格萊美官網撰文
1984年傑克遜歷史性地斬獲8座格萊美獎及《顫慄》影響和遺產之回顧
50年代，兩位音樂界巨神相繼誕生，前後僅相差幾個月（MJ和格萊美，注：第一屆格萊美1958年舉辦）。成年後，他們對各自藝術的精通使之成為卓越的代名詞。1984年2月28日，邁克爾·傑克遜（Michael Jackson）和美國錄音學院二者共生的關係達到新的高度，在洛杉磯神殿禮堂(Shrine Auditorium)舉行的第26界格萊美頒獎典禮上，傑克遜贏得八項榮譽，當時這是個人藝術家史無前例的收穫之夜。
在“顫慄”之夜的三十周年紀念日來臨之際，我們回顧這個至今仍被看做是音樂史上最絕妙的瞬間之一，傑克遜破紀錄的格萊美夜晚，也創造了錄音學院的奇跡——第26屆格萊美電視直播的收視率最高，有將近4400萬觀眾收看。《顫慄》（Thriller）控制著全球的想像。
“我們知道邁克爾會贏得每一項——我的意思是，他怎麼可能不贏呢？”在《顫慄》專輯中演奏多首曲目的吉他手斯蒂夫·盧卡瑟（Steve Lukather）說。“我記得我帶著我妹妹去看頒獎，她想見到邁克爾。他對她很好，後臺愛意滿滿，非常棒。”
《顫慄》專輯工程師布魯斯·斯韋迪恩（Bruce Swedien）和妻子碧（Bea）一同參加第26屆格萊美。“太讓我激動了。”他回憶說，“那晚充滿職業性的羡慕。”
在1984無論你是音樂人或平凡大眾，都很難不羡慕傑克遜。從11歲起，便是國際知名的藝人。似乎25歲的傑克遜，正迎接職業生涯中的勝利。他在1984年獲得8項格萊美獎，包括年度最佳歌曲（《避開》（Beat It））、年度最佳專輯和年度最佳製作人（非古典類），這是傑克遜和《顫慄》聯合制作人昆西·鐘斯（Quincy Jones）的共同榮譽。
傑克遜還因急促而適合跳舞的單曲《比利·珍》(Billie Jean)、《顫慄》和《避開》獲得流行、藍調和搖滾類的獎項。斯韋迪恩獲得非古典樂最佳音樂策劃獎更是為《顫慄》的成功錦上添花。
《顫慄》是音樂工業的興奮劑。電臺音樂滲透和史無前例的音樂錄影更為其增色，專輯也促使家喻戶曉的MTV電視臺的興盛。專輯同名錄影於1983年12月2日發佈，當時MTV開辦還不到兩年，這段長度近14分鐘的錄影開創音樂和電影的合併，成為音樂工業的標誌性時刻。另外，傑克遜推動“跨界”時代的到來，藍調藝人混合放克（Funk）和受榜單青睞的流行樂。時任CBS唱片總裁的沃爾特·耶特尼科夫（Walter Yetnikoff），在第26界格萊美吹捧傑克遜令人印象深刻的成就時，把傑克遜描述為“在音樂、青年、歌曲和舞蹈中給我們指路的藝術家。”
但《顫慄》為何如此富有創造力，成為銷量之神？斯韋迪恩相信，傑克遜的曠世之作是其幼年傑克遜五表演時期的高潮，也源自個人專輯《牆外》（Off The Wall）所積累的經驗。《牆外》專輯中單曲《Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough》在1979年獲得一項格萊美獎。
“首先，邁克爾是個完美主義者。”斯韋迪恩說，“他的歌唱才能，職業道德，作詞水準——都很突出。他在錄歌前一定會練聲，更不會開燈錄歌。他總是在黑暗中歌唱，這樣就不能依賴歌譜了。”
“邁克爾會準備許多聲音段落。通常，昆西（鐘斯）會稍作休息，讓邁克爾和我把它們合到一起。比如邁克爾想唱20段，在這些中有最好的，我們把他認為最好的選出來。我們在洛杉磯西湖錄音室錄製《比莉·珍》，我們做了91個片段。專輯中收錄的是第二個片段。這些讓你對邁克爾的能力有所瞭解。”
“當我們製作《顫慄》時，還是唱片時代。受技術能力影響，黑膠碟紋真正能發力的聲音時長在18到19分鐘。”2008年，鐘斯在《格萊美當今歷史記錄》（GRAMMY Living Histories）採訪中透露，“《比利·珍》有11分鐘長，還剩餘27分鐘，所有歌曲都緊緊地擠在一起。”
“違反唱片基本要求後，黑膠唱片單面時長不得超過18到19分鐘……我們需要精簡……邁克爾說，‘好，但這讓我想跳舞’……我們讓他按照自己的方式做，但結果聽起來很糟糕，邁克爾開始哭泣……所以我們刪去一些好歌，把《我的真命女郎》（The Lady In My Life）放進來作為氛圍需要，我和詹姆斯·英格拉姆（James Ingram）還譜寫了《漂亮姑娘》（P.Y.T），另外我們還有《人性》（Human Nature）和《避開》。和其它歌曲一道，火遍世界。”
共同分享《顫慄》成功之樂的還有盧卡瑟Toto樂隊的隊友、鍵盤手Steve Porcaro，他參與編排和譜寫了《人性》；鼓手Jeff Porcaro在《避開》和其他歌曲中演奏。
“我們錄製的第一首是和保羅·麥卡特尼（Paul McCartney）的《這女孩歸我》（The Girl Is Mine），”盧卡瑟回憶道，“太讓人震驚了，我們在錄音室裡表演，和這些傢伙唱著史蒂夫·旺德（Stevie Wonder）的歌，和童年時的偶像一起。太不可思議了。”
《避開》中展現了傑克遜從樂器伴奏中而生的絕佳表演天賦，歌手開拓性地探索搖滾樂。格萊美獎得住埃迪·範·海倫（Eddie Van Halen）傳奇的吉他獨奏演繹，許多人可能不知道盧卡瑟彈奏了歌曲的貝斯和吉他節奏。
“我記得邁克爾對歌曲感覺有明確要求，所以我們做更多加工。”盧卡瑟說，“艾迪把他的獨奏錄到2英寸磁帶上，把和聲搞砸了。Jeff Porcaro和我就只好把邁克爾的主音加錄上，還有艾迪·範·海倫的獨奏。我們幾乎什麼也沒留下”
“天才鼓手Jeff，他可以在兩段音樂中保持相同節奏，所以我們錄了鼓。我添了貝斯和全部吉他即興段落，我們在西湖錄音室和昆西、邁克爾再碰面，完成了埃迪吉他獨奏前的過門，修改了一些音節這樣聽起來就不太重複。”
歷史性唱片銷量和格萊美讚譽是對傑克遜堅持優秀的回報。如今，《顫慄》專輯在美國銷量超過3000萬張，成為歷史銷量最高專輯。30年後，盧卡瑟把流行樂之王的格萊美時刻看做是他演藝盛宴中最值得紀念的事件之一。
“銷量會大，但後來就變得荒唐——這太荒唐了。”他說，“我們都明白會很大，但史上銷量最高？這絕對是要告訴重孫子們的事情了——‘是呀，你的老傢伙在歷史上銷量最高專輯裡。’這太帶勁了。”
（Bruce Britt是獲獎記者和評論家，作品刊登在華盛頓郵報、今日美國、三藩市記事報、公告牌等出版物上。他住在洛杉磯。）
1984年傑克遜歷史性地斬獲8座格萊美獎及《顫慄》影響和遺產之回顧
50年代，兩位音樂界巨神相繼誕生，前後僅相差幾個月（MJ和格萊美，注：第一屆格萊美1958年舉辦）。成年後，他們對各自藝術的精通使之成為卓越的代名詞。1984年2月28日，邁克爾·傑克遜（Michael Jackson）和美國錄音學院二者共生的關係達到新的高度，在洛杉磯神殿禮堂(Shrine Auditorium)舉行的第26界格萊美頒獎典禮上，傑克遜贏得八項榮譽，當時這是個人藝術家史無前例的收穫之夜。
在“顫慄”之夜的三十周年紀念日來臨之際，我們回顧這個至今仍被看做是音樂史上最絕妙的瞬間之一，傑克遜破紀錄的格萊美夜晚，也創造了錄音學院的奇跡——第26屆格萊美電視直播的收視率最高，有將近4400萬觀眾收看。《顫慄》（Thriller）控制著全球的想像。
“我們知道邁克爾會贏得每一項——我的意思是，他怎麼可能不贏呢？”在《顫慄》專輯中演奏多首曲目的吉他手斯蒂夫·盧卡瑟（Steve Lukather）說。“我記得我帶著我妹妹去看頒獎，她想見到邁克爾。他對她很好，後臺愛意滿滿，非常棒。”
《顫慄》專輯工程師布魯斯·斯韋迪恩（Bruce Swedien）和妻子碧（Bea）一同參加第26屆格萊美。“太讓我激動了。”他回憶說，“那晚充滿職業性的羡慕。”
在1984無論你是音樂人或平凡大眾，都很難不羡慕傑克遜。從11歲起，便是國際知名的藝人。似乎25歲的傑克遜，正迎接職業生涯中的勝利。他在1984年獲得8項格萊美獎，包括年度最佳歌曲（《避開》（Beat It））、年度最佳專輯和年度最佳製作人（非古典類），這是傑克遜和《顫慄》聯合制作人昆西·鐘斯（Quincy Jones）的共同榮譽。
傑克遜還因急促而適合跳舞的單曲《比利·珍》(Billie Jean)、《顫慄》和《避開》獲得流行、藍調和搖滾類的獎項。斯韋迪恩獲得非古典樂最佳音樂策劃獎更是為《顫慄》的成功錦上添花。
《顫慄》是音樂工業的興奮劑。電臺音樂滲透和史無前例的音樂錄影更為其增色，專輯也促使家喻戶曉的MTV電視臺的興盛。專輯同名錄影於1983年12月2日發佈，當時MTV開辦還不到兩年，這段長度近14分鐘的錄影開創音樂和電影的合併，成為音樂工業的標誌性時刻。另外，傑克遜推動“跨界”時代的到來，藍調藝人混合放克（Funk）和受榜單青睞的流行樂。時任CBS唱片總裁的沃爾特·耶特尼科夫（Walter Yetnikoff），在第26界格萊美吹捧傑克遜令人印象深刻的成就時，把傑克遜描述為“在音樂、青年、歌曲和舞蹈中給我們指路的藝術家。”
但《顫慄》為何如此富有創造力，成為銷量之神？斯韋迪恩相信，傑克遜的曠世之作是其幼年傑克遜五表演時期的高潮，也源自個人專輯《牆外》（Off The Wall）所積累的經驗。《牆外》專輯中單曲《Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough》在1979年獲得一項格萊美獎。
“首先，邁克爾是個完美主義者。”斯韋迪恩說，“他的歌唱才能，職業道德，作詞水準——都很突出。他在錄歌前一定會練聲，更不會開燈錄歌。他總是在黑暗中歌唱，這樣就不能依賴歌譜了。”
“邁克爾會準備許多聲音段落。通常，昆西（鐘斯）會稍作休息，讓邁克爾和我把它們合到一起。比如邁克爾想唱20段，在這些中有最好的，我們把他認為最好的選出來。我們在洛杉磯西湖錄音室錄製《比莉·珍》，我們做了91個片段。專輯中收錄的是第二個片段。這些讓你對邁克爾的能力有所瞭解。”
“當我們製作《顫慄》時，還是唱片時代。受技術能力影響，黑膠碟紋真正能發力的聲音時長在18到19分鐘。”2008年，鐘斯在《格萊美當今歷史記錄》（GRAMMY Living Histories）採訪中透露，“《比利·珍》有11分鐘長，還剩餘27分鐘，所有歌曲都緊緊地擠在一起。”
“違反唱片基本要求後，黑膠唱片單面時長不得超過18到19分鐘……我們需要精簡……邁克爾說，‘好，但這讓我想跳舞’……我們讓他按照自己的方式做，但結果聽起來很糟糕，邁克爾開始哭泣……所以我們刪去一些好歌，把《我的真命女郎》（The Lady In My Life）放進來作為氛圍需要，我和詹姆斯·英格拉姆（James Ingram）還譜寫了《漂亮姑娘》（P.Y.T），另外我們還有《人性》（Human Nature）和《避開》。和其它歌曲一道，火遍世界。”
共同分享《顫慄》成功之樂的還有盧卡瑟Toto樂隊的隊友、鍵盤手Steve Porcaro，他參與編排和譜寫了《人性》；鼓手Jeff Porcaro在《避開》和其他歌曲中演奏。
“我們錄製的第一首是和保羅·麥卡特尼（Paul McCartney）的《這女孩歸我》（The Girl Is Mine），”盧卡瑟回憶道，“太讓人震驚了，我們在錄音室裡表演，和這些傢伙唱著史蒂夫·旺德（Stevie Wonder）的歌，和童年時的偶像一起。太不可思議了。”
《避開》中展現了傑克遜從樂器伴奏中而生的絕佳表演天賦，歌手開拓性地探索搖滾樂。格萊美獎得住埃迪·範·海倫（Eddie Van Halen）傳奇的吉他獨奏演繹，許多人可能不知道盧卡瑟彈奏了歌曲的貝斯和吉他節奏。
“我記得邁克爾對歌曲感覺有明確要求，所以我們做更多加工。”盧卡瑟說，“艾迪把他的獨奏錄到2英寸磁帶上，把和聲搞砸了。Jeff Porcaro和我就只好把邁克爾的主音加錄上，還有艾迪·範·海倫的獨奏。我們幾乎什麼也沒留下”
“天才鼓手Jeff，他可以在兩段音樂中保持相同節奏，所以我們錄了鼓。我添了貝斯和全部吉他即興段落，我們在西湖錄音室和昆西、邁克爾再碰面，完成了埃迪吉他獨奏前的過門，修改了一些音節這樣聽起來就不太重複。”
歷史性唱片銷量和格萊美讚譽是對傑克遜堅持優秀的回報。如今，《顫慄》專輯在美國銷量超過3000萬張，成為歷史銷量最高專輯。30年後，盧卡瑟把流行樂之王的格萊美時刻看做是他演藝盛宴中最值得紀念的事件之一。
“銷量會大，但後來就變得荒唐——這太荒唐了。”他說，“我們都明白會很大，但史上銷量最高？這絕對是要告訴重孫子們的事情了——‘是呀，你的老傢伙在歷史上銷量最高專輯裡。’這太帶勁了。”
（Bruce Britt是獲獎記者和評論家，作品刊登在華盛頓郵報、今日美國、三藩市記事報、公告牌等出版物上。他住在洛杉磯。）
30 Years Later: Michael Jackson's Thrilling GRAMMY
Night
A LOOK BACK AT JACKSON'S HISTORIC EIGHT-GRAMMY VICTORY IN 1984 AND THE IMPACT AND LEGACY OF THRILLER
January 21, 2014
A LOOK BACK AT JACKSON'S HISTORIC EIGHT-GRAMMY VICTORY IN 1984 AND THE IMPACT AND LEGACY OF THRILLER
January 21, 2014
By Bruce Britt / GRAMMY.com
They were two musical giants born just months apart in the '50s. As both came of age, they mastered their respective crafts to become synonymous with absolute excellence. On Feb. 28, 1984, Michael Jackson and The Recording Academy took their curiously symbiotic relationship to the next level at the 26th Annual GRAMMY Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles when Jackson won eight GRAMMYs, an unprecedented single-night haul for an artist at that time.
On the cusp of the 30th anniversary of that thrilling night, we look back at what is still considered one of the finest moments in music history. Jackson's record-breaking GRAMMY night was a coup for The Academy as well — the 26th GRAMMY telecast experienced its highest ratings ever with nearly 44 million viewers tuning in. Such was Thriller's commanding grip on the global imagination.
"We knew Michael was going to win everything — I mean, how could he not?" says guitarist Steve Lukather, who played on multiple Thriller tracks. "I remember I brought my little sister to the show because she wanted to meet Michael. He was very nice to her. There was a lot of love backstage, a great buzz."
Thriller engineer Bruce Swedien attended the 26th GRAMMYs with his wife, Bea. "It was very exciting," he recalls. "There was a lot of professional envy that night."
Whether you were a musician or just a regular Joe or Jane in 1984, it was hard not be envious of Jackson. An internationally renowned performer since he was 11, it seemed that Jackson, at age 25, was already taking a career victory lap. He earned eight GRAMMYs in 1984, including Record Of The Year (for "Beat It"), Album Of The Year and Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical), all of which Jackson shared with Thriller co-producer Quincy Jones.
Jackson also nabbed trophies in the Pop, R&B and Rock Fields for his edgy and danceable hit singles "Billie Jean," "Thriller" and "Beat It." Topping Thriller's GRAMMY triumph, Swedien earned the award for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical.
Thriller was a one-disc pep pill for the music industry. Fueled by saturated radio play and unprecedented music video exposure, the album was instrumental in making an upstart cable network named MTV a household word. The video for the title track was released Dec. 2, 1983, less than two years after MTV launched, and, at nearly 14 minutes long, became a watershed moment for the music industry for its unprecedented merging of music and film. In addition, Jackson helped usher in the age of the "crossover," where R&B musicians fused funk with chart-friendly pop. Walter Yetnikoff, then-president of CBS Records, touted Jackson's impressive achievement at the 26th GRAMMYs, describing Jackson as "the artist and … the man who has shown us the way in music, and youth, and song, and dance."
But why was Thriller such a creative and sales juggernaut? Swedien believes Jackson's magnum opus was the culmination of his childhood years performing with the Jackson 5, as well as experience earned from solo albums such as Off The Wall, which earned a GRAMMY in 1979 for the single "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
"First of all, Michael was a perfectionist," Swedien says. "His vocal ability, his work ethic, his lyric writing ethic — it all was just phenomenal. He would never record without [a] warm-up … and he would never sing with the lights on. He always had it where he would sing in the dark, just so he wouldn't have to rely on reading from a piece of paper.
"Michael would do many, many vocal takes. Usually, Quincy [Jones] would take a break and leave Michael and I to put the takes together. So, if Michael would do, maybe, 20 vocal takes, we'd have the best of all of them, all we had to do was pick which one he thought was the best. We were doing 'Billie Jean' at Westlake Audio in L.A., and we did 91 vocal takes. The final take that went on the album was take two. That gives you an idea of Michael's abilities."
"When we did Thriller … it was vinyl back then, so the technical capacity [was] 19 to 18 minutes to really have a competitive sound with grooves," said Jones in a GRAMMY Living Histories interview in 2008. "'Billie Jean' was 11 minutes long and with 27 minutes on there … it gets all squeezed up in this real tinny sound.
"So after violation of the basic rules, which is not going over 18 or 19 [minutes] per side on vinyl … we got to cut it down. … And Michael said, 'Yeah., but it makes me want to dance.' … And so we had to let him do it his own way. And it came back, and it sounded terrible, [and] Michael started to cry. … So we took out some good songs and put in '[The] Lady [In] My Life,' which we needed for mood, and James [Ingram] and I wrote 'P.Y.T. [Pretty Young Thing]' [plus we had] 'Human Nature' and 'Beat It.' And man, that, together with all of that other stuff, ignited."
Lukather also shared in the success of Thriller, along with his Toto bandmates, keyboardist Steve Porcaro, who co-wrote "Human Nature," and late drummer Jeff Porcaro, who performed on "Beat It" and other tracks.
"The first thing we recorded was 'The Girl Is Mine' with Paul McCartney," Lukather recalls. "That was a big thrill. We did that live in the studio. We were jamming Stevie Wonder songs with these guys, working with childhood heroes. It was incredible."
Jackson's talent for coaxing transcendent performances from his instrumental accompanists is evident on "Beat It," the singer's trailblazing exploration into rock. Though GRAMMY winner Eddie Van Halen performed the song's legendary guitar solo, many may not know that Lukather played the track's bass and rhythm guitar riffs.
"I remember Michael was specific about how he wanted that track to feel, so we worked on it a bit more," Lukather says. "Eddie cut his solo to 2-inch tape, and that messed up the sync. So, Jeff Porcaro and myself had to overdub to Michael's lead voice … and an Eddie Van Halen solo. We had almost nothing to hang on to.
"Being the genius drummer he was, Jeff was able to lock in a rhythm in two takes, so then we had a drum track. I added bass and all the guitar [riffs], then we got together again at Westlake with Quincy and Michael, and finished the bridge thing that leads into Eddie's guitar solo, changing some of the notes so it wasn't so repetitive."
Jackson's insistence on excellence paid off in historic sales and GRAMMY glory. To date, Thriller has sold more than 29 million copies in the United States alone, making it the best-selling album in history. Some 30 years later, Lukather remembers the King of Pop's GRAMMY moment as one of the most memorable events of his career.
"There's big, and then there's ridiculous — this was ridiculous," he says. "We all knew [Thriller] was gonna be huge, but the biggest selling record ever? That's definitely something to tell the great grandkids — 'Yeah, your old man was on the biggest record in history.' That's pretty cool."
http://www.grammy.com/news/30-years-...g-grammy-night
(Bruce Britt is an award-winning journalist and essayist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Billboard, and other publications. He lives in Los Angeles.)
They were two musical giants born just months apart in the '50s. As both came of age, they mastered their respective crafts to become synonymous with absolute excellence. On Feb. 28, 1984, Michael Jackson and The Recording Academy took their curiously symbiotic relationship to the next level at the 26th Annual GRAMMY Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles when Jackson won eight GRAMMYs, an unprecedented single-night haul for an artist at that time.
On the cusp of the 30th anniversary of that thrilling night, we look back at what is still considered one of the finest moments in music history. Jackson's record-breaking GRAMMY night was a coup for The Academy as well — the 26th GRAMMY telecast experienced its highest ratings ever with nearly 44 million viewers tuning in. Such was Thriller's commanding grip on the global imagination.
"We knew Michael was going to win everything — I mean, how could he not?" says guitarist Steve Lukather, who played on multiple Thriller tracks. "I remember I brought my little sister to the show because she wanted to meet Michael. He was very nice to her. There was a lot of love backstage, a great buzz."
Thriller engineer Bruce Swedien attended the 26th GRAMMYs with his wife, Bea. "It was very exciting," he recalls. "There was a lot of professional envy that night."
Whether you were a musician or just a regular Joe or Jane in 1984, it was hard not be envious of Jackson. An internationally renowned performer since he was 11, it seemed that Jackson, at age 25, was already taking a career victory lap. He earned eight GRAMMYs in 1984, including Record Of The Year (for "Beat It"), Album Of The Year and Producer Of The Year (Non-Classical), all of which Jackson shared with Thriller co-producer Quincy Jones.
Jackson also nabbed trophies in the Pop, R&B and Rock Fields for his edgy and danceable hit singles "Billie Jean," "Thriller" and "Beat It." Topping Thriller's GRAMMY triumph, Swedien earned the award for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical.
Thriller was a one-disc pep pill for the music industry. Fueled by saturated radio play and unprecedented music video exposure, the album was instrumental in making an upstart cable network named MTV a household word. The video for the title track was released Dec. 2, 1983, less than two years after MTV launched, and, at nearly 14 minutes long, became a watershed moment for the music industry for its unprecedented merging of music and film. In addition, Jackson helped usher in the age of the "crossover," where R&B musicians fused funk with chart-friendly pop. Walter Yetnikoff, then-president of CBS Records, touted Jackson's impressive achievement at the 26th GRAMMYs, describing Jackson as "the artist and … the man who has shown us the way in music, and youth, and song, and dance."
But why was Thriller such a creative and sales juggernaut? Swedien believes Jackson's magnum opus was the culmination of his childhood years performing with the Jackson 5, as well as experience earned from solo albums such as Off The Wall, which earned a GRAMMY in 1979 for the single "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
"First of all, Michael was a perfectionist," Swedien says. "His vocal ability, his work ethic, his lyric writing ethic — it all was just phenomenal. He would never record without [a] warm-up … and he would never sing with the lights on. He always had it where he would sing in the dark, just so he wouldn't have to rely on reading from a piece of paper.
"Michael would do many, many vocal takes. Usually, Quincy [Jones] would take a break and leave Michael and I to put the takes together. So, if Michael would do, maybe, 20 vocal takes, we'd have the best of all of them, all we had to do was pick which one he thought was the best. We were doing 'Billie Jean' at Westlake Audio in L.A., and we did 91 vocal takes. The final take that went on the album was take two. That gives you an idea of Michael's abilities."
"When we did Thriller … it was vinyl back then, so the technical capacity [was] 19 to 18 minutes to really have a competitive sound with grooves," said Jones in a GRAMMY Living Histories interview in 2008. "'Billie Jean' was 11 minutes long and with 27 minutes on there … it gets all squeezed up in this real tinny sound.
"So after violation of the basic rules, which is not going over 18 or 19 [minutes] per side on vinyl … we got to cut it down. … And Michael said, 'Yeah., but it makes me want to dance.' … And so we had to let him do it his own way. And it came back, and it sounded terrible, [and] Michael started to cry. … So we took out some good songs and put in '[The] Lady [In] My Life,' which we needed for mood, and James [Ingram] and I wrote 'P.Y.T. [Pretty Young Thing]' [plus we had] 'Human Nature' and 'Beat It.' And man, that, together with all of that other stuff, ignited."
Lukather also shared in the success of Thriller, along with his Toto bandmates, keyboardist Steve Porcaro, who co-wrote "Human Nature," and late drummer Jeff Porcaro, who performed on "Beat It" and other tracks.
"The first thing we recorded was 'The Girl Is Mine' with Paul McCartney," Lukather recalls. "That was a big thrill. We did that live in the studio. We were jamming Stevie Wonder songs with these guys, working with childhood heroes. It was incredible."
Jackson's talent for coaxing transcendent performances from his instrumental accompanists is evident on "Beat It," the singer's trailblazing exploration into rock. Though GRAMMY winner Eddie Van Halen performed the song's legendary guitar solo, many may not know that Lukather played the track's bass and rhythm guitar riffs.
"I remember Michael was specific about how he wanted that track to feel, so we worked on it a bit more," Lukather says. "Eddie cut his solo to 2-inch tape, and that messed up the sync. So, Jeff Porcaro and myself had to overdub to Michael's lead voice … and an Eddie Van Halen solo. We had almost nothing to hang on to.
"Being the genius drummer he was, Jeff was able to lock in a rhythm in two takes, so then we had a drum track. I added bass and all the guitar [riffs], then we got together again at Westlake with Quincy and Michael, and finished the bridge thing that leads into Eddie's guitar solo, changing some of the notes so it wasn't so repetitive."
Jackson's insistence on excellence paid off in historic sales and GRAMMY glory. To date, Thriller has sold more than 29 million copies in the United States alone, making it the best-selling album in history. Some 30 years later, Lukather remembers the King of Pop's GRAMMY moment as one of the most memorable events of his career.
"There's big, and then there's ridiculous — this was ridiculous," he says. "We all knew [Thriller] was gonna be huge, but the biggest selling record ever? That's definitely something to tell the great grandkids — 'Yeah, your old man was on the biggest record in history.' That's pretty cool."
http://www.grammy.com/news/30-years-...g-grammy-night
(Bruce Britt is an award-winning journalist and essayist whose work has appeared in The Washington Post, USA Today, San Francisco Chronicle, Billboard, and other publications. He lives in Los Angeles.)
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