Songoftheday 11/22/12 - They told him don't you ever come around here, Don't wanna see your face you better disappear...

Michael Jackson - "Beat It"
from the album Thriller (1982)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (three weeks)
Weeks in the top-40: 18

Today's Song of the Day is by Michael Jackson, who by the spring of 1983 was in full gear with two huge singles released from his landmark album Thriller. The first, the saccharine duet "The Girl Is Mine" with Paul McCartney cornered the adult-contemporary market, while the second, "Billie Jean", became a pop and R&B classic, as well as opened up MTV to black artists.

For Jackson's amazing hat trick, he recruited Eddie Van Halen to lay down a guitar solo that would anchor and give credibility to Michael's foray into rock music, "Beat It". Written by Jackson after being prompted by producer Quincy Jones to include a rock song in the album, the song was as energetic and angry as "Billie Jean" was sparse and paranoid. And to top it off, Jackson self-financed a music video that not only managed to top "Billie Jean", but in my opinion, even outdoes "Thriller" to be Jackson's finest video moment. Enlisting "real" gang members along with professional dancers, he brought the song to a West Side Story-style place where Jackson serves as the objective observer/guardian angel....

"Beat It" was Michael's big crossover moment, staying at #1 on the pop chart for three weeks, going to #1 on the R&B chart, and reaching #14 on the rock radio chart.


The following year, parody king "Weird Al" Yankovic had a big hit single with "Eat It", with a video aping Jackson step by step, and made it to #12 on the pop chart...

In 2008 alt-rock group Fall Out Boy covered the song with John Mayer handling the guitar duties, and took the song to #19 on the pop chart...

The same year, Michael released an updated version with Black Eyed Peas' Fergie singing and will.i.am producing, and had a minor European hit...

finally, hipster YouTube legends Pomplamoose covered the song in 2009...

Up tomorrow: Science!