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Michael Jackson · S4 E2
Billie Jean
The bassline that rewired pop music — and the story behind it
The Ventura Freeway, sometime in 1982. Michael Jackson is so consumed by a bass line playing in his head that he does not notice smoke pouring from under the hood of his Rolls-Royce until a passing motorcyclist waves him over to the shoulder.
Billie Jean, Michael Jackson (1983). Directed by Steve Barron, every tile Michael steps on lights up beneath his feet. This video broke open an entire television network.
Billie Jean, Michael Jackson (1983)
The intro runs for almost thirty seconds: just bass, a Linn LM-1 drum machine pattern, and a single string stab before Michael's voice enters. Louis Johnson plays the bass line Michael heard on the Ventura Freeway, locked into a groove so deep it defines the entire song. Ndugu Chancler layers live drums on top of the programmed pattern, adding human swing to a machine-made beat. Bruce Swedien mixed this song ninety-one times before Quincy approved the final version.
Sources
Bruce Swedien, "In the Studio with Michael Jackson"
Thriller liner notes, Epic Records 1982
“"I said, 'Michael, we've got to shorten the intro. Nobody's going to wait that long.' He looked at me and said, 'But that's the jelly. That's what makes me want to dance.'"”
— Quincy Jones (on the making of Billie Jean)
TAP TO REVEAL: How did Billie Jean break the MTV color barrier?
What This Changed
Billie Jean does not just change Michael Jackson's career. It forces MTV and pop radio to abandon the racial boundaries that kept Black artists in separate categories. After this moment, those walls are rubble.
The Lady in My Life, Michael Jackson
The closing track on Thriller, written by Rod Temperton, and the song nobody talks about. A tender, slow-burning ballad where Michael strips away every layer of performance and just sings. Quincy Jones reportedly made Michael re-record the vocal dozens of times, pushing him to be more vulnerable with each take. Proof that the same voice driving the hardest groove of the decade can also whisper you to sleep.
Quincy Jones initially wanted to change the title "Billie Jean." Why?
Michael Jackson has the biggest song in the world, but now he needs a rock guitar solo on a funk track. Next: Beat It.
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