Michael Jackson's Bad and Thriller Albums
How the King of Pop's Music Dominated the 1980s Pop Charts
Tributes to the late Michael Jackson continue to dominate the 24-hour news cycle, the VH-1 Classic rotation and even this site. And while most outlets will choose to cover the tabloid elements of his life, ask questions with no definitive answer and rehash his periodically irresponsible behavior, let's examine what made him an international superstar in the first place.
The songs from 1982's Thriller, which remains the best-selling album ever, and 1987's Bad are impeccable time capsules of the decade, expertly crafted pieces of pop history with monstrous hooks and exceptional arrangements. Due credit goes to Quincy Jones' production, which is fresher than ever thanks to the number of remasterings of the albums. But let's be real: Jackson's songwriting ability, which flies under the radar more than anything else in his over-scrutinized 50 years, is ridiculously strong in these records.
Just take Thriller on its own. None of his contributions are alike: the edgy, hard-rocking "Beat It," with one of the great cameo guitar solos by Eddie Van Halen; the slick yet overpowering R&B of "Billie Jean"; the dance-floor grooving of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"; and really the only case of saccharine fluff, "The Girl is Mine," the first of two duets with Paul McCartney (the other one, "Say Say Say," was featured on McCartney's 1983 release Pipes of Peace and is infinitely better).
Then there's "Human Nature," the haunting ballad with the shimmering modulated synthesizer harmonies, which is one of the best cuts if not for the stratospheric hits that preceded it. Steve Porcaro of the rock group Toto co-wrote it and provided the tasteful synth programming, which more often than not in the 80s was a contradiction in terms.
Putting the sound together: The musicians behind the albums
Jackson surrounded himself with a who's-who of the industry, the most readily identifiable people in their respective genres. Need someone to sit in on keyboards in Thriller? Mega-producer David Foster will sure do. Need a killer guitar solo? As mentioned, Van Halen had that covered. Need someone to duet? Along with McCartney, Stevie Wonder might be available for a filler track, "Just Good Friends," on Bad. How about some ghoulish spoken-word for Thriller? Vincent Price is on speed dial.
Jackson also managed to assemble a dream team of session musicians. The combined number of credits with these guys is staggering.
- Jerry Hey was in charge of horn arrangements for both albums. He also worked on Rod Stewart's Camouflage (1984), Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers' Southern Accents (1985) and the St. Elmo's Fire (1985) soundtrack, among hundreds.
- Nathan East played bass on Bad, and his list of credits includes Lionel Richie's Can't Slow Down (1983), Donna Summer's She Works Hard for the Money (1983) and Eric Clapton's albums of the mid to late 80s (Behind the Sun, August, Journeyman).
- Paulinho da Costa, percussionist extraordinaire, contributed to both records and with what seems like ten million other artists, from Herbie Hancock to Neil Diamond to Chicago.
- John Robinson was the drummer in some of Bad's best tracks, including the title song, "The Way You Make Me Feel" and "Dirty Diana." He most famously gave the beats to Steve Winwood's breakthrough albums Back in the High Life (1986) and Roll with It (1988), and showed up on Chaka Khan's I Feel for You (1984), Peter Cetera's One More Story (1988) and countless others. Although he wasn't a part of Thriller, he did appear in Jackson's Off the Wall album.
- All-purpose keyboardist Greg Phillinganes was a Jackson staple, and helped with albums by Paul Simon, Stevie Nicks and Mick Jagger along with Thriller and Bad.
It's no wonder the music sounds good. Not just good, spectacular. What a formula: Take Jackson's songwriting chops (in total, 12 of the 19 on the two records), add the services of high-caliber musicians and polish it off with Jones' superlative production values, and magic was made in the recording studio.
Significance of Thriller and Bad on the pop charts
With that, pop music was never the same. How could it be? A whopping 14 of the 19 songs from Thriller and Bad charted, seven from each album. That's unheard of. The majority of them not only charted, but were slam-dunk, worldwide smashes.
Thriller has outsold everybody and everything, yet Bad had more songs go to number one on the U.S. chart, beating its predecessor 5-2 ("I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror" and "Dirty Diana"). For good measure, he brought together every important artist at the prime of their lives with the charity anthem "We Are the World." It nearly lived at number one, for weeks on end, in 1985.
This is the best way to remember Michael Jackson. Not the personal demons, not the physical deterioration, not any of the other stuff. Remember him when he was on top of the world in the 1980s, and the music that catapulted him there.
Sources:
allmusic.com
tunecaster.com
Thriller and Bad album liner notes
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