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Beat It

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"Beat It"
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Single by Michael Jackson
From the album Thriller
Released April 1983
Format CD single
Cassette single
7" single
Genre Pop/Rock
Length 4:16
Label Epic Records
Writer Michael Jackson
Producer Quincy Jones
Director Bob Giraldi
Certification Platinum
Chart positions #1 (USA)
#3 (UK)
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Billie Jean"
1983 		"Beat It"
1983 		"Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'"
1983
"Beat It" is a 1983 hit single from Michael Jackson's multi-platinum selling album Thriller. It was the third song from the album that was released as a single, following "The Girl is Mine" (a duet with Paul McCartney) and "Billie Jean".

On March 13, 2006, "Beat It" was re-released as a single in the UK as part of Visionary - The Video Singles.

Contents

History

In the years directly preceding "Beat It", Jackson had already composed several of his own hit songs. His Off the Wall album, released in 1979 and produced by Quincy Jones, featured two of his compositions – "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" and "Working Day and Night" – as well as a third co-written with Louis Johnson, "Get On the Floor". (Similarly, the Jacksons 1978 album Destiny showcased his hit song "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" and 1980's Triumph had the even more prescient "This Place Hotel".) In many respects the Off the Wall album served as a measure of things to come. Jackson and Jones had laid a foundation for putting songs appealing to different segments of their audience together on one seamless record. Jackson's loyal fan base amongst his R&B audience had spread into mainstream pop for more than a decade, and his songs displayed an uncanny ability to appeal to a fairly wide-ranging group of listeners: those who liked ballads, or dance tunes, or disco, or slightly funkier grooves, or even lighter fare could all find something to appreciate on Off the Wall.

With Thriller, Jackson and Jones would attempt at once to hone, embellish, and surpass this feat. One of their ambitions was to include a rock song on the new album. They took partial inspiration from another chart-topping rock song by The Knack. According to Jones, "I said at the time, 'I need a song like "My Sharona"... A black version of a strong rock and roll thing, with the power of everything else he [wrote].' And [Jackson] hit it right on the head."

Kicking off with an instantly recognizable gong which quickly segues into an equally distinctive rapid fire drumbeat and then the ongoing guitar riff, "Beat It" speaks of urgency from the outset and indeed plays out like the urban cousin of "My Sharona". The lyrics to "Beat It" are an immediate, frightful warning to avoid fighting and violence at all costs, especially when honor seems to be at stake ("It doesn't matter who's wrong or right") and Jackson sings them forcefully, near the top of his register.

Providing a dramatic electric guitar solo during the bridge of the song is Eddie Van Halen from the rock group Van Halen. According to Jones, when he first contacted the guitarist about appearing on the song, Van Halen didn’t believe who he said he was, or that the offer was true. Nevertheless, he went on to provide the defining element that set the song apart from other Jackson tunes to date.

Van Halen recorded his part while Jackson was in another nearby studio recording overdubs on “Billie Jean”. According to one story, a technician who was unaware Van Halen was beginning a take knocked on the studio door, entered and quickly closed it when he realized his error. Afterwards, it was jointly decided to leave this mistake in; the knock on the door is clearly audible just prior to the launch of Van Halen's guitar solo.

Song & video impact

By all accounts, "Beat It" was an unqualified smash hit and is often heralded as the ultimate crossover hit. Not only did "Beat It" fare well with Jackson's R&B and pop fans, but it also did with rock and heavy metal fans because of Van Halen's contributions. Radio stations still playing the song's album-mate "Billie Jean" added the new one to their playlists, and it too rapidly advanced to the top spot. Jackson and Jones had succeeded in getting R&B radio stations to play a song featuring hard rock elements, and rock stations to play a song delivered from a formidable R&B performer. Van Halen's legendary guitar solo became ubiquitous across radio dials around the world.

Future Jackson albums would similarly rely on the proven gambit of attempted broad-based appeal, to varying results, and each would include a rock-oriented song of its own. Most of these also featured superstar guest-guitarists providing solo performances in the Van Halen mold. These included:

Screenshot — the "Beat It" video.
Enlarge
Screenshot — the "Beat It" video.

Also, as with its predecessor "Billie Jean", "Beat It" enjoyed unprecedented success on the still-growing cable network MTV. In fact, the music video for the new song was even granted an exclusive nighttime "World Premiere" on the channel, establishing a long-running tradition for top artists. Soon after it was also running on other cable networks and video programs including BET's Video Soul and WTBS's Night Tracks. "Beat It" was also the first video shown on NBC's offering in this new market, Friday Night Videos. Coupled with the success of the original song, the two fueled the ever-growing Jackson-mania that captivated millions around the world.

The video was directed by Bob Giraldi (who would go on to direct Jackson and his brothers in two Pepsi commercials) and choreographed by Michael Peters (who would later tackle the same task on Jackson's epic "Thriller" video). Many of the participants in the video's dance sequences were actual street gang members, brought in to authenticate the look and feel of the piece.

The multi-zippered red jacket worn by Jackson throughout the video would become iconic in its own right, and children and teenagers across the country of all races sported copies of the design. The jacket was seen in spot graphics in a TIME magazine article on Jackson that year, and was offered as an alternative outfit for the pop star’s action figure. In one of the two Pepsi commercials featuring the Jacksons, a young Alfonso Ribeiro (having recently starred in Broadway’s The Tap Dance Kid) wears a "Beat It" jacket as he dances in the street with other youths before literally moonwalking into his hero.

Performances & choreography

The video for "Beat It" follows an uncomplicated narrative: it opens in a diner, where two men walk outside (the music begins when the doors slam shut behind them) and then the members of two warring gangs gather and march to a "rumble" at a warehouse. Throughout, Jackson appears as a lone figure, eventually arriving at the warehouse just as the gang leaders (one of whom portrayed in a white outfit and sunglasses by choreographer Peters) are engaged in a knife fight. Viewers watching closely can see elements of another early-to-mid 1980’s phenomenon being performed by some of the cast: breakdancing. Also, eagle-eyed viewers can catch a couple of the less-experienced dancers flubbing steps in the background behind Jackson.

The basic structure of "Beat It" was instantly and endlessly copied, which continues to this day. Pat Benatar's "Love is a Battlefield" – also directed by Giraldi and choreographed by Peters – could be viewed as the ultimate female counterpart to the video, so similar is its content, editing and theme. Other artists including Lionel Richie (who worked with the same director/choreographer team on his "Running with the Night" video), Janet Jackson, The Backstreet Boys, N'Sync, Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Usher and countless others all borrowed from the template of the winning video to craft their own entries into the medium — much to the delight of video stations everywhere.

Jackson too couldn’t escape the popularity of his own handiwork, and has spent the ensuing years trying to outperform himself. By most accounts he succeeded by year’s end with the solo follow-up "Thriller".

Such was the strength of Peters' choreographic skills that well over a decade after the release of the video, live Jackson performances of "Beat It" typically included many of the original arrangements and steps. These were however embellished for purposes of live theatricality.

Credits

Pop culture

Sources

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