Thriller Single

"Thriller" is a song recorded by American recording artist Michael Jackson, composed by Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the seventh and final single from his sixth studio album of the same name. It was released on January 23, 1984 by Epic Records. The song has appeared on multiple greatest hits compilation albums from Jackson, including HIStory (1995), Number Ones (2003), The Essential Michael Jackson (2005), and Michael Jackson's This Is It (2009) and it was remixed to the Immortal album in 2011. The song, which has a voice-over from actor Vincent Price, had originally been titled "Starlight".
The song's instruments include a bassline and synthesizer. In the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard, and the lyrics contain frightening themes and elements. "Thriller" received positive reviews from critics, though the song was outshone by its music video. "Thriller" became Jackson's seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from the album, while reaching the top of the charts in France and Belgium and the top ten in other countries.
"Thriller" was adapted into a highly successful music video, known independently as Michael Jackson's Thriller. At fourteen minutes the video is substantially longer than the song, which ties together a narrative featuring Jackson and actress Ola Ray in a setting heavily inspired by horror films of the 1950s. In the video's most iconic scene, Jackson leads other actors costumed as zombies in a choreographed dance routine. Though it garnered some criticism for its occult theme and violent imagery, the video was immediately popular and received high critical acclaim, being nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 and winning three. In 2009 it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the first music video ever selected.
"Thriller" has been covered by multiple recording artists since its release in 1984, including Henry Mancini (with The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra), Ian Brown, Ten Masked Men and Imogen Heap.

Background


"Thriller" was written by Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. "Thriller" was originally titled "Starlight",[2][3] contrary to other reports of the title "Starlight Love".[4] While the song was titled "Starlight", the song's hook lyrics were "Starlight! Starlight sun...", but after the song was changed to "Thriller" the hook was rewritten to "Thriller! In the night...".[5] Temperton commented,
Originally, when I did my Thriller demo, I called it Starlight. Quincy said to me, 'You managed to come up with a title for the last album, see what you can do for this album.' I said, 'Oh great,' so I went back to the hotel, wrote two or three hundred titles, and came up with the title 'Midnight Man'. The next morning, I woke up, and I just said this word... Something in my head just said, this is the title. You could visualise it on the top of the Billboard charts. You could see the merchandising for this one word, how it jumped off the page as 'Thriller'.[3]
While Temperton was writing "Thriller" he stated that he'd "always envisioned" a "talking section at the end" on the song, but did not really know what "to do with it", until deciding "to have somebody, a famous voice, in the horror genre, to do this vocal."[3] Jones' then-wife, Peggy Lipton, who knew Vincent Price, suggested Price for the vocal part, which Price agreed to do.[3]

Recording


"Thriller", along with other songs from Thriller, was recorded by Jackson over the course of eight weeks,[6] in 1982. Jackson recorded the song at Westlake Recording Studios on Santa Monica Boulevard in Los Angeles, California.[3] Bruce Swedien, the song's engineer, said of the song being recorded,
When we started 'Thriller', the first day at Westlake, we were all there and Quincy [Jones, the producer] walked in followed by me and Michael and Rod Temperton and some of the other people. Quincy turned to us and he said, 'OK guys, we're here to save the recording industry.' Now that's a pretty big responsibility - but he meant it. And that's why those albums, and especially 'Thriller', sound so incredible. The basic thing is, everybody who was involved gave 150 percent … Quincy's like a director of a movie and I'm like a director of photography, and it's Quincy's job to cast [it]. Quincy can find the people and he gives us the inspiration to do what we do.[3]
Swedien and Jones stated that Vincent Price recorded his introduction and voice-over rap for the song in two takes; Jones, acknowledging that doing a voice-over for a song is "difficult", praised Price and described his recording takes as being "fabulous".[3] Swedien said of Jackson recording the song, that, "I tried all sorts of things with Michael - for instance, he would sing the main vocal part and we'd double it one time and then I'd ask him to step away from the mic and do it a third time and that really changed the acoustics in the room so it gave Michael's vocals a unique character … We recorded some of those background vocals in the shower stall at Westlake."[3]

Composition


"Thriller" is considered an excellent funk disco song.[1] Set in the key of C♯ Modern Dorian,[citation needed] its instrumentation consists of synthesizer, guitar, trumpet, flugelhorn, saxophone, flute and trombone. The song has a moderate tempo of 120 beats per minute.[7] The lyrics and sound effects on "Thriller" pertain to frightful elements and themes.[8] Throughout the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard. Bruce Cannon, a sound effects editor for "Thriller", said that, "Things like the lightning may have come from old Hollywood movies - we'll never know which movies - but the best sound-effects editors do go out in the desert and find a coyote, so I have a feeling that was a real howl."[3] The backing track, especially the bassline, has certain similarities to the 1981 number-one R&B hit "Give It to Me Baby" by Rick James.[9]

Critical Reception


"Thriller" received positive reviews from contemporary music critics. Ashley Lasimone, of AOL's Spinner.com noted that "Thriller" "became a signature for Jackson" and described "the groove of its bassline, paired with Michael's killer vocals and sleek moves" as having had "produced a frighteningly great single."[10] Jon Pareles, of The New York Times, noted that Thrillers tracks, "Billie Jean", "Beat It", "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and "the movie in the song 'Thriller'", were the songs, unlike the "fluff" "P.Y.T.", that were "the hits that made Thriller a world-beater; along with Mr. Jackson's stage and video presence, listeners must have identified with his willingness to admit terror."[11]
Ann Powers, of the Los Angeles Times, described "Thriller" as being a song that was "adequately groovy" with a "funked-out beat" with lyrics that are "seemingly lifted from some little kid's 'scary storybook'".[12] After Jackson's death, AOL's Radio Blog released a list, titled "10 Best Michael Jackson Songs", which placed "Thriller" at number one.[4] In 2009 Melissa Cabrera, of AOL Radio Blogs, listed "Thriller" as being the fourth best song on their "Top 100 '80s Songs" list.[13] Eliot Glazer, AOL's Radio Blogs, placed "Thriller" at number one on a list titled "Top 1984 Songs".[5] "Thriller" was also listed at number two on the "10 Best Halloween Songs" and "10 Best Party Songs" lists by AOLs Radio Blog.[14][15]

Chart Performance


Prior to "Thriller"'s official airplay release, it charted and peaked at number one on Billboard's Dance Music/Club Play Singles Chart in 1983.[16] Released on January 23, 1984, "Thriller" became Jackson's seventh and last Billboard Hot 100 top-ten single from his Thriller album. In "Thriller"'s second week of release, Billboard issue date February 11, 1984, the song charted at number 20 on the Hot 100.[17] The song entered the top ten the following week at number seven.[17] One week later, it reached number four, what would become its peak position.[18] The song was certified both gold and platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) on December 4, 1989, for shipping 500,000 and one million units respectively, in the U.S. (the requirement for gold and platinum singles after 1989).[19][20][20] The total number of digital sales in the US is over 3 million by March 2012.[21]
For the issue date February 25, 1984, "Thriller" charted at number 19 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart.[22] The following week, the song placed at number five.[22] On March 10, 1984, it charted at number 3, where it peaked.[23] "Thriller" peaked at number 24 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary Chart.[16] "Thriller" debuted on the UK Singles Chart on November 19, 1983 at number 24, and the following week charted at number ten, where it peaked; the song appeared on the chart for 25 weeks.[24] Beginning on February 5, 1984, "Thriller" peaked on the French Singles Chart at number one and topped the chart for four consecutive weeks.[25] "Thriller" also topped the Belgian VRT Top 30 Chart for two weeks in January 1984.[26]
Following Jackson's death, his music experienced a surge in popularity.[27] In the week of Jackson's death, "Thriller" was Thriller's and Jackson's best-selling track in the US, with sales of 167,000 copies on the Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart.[27] On July 11, 2009, "Thriller" charted on the Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart at number two (its peak), and the song remained in the charts' top ten for three consecutive weeks.[28] In the United Kingdom, the song charted at number 23 the week of Jackson's death.[29] The following week, the song reached its peak at number 12 on the UK Single Chart.[30] On July 12, 2009, "Thriller" peaked at number two on the Italian Singles Chart[31] and was later certified gold by the Federation of the Italian Music Industry.[32] "Thriller" reached at number three on the Australian ARIA Chart and Swiss Singles Chart and topped the Spanish Singles Charts for one week.[33] The song also placed within the top ten on the German Singles Chart, Norwegian Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart, at number nine, number seven and number eight respectively.[33] "Thriller" also landed at number 25 on the Danish Singles Chart.[34] In the third week of July "Thriller" peaked at number 11 in Finland.[35]

Music Video


The music video, directed by John Landis, was filmed in various locations in New York and Los Angeles. Contrary to reports of $800,000[36] to $1 million dollar production budgets, Landis stated that the music video was made for $500,000.[37] Jackson said of making the music video, in an interview that aired on December 11, 1999, for MTV's 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made:
My idea was to make this short film with conversation ... I like having a beginning and a middle and an ending, which would follow a story. I'm very much involved in complete making and creating of the piece. It has to be, you know, my soul. Usually, you know, it's an interpretation of the music. [...] It was a delicate thing to work on because I remember my original approach was, 'How do you make zombies and monsters dance without it being comical?' So I said, 'We have to do just the right kind of movement so it doesn't become something that you laugh at.' But it just has to take it to another level. So I got in a room with [choreographer] Michael Peters, and he and I together kind of imagined how these zombies move by making faces in the mirror. I used to come to rehearsal sometimes with monster makeup on, and I loved doing that. So he and I collaborated and we both choreographed the piece and I thought it should start like that kind of thing and go into this jazzy kind of step, you know. Kind of gruesome things like that, not too much ballet or whatever.[38]
The music video of the song also included on the video albums: Video Greatest Hits - HIStory, HIStory on Film, Volume II, Number Ones, on the bonus DVD of Thriller 25 and Michael Jackson's Vision.
Following the release of the music video, a 45 minute documentary was released that provided candid glimpses behind the scenes of the music video's production.[37] Entitled Making Michael Jackson's Thriller, it, like the music video, was shown heavily on MTV for a time[37] and was the top-selling home-video release of all time at one point, with over nine million copies sold.[39] MTV paid $250,000 for the exclusive rights to show the documentary; Showtime paid $300,000 for pay-cable rights; and Vestron Video reportedly paid $500,000 to market the cassette, in a profit participation agreement.[37][40]

Concept


Set in the 1950s, the video opens with a person named Michael. Michael and his unnamed date (Ola Ray) run out of gas near a dark wooded area. They walk off into the forest, and Michael asks her if she would be his "Girl"/(Girlfriend),[41] she accepts and he gives her a ring. He warns her, however, that he is "different". A full moon appears, and Michael begins convulsing in agony, transforming into a werecat.[36] His date runs away in terror, but the werecat catches up to her, knocking her down and begins lunging at her with his claws. The scene then cuts to a modern-day movie theater where Michael and his date, along with a repulsed audience, are actually watching the scene unfold in a movie called Thriller. Michael's date leaves the theater as Michael hands his popcorn to a stranger, catches up to her, and assures her that "It's only a movie". Some debate follows as to whether or not she was scared by the movie: she denies it, but Michael disagrees. They then walk down a foggy road as Michael teases her by singing the verses of "Thriller". They pass a nearby graveyard, in which zombies begin to rise out of their caskets as Vincent Price performs his soliloquy. The zombies corner Michael and his date threateningly, and suddenly, Michael becomes a zombie himself. The zombies then break into an elaborate song and dance number,[36] followed by the main chorus of "Thriller" (during which Michael was reverted to human form), frightening his date to the point where she runs for cover. Michael (who was somehow turned back into a zombie) and his fellow corpses back the frightened girl into the corner of a nearby abandoned house. Michael then reaches for his date's throat as she lets out a bloodcurdling scream, only to awake and realize it was all a dream. Michael then offers to take her home, and she happily obliges. As they walk out of the house, Michael eerily looks at the camera, thus revealing his yellow werecat eyes, as Price offers one last haunting laugh.[36]

Michael Jackson's Thriller is a 13-minute-and-43-second music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Jackson.
Voted as the most influential pop music video of all time,[2] Thriller proved to have a profound effect on popular culture,[3][4] and was named "a watershed moment for the [music] industry"[2] for its unprecedented merging of filmmaking and music. Guinness World Records listed it in 2006 as the "most successful music video", selling over 9 million units.[5] In 2009, the video was inducted into the National Film Registry of the Library of Congress, the first music video to ever receive this honor, for being “culturally, historically or aesthetically” significant.[6]
Co-starring with Jackson was former Playboy centerfold Ola Ray. The video was choreographed by Michael Peters (who had worked with the singer on his prior hit "Beat It"), and Michael Jackson. The video also contains incidental music by film music composer Elmer Bernstein, who had previously worked with Landis on An American Werewolf in London. The video (like the song) contains a spoken word performance by horror film veteran Vincent Price. Rick Baker assisted in prosthetics and makeup for the production. "Thriller" was the third and final video for the Thriller album. The red jacket that Jackson wore was designed by John Landis' wife Deborah Landis to make him appear more "virile".[7]
To qualify for an Academy Award, "Thriller" debuted at a special theatrical screening, along with the 1940 Disney motion picture Fantasia.

Content


As Michael Jackson was a practicing Jehovah's Witness at that time, the first scene includes a disclaimer by Jackson stating that, "Due to my strong personal convictions, I wish to stress that this film in no way endorses a belief in the occult."
In a serene 1950s setting, a teenaged Michael Jackson and his unnamed girlfriend (Ola Ray) run out of gas in a dark, wooded area. They walk off into the forest, and Michael asks her if she would like to be his girlfriend. She accepts and he gives her a ring. He warns her, however, that he is "not like other guys". A full moon appears, and Michael begins convulsing in agony — transforming into a horrifying werecat,[2] growling at her to "GO AWAY!" in the process. The girl screams and runs away, but the werecat catches up, knocking her down and lunging at her with his claws.
The scene then cuts to a movie theater where Michael and his date, along with an excitable audience, are actually watching the scene unfold in a fictional Vincent Price movie titled "Thriller". Michael's girlfriend leaves the theater as Michael hands his popcorn to another moviegoer, catches up to her, and tells her that "It's only a movie". Some debate follows as to whether or not she was scared by the movie: she denies it, but Michael disagrees. They then walk down a foggy road as Michael teases her by singing the verses of "Thriller". They pass a nearby graveyard, in which the undead begin to rise out of their graves as Vincent Price performs his sprechgesang.
The zombies corner the two main characters threateningly, and suddenly, Michael becomes a zombie himself. The zombies then break into an elaborate song and dance number, followed by the main chorus of "Thriller" (during which Michael reverts to human form), frightening his date to the point where she runs for cover.
Michael (who has turned back into a zombie) and his fellow corpses chase the frightened girl into the corner of a nearby abandoned house. Michael then reaches for the girl's throat as she lets out a bloodcurdling scream, only to awake and realize it was all a dream. Michael then offers to take her home, and she happily accepts. As they walk out of the house, Michael turns to the camera with a sinister grin, revealing his yellow werecat eyes, as Vincent Price offers one last haunting laugh.
During the closing credits, a reprised scene of the zombies dancing is shown. At the end of the closing credits, a disclaimer appears, saying that "Any similarity to actual events or characters living, dead, (or undead) is purely coincidental." The same disclaimer appeared in An American Werewolf in London, also directed by Landis. After this, the zombies then dance back into their graves, ending with one of them (an uncredited Vincent Price, in full prosthetic makeup) giving the audience a terrifying grimace as the scene fades to black.

Credits


Directed by: John Landis
Produced by: George Folsey, Jr., Michael Jackson & John Landis
Written by: John Landis & Michael Jackson
Starring: Michael Jackson
Co-Starring: Ola Ray
Director of Photography: Robert Paynter, B.S.C.
Special Make-up Effects Designed & Created by: Rick Baker & EFX, Inc.
Choreography: Michael Peters & Michael Jackson
Edited by: Malcolm Campbell & George Folsey, Jr.
Art Director: Charles Hughes
Costume Designed by: Kelly Kimball & Deborah Nadoolman Landis
Production Manager: Dan Allingham
First Assistant Director: David Sosna
Scary Music by: Elmer Bernstein
Thriller
Performed by: Michael Jackson
Featuring 'Rap' by: Vincent Price
Produced by: Quincy Jones & Michael Jackson
Written by: Rod Temperton
Recorded & Mixed by: Bruce Swedien
Available on Epic Records & Cassettes

Awards



In December 2009, it was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress along with 24 other films.[8] It was the first ever music video to be selected.[9] The Registry titled Thriller as “the most famous music video of all time”.[10] The co-ordinator of the National Film Preservation Board, who decides upon candidates for inclusion in the National Film Registry, Steve Legett, said “The time is right” for Thriller to be included, because of the death of Jackson that year.[9]
[edit]Grammy Award
Year Category Result Notes
1985 Best Video, Long Form Won "Thriller"
1984 Best Video Album Won Making Michael Jackson's Thriller
[edit]MTV Award
Year Category Result
1999 100 Greatest Music Videos of all Time [11] Won
1984 Best Overall Performance in a Video Won
1984 Best Choreography (Michael Peters) Won
1984 Viewer's Choice Won

Origins


In the summer of 1983, Thriller had begun to decline in sales. Walter Yetnikoff and Larry Stessel answered calls throughout the night from Jackson. "Walter, the record isn’t No. 1 anymore," Yetnikoff recalls Jackson saying. "What are we going to do about it?" 'We’re going to go to sleep and deal with it tomorrow,'" Yetnikoff remembered answering. Jackson manager Frank DiLeo first mentioned the idea of making a third video, and pressed Jackson to consider the album’s title track. "It’s simple—all you’ve got to do is dance, sing, and make it scary," DiLeo recalls telling Jackson.[12]
In early August, John Landis was contacted by Jackson to direct. At the time, commercial motion-picture directors did not direct music videos, but Landis was intrigued.[13]

Filming Locations


The music video was filmed at the Palace Theatre in downtown Los Angeles, the zombie dance sequence at the junction of Union Pacific Avenue and South Calzona Street in East Los Angeles and the final house scene in the Angeleno Heights neighborhood at 1345 Carroll Avenue.

Behind The Scenes


In an interview that aired December 11, 1999, for MTV's 100 Greatest Videos Ever Made, Jackson spoke about the making of the video:
My idea was to make this short film with conversation ... in the beginning - I like having a beginning and a middle and an ending, which would follow a story. I'm very much involved in complete making and creating of the piece. It has to be, you know, my soul. Usually, you know, it's an interpretation of the music. It was a delicate thing to work on because I remember my original approach was, 'How do you make zombies and monsters dance without it being comical?' So I said, 'We have to do just the right kind of movement so it doesn't become something that you laugh at.' But it just has to take it to another level. So I got in a room with [choreographer] Michael Peters, and he and I together kind of imagined how these zombies move by making faces in the mirror. I used to come to rehearsal sometimes with monster makeup on, and I loved doing that. So he and I collaborated and we both choreographed the piece and I thought it should start like that kind of thing and go into this jazzy kind of step, you know. Kind of gruesome things like that, not too much ballet or whatever.
—Michael Jackson[14]

Making Michael Jackson's Thriller


Released in tandem with the video was an hour-long documentary providing candid glimpses behind the scenes of the production. Called Making Michael Jackson's Thriller, it, too, was shown heavily on MTV for a time and was the top-selling home-video release of all time at one point, with over 9 million copies sold. The VHS also included video clips from the songs "Can You Feel It", "Beat It", and the Motown 25 performance of "Billie Jean" as well as audio clips from songs like "Workin' Day and Night".
MTV paid $250,000 for the exclusive rights to show the documentary; Showtime paid $300,000 for pay-cable rights; and Vestron Video reportedly plunked down an additional $500,000 to market the cassette, in "a profit participation."[15]
Rick Baker expected to have a few weeks to do the special effects make up for the zombies (which usually requires impressions to be taken of the actors face to base the prosthetics on) only to find out the dancers would not be cast until a few days before shooting began. It was decided to do generic make up for the dancers (using a combination of precast prosthetics) while members of Bakers crew in the more elaborate make up for shots that featured more closeups (like the zombie coming out of the manhole)

Broadway and Litigation


In 2009, Jackson sold the rights of "Thriller" to the Nederlander Organization, to stage a Broadway musical based on the video.
Jackson was sued by Landis in a dispute over royalties for the video; Landis claims he is owed four years worth of royalties.[16][17]
Ola Ray has also complained in the past about difficulties collecting royalties. At first, Ray blamed Jackson, but then apologized to him in 1997. However, Ray eventually sued Jackson on May 6, 2009 in a dispute to obtain uncollected royalties.[18] less than two months before Jackson's death on June 25.[

Legacy


Following the success of the "Thriller" video, a Hollywood production company reportedly began serious work on trying to turn Jackson's song "Billie Jean", which is also featured on Jackson's Thriller album, into a feature film; to date no plans have ever been completed.[20] Vinny Marino of ABC News commented that "Thriller"'s music video was being selected as the 'Greatest Video of All Time" was a "no-brainer" and remarked that, "Michael Jackson's "Thriller" continues to be considered the greatest video ever by just about everyone."[21] Gil Kaufman of MTV described the "Thriller" video as being "iconic" and felt that it was one of Jackson's "most enduring legacies".[22] Kaufman also noted that the music video was the "mini-movie that revolutionized music videos" and "cemented Jackson's status as one of the most ambitious, innovative pop stars of all time".[22] Steve Peake, of About.com, listed "Thriller" as being Jackson's eighth best song of the 1980s.[23] Patrick Kevin Day and Todd Martens, of The Los Angeles Times commented that,
"Thriller's" phenomenal success led to a breaking down of traditional racial barriers on FM radio at the time. New York's WPLJ, a "white" station, played Jackson's "Beat It" because of Eddie Van Halen's appearance on it. The song caused a wave of protests from some listeners who didn't want "black" music on their station. MTV also had a reputation for favoring white performers at the time, and its heavy rotation of Jackson videos helped alleviate the criticism.[20]
In December 2009, the music video for "Thriller" was selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, "Thriller" is the first music video to ever be inducted.[24] The Registry explained, "because of the way the recording industry is evolving and changing, we thought it would be good to go back to the development of an earlier seismic shift, which was the development of the music video"[22] and described the music video as being "the most famous music video of all time".[25] The co-ordinator of the National Film Preservation Board, who decides upon candidates for inclusion in the National Film Registry, Steve Legett, noted that the music video was considered for induction for years, but was chosen mainly due to Jackson's death that year.[26] In a poll conducted by Myspace in 2010, which asked over one thousand users on their site to name the most influential music video of all time from a list of twenty videos selected by music and entertainment critics, Michael Jackson's Thriller was voted the most influential video.[27]
In 2002 Lexington, Kentucky, became the first city to launch a "Thriller" reenactment as a Halloween festivity. The video’s storyline and dance sequences were faithfully recreated, beginning outside the historic Kentucky Theater and featuring hundreds of zombies who attend rehearsals at nearby Mecca Live Studio in the weeks leading up to the parade. Lexington’s 10th annual Thriller Parade was sponsored by Lexington Parks and Recreation, Mecca, and WRFL FM 88.1, and took place on October 30, 2011 for an audience of thousands, with Albert Ignacio playing the role of Michael Jackson.[28] Lexington’s March Madness Marching Band also performed in zombie attire.

Reception


Leah Greenblatt of Entertainment Weekly commented on the music video, "Every aspect of the 14-minute horror musical, directed with creepy-comical zest by John Landis, is beyond iconic, from Michael's red leather ensemble to the immortal (no pun) herky-jerky zombie dance and bwah-ha-ha Vincent Price narration."[42] Though the video was met with widespread praise, it was also criticized for its content. In 1984, the National Coalition on Television Violence (NCTV) classified more than half of 200 MTV music videos surveyed as "too violent". Both "Thriller" and Jackson's duet with Paul McCartney, "Say, Say, Say" made the list.[2] The Los Angeles Times quoted Dr. Thomas Radecki, chairman of the NCTV, as saying, "It's not hard to imagine young viewers after seeing 'Thriller' saying, 'Gee, if Michael Jackson can terrorize his girlfriend, why can't I do it too?'[2] The music video was nominated for six awards at the 1984 MTV Video Music Awards, winning three out of six of the nominations.[43] "Thriller" won Viewers Choice, Best Overall Performance and Best Choreography—but lost Best Concept Video, Best Male Video and Video Of The Year.[43]
The music video was listed as the "Greatest Video" on VH1's "VH1: 100 Greatest Videos" in 2001.[44] MTV listed the music video as being the "Greatest Music Video Ever Made" on their list, "MTV: 100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made" in 1999.[45] In July 2011, the music video was named one of "The 30 All-TIME Best Music Videos" by TIME magazine.[46]

Live Performances


Jackson performed "Thriller" on all three of his solo world concert tours. Despite Jackson performing multiple songs from his Thriller album, "Thriller" was not included on The Jacksons setlist during their Victory Tour in 1984. He wasn't satisfied with the way the song sounded live. Jackson performed "Thriller" during his first world tour as a solo artist, entitled the Bad World Tour, lasted sixteen months, from 1987 to 1989, for a total of 123 shows.[47] "Thriller" was also performed during Jackson's second world tour, entitled the Dangerous Tour, which was attended by an estimated 3.5 million people. The Dangerous tour began in 1992, and was to be throughout 1993, but, after 69 shows, was cancelled early in 1993 due to health related concerns for Jackson and stress from child molestation accusations made against him.[48][49][50] Jackson performed "Thriller"[51] for all of Jackson's 82 shows during his third, and final, world concert series, entitled HIStory World Tour. During the Bad Tour, in both legs, the jacket had flashing lights in the middle of the song and at the end.[52] Jackson had planned to perform "Thriller" during his 50-show concert series, which would have been his fourth concert tour, entitled This Is It from 2009 to 2010.[53][54] For Jackson's performance of the song, he had planned for the stage that he was to perform on, to be set up with a background that looked like a "graveyard" (which was a brief setting in the music video) with 3-D effects.[54][55][56] According to a setlist that was released in March 2009, "Thriller" was to close-out the 16-song show,[57] although, the film Michael Jackson's This Is It, which documents the concert series, lists 18 songs and "Man In The Mirror" as the closing song for the planned shows.[58][59][60]

Cover Versions


1980/90s
In 1989, American composer Henry Mancini and The Royal Philharmonic Orchestra recorded an orchestra version of the song.[61]
In 1999, British metal band Ten Masked Men covered the song on their self titled album.[61]
2000s
In 2001, American-born, Australian singer Joe Dolce covered the song on a complication album, Andrew Denton's Musical Challenge.[61]
In 2003, Scottish rock band Aereogramme recorded "Thriller" for their Livers & Lungs EP.[61]
In 2003, German a cappella group Maybebop covered the song for their album Heiße Luft.[62]
In 2007, Ian Brown covered "Thriller".[63] Amos Barshad and Nick Catucci, of NYMag.com, commented that "before you dismiss" the song, if you "give it a listen" Brown’s "louche, drugged-out reinvention is actually pretty great."[63][64]
In 2008, German group Wise Guys recorded an a cappella version of the song as "Schiller" for their tenth album Frei!. The stage choreography based on Michael Jackson's music video and member Ferenc also recites a part of Friedrich Schiller's Die Bürgschaft.[65][66]
In 2008, "Thriller" was also covered by Ben Gibbard, lead singer of Death Cab for Cutie and The Postal Service.[67]
In 2008, industrial metal Gothminister covered Jackson's song for their album Happiness in Darkness.[61]
In October 2009, Imogen Heap covered "Thriller" for BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge.[68]
2010s
In 2011, Patrick Stump covered the song in an a cappella mash-up tribute along with several other Michael Jackson songs over pre-recorded backing vocals.[69]
In February 2011, The Cast Of Hit T.V. show 'Glee' covered Thriller as a mash up with Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Heads Will Roll"

Remixes/Sampling


In 2004, English electronic music group The Prodigy sampled "Thriller" on their "The Way It Is".[70]
Scottish band Tigerstyle released a bhangra remix of the song to which dance act Signature danced to it in their semi-final performance in the second series of Britain's Got Talent (May 2008).[71]

Appearances In Other Media


Michael Jackson's Thriller music video, particularly the songs dance routine in the video, have been referenced in television series and films.[72] The dance routine was mimicked in many films, including Donga (1985), Coming to America (1988), The Malibu Beach Vampires (1991), Dead & Breakfast (2004), 13 Going on 30 (2004), Bo! in the USA (2006), I Am Zombie Man (2007) and Si j'étais toi (2007) and in an episode of television show, Alvin & the Chipmunks.[72] The song is briefly featured in film Doogal (2006) and the songs lyrics were sung by the characters in a episode, entitled "Soultaker" on the television series Mystery Science Theater 3000.[72] Rihanna did the dance routine in her video "Disturbia".
Pop singer Britney Spears made a reference to "Thriller" in her music video for "I Wanna Go" (2011). In the ending of her video actor Guillermo Díaz leads Spears out of the room. He then turns to the camera with glowling red eyes and his laugh is heard, similar to Vincent Price.
The video has been spoofed on Thriller Night, a 6-minute short film parody of "Thriller",[73] directed by Gary Trousdale and featuring the characters of the Shrek film series. It released on September 13, 2011, on the Scared Shrekless. It has also been spoofed on the YouTube Annoying Orange video named Chiller.[74][75]
In 1997, South Park had an episode which parodies the song and the video [76]

Personnel


Written and composed by Rod Temperton
Produced by Quincy Jones
Michael Jackson: Solo and background vocals
Featuring: Rap by Vincent Price (Not featured on original edited single version)
Greg Phillinganes, Rod Temperton & Brian Banks: Synthesizers
Anthony Marinelli: Synthesizer programming
David Williams: Guitar
Jerry Hey, Gary Grant: Trumpets, flugelhorns
Larry Williams: Saxophone, flute
Bill Reichenbach: Trombone
Vocal, rhythm and synthesizer arrangement by Rod Temperton
Horn arrangement by Jerry Hey
Effects by Bruce Cannon and Bruce Swedien

Charts and Certifications


Charts


Chart (1983/1984) Peak
position
Belgian VRT Top 30[26] 1
Canadian Singles Chart[77] 3
French Singles Chart[25] 1
Irish Singles Chart[78] 4
Spanish Singles Chart 1
UK Singles Chart[24] 10
US Billboard Hot 100[16][18] 4
US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[16][23] 3
US Adult Contemporary (Billboard)[16] 24
US Dance Music/Club Play Singles (Billboard)[16] 1


Chart (2009) Peak
position
Australian ARIA Charts[33] 3
Belgium 30 Back Catalogue Singles Chart (Wallonia)[79] 2
Belgium 30 Back Catalogue Singles Chart (Flemish)[80] 3
Danish Singles Chart[34] 25
European Hot 100 Singles[81] 16
Finnish Singles Chart[33][35] 11
French Digital Singles Chart[82] 3
German Singles Chart[33] 9
Irish Singles Chart[33] 8
Italian Singles Chart[31] 2
Japan Singles Top 100[33] 41
New Zealand Singles Chart[33] 12
Norwegian Singles Chart[83] 7
Spanish Singles Charts[33] 1
Swedish Singles Chart[33][84] 10
Swiss Singles Chart[33] 3
UK Singles Chart[30] 12


Sales and Certifications


Country Certifications
(sales thresholds) Sales
Australia Platinum[85] 70,000
France Platinum[86] 975,000
Italy (FIMI)[87] Gold 25,000*
United States Platinum+Gold+Gold (MT)[88] 4,497,000[89]
United Kingdom Gold[90] 250,000