“Thriller”
Single by Michael Jackson from the album Thriller
Released	January 23, 1984
Format	7", 12", CD single
Recorded	October 1981/1982
Genre	Dance-pop/funk
Length	5:57
Label	Epic Records
Writer(s)	Rod Temperton
Producer	Quincy Jones
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)" (1983) "Thriller" (1984) "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (1987)
Michael Jackson's Visionary chronology
"One More Chance" (2003)	"Thriller" (2006)	"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (2006)
Thriller track listing
"The Girl Is Mine" (3) "Thriller" (4) "Beat It" (5)
HIStory track listing
"Man in the Mirror" (8) "Thriller" (9) "Beat It" (10)

"Thriller" is an early 1984 hit single recorded by Michael Jackson for the Epic label. It reached #4 in the U.S. singles chart and #10 in the UK singles chart. On February 20, 2006, the single, as well as the video, was re-released as part of the Visionary: The Video Singles package. The 14-minute video clip is regarded by some as the greatest music video of all time and the song itself is considered one of Jackson's signature songs. Michael Jacksons Thriller is a 14-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis. ... Alternate cover Special Edition release cover. ... Image File history File links Thriller_(Michael_Jackson). ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Alternate cover Special Edition release cover. ... is the 23rd day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... In music, a single is a short (usually ten minutes or less) record, usually featuring one or two tracks as A-sides, often accompanied by several B-sides—usually remixes or other songs. ... The 12-inch [30 cm] single gramophone record gained popularity with the advent of disco music in the 1970s. ... A CD single is a music single in the form of a compact disc. ... For other uses, see October (disambiguation). ... AUGUST 25 1981 US Marine Sean Vance is Born on the 25th of August {ear nav|1981}} Year 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link displays the 1981 Gregorian calendar). ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... This article does not cite any references or sources. ... Dance-pop is a subgenre of pop music that evolved from disco, circa the early 1980s, that combines dance beats with a pop song structure. ... For other uses, including related musical genres, see Funk (disambiguation). ... In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. ... Epic Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony BMG. // Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... A songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics to songs, the musical composition or melody to songs, or both. ... Rod Temperton is a British musician and songwriter. ... In the music industry, a record producer (or music producer) has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, mixing and mastering processes. ... This article is about the producer and songwriter. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... This article is about the 1983 single by Michael Jackson. ... HIStory track listing I Just Cant Stop Loving You is a popular ballad by singers Michael Jackson and Siedah Garrett. ... One More Chance was a song released by Michael Jackson on November 20, 2003. ... Michael Jacksons Visionary chronology Thriller (2006) Dont Stop Til You Get Enough (2006) Rock with You (2006) Off the Wall track listing Dont Stop Til You Get Enough (1) Rock with You (2) HIStory track listing Remember the Time (12) Dont Stop Til You Get Enough... Alternate cover Special Edition release cover. ... The Girl Is Mine was a hit duet for singers Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney in 1982. ... Beat it redirects here. ... This article is about the study of the past in human terms. ... Man in the Mirror was a number-one hit for singer Michael Jackson when released as a single in the spring of 1988. ... Beat it redirects here. ... A collection of various CD singles In music, a single is a short recording of one or more separate tracks. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... Epic Records is an American record label, owned and operated by Sony BMG. // Epic was launched originally as a jazz and classical music label in 1953 by CBS. Its bright-yellow, black and blue logo became a familiar trademark for many jazz and classical releases. ... For other uses, see United States (disambiguation) and US (disambiguation). ... The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a country in western Europe, and member of the Commonwealth of Nations, the G8, the European Union, and NATO. Usually known simply as the United Kingdom, the UK, or (inaccurately) as Great Britain or Britain, the UK has four constituent... is the 51st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Song information

Written by Rod Temperton, produced by Quincy Jones, and featuring a guest soliloquy from Vincent Price, "Thriller" is one of Jackson's signature songs, in no small part because of its music video. The original name for "Thriller" single was "Starlight Love." The single was included on Jackson's Thriller album, which was released on December 1, 1982 and was the final single pulled from it. A voice-over recording session of "Thriller" Guitarist Slash appears on the special edition version of the album, released in 2001. This session features additional verses of the rap performed by Vincent Price, which were removed from the final version of the song. This song is soon to be released on SingStar Pop Vol. 2 Rod Temperton is a British musician and songwriter. ... This article is about the producer and songwriter. ... Soliloquy is an audible oratory or conversation with oneself. ... Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ... Michael Jacksons Thriller is a 14-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis. ... Alternate cover Special Edition release cover. ... is the 335th day of the year (336th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1982 (MCMLXXXII) was a common year starting on Friday (link displays the 1982 Gregorian calendar). ... Look up slash in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Track listings

Original release

UK single

1. "Thriller" (single edit) – 4:37
2. "The Things I Do for You" (live with The Jacksons) – 3:39

The Jackson 5 (also spelled The Jackson Five or The Jackson 5ive, abbreviated as J5, and later known as The Jacksons) was an American popular music quintet (and briefly a sextet and quartet) from Gary, Indiana. ...

U.S. single

1. "Thriller" (Remixed short version) - 4:09
2. "Can't Get Outta the Rain" – 4:02

Visionary single

CD side

1. "Thriller" (Remixed short version) - 4:09
2. "Thriller" - 5:57

DVD side

1. "Thriller" (Musi video)

Mixes

1. Album version – 5:56
2. Instrumental – 5:56
3. 7" edit – 4:37
4. Remixed short version – 4:09
5. Single edit w/Rap – 5:11
6. 1982 Def Remix - 7:22
7. Danny Tenaglia Remix (Unreleased)

Credits

• Written and composed by Rod Temperton
• Produced by Quincy Jones
• Featuring: rap by Vincent Price
• Synthesizers: Greg Philinganes, Rod Temperton and Brian Banks
• Synthesizer programming: Anthony Marinelli
• Guitar: David Williams
• Trumpet and flügelhorn: Jerry Hey
• Trumpet and flügelhorn: Gary Grant
• Saxophone and flute: Larry Williams
• Trombone: Bill Reichenbach
• Vocal, rhythm and synthesizer arrangement by Rod Temperton
• Horn arrangement by Jerry Hey
• Effects by Bruce Cannon and Bruce Swedien

Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ... Jerry Hey is a trumpeter, flugelhorn player, horn arranger, session musician. ... Gary Grant (born April 21, 1965 in Canton, Ohio) is a former professional basketball in the National Basketball Association, who played at point guard. ... // [] // ... Bill Reichenbach Jr. ... Bruce Swedien. ...

Sampled

The song (particularly Vincent Price's laughter at the end of the song) has been sampled in numerous songs: This article is about reusing existing sound recordings in creating new works. ...

• Biz Markie - "Muddfoot"
• Def Squad - "No Guest List"
• DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince - "Rhythm Trax — House Party Style"
• Large Professor - "Mad Scientist"
• N.W.A. - "100 Miles and Runnin'"
• The Prodigy - "The Way It Is"
• Public Enemy - "911 Is a Joke"
• Lidzlicious the Velvet Pole - "Thriller (Stanley Remix)"
• Kool Moe Dee - "Let's Go"
• Esham - "Closed Casket"

Biz Markie (born Marcel Hall April 8, 1964 in Harlem, New York) is a rapper and DJ, best known for humorous singles such as Just a Friend. He has been labeled The Clown Prince of Hip-Hop. ... Def Squad is a rap supergroup consisting of Erick Sermon, Redman & Keith Murray. ... Will Smith For the geologist who invented fossil correlation, see William Smith. ... Hes the DJ, Im the Rapper was the second album by rap duo Jeff Townes and Will Smith, then better known as DJ Jazzy Jeff and the Fresh Prince. ... William Paul Mitchell (born March 21, 1972 in Flushing, Queens, New York), best known as Large Professor, also as Large Pro and the Extra P, is a New York based hip hop record producer and MC. He is best known as a member of the influential underground hip hop group... This article is about the hip-hop group. ... 100 Miles and Runnin is the title of an EP by hip hop group N.W.A., released in 1990 on Ruthless Records. ... This article is about the English band. ... Always Outnumbered, Never Outgunned is an album by electronica act The Prodigy. ... Public Enemy, also known as PE, is a hip hop group from Long Island, New York, known for their politically charged lyrics, criticism of the media, and active interest in the concerns of the African American community. ... Fear of a Black Planet is the third full-length album by American hip hop group Public Enemy, released on March 20, 1990 on Def Jam Recordings. ... Mohandas Dewese (born 8 August 1962), better known as Kool Moe Dee, was an American old-school rapper prominent in the late 1980s and early 90s. ... ESHAM (East Side Hoes And Money) (born Rashaam Attica Smith on September 20, 1977) is a rapper from Detroit, Michigan. ...

Use in Popular Culture

• At the MTV Europe Music Awards 2007, Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton said that he wished he'd wrote Thriller.

The host Snoop Dog The MTV Europe Music Awards 2007 took place on November 1, 2007 in Munich, Germany at the Olympiahalle. ... Lewis Carl Hamilton (born January 7, 1985 in Stevenage, Hertfordshire) is a British Formula One (F1) racing driver, currently racing for the McLaren team. ...

Television

• In the South Park episode "Pinkeye", members of the town are turned into zombies. Chef (as a zombie) sings part of the song, but with different lyrics. The show would later spoof the Thriller video again for a brief moment in "The Jeffersons", which was a full episode spoofing Michael Jackson.
• In an episode of Animaniacs, the character Buttons deters a horde of zombies from his young charge by imitating the dance from the music video.
• In a sketch on Chappelle's Show, Dave Chappelle is being interviewed to be a part of the jury in the Michael Jackson child molestation case. When asked if he believed Jackson was guilty, he replied, "No man. He made Thriller. (repeats with emphasis) Thriller!"
• In The Super Mario Bros. Super Show episode "Count Koopula", during the scene where the Koopas become were-turtles, the song Thriller plays.
• In a SoBe Life Water commercial shown during Super Bowl XLII, Naomi Campbell and a group of lizards perform the zombie dance from the Thriller music video.
• In an episode of the Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, the town people's brains are eaten by a large asteroid alien. A musical breaks out in which the 'zombie' members of the town do the Thriller dance.
• The dance crew Kaba Modern danced to the song on America's Best Dance Crew's celebration of the album's 25th anniversary.
• In Stephen Chow's 2001 comedy Shaolin Soccer, a spoof of the Thriller dance appears in a scene for the extended director's cut of the film.

This article is about the TV series. ... This article contains a trivia section. ... The Jeffersons is episode 117 of the Comedy Central animated series South Park. ... Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958), commonly known as MJ as well as the King of Pop, is an American musician, entertainer, and pop icon whose successful career and controversial personal life have been a part of pop culture for the last three decades. ... This article is about the television series. ... Chappelles Show is an American comedy television series starring comedian Dave Chappelle. ... David Khari Webber Chappelle (born August 24, 1973) is an American stand-up comedian, satirist and actor. ... Various television shows based on Super Mario Bros. ... This is a list of creatures who treat Mario with malicious intent in the various games in the Mario series. ... This article is about a brand of drink. ... Super Bowl XLII will be the 42nd annual championship game of the National Football League (NFL) between the National Football Conference (NFC) and American Football Conference (AFC) champions. ... Naomi Campbell (born May 22, 1969) is a British supermodel. ... This page is about Lizards, the order of reptile. ... Michael Jacksons Thriller is a 14-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis. ... Stephen Chow (also Stephen Chiau) (traditional Chinese: 周星馳; simplified Chinese : 周星驰; often Romanized as Chow Sing Chi; pinyin : Zhōu XÄ«ngchí; jyutping : zau1 sing1 ci4) (born June 22, 1962) is a director and actor in many blockbuster movies in Hong Kong. ... Shaolin Soccer is a 2001 Hong Kong comedy film directed by acclaimed Hong Kong comedian, actor and director, Stephen Chow. ... Look up Thriller in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Music

• The band Fall Out Boy gives several respects to the song. In their "Dance, Dance" video, bassist Pete Wentz starts to do the dance in the music video. Also, they have a song called "Thriller", but just the title is a nod to this song.
• The New Found Glory song "Hit Or Miss" contains the lyric, "Remember the time we realized 'Thriller' was our favorite song?"
• Vincent Price's soliloquy is parodied in The Aquabats' song "Fashion Zombies!" as "Darkness falls across the land. The midnight hour is close at hand. Creatures crawl in search of blood to accessorize their black zipper hood. And monster children with monster faces are looking for love in all the wrong places."
• British singer and former Stone Roses frontman Ian Brown covered this song on the b-side of his single Golden Gaze.
• The song was also covered by death metal band Ten Masked Men, ending with laughter from Salacious Crumb.
• Pop girl group Girl Authority covered the song for their EP Halloween Party Songs.
• Beatfreakz's music video for Somebody's Watching Me parodies Vincent Price's intro, the choreography, and Michael's appearance.
• The band Gorillaz also pay tribute to Thriller's choregraphy in the video of their song "Clint Eastwood". At 2min40s, you can see the zombie-gorillas do the famous shoulder mouvement that Jackson did with his zombies during the dance number of Thriller.
• On Australian radio station Triple M, Shaddup Your Face singer Joe Dolce covered the song in a comedic way, putting in his own lyrics.

Fall Out Boy (commonly abbreviated as FOB) is an American band from Wilmette, Illinois (a suburb of Chicago) that formed in 2001. ... Dance, Dance is the second single from Fall Out Boys album From Under the Cork Tree. ... Thriller is the first track on the album Infinity on High by Chicago band Fall Out Boy. ... // New Found Glory (formerly A New Found Glory) is an American pop punk band that formed in 1997 in Coral Springs, Florida, and is currently based in California. ... Hit or Miss is a solitaire card game which uses a deck of 52 playing cards. ... The Aquabats (often written as The Aquabats!) are an American rock band formed in 1994 in Huntington Beach, California and currently recording for Nitro Records. ... The classic line-up at the time of Spike Island The Stone Roses were one of the most influential bands to come out of Britain during the late 1980s and early 90s. ... This article is about the former member of The Stone Roses . ... Golden Gaze is the third single from Ian Browns second solo album, Golden Greats. ... Ten Masked Men are a British Death Metal covers band who specialize in destroying pop classics. ... This article is about minor characters in the fictional Star Wars universe who reside, or at least appear primarily, on the planet Tatooine. ... Girl Authority is an American pop girl group from Sudbury, Massachusetts. ... EP can stand for: EP is the IATA code for Iran Aseman Airlines Extended play, a music recording (usually consisting of several tracks, but shorter than a typical album) European Parliament, the parliamentary body of the European Union Evolutionary psychology, a belief that psychology can be better understood in light... Girl Authority - Halloween Party Songs is the debut EP, recorded by singers Girl Authority. ... The Beatfreakz are a dance duo from Holland. ... Somebodys Watching Me is a song by the pop artist Rockwell, with a duet by Michael Jackson, in which the lyrics express a fear of being followed and watched. ... Vincent Leonard Price Jr. ... Joe Dolce Joe Dolce (, originally pronounced ; born 1947 in Painesville, Ohio) is an American-born, Australian-resident singer/songwriter who achieved fame with the song Shaddap You Face, recorded under his vehicle, the group named Joe Dolce Music Theatre. ...

Dance

• The song was danced by numerous Filipino prisoners at CPDRC (Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center) as a morning exercise.
• The dance crew Kaba Modern danced to the song on America's Best Dance Crew's celebration of the album's 25th anniversary.

A recreation of Michael Jacksons Thriller music video by prison inmates from the Philippines has become a popular viral video. ...

Literature

• The name of the latest One Piece story arc, Thriller Bark, is most likely inspired by this song. The arc featured a ship full of zombies and at one point they were seen dancing around the mansion, although not to the song. Thriller Bark also featured many other Michael Jackson tributes.

One piece redirects here. ... Thriller Bark ) is the worlds largest ship from the anime and manga One Piece and is owned by Gecko Moria of the Shichibukai. ...

See also

• Thriller (music video)

Michael Jacksons Thriller is a 14-minute music video for the song of the same name released on December 2, 1983 and directed by John Landis. ...

External links

• Michael Jackson "Thriller" Collection