Michael Jackson - Beat It

"Beat It"

Background -

Third single from Michael Jackson's Thriller 

(1982 ... 6th album)

Released in February 1983

Genres considered - Hard Rock, Dance Rock

Point of interest -

Eddie Van Halen provided a guitar solo.

Success -

No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100

No. 1 on Billboard Hot Black Singles

Ranked No. 5 by Billboard for 1983

No. 1 in Europe - specifically Spain and the Netherlands

Honors -

Over 7 million copies sold worldwide

One of the best selling singles of all time

Music Video Producers Hall of Fame

No. 344 on Rolling Stone's 

- The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 

- Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll

No. 81 on Rolling Stone's 

- 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time 

Awards -

Grammy Award for Record of the Year

Grammy Award for Best Male Rock Vocal Performance

Two American Music Awards

Certification -

Gold in Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, and New Zealand

Platinum in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, and the UK

5x Platinum by RIAA

"The single, along with its music video, helped propel Thriller into becoming the best-selling album of all time." (Wikipedia)

"...both the song and video had a large impact on pop culture..." (Wikipedia)

I truly would be remiss not to brief you on the "Beat It" official music video.

Set List reflects music as global unity.  We may be interested in different genres but the overall essence is sharing a passion for music.

The music video for "Beat It" offers the same point - Michael Jackson brings "two gangsters together through the power of music and dance..." - Wikipedia

The video established Michael Jackson as an international pop icon.

Point of intrigue -

The video included 80 genuine gang members, 18 professional dancers, and 4 breakdancers.  The video, furthermore, was filmed in Los Angeles' Skid Row.

Overall,

Wikipedia