"Billie Jean" is a dance-pop R&B song by American
recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written by Jackson and
produced by Quincy Jones for the singer's sixth solo album,
Thriller(1982). Originally disliked by Jones, the track
was almost removed from the album after he and Jackson had
disagreements regarding it. There are contradictory claims to
what the song's lyrics refer to. One suggests that they are
derived from a real-life experience, in which a mentally ill
female fan claimed that Jackson had fathered one of her twins.
Jackson himself, however, stated that "Billie Jean" was based
on groupies he had encountered. The song is well known for its
distinctive bass line and Jackson's vocal hiccups. The song was
mixed 91 times by audio engineer Bruce Swedien before it was
finalized.
Following the successful chart performances of the single
"The Girl Is Mine" and the album
Thriller, "Billie Jean" was released on January 2, 1983,
as the collection's second single. It became a worldwide
commercial and critical success; "Billie Jean" was one of the
best-selling singles of 1983, and topped both the US and UK
charts simultaneously. In other countries, "Billie Jean" topped
the charts of Spain and Switzerland, reached the top ten in
Austria, Italy, New Zealand, Norway and Sweden, and peaked at
number 45 in France. Considered to be one of the most
revolutionary songs in history, "Billie Jean" was certified
platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
(RIAA) in 1989.
Awarded numerous honors—including two Grammy Awards, one
American Music Award and an induction into the Music Video
Producers Hall of Fame—the song and corresponding music video
propelled
Thrillerto the status of best-selling album of all time.
The song was promoted with a short film that broke down MTV's
racial barrier as the first video by a black artist to be aired
by the channel, and an Emmy-nominated performance on
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, in which Jackson
premiered "the moonwalk". The song was also promoted through
Jackson's Pepsi commercials; during the filming of one
commercial, Jackson's scalp was severely burned. Covered by
modern artists, "Billie Jean" sealed Jackson's status as an
international pop icon.
There never was a real Billie Jean. The girl in the song is
a composite of people my brothers have been plagued with over
the years. I could never understand how these girls could say
they were carrying someone's child when it wasn't true.
Jackson stated several times that "Billie Jean" was based on
the groupies he and his brothers encountered while part of The
Jackson 5. "Billie Jean is kind of anonymous. It represents a
lot of girls. They used to call them groupies in the '60s." He
added, "They would hang around backstage doors, and any band
that would come to town they would have a relationship with,
and I think I wrote this out of experience with my brothers
when I was little. There were a lot of Billie Jeans out there.
Every girl claimed that their son was related to one of my
brothers."
Jackson biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli promoted the theory
that "Billie Jean" was derived from a real life experience the
singer faced in 1981.
The Magic & The Madnessdocuments how a young woman
wrote Jackson a letter, which informed the singer that he was
the father of one of her twins. Jackson, who regularly received
letters of this kind, had never met the woman in question and
ignored it. The woman, however, continued to send Jackson more
letters, which stated that she loved him and wanted to be with
him. She wrote of how happy they would be if they raised the
child together. She pondered how Jackson could ignore his own
flesh and blood. The letters disturbed the singer to the extent
that he suffered nightmares.
Following the letters, Jackson received a parcel containing
a photograph of the fan, as well as a letter and a gun. Jackson
was horrified—the letter asked that the pop singer kill himself
on a certain day and at a specific time. The fan would do the
same once she had killed their baby. She wrote that if they
could not be together in this life, then they would be in the
next. To his mother's dismay, Jackson had the photograph of the
woman framed and hung above the dining room table of their
family home. Afterward, the Jacksons discovered that the female
fan had been sent to a psychiatric hospital.
Jackson wrote "Billie Jean" with his female fan(s) in mind,
and later stated that when he wrote the song, he knew it would
be a success. "A musician knows hit material. Everything has to
feel in place. It fulfills you and it makes you feel good.
That's how I felt about 'Billie Jean'. I knew it was going to
be big when I was writing it." The singer explained that he was
so absorbed by the song that, in one instance, he did not
notice that his car had caught fire as he drove down a freeway
with a friend until a passing motorcyclist informed him.
Jackson noted, "The kid probably saved our lives."
The pop singer faced numerous disagreements with the song's
producer. Quincy Jones did not want "Billie Jean" to appear on
Thriller; he felt that the song was too weak to be part
of the collection. The producer disliked the demo and did not
care for the song's bass line. Jones wanted to cut Jackson's 29
second introduction, which was the longest one ever created at
the time. The entertainer, however, insisted that it be kept.
"I said, 'Michael we've got to cut that intro'", Jones later
recalled. "He said, 'But that's the jelly!'[...] 'That's what
makes me want to dance'. And when Michael Jackson tells you,
'That's what makes me want to dance', well, the rest of us just
have to shut up." Jones also wanted to change the track's title
to "Not My Lover", as he believed that people would think the
song referred to the tennis player Billie Jean King. Jackson
refused to change the title and asked Jones to give him
co-producing credits for the track; he felt that the demo tape
sounded exactly like the finished product. In addition, Jackson
wanted extra royalties. Jones granted neither and the two fell
out for several days.
Having resolved their differences, Jones had Jackson sing
his vocal overdubs through a six-foot-long cardboard tube.
Jackson's entire lead vocal was performed in one take; he had
received vocal training every morning throughout the production
of the song. Jazz saxophonist Tom Scott played the lyricon, a
rare wind-controlled synthesizer. Bass guitarist Louis Johnson
was then brought in and he played his part on every guitar he
owned, before Jackson finally settled for a Yamaha bass. Greg
Phillinganes was also drafted in; he played the keyboard. He
later said of the song, "'Billie Jean' is hot on every level.
It's hot rhythmically. It's hot sonically, because the
instrumentation is so minimal, you can really hear everything.
It's hot melodically. It's hot lyrically. It's hot vocally. It
affects you physically, emotionally, even spiritually."
The song was mixed by Bruce Swedien ninety-one times—unusual
for Swedien, who usually mixed a song just once. Jones had told
Swedien to create a drum sound that no one had ever heard
before. The audio engineer was also told to add a different
element: "sonic personality". "What I ended up doing was
building a drum platform and designing some special little
things, like a bass drum cover and a flat piece of wood that
goes between the snare and the hi-hat", Swedien later wrote.
"The bottom line is that there aren't many pieces of music
where you can hear the first three or four notes of the drums,
and immediately tell what the piece of music is." He concluded,
"But I think that is the case with 'Billie Jean'—and that I
attribute to sonic personality."
"Billie Jean" is considered a dance-pop R&B song. It
opens with a standard drum beat: kick, snare and hi-hat, and it
contains hardly any reverberation. The pattern continues
unchanged throughout the entire song. After four bars, a
repetitive bass line enters. It never rests for more than an
eighth note and centers on a seventh. Each time it passes
through the tonic, the note is doubled by a distorted synth
bass, played in unison with a shaker. This accompaniment is
followed by a repetitive three-note synth, played staccato with
a deep reverb. The defining chord progression is then
established. Jackson's quiet vocals enter, accompanied by a
finger-snap, which comes and goes during the verses, as the
rhythm and chord progression repeats.
According to
Inside the Hits, the lyrics refer to the commotion
created by Billie Jean on a dance floor. She entices the crowd
with a seductive come-on before luring Jackson to her bedroom,
through the fragrance of her perfume. Jackson's vocal range
spanned from a high baritone to a falsetto and he usually wrote
melodies to show this range. However, in the verses of "Billie
Jean", the singer's vocals range from a tenor to a low
falsetto. A four note falsetto is showcased in the chorus and,
during the last line, Jackson peaks at a full octave. The song
has 116 beats per minute and is played in the key of F# minor.
Following the first chorus, a cello-like synth eases in at the
beginnings of both the third, and later, the fourth, verses.
Upon the announcement that the baby's eyes resemble Jackson's,
a voice laments, "oh no". This is met with Jackson's signature
falsetto "hee hee". The bridge debuts the strings, and holds a
pedal tone tonic with the exception of two lines and a chord
leading into the chorus. Violins are then played, followed by a
four-note minor guitar solo. During the solo, vocal shouts,
screams and laughs are added. Throughout this, the chord
progression remains unaltered and is laced with Jackson's vocal
hiccups. All the musical and vocal elements are then brought
together in the final chorus. In the fade, Jackson repeats the
denial of fathering Billie Jean's child.
On December 1, 1982,
Thrillerwas released to critical and commercial success.
A month later, on January 2, 1983, "Billie Jean" was released
as the album's second single; it followed Jackson's successful
duet with Paul McCartney on "The Girl is Mine". The song
reached number one on s Hot 100 chart, where it remained for
seven weeks. "Billie Jean" topped the R&B chart within
three weeks, and became Jackson's fastest rising number one
single since "ABC", "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" in
1970. It remained at number one for nine weeks, before the
single was eventually replaced by The Gap Band's "Outstanding".
"Billie Jean" peaked at number nine on the Hot Adult
Contemporary Tracks chart. It was also number one in the UK
Singles Chart. "Billie Jean" and
Thrillertopped both the singles and album charts in the
same week. This occurred on both sides of the Atlantic
simultaneously, a feat very few acts have ever achieved. The
song was the third best selling single of 1983 in the US and
ninth in the UK. "Billie Jean" also reached number one in Spain
and Switzerland, the top ten in Austria, Italy, New Zealand,
Norway and Sweden, and number 45 in France.
In a
Rolling Stonereview, Christopher Connelly described
"Billie Jean" as a "lean, insistent funk number whose message
couldn't be more blunt: 'She says I am the one/But the kid is
not my son'". He added that the track was a "sad, almost
mournful song, but a thumping resolve underlies [Jackson's]
feelings".
Blenderstated that the song was "one of the most
sonically eccentric, psychologically fraught, downright bizarre
things ever to land on Top 40 radio". They added that it was
"frighteningly stark, with a pulsing, cat-on-the-prowl bass
figure, whip-crack downbeat and eerie multi-tracked vocals
ricocheting in the vast spaces between keyboards and strings".
Overall, the magazine described the track as "a
five-minute-long nervous breakdown, set to a beat". Stylus
Magazine said of the song, "It's one of the best
representations of film noir in pop music, ending with no
resolution except a single mother and selfish, careless
scumball." In a review of
Thriller 25, Allmusic observed that "Billie Jean" was
"startling" in its "futuristic funk". The track also won praise
from Jackson biographers. Nelson George stated that Jerry Hey's
string arrangement added danger to "Billie Jean", while J.
Randy Taraborrelli added that it was "dark and sparse" by
Quincy Jones' production standards.
"Billie Jean" has been recognized with numerous awards and
honors. At the 1984 Grammy Awards the song earned Jackson two
of a record eight awards; Best R&B Song and Best R&B
Male Vocal Performance. It won the Billboard Music Award for
favorite dance/disco 12" LP, and the magazine's 1980's poll
named "Billie Jean" as the "Black Single of the Decade". The
American Music Awards recognized the track as the Favorite
Pop/Rock Single, while
Cash Boxhonored the song with the awards for Top Pop
Single and Top Black Single. The track was recognised with the
Top International Single award by the Canadian Black Music
Awards, and awarded the Black Gold Award for Single of the
Year. "Billie Jean" has also been awarded for its sales. It won
the National Association of Recording Merchandisers Gift of
Music award for best selling single in 1984. By 1989, the
standard format single was certified platinum by the Recording
Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least one
million units. The digital sales of "Billie Jean" were
certified gold in 2005, for shipments of at least 500,000
units. The total number of digital downloads of the song in the
US, as of March 2009, stands at 864,000.
The short film for Jackson's "Billie Jean" is considered the
video that brought MTV, a fairly new and unknown music channel,
into mainstream attention. It was the first video by a black
artist to be aired regularly by the channel, as the network's
executives felt black music wasn't "rock" enough. Directed by
Steve Barron, the video shows a photographer who follows
Jackson. The paparazzo never catches the singer, and when
photographed Jackson fails to materialise on the developed
picture. The entertainer dances his way to Billie Jean's hotel
room and as he walks along a sidewalk, each tile lights up at
his touch. After he performs a quick spin, Jackson jumps and
lands, freeze framed, on his toes. Upon arrival at the hotel,
Jackson climbs the staircase to Billie Jean's room. Each step
lights up as he touches it and a burnt out "Hotel" sign
illuminates as he passes. The paparazzo then arrives at the
scene and watches as Jackson disappears under the covers of
Billie Jean's bed. Trailed by the police, the paparazzo is then
arrested for spying on Billie Jean. Jackson sported a new look
for the video; Jheri curled hair and a surgically sculpted
nose. Jackson's clothes, a black leather suit with a pink shirt
and bow tie, were copied by children around the US. Imitation
became so severe that, despite pupil protests, Bound Brook High
School banned students from wearing a single white glove like
Jackson had on during the performance of "Billie Jean" at
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.
Walter Yetnikoff, the president of Jackson's record label,
CBS, approached MTV to play the "Billie Jean" video. He became
enraged when MTV refused to play the video, and threatened to
go public with MTV's stance on black musicians. "I said to MTV,
'I'm pulling everything we have off the air, all our product.
I’m not going to give you any more videos. And I'm going to go
public and fucking tell them about the fact you don't want to
play music by a black guy.'" MTV relented and played the
"Billie Jean" video in heavy rotation. After the video was
aired,
Thrillerwent on to sell an additional 10 million copies.
The short film was inducted into the Music Video Producers Hall
of Fame in 1992. In a 2005 poll of 31 pop stars, video
directors, agents and journalists conducted by
telecommunications company 3, the music video was ranked fifth
in their "Top 20 Music Videos Ever". The video was also ranked
as the 35th greatest music video in a list compiled by MTV and
TV Guideat the millennium.
On March 25, 1983, Jackson performed "Billie Jean" to
critical and popular acclaim. Staged at the Pasadena Civic
Auditorium,
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Foreverwas a celebration of
Motown Records' twenty-fifth anniversary. Organised by Suzanne
De Passe, the event was to feature all of the most popular
Motown acts, both past and present. The Motown stars were to
reunite for one evening, to pay tribute to Berry Gordy and
acknowledge his effect on their lives. Jackson initially
refused the invitation, and stated that he did not want to
perform live, or perform with his brothers again. Jackson
reconsidered after a personal visit from Gordy, for whom the
singer had great respect. Jackson would perform on the
condition that he have a solo spot. Gordy agreed and it was
decided that the singer would perform "Billie Jean".
Following performances by Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and
Mary Wells, The Jacksons took to the stage for their first
group performance together in eight years. The brothers sang a
medley of their old hits. After they finished with "I'll Be
There", they left Michael alone on stage. Jackson addressed the
audience and then went into his routine. He wore black pants,
leather penny loafers a black sequin jacket, and a single white
rhinestone glove. To begin his performance, Jackson snapped a
fedora to his head and struck a pose—his right hand on his hat
and his left leg bent. He then threw the hat aside and lip
synced to "Billie Jean". During a musical interlude, the singer
executed a move which many claim to have sealed his status as a
pop icon. Jackson glided backwards to perform the moonwalk,
before he spinned on his heels and landed en pointe. It was the
first time Jackson had performed the moonwalk in public; he had
practiced it in his kitchen prior to the show.
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Foreverwas watched by 50
million people and Jackson's routine earned him an Emmy
nomination. With the performance, Jackson reached a new
audience and increased the sales of
Thriller, which eventually became the best-selling album
of all-time. The day after the show aired, Jackson was called
by his childhood idol Fred Astaire, who commended the singer.
Another childhood idol, Sammy Davis Jr., had admired Jackson's
black sequined jacket during the performance and later received
it as a gift.
Jackson stated at the time that he was disappointed in his
performance; he had wanted to remain on his toes longer than he
had. Jackson subsequently said that "Billie Jean" was one of
his favorite songs to perform live, but only when he did not
have to do it the way he had on
Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. "The audience
wants a certain thing - I have to do the moonwalk in that
spot", he later said. "I'd like to do a different version."
In a Top 100 list compiled by VH1 and
Entertainment Weeklyin 2000, Jackson's performance was
ranked as the sixth greatest rock 'n' roll TV moment. Five
years later,
Entertainment Weeklynamed Jackson's
Motown 25performance as one the most important pop
culture moments in history. "It was a moment that crossed over
in a way that no live musical performance ever had. There was a
messianic quality to it",
Entertainment Weeklyeditor Steve Daly commented.
In 1984, Pepsi sponsored The Jacksons' Victory Tour. In
return, Michael and his brothers were to star in two
commercials for the company. Jackson had reworked "Billie Jean"
for the commercial and entitled it "Pepsi Generation". The song
was used as the official jingle for the commercials and
released as a 7" promo single. The launch of "The Choice of a
New Generation" campaign in February 1984 was attended by 1,600
people who were issued with a programme and the 7" single.
During the filming of the second commercial, a firework
exploded and Jackson's hair caught fire. The incident left the
singer in need of reconstructive surgery. The commercials were
premiered at the Grammy Awards, where Jackson wore a hairpiece
to cover his burns as he collected a record eight awards.
Jackson's original version of "Billie Jean" was remixed by
rapper and hip-hop artist Kanye West for
Thriller 25, a 25th anniversary reissue of Jackson's
Thriller. Entitled "Billie Jean 2008", the remix
garnered a mixed reception; most critics felt that it was
impossible to improve upon the original. Bill Lamb, of
About.com, described the remix as "lifeless", and added that it
sounded like West had "entered the studio fully intimidated by
the genius of the original". Pitchfork Media's Tom Ewing
explained that a guest verse "might have added dynamics to the
mix's clumsy claustrophobia". Mike Joseph, in review of
Thriller 25for PopMatters, described the track listing
of the reissue as "pleasant" but West's "lazy" remix was the
only exception. He added, "You've been given the opportunity to
remix the most iconic single from one of the most iconic albums
of all time, and all you can do is stick a drum machine on top
of the song's original arrangement?". Rob Sheffield of
Rolling Stonedisliked the removal of the original bass
line, and compared it to "putting Bobby Orr on the ice without
a hockey stick". IGN's Todd Gilchrist praised West's remix and
stated that it was a "pretty great track". He added, "it almost
overplays the track's originally understated drama, his
additions enhance the song and demonstrate that in a
contemporary context."
German punk rock band The Bates covered "Billie Jean" in
1996. It peaked at number 67 on the UK Singles Chart. British
funk group Linx recorded the track in 1997 and retitled it
"Billie Jean Got Soul". English musician Ian Brown took "Billie
Jean" to number five on the UK charts in 2000. It was the
B-side of "Dolphins Were Monkeys". Brown later commented, "I
love Jackson. I want to do a Jackson EP with 'Thriller', 'Beat
It', 'Billie Jean' and 'Rockin' Robin' or 'ABC' on it.
Hopefully I'll get it done". The singer later covered
"Thriller" on his second solo album,
Golden Greats.
"Billie Jean" was recorded by American rock musician Chris
Cornell for his
Carry Onalbum in 2007. Cornell said of his cover, "I
didn't plan on it. It just sort of happened organically. I
changed the music quite a bit, I didn't touch the lyrics." He
added, "And it's not a joke. I took a completely different
approach to it, musically." Cornell had previously performed
the song live in Europe, including an acoustic set in
Stockholm, Sweden in September, 2006. He later said, "I was
getting ready to do some acoustic shows on a promotional tour
for
Revelationsand I just wanted to have fun with it." The
cover received favourable reviews from critics. MTV noted the
"bluesier, more pained and impassioned feel" which stripped
away "any pop elements of the original".
Los Angeles Timesdescribed the track as "a grim, spooky
take" on Jackson's "Billie Jean", and added that it was
"amusing enough, even if it sounds a lot more like Metallica's
'Nothing Else Matters'". The newspaper concluded that "Jacko's
mega hit [survived] the stunt translation".
Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean" is considered one of the
most revolutionary songs in the history of pop music. To
accompany a single with a high-production music video was
groundbreaking. "Billie Jean" aided
Thrillerin becoming the biggest selling album of all
time and has been referenced by performers such as Justin
Timberlake, Chris Brown and Usher.
The Guardianreflected that "more thought went into the
production of this single than would go into the entire
recording careers of Axl Rose, Coldplay, Shania Twain or Gwen
Stefani." Jackson's live performances of the song overshadowed
the track; many preferred to watch him dance to "Billie Jean"
rather than to simply listen to it. The song and accompanying
performances contributed to Jackson's status as a pop icon.
Frequently listed in polls of the best songs ever made,
"Billie Jean" was named the greatest dance record of all time
by BBC Radio 2 listeners. After the announcement of the winner,
presenter Zoe Ball said, "I'm delighted that "Billie Jean" has
been voted the greatest dance record ever made. This is Jackson
at his best." She continued, "This track is way up there for me
- Jacko's rendition of it at the Motown 25th anniversary show
has got to be one of the great live performances of all time.
The bass line is awesome, the production is killer. It's just
perfect." In a list compiled by
Rolling Stoneand MTV in 2000, the song was ranked as the
sixth greatest pop song since 1963. "I Want You Back" and "Beat
It" were placed at numbers nine and twenty-two respectively.
The Beatles' "Yesterday", which Jackson owned the rights to,
was placed at number one.
In a 2005 poll conducted by Sony Ericsson, "Billie Jean" was
ranked as the world's third favorite song. Over 700,000 people
in 60 different countries cast their votes. Voters from the UK
placed "Billie Jean" at number one, ahead of "Thriller", with a
further five of the top ten being solo recordings by Jackson.
The song was placed at number seven in MTV Europe's All-Time
Top Ten R&B Songs. In a survey of over 600,000 people,
Channel 4 and HMV revealed "Billie Jean" as the 16th best song
in their Music of the Millenium poll.
In an interview, R&B artist Pharrell Williams stated
that "Billie Jean" was one of his favorite songs. "It is hard
to say if there is a greater song than "Billie Jean". I think
there will never be a song like this one again, with this bass
line, with this kind of effect, this eternalness, this
perfection." The song has featured in the film
Charlie's Angelsand the 2002 video game
Grand Theft Auto: Vice City. When re-released as part of
the
Visionarycampaign in 2006, "Billie Jean" charted at
number 11 in the UK. It remained in the top 200 for over 40
weeks and was the most successful reissue by some distance. To
this day, "Billie Jean" is still in heavy rotation; it is
played on over 90% of the world's radios and receives more than
250,000 spins per week in clubs around the world.