April Birthday Edition - Thriller

"Thriller" is my song of choice when celebrating my birthday on Set List.  According to my mother, "Thriller" was playing on the radio when she and my father were en route to the hospital.  

At 10:20 on Friday, April 29, 1983, I was a thrill to my mom and dad.

And so Thriller...

(Source - Wikipedia)

- 6th studio album

- Released in November 1982

- Considered genres - Pop, Post-disco, Rock, Funk

Success -

- World's best selling album within one year of release (66 million copies sold)

- One million copies sold per week at the peak of Thriller

- Second best selling album in the U.S.*

*Follows the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)

- First album to reach 30x Platinum in the U.S. (2015)

- 33x Platinum with 33 million copies sold (2017)

- 15x Platinum in Australia

- 7 singles reached the top 10 on Billboard Hot 100

"The Girl Is Mine"

 "Billie Jean" (Thriller topped the charts with this song) 

"Beat It" 

"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" (a personal favorite)

"Human Nature" 

"P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)"

"Thriller"

- One of the first albums to use music videos for promotion

- First artist to sell over one million song downloads in a week

Honors -

- 8 Grammy Awards in 1984 (record)

- Album of the Year

- No. 20 on Rolling Stone's The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time (2003)

- Thriller inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (2008)

- Best Album of the 1980's (Slant Magazine, 2012)

- No. 3 on "Definitive 200" by National Association of Recording Merchandisers

- No. 3 on Billboard Top 200 Albums of All Time

- Listed in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry

- "Thriller" music video listed in the National Film Preservation Board's National Film Registry

(Thriller Platinum)

(Wikipedia)

Point of intrigue -

- Thriller broke racial barriers to allow Michael Jackson appear on MTV and meet President Ronald Reagan

- Special edition reissues in 2001 and 2008

- Eddie Van Halen was a guitarist for "Beat It"

My take away -

I will always remember the announcement of Michael Jackson's death.  In Chicago, the weather was beautiful - shining sun, clear blue sky.  During the afternoon rush hour, every car in traffic had their windows rolled down with a variety of Michael Jackson songs blaring.  "Thriller" was the dominant choice that day.  On my day - April 29th - "Thriller" is the dominant choice my mom refers to in her annual story of my birth...

...And this is why I feature "Thriller" every year on Set List.

May Michael Jackson forever rest in peace.