(C) 2008 WBEZ Alliance, Inc.
(C) 2008 WBEZ Alliance, Inc.
In 1985 a producer from the TV show Family Ties was in the audience to hear the band (Billy and the Beaters) play "At This Moment". It was aired in the fall of 1985 during the breakup episode of characters Alex (Michael J. Fox) and Ellen (Tracy Pollan). Viewers responded by clamoring for the song, and in 1986 Rhino records re-released the recording as a Best of record. The single was a number one hit and stayed on the charts for 15 weeks.
Thriller is an album by pop singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on December 1, 1982. Widely considered one of the greatest albums ever made, Thriller established Michael Jackson as the most famous musician of the late twentieth century and initiated a surge in the popularity of pop music that continues to this day. In 2007, the NARM and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ranked Thriller third on their "Definitive 200" list, a compilation of what they believed to be the greatest albums ever. According to The Guinness Book of Records, Thriller is the world's best-selling album of all time, with sales estimated at over 104 million copies. The album is also notable for being one of only three albums to remain in the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 for one full year (along with Falling Into You by Celine Dion and Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette), spending 80 consecutive weeks in the Top 10. Recorded between April and November 1982, Thriller was the second of Michael Jackson's solo albums to be produced by Quincy Jones, though this time showcasing Jackson in a more prominent position of control than the preceding Off the Wall album from 1979. Of the nine tracks that came to be on the final project of the album, Jackson wrote four. The album's first single, "The Girl is Mine" (a poppy duet with former Beatle Paul McCartney) was a commercially successful, though critically maligned, song that was solely written by Jackson. "The album's second single, "Billie Jean", was a more definitive hit. Despite the controversy surrounding the lyrics, which dealt with illegitimacy, "Billie Jean" catapulted Jackson and Thriller to the top of the charts, Jackson then performed "Billie Jean" at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever Special exposing his signature dance move, the "Moonwalk" and from there Jackson's success grew. Jackson's reinvention as a crossover artist was complete with his third single, the rock number, "Beat It," which features guitar work by guitarist Eddie Van Halen.
Make It Big was the 1984 effort of British pop duo Wham! A giant success the world over, Make It Big was the album that would confirm George Michael as a star. The album had 4 singles: "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go", "Everything She Wants", "Freedom", and "Careless Whisper", each of which were also hits in many places around the world and are still regularly played on radio stations. "Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go" is well known for being in Zoolander, starring Ben Stiller, during the gasoline fight scene.