14 February 1983: the single “Beat It” by Michael Jackson is released as the third single from Thriller (after “Billie Jean”). Producer - Quincy Jones. On the track - a 2:02 guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen, recorded for free, no fee. By mid-April 1983 - #1 Billboard Hot 100 (3 weeks), #3 UK, #1 Canada, Australia, Italy, Spain. The video by Bob Giraldi at US$150,000 - with 80 disciplined dancers costumed as two street gangs - became one of the most expensive and complex pop videos of its era. This was the first Michael Jackson single to get active rotation on American rock radio, and one of the factors that made Thriller the best-selling album ever (70M+ copies).
Why Michael Jackson wanted a rock guitar
By mid-1982, when Thriller was being cut, Michael Jackson had a reputation as a strictly soul/R&B artist. His four prior singles (from Off the Wall 1979) did not get American rock-radio play. Jackson saw it as a problem: without rock-FM rotation, he was losing 30-40% of potential American audience - white teenagers who listened to classic rock.
The solution - one “rock track” on the album that would break the barrier. Jackson and Quincy Jones agreed on the concept: fast tempo (138 BPM), aggressive guitar riff, theme of “street violence as self-destruction”, guitar solo by a top rock guitarist. First choice for the solo - Pete Townshend of The Who. Townshend declined, citing work commitments.
Jones then suggested Eddie Van Halen - at the time the 27-year-old guitarist of Van Halen, considered the best rock guitarist in America. Van Halen were on the “1984” tour and Eddie was going to say “no”.
The call to Eddie Van Halen
Quincy Jones called Van Halen in August 1982. Per Van Halen, Jones introduced himself and Eddie thought it was a prank: “Quincy Jones calls me? Himself?” Jones proposed recording one solo. Van Halen agreed without discussing a fee - he was a Jackson fan.
The solo was recorded on 3 October 1982 at Westlake Recording in Los Angeles. Van Halen arrived in a Honda Civic, leaving his Ferrari behind to “not draw attention”. He was asked what fee he wanted. Van Halen answered: “Nothing. Can I just have a beer after the session?”
He recorded the solo in 30 minutes. Two takes. The second was used. The first was later lost - Westlake archives did not preserve it. For the work Van Halen received no royalties, no credit on the official single sleeve (the guitar solo was only mentioned in small type on the back).
“I thought: this is a one-off, nobody will recognise me for this. A month later I turned on the radio - all of America was playing "Beat It". Recognised me instantly - I play recognisably. I got nothing for it. And I don't regret it a bit - it was one of the best 30-minute sessions of my life”, - Eddie Van Halen in Guitar World, 1985.
Tracking at Westlake
The full “Beat It” tracking spanned August-October 1982 at Westlake. Track budget - about US$180,000 (1/5 of the whole Thriller budget). Personnel:
- Michael Jackson - lead vocal, 20 takes
- Eddie Van Halen - guitar solo (2:02 of the 4:18 total length)
- Paul Jackson Jr. - rhythm guitar (no relation to Michael; same surname)
- Steve Lukather - riff guitar (of Toto)
- Greg Phillinganes - Yamaha CP-80 keys
- Synclavier II - programmed stabs
- Ndugu Chancler - live drums on a Yamaha 9000
- Louis Johnson - bass on the Yamaha BB-1200 (the same used on “Billie Jean”)
- Neve 8078 console + Studer A800 24-track
The signature aggressive riff in the verses is a double recording of Paul Jackson Jr. and Steve Lukather, layered in stereo. They played the same riff, but each guitar was pan-moved to opposite sides: one in the left channel, the other in the right. That produced a “wall” sound impossible on one guitar.
Bob Giraldi's video
The video was directed by Bob Giraldi (ex-commercials director) in January 1983 in Los Angeles. Budget - US$150,000 (three times the average pop-video budget of 1983). The concept - a clash between two street gangs in the spirit of West Side Story, which ends when Jackson dances in the centre.
For realism Giraldi hired 80 real gang members from Crips and Bloods (the two biggest Los Angeles street gangs) as extras. He paid them US$50 each to appear. It was the first mainstream cinematic production to hire active gang members as actors. The result - very high realism, but also on-set problems: a knife incident between two extras on the third day.
Choreography was by Michael Peters - the same man who would stage the “Thriller” dance a year later. The video had 80 dancers, of which only 6 were professional; the rest were actual gang members.
Numbers
- US: #1 Billboard Hot 100, 3 weeks (April 1983); 3× platinum
- UK: #3 UK Singles Chart; silver
- Canada: #1 RPM, 3 weeks
- Australia: #1, 2 weeks
- Italy, Spain: #1
- Germany: #2
- France: #5
- Grammy 1984: Record of the Year, Best Male Rock Vocal Performance
- Billboard Rock Chart: #14 (first Jackson track to chart on rock)
Spotify 2024 - over 1.5 billion streams. YouTube video - 1.0 billion views. The “Beat It” video - the first colour music video added to the US National Film Registry (2023).
How “Beat It” broke rock-radio's colour line
Before “Beat It” American rock radio did not rotate Black artists. The Album Oriented Rock format (AOR) was considered the territory of Led Zeppelin, Rolling Stones, Aerosmith. Jackson with “Beat It” became the first Black artist to break into AOR rotation since the early 1970s.
The effect chained. After “Beat It” AOR began playing Prince (“1999”, 1983), Lionel Richie (“All Night Long”, 1983), Tina Turner (“What's Love Got to Do with It”, 1984). All of them cited Jackson as “the one who opened the doors”.
“Before 1983 Michael Jackson was a soul artist for a Black audience. After "Beat It" he became a world artist for everyone. The difference is hard to overstate. Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson broke the AOR ghetto with one song and Van Halen's one guitar solo”, - Lionel Richie in Rolling Stone, 2009.
Related: “Billie Jean” Michael Jackson, “Good Times” Chic, “Call Me” Blondie. “Beat It” is one of the songs that set a precedent in every aspect: unpaid guitar solo from a top rock guitarist, a video with real gangsters, opening AOR to Black artists, cross-genre production. Eddie Van Halen died on 6 October 2020 of tongue cancer. His 2-minute solo on “Beat It” keeps playing in billions of streams, bringing royalties to Michael Jackson's estate - of which Van Halen never received a penny. It was his free gift to world pop.