Hey, guys. This is Greg. You probably know me as Sparky Sweets, PHD on Thug Notes.
Well we’ve got a special Halloween episode for y’all.
Thriller isn’t just my favorite album, it’s THE BEST-SELLING ALBUM EVER- number 1!
The Beatles aren’t even close!
By some counts, Thriller has sold over 65 million copies
aaaand about that many goofy dance-offs.
Welcome to this special Halloween episode where we break down the cultural meltingpot
that is Michael Jackson’s Thriller.
Thriller was the first album by a black artist to have songs in heavy rotation on MTV.
Perhaps partly do to the innovative electronic sounds on the album.
But even though the songs sounded really “new”- they still had roots in traditional black music.
For one- Michael incorporated a riff originally written by a Cameroonian musician:
His voice is also clearly rooted in black musicians- like Scat Singer Cab Calloway:
*Scatting*
You know all those classic Michael Jackson “yelps” and “growls”?
Of course you do. You can see that same style in pioneering black musicians like Little Richard-
And Aretha Franklin-
This actually goes even further back to an African religious ritual
called ‘ring shouts.’
Another musical element that came to America via Africa was “call and response.”
In some African cultures, this was used in worship-
work songs-
and even government.
Call and response was preserved through jazz, blues, gospel-
and even Thriller-
“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’,” “Beat It,” and “P.Y.T” all have call and response
lyrics that create a sense of togetherness between the singer and the audience.
But Thriller’s sense of inclusiveness expands beyond the black community- most obviously
in the fact that the album incorporates two of the most famous white musicians in the world
Eddie Van Halen has a killer rock solo in Beat it-
*Shredding*
and Paul McCartney lends his voice to the track “The Girl is Mine.”
If you think about it, the song makes a pretty progressive statement for the time about interracial love.
Cuz if they’re both lusting over the same woman,
one of them has to be crossing racial lines.
And man just look at this shot from the “Beat it” music video- whites, blacks, latinos
all in the same gang.
Something similar goes on in the landmark music video for Thriller, but in a different way
Directed by John Landis, the video references horror movies of the 1950s.
It also completely changed the game for what a music video could be.
Some interpret Michael’s metamorphoses as reflective of his own constantly changing identity-
from a child star to adult star, from pop star to MEGA pop star,
but what’s most relevant to this video is the inclusion of horror film icon Vincent Price.
If you don’t know who Vincent Price was, he was one of the most famous horror actors
of the 1950s- best known for his deep, spooky voice.
If you watch all his movies, you won’t find him saying stuff like “yall” or “getting
down” like he does in the Thriller video.
Hearing the old, enunciated, white Hollywood sound of his voice saying words in urban slang
is pretty awesome- as if whiteness and blackness are embodied in one voice. Unity, y’all!
Alright so let’s pull the pieces together: Thriller mixes elements of Disco, Jazz, Blues
and Rock n’ Roll as well as old African traditions. It incorporated new electronic
sounds and cameos by famous white musicians.
And the Thriller music videos helped propel
black music into heavy rotation on MTV. Racial unity, innovation, progress- couple that with
the fact that this album made Michael rich as FUCK-
it’s not a stretch to say Thriller is the most American album of all time.
Or maybe it is a stretch.
But fuck it. I love this album.
As always, thanks so much for watching,
And if you haven’t done so yet, be sure to check out our channel page by clicking
here, where you can see more of our brain-tickling videos. While you’re over there, be sure
to hit the subscribe button. We have some amazing new videos around the corner, including
break-downs of Fallout, Rick & Morty, No Country for Old Men, and all five seasons of Breaking Bad.
And finally, if you loved this video on Thriller, be sure to check out our friends at BaracksDubs
for their Halloween special of Barack Obama SINGING Thriller. The guys over at BaracksDubs
have been supporting us since the very beginning. Go give them some love by clicking here to
check out their channel page and subscribe.
Well the guys over at BarracksDubs are very kind to us
and they've been supporting us for the last two years
so uh... go over there and check out their channel. Thank you. Keep America clean.
Alright, alright support our friends, and we’ll catch next time man. Peace!