Video: 'Billie Jean' (9 videos)

(Tuesday, November 30, 1982) — Thriller by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, the best-selling recording album of all time with sales of 70 million copies worldwide, was released today by Epic Records.

Produced by Quincy Jones, Thriller became Jackson’s first number-one album on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart, where it spent a record 37 non-consecutive weeks at number one, from February 26, 1983, to April 14, 1984.

Seven singles were released: “The Girl Is Mine” (with former Beatle Paul McCartney), “Billie Jean”, “Beat It”, “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’?”, “Human Nature”, “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)”, and “Thriller”. They all reached the top 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, setting a record for the most top 10 singles from an album, with “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” reaching number one.

Thriller set industry standards with its songs, music videos, and promotional strategies influencing artists, record labels, producers, marketers, and choreographers. The success gave Jackson an unprecedented level of cultural significance for a black American, breaking racial barriers in popular music, and earning him regular airplay on MTV.

It also won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards at the 1984 Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year, while “Beat It” won Record of the Year.