Thriller (song)
| "Thriller" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Michael Jackson | ||||
| from the album Thriller | ||||
| Released | November 11, 1983 (United Kingdom) January 23, 1984 (United States) | |||
| Recorded | April–November 1982 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 5:57 (album version) 5:13 (2003 edit) 4:37 (special edit) 4:05 (remixed short version) | |||
| Label | Epic, CBS | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Rod Temperton | |||
| Producer(s) | Quincy Jones | |||
| Michael Jackson singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
"Thriller" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released as the sixth and final single from his sixth studio album Thriller (1982). It was written by Rod Temperton. The song has been featured on many of his greatest hits albums. It has been covered by other musicians. It was narrated by Vincent Price.
The music video was made by John Landis, George J. Folsey, Jr., and Jackson. It is 13 minutes long and was MTV's first world premiere video. In it Jackson turns into a werecat and a zombie. The video was nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1984. It won Viewers Choice, Best Overall Performance and Best Choreography. It did not win Best Concept Video, Best Male Video, or Video of the Year. In 1985 it won the Grammy Award for Best Video, Long Form.
In 1999, MTV put "Thriller" at number one in their 100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made list, In 2009, the video for "Thriller" was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress. It was the first music video ever to be added to it.[1] In 2013, the song entered the Billboard Hot 100 again.[2]
Composition and lyrics
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"Thriller" is a Halloween song in the styles of pop, post-disco and funk.[3] Its bassline has been compared to that of "Give It To Me Baby" by Rick James. The song was released on Motown the year prior to Thriller's release.[4] According to Hooktheory.com, the song is written in the key of C♯ Dorian. This is second mode of the B major scale, in which C♯ is used as the tonic. It has a moderate tempo of 118 beats per minute.[5]
"Thriller" was written by the English songwriter Rod Temperton. He had previously written "Rock with You" and "Off the Wall" for Jackson's fifth studio album Off the Wall (1979).[6] Temperton wanted to write something theatrical. This was to suit Jackson's love of film.[7] He improvised with bass and drum patterns. This was until he developed the bassline that runs through the song. Then he wrote a chord progression that built to a climax.[7] He recalled: "I wanted it to build and build–a bit like stretching an elastic band throughout the tune to heighten suspense."[7]
Temperton's first version was titled "Starlight". The chorus lyric was: "Give me some starlight / Starlight sun".[8] The production team, led by Quincy Jones, believed the song should be the title track. However, they thought that "Starlight" was not a strong album title. Instead, they wanted something "mysterious." This was to match Jackson's "evolving persona".[7] Temperton considered several titles. This includes "Midnight Man", which Jones felt was "going in the right direction". Finally, he conceived "Thriller". He was worried that it was "a crap word to sing ... It sounded terrible! However, we got Michael to spit it into the microphone a few times and it worked."[7]
With the title decided, Temperton wrote lyrics within "a couple of hours".[7] The intro features sound effects. These include a creaking door, thunder, footsteps, winds, and howling wolves.[9] For the ending, Temperton envisioned a spoken-word sequence. However, he did not know what form it should take. It was decided to have a famous voice from the horror genre perform it. Jones's then-wife, Peggy Lipton, suggested her friend Vincent Price.[9] Temperton composed the words for Price's part in a taxi. This was on the way to the studio on the day of recording.[9]
References
- ↑ Kaufman, Gil. "Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Added To National Film Registry". MTV News. Archived from the original on 2018-12-03. Retrieved 2019-02-14.
- ↑ "Eminem Debuts at No. 1 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Chart; Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' Returns". Billboard.
- ↑ Moulton, Jen (October 31, 2016). "9 Essential Songs to Listen to this Halloween". KRUI. Retrieved November 10, 2025.
- ↑ Rowe, Felix (March 28, 2022). "Making Michael Jackson: Thriller". Classicpopmag.com. Retrieved May 13, 2026.
- ↑ "Thriller by Michael Jackson Chords, Melody, and Music Theory Analysis – Hooktheory". Hooktheory.com. Retrieved October 28, 2025.
- ↑ Kreps, Daniel (2016-10-05). "Rod Temperton, 'Thriller' songwriter, dead at 66". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2022-07-25.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Revealed: the story behind Jacko's Thriller". M magazine. 2012-10-31. Archived from the original on 3 November 2012. Retrieved 2018-10-24.
- ↑ Glazer, Eliot (September 25, 2009). "Top 1984 Songs". AOLRadioBlog.com. AOL Inc. Archived from the original on September 27, 2009. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
- 1 2 3 Lyle, Peter (November 25, 2007). "Michael Jackson's monster smash". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 24, 2010.
