This is the American cover for the single Thriller by the artist Michael Jackson. The cover art copyright is believed to belong to the record label or the graphic artist(s).
In memoriam to writer Rod Temperton, this week’s Featured Lyrics are to “Thriller”, and made most famous by the King of Pop himself Michael Jackson. We’re posting lyrics of hit songs so that our songwriters can study them to see how winning songs are constructed. Of course a lot depends on the melody, the rhythm and the artist as to whether or not the song will sell… and whether or not it is in the right place at the right time!
“Thriller” is a song recorded by American singer Michael Jackson, composed by English songwriter Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. It is the seventh and final single released by Epic Records from his 1982 studio album Thriller. A 14-minute video showing Jackson in a Halloween-themed performance premiered on November 14, 1983. It was first shown on MTV on December 2, 1983. The song was not released as a single until January 23, 1984.
. . . . . . . . . .
In the song, sound effects such as a creaking door, thunder, feet walking on wooden planks, winds and howling dogs can be heard, and the lyrics contain frightening themes and elements. “Thriller” received positive reviews from critics and became Jackson’s seventh top-ten single on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart from the album, while reaching the top of the charts in France and Belgium and the top ten in many other countries.
“Thriller” was adapted by “American Werewolf In London” director John Landis into a highly successful music video, known independently as “Michael Jackson’s Thriller”. At fourteen minutes the video is substantially longer than the song, which ties together a narrative featuring Jackson and actress Ola Ray in a setting heavily inspired by horror films of the 1950s. In the video’s most iconic scene, Jackson leads other actors costumed as zombies in a choreographed dance routine. Though it garnered some criticism for its occult theme and violent imagery, the video was immediately popular and received high critical acclaim, being nominated for six MTV Video Music Awards in 1984 and winning three. In 2009 it was added to the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress, the first music video ever selected.
Background and composition
“Thriller” was written by Rod Temperton, and produced by Quincy Jones. An inspiration was the Jacksons’ hit “This Place Hotel”. Early titles include “Starlight”, “Starlight Sun” and “Give Me Some Starlight”. The title was changed to ‘Thriller’ after Michael told Temperton he wanted something that would appeal to kids. While still titled “Starlight”, the song’s hook lyrics were “Give me some starlight! Starlight sun…”, but after the song was changed to “Thriller” the hook was rewritten to “‘Cause this is thriller! Thriller night…”. Temperton commented,
Originally, when I did my Thriller demo, I called it Starlight. Quincy said to me, ‘You managed to come up with a title for the last album, see what you can do for this album.’ I said, ‘Oh great,’ so I went back to the hotel, wrote two or three hundred titles, and came up with the title ‘Midnight Man’. The next morning, I woke up, and I just said this word… Something in my head just said, this is the title. You could visualize it on the top of the Billboard charts. You could see the merchandising for this one word, how it jumped off the page as ‘Thriller’.
While Temperton was writing “Thriller” he stated that he’d “always envisioned” a “talking section at the end” on the song, but did not really know what “to do with it”, until deciding “to have somebody, a famous voice, in the horror genre, to do this vocal.” Jones’ then-wife, Peggy Lipton, who knew Vincent Price, suggested Price for the vocal part, which Price agreed to do.
. . . . . . . . . .
There is a lot more to this fascinating story of how Thriller was written & produced:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_(song)
Lyrics to “Thriller”
It’s close to midnight and something evil’s lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight, you see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream but terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze as horror looks you right between the eyes
You’re paralyzed
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one’s gonna save you from the beast about strike
You know it’s thriller, thriller night
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight
You hear the door slam and realize there’s nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand and wonder if you’ll ever see the sun
You close your eyes and hope that this is just imagination, girl!
But all the while you hear the creature creeping up behind
You’re out of time
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
There ain’t no second chance against the thing with forty eyes, girl
Thriller, thriller night
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer, thriller tonight
Night creatures calling, the dead start to walk in their masquerade
There’s no escaping the jaws of the alien this time
(They’re open wide)
This is the end of your life
They’re out to get you, there’s demons closing in on every side
They will possess you unless you change that number on your dial
Now is the time for you and I to cuddle close together, yeah
All through the night I’ll save you from the terror on the screen
I’ll make you see
That this is thriller, thriller night
‘Cause I can thrill you more than any ghost would ever dare try
Thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a
Killer, diller, chiller, thriller here tonight
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
Girl, I can thrill you more than any ghost would ever dare try
Thriller, thriller night
So let me hold you tight and share a killer, thriller, ow!
(I’m gonna thrill ya tonight)
Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y’alls neighborhood
I’m gonna thrill ya tonight, ooh baby
I’m gonna thrill ya tonight, oh darlin’
Thriller night, baby, ooh!
The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years
And grizzly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller
Songwriters: Bernard Belle, Teddy Riley, Rod Temperton, Michael Joe Jackson
© Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., Universal Music Publishing Group
https://www.bing.com/search?q=lyrics+to+thriller&pc=MOZI&form=MOZSPG
Check these lyrics out! Includes a LIVE concert video of Michael performing Thriller!
http://www.metrolyrics.com/thriller-lyrics-michael-jackson.html