In Memoriam
As we mark the 40th anniversary of the biggest selling album of all time, we wanted to take a moment and remember all those who helped make “Thriller” such a success, but are no long with us.
Michael Jackson
1958 – 2009
It goes without saying that we start with the man who lead it all. Michael was of course a singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. He is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures ever and is the most awarded musician in history. He’s also one of the best-selling music artists of all time.
Bruce Swedien
1934 – 2020
Swedien was a Grammy Award winning recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer. He was widely known for his work with Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones. He recorded and mixed all of Michael’s solo albums from 1979 – 2001.
Rod Temperton
1949 – 2016
Temperton was a songwriter, musician, vocalist, and record producer. He was part of the band Heatwave and wrote the soundtrack to the lives of those living throughout the 1970s and 1980s. He wrote a number of songs for Michael Jackson, including the title song for the “Thriller” album.
Jeff Porcaro
1954 – 1992
Porcaro was best known for his work with the band Toto. However he was one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working on hundreds of albums and thousands of sessions. He played drums, percussion and synthesizer on multiple tracks on “Thriller.”
Louis Johnson
1955 – 2015
Johnson was best known for his work with the group the Brothers Johnson. He is considered one of the best Bass players of all time, and recorded bass for multiple song on “Thriller” as well as on “We Are The World.”
Ndugu Chancler
1952 – 2018
Chancler was a pop, funk, and jazz drummer as well as a composer, producer, and university professor. Perhaps his most famous recording came with playing the instantly recognizable drums on “Billie Jean.”
James Ingram
1952 – 2019
Ingram was a Grammy and Oscar Award winning singer, songwriter and record producer. He had multiple number one songs in his career, as well as being the co-writer of “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” with Quincy Jones, and a backing vocalist on “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.”
Vincent Price
1911 – 1993
Price was as an actor who appeared in more than 100 films. He has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and was particularly known for his performances in horror films. As such, he recorded the famous rap at the end of the song “Thriller.”
Eddie Van Halen
1955 – 2020
Van Halen was the guitarist, keyboardist, backing vocalist, and primary songwriter of the rock band Van Halen, which he co-founded alongside his brother in the early 1970s. On the “Thriller” album he created the now iconic guitar break on “Beat It.”
