Michael Jackson – "Billie Jean" (1983)

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Michael's official video. Video from YouTube. I'm not affiliated with the artist. I just love this song.

The sidewalk lighting up under his feet. It was the first video by a Black artist in heavy rotation on MTV. We all tried that spin in the living room and almost broke something.

The story behind the song

Michael wrote "Billie Jean" himself, and he had to fight for it. Producer Quincy Jones reportedly wanted to cut the long intro, and even wanted to change the name. Michael held his ground, and that long, slow-building intro became one of the most famous openings in music.

The video was directed by Steve Barron, with that sidewalk that lit up under every step. It was the first video by a Black artist to get heavy play on MTV, which opened the door for a lot of artists after him.

Then came the Motown 25 TV special in 1983. Michael performed "Billie Jean," and in the middle of the song he did the moonwalk on TV for the first time. People talked about it for weeks. The song spent seven weeks at number one, and Thriller became the biggest-selling album of all time.

Find it on Thriller.

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Did you try the spin? Did anything get broken? Drop it in the comments. ✌️ — D-Train