Single:
Beat It entered the Australian singles chart* on 16 May 1983 and peaked at #2. The song was #19 on the Top 100 of 1983.
Album:
The song is on Thriller which entered the Australian albums chart* on 13 December 1982. It was #1 four times between June 1983 and March 1984, for a total of 11 weeks.
Songwriter:
Michael Jackson
Producer:
Quincy Jones
Record label of Australian release:
Epic
*Kent Music Report / Australian Chart Book. See About.
Wikipedia:
Beat It was the third single released from Michael Jackson’s sixth studio album, Thriller. It was written and composed by Jackson, produced by Quincy Jones, and co-produced by Jackson. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a rock song similar to My Sharona on the album and it includes a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen, which he did as a favour for Quincy.
Upon hearing the first recorded vocals, Jones stated that it was exactly what he was looking for. The song begins with seven distinct synthesizer notes played on the Synclavier digital synthesizer, with Tom Bahler credited for the Synclavier performance on the song. The drums were played by Toto co-founder Jeff Porcaro. Steve Porcaro and Steve Lukather, also Toto members, participate with synthesizers, and guitar and bass guitar respectively.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_It
Songfacts:
The lyrics are about life on the streets and gang activity, something Jackson was very detached from. He was schooled by tutors his whole life and became a star at a young age, so his interpretation of “two gangs coming together to rumble” was based on the celluloid interpretations that he’d seen, specifically West Side Story, which used gangs as musical art.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/michael-jackson/beat-it
Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo:
Eddie Van Halen was asked by producer Quincy Jones to add a guitar solo. He used a rented Marshall amplifier, set up to use alongside his Frankenstrat guitar and an Echoplex, then recorded two takes of the solo free of charge.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_It#Production_and_composition
Music video:
The song’s music video, which stars members of Los Angeles-based street gangs, the Crips and the Bloods, at the height of their rivalry, helped establish Jackson as an international pop icon. As well as Jackson and the principle performers, there were 18 professional dancers and four breakdancers.
The video, which cost Jackson $150,000 to create after CBS refused to finance it, was filmed on Los Angeles’ Skid Row. It was written and directed by Bob Giraldi, and was choreographed by Michael Peters with parts also created by Michael Jackson.
The single, along with its music video, helped make Thriller the best-selling album of all time. Beat It has been cited as one of the most successful, recognised, awarded and celebrated songs in the history of popular music; both the song and video had a large impact on pop culture.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beat_It#Music_video
Lyrics:
They told him, “Don’t you ever come around here
Don’t wanna see your face, you better disappear”
The fire’s in their eyes and their words are really clear
So beat it, just beat it
Click for full lyrics
Also on Bang a Gong from Michael Jackson’s Thriller album: Thriller
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