Michael Jackson - Thriller (PatC's Mixes)

“Thriller” is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It is the seventh and final single from his sixth studio album Thriller. It was released on January 23, 1984 by Epic Records. The song has appeared on multiple greatest hits compilation albums from Jackson, including HIStory (1995) and This Is It (2009). It was written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones. The song, which has a voice-over rap from actor Vincent Price, had originally been titled “Starlight”.

The song’s instruments include a bassline and synthesizer. In the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard, and the lyrics contain frightening themes and elements. “Thriller” received positive reviews from critics, though the song was outshone by its music video. “Thriller” became Jackson’s seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from the album, while reaching the top of the charts in France and Belgium and the top ten in other countries.

“Thriller” was adapted into a highly successful music video, known independently as “Michael Jackson’s Thriller”. At fourteen minutes the video is substantially longer than the song, which ties together a narrative featuring Jackson and actress Ola Ray in a setting heavily inspired by horror films of the 1950s. In the video’s most iconic scene, Jackson leads other actors costumed as zombies in a choreographed dance routine. Though it garnered some criticism for its occult theme and violent imagery, the video was immediately popular and received high critical acclaim, being nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 and winning three. In 2009 it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the first music video ever selected.

Following Jackson’s death, his music experienced a surge in popularity. In the week of Jackson’s death, “Thriller” was Thriller’s and Jackson’s best-selling track in the US, with sales of 167,000 copies on the Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart. On the issue date July 11, 2009, “Thriller” charted and peaked on the Billboard Hot Digital Singles Chart, at number-two; the song remained in the charts’ top-ten for three consecutive weeks. In the United Kingdom, the week Jackson died “Thriller” charted at number-23, and the following week, on the issue date July 11, 2009, the song peaked at number-12 on the UK Single Chart. On the issue date July 12, 2009, “Thriller” peaked at number-two on the Italian Singles Chart. “Thriller” peaked at number-three on the Australian ARIA Chart and Swiss Singles Chart and topped the Spanish Singles Charts for one week on the issue date July 12, 2009. The song also placed within the top-ten on the German Singles Chart, Norwegian Singles Chart and Irish Singles Chart, charting at number-nine, seven and eight respectively. “Thriller” also peaked at number-25 on the Danish Singles Chart on the issue date July 10, 2009. In the third week of July “Thriller” peaked at number-11 on the Finnish Singles Chart.

PatC's Ultimate Version adds the extra Vincent Price footage found on the 25th anniversary edition of the Thriller album into the song.