Thriller Ranked As the #1 Halloween Song
 1. Thriller Originally released on the Thriller album on November 30, 1982, Thriller is considered to be one of Michael Jackson’s signature songs. The bassline for this song was inspired by Rick James’ 1981 hit, Give It To Me Baby. Vincent Price, famous for his voice used in horror films, performed the rap in this song (although it was more of a soliloquy) in the Thriller album. It, however, didn’t appear in the single version. Even after 27 years, Thriller, the album, remains the most successful of all time, selling over 110 million units worldwide (second is AC/DC’s Back in Black, with only 49 million albums sold – less than half as much). Seven of the nine songs on the album were released as singles (The Girl is Mine, Billie Jean, Beat It, Wanna Be Startin’ Something, Human Nature, P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing), and Thriller), all making the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100 list. Thriller was released as a single in the United States on January 23, 1984. Coincidentally, Hulk Hogan defeated the Iron Sheik that day in the WWF Championship. Fittingly, Thriller became the theme song for Championship Wrestling the next two years. The 25th anniversary of the album was released in the United States on February 12, 2008. It reached the top ten in over thirty national charts. Thriller 25 included the songs from the original album plus Vincent Price’s voice-over session, an unreleased track from previous Thriller sessions called For All Time, and remixes by will.i.am (The Girl is Mine and P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)), Akon (Wanna Be Startin’ Something), Fergie (Beat It), and Kanye West (Billie Jean). The album also included a DVD, which featured the Motown 25 “Billie Jean” performance (with his famous moonwalk debut) plus the music videos of Beat It, Billie Jean, and Thriller. The Thriller music video was also the most successful ever, selling over 9 million units. It was directed by John Landis, who also co-wrote it with Jackson, and was released on December 2, 1983. It was more of mini-film, lasting 14 minutes. It was the most expensive music video at the time, costing $500,000 (#1 now is Scream, also by him with sister Janet, costing $7,000,000). The documentary of the music video, Making Michael Jackson’s Thriller, also became the best selling home-video release at the time, selling over 9 million units. In 2009, Jackson sold the rights of Thriller to Nederlander Organization, so they could create a Broadway musical of the video. The Thriller song, video, and dance are still a big inspiration to many people today. Some of the most viewed videos on YouTube feature people dancing to this song. Probably the most notable one is of the 1,500+ male inmates of Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center in the Phillipines. Others include Evolution of Dance, 3 Yr. Old Dancing to Michael Jackson’s “Thriller”, Wedding Thriller Dance, and Donga (aka Indian Thriller). Thrill the World is another Thriller inspiration in which participants try to break the record for the most simulataneous Thriller zombie dances. The idea came in 2006, when 62 people broke the record for the largest Thriller dance in one location. The next year, Thrill the World was born, which included 1,722 participants from 17 countries. This coincided with the release of Thriller 25. It has occurred every year since, and just recently on October 24, 23,000 people from 32 different countries took part in it, including 3000 from Los Angeles, 170 from Xi’an, China, and 90 from Helsinki, Finland. On March 5, 2009, Michael Jackson announced he would be performing his last concert series called This Is It. Fifty tour dates were scheduled, but unfortunately, two weeks prior to the start of the tour, the King of Pop died after suffering a cardiac arrest. On October 26, Sony released the This Is It album to go along with concert film of the same name. The album features some of Jackson’s classic hits (including Thriller), two version of the unreleased song This Is It, unreleased versions of She’s Out of My Life, Wanna Be Startin’ Something, and Beat It, and a spoken poem by him called Planet Earth. Michael Jackson has left a legacy that will never be forgotten. Long live the King. MaxJax/ 101reasonsto.com / Thanks MJcool! |