This November will mark 40 years since the release of Michael Jackson’s iconic ‘Thriller’ album. Originally released on November 30, 1982, via Epic Records, the record was produced by Quincy Jones and features an eclectic blend of disco, pop, funk and R&B sounds.
‘Thriller’ is the 6th studio album by the American singer and songwriter, 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’ became Jackson’s first number one album on the US Billboard Top LP’s & 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: ‘Billie Jean’, ‘Beat It’, ‘Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’, ‘Thriller’, ‘Human Nuture’, ‘P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)’, and ‘The Girl Is Mine’ (with Paul McCartney becoming the first artist to be credited as a featured artist on one of Jackson’s albums). They all reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting the record at the time for the most top 100 singles from an album, with ‘Beat It’ and ‘Billie Jean’ reaching number one.
To celebrate the anniversary, a special edition of Jackson’s Thriller will be re-released as a two-disc album. One disc will comprise the album in its original form, while the other will contain ‘Thriller-era bonus material including previously unreleased demos’.
No further details about the unreleased demos have been made available yet, but Jackson’s official website promises that the tracklist for the second disc will be revealed soon.
Fans of Jackson can pre-order the Thriller 40th Anniversary 2CD now. The set is expected to ship on November 15.
Yakymour 