Thriller & Global Icon

1982’s "Thriller" became the best-selling album in history. The 1983 moonwalk at Motown 25, the genre-busting videos and the Grammy sweep made Michael Jackson the biggest star on the planet.

Part of Michael Jackson

16 moments in this segment.

1. 1982-10-18 — Michael Jackson & Paul McCartney — "The Girl Is Mine". The first "Thriller" single, a duet with Paul McCartney.
2. 1983-01-02 — "Billie Jean" (1983). "Billie Jean" — its video among the first by a Black artist in heavy MTV rotation — is one of the defining pop records of the decade.
3. 1983-02-14 — "Beat It" (1983). With Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo and a West Side Story-style gang video, "Beat It" fused rock and pop and won Record of the Year.
4. 1983-05-08 — Michael Jackson — "Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’". The propulsive opener of "Thriller".
5. 1983-05-16 — The moonwalk — Motown 25 (1983). On 16 May 1983, performing "Billie Jean" at Motown 25, Michael debuts the moonwalk to a stunned audience — a moment instantly seared into pop culture.
6. 1983-05-16 — Motown 25 — the full Jackson reunion. The complete Motown 25 set: a Jackson 5 reunion, then the solo "Billie Jean" and the moonwalk.
7. 1983-07-04 — Michael Jackson — "Human Nature". The wistful, much-sampled "Thriller" ballad.
8. 1983-09-19 — Michael Jackson — "P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)". A bright Quincy Jones-produced "Thriller" single.
9. 1983-12-02 — "Thriller" — the 14-minute video (1983). John Landis’s 14-minute "Thriller" short film turned the music video into event cinema and is preserved in the U.S. National Film Registry.
10. 1983-12-14 — "The Making of Thriller" (1983). The behind-the-scenes documentary on the most famous music video ever made.
11. 1984-05-14 — The face of the 80s. The single white glove, the jacket, the jheri curl — the most photographed star in the world.
12. 1984-07-06 — Publicity portrait (1984). A 1984 publicity portrait at the absolute peak of the Thriller phenomenon.
13. 1984-07-06 — The Victory Tour (1984). The Jacksons’ Victory Tour — Michael’s last with his brothers before going fully solo.
14. 1986-09-12 — Captain EO (1986). The Coppola/Lucas 3-D Disney attraction starring Michael — film as theme-park spectacle.
15. 2009 — The "Thriller" filming location. The East Los Angeles street where the legendary "Thriller" video was shot. The subject dates from 1983; this photograph was taken in 2009.
16. 2011 — "Thriller" — the best-selling album ever (1982). Released in November 1982, "Thriller" becomes the best-selling album in history, spawning seven hit singles and winning a record eight Grammys. The subject dates from 1982; this photograph was taken in 2011.