming the first artist to be credited as a featured artist on one of Jackson's albums. Recording took place from April to November 1982 at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California, with a production budget of $750,000.

Thriller became Jackson's first number one album on the US Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart, where it spent a record 37 non-consecutive weeks at number one, from February 26, 1983, to April 14, 1984. Seven singles were released: "The Girl Is Mine", "Billie Jean", "Beat It", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' ", "Human Nature", "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)", and "Thriller". They all reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting the record at the time for the most top 10 singles from an album, with "Beat It" and "Billie Jean" reaching number one. Following Jackson's performance of "Billie Jean" in the Motown 25 television special, where he debuted his signature moonwalk dance, the sales of the album significantly increased, selling one million copies worldwide per week. The "Thriller" music video was premiered to great anticipation in December 1983 and played regularly on MTV, which also increased the sales of the album.

With 32 million copies sold worldwide by the end of 1983, Thriller became the best-selling album of all time. It was the best-selling album of 1983 worldwide, and it was the first album to become the best-selling in the United States for two years, in 1983 and 1984. It set the standard for the music industry with its songs, music videos, and promotion strategies influencing artists, record labels, producers, marketers, and choreographers. Jackson's success and immediate influence led to him having a standing of cultural significance that was not attained by a Black American before him in the history of the entertainment industry, with the album's unprecedented popularity breaking racial barriers in popular music, having enabled Jackson's regular appearances on MTV and meeting with US President Ronald Reagan at the White House. Thriller was among the first albums to use music videos as promotional tools; the videos for "Billie Jean", "Beat It" and "Thriller" are credited for transforming music videos into a serious art form.

Thriller remains the best-selling album of all time, with sales of 70 million copies worldwide. It is the second-best-selling album in the United States and was certified 34× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2021. It won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards at the 1984 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, while "Beat It" won Record of the Year. Jackson also won a record-breaking eight American Music Awards at the 1984 American Music Awards. The album has been a frequent inclusion in lists of of the greatest albums of all time. In 2008, it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. In the same year, the Library of Congress chose to preserve it to the National Recording Registry of "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant recordings".