What is Thriller?
Thriller is Michael Jackson's sixth studio album, released in November 1982. It is the best-selling album of all time, with estimated sales of about 70 million copies worldwide.
Produced by Quincy Jones, Thriller mixed pop, rock, funk and R&B. Seven of its nine songs were released as singles, and all reached the US top ten, including Billie Jean, Beat It and Thriller. It won a then-record eight Grammy Awards in 1984, including Album of the Year.
The album spent 37 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200. Its success helped break down racial barriers in the music industry, as Jackson's videos became the first by a Black artist to be played heavily on MTV.
The Thriller video
The 14-minute music video for Thriller, directed by John Landis and released in December 1983, featured Jackson dancing with zombies. It is often called the greatest music video ever made, and in 2009 it became the first music video added to the US National Film Registry.
Did You Know?
Horror film star Vincent Price performed the spooky spoken-word section at the end of the song Thriller.