Michael Jackson
Quincy Jones called Eddie Van Halen to ask if he'd play the guitar solo on "Beat It." Van Halen assumed it was a prank and hung up. Jones called back. Van Halen agreed, went to the studio without telling his bandmates or manager, recorded the solo in about 20 minutes, and did it for free. Michael Jackson personally funded both the "Beat It" and "Thriller" music videos at a combined $150,000 because the record company refused. He cast actual Crips and Bloods gang members in the "Beat It" video to make the peace theme credible. Within weeks of the video premiering, retail surveys showed Jackson's records selling 40 percent more in markets where MTV had added him.
In our deep dive into Beat It, we trace the song from Quincy Jones's phone calls to the decision to use it to force MTV's racial integration, and what it reveals about the gap between artistic vision and institutional gatekeeping.
