Jackson's Concept For Thriller Film Was Scary Brilliant

CLEVELAND - Michael Jackson revolutionized the music video in the 1980's to such an enormous degree that his impact continues to resonate today in spite of his long absence from public view.

Credit Thriller for that.

Thriller, the seminal music video which Jackson correctly referred to as a short film made its world premiere on MTV 25 years ago today to stunning global reviews. The album of the same name had been released a full year earlier and had sold an unprecedented amount of copies throughout the close of 1982 and much of 1983. Sales began to decline sometime around the fall of '83 but with the release of the unbelievable Thriller film, the album began an eye-popping climb back up the charts and sold better than it had previously!

Before Jackson's historic Thriller album, music videos were very basic and watered down. Often, the performer of the song would be different from the performer in the video. It was Jackson that transformed conventional thinking and used his formidable creativity to fuel his project's singular uniqueness.

Jackson's fame had risen to astronomical levels in early 1983 with the release of his classic "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" videos. Then, a Spring appearance on Motown 25 and a super stylized public image catapulted him into the realm of legendary pop star. He was ultra popular worldwide but no one expected the groundbreaking success that would become the Thriller film.

Directed by film director John Landis, Thriller was a semi-macabre 13-minute horror/musical complete with a storyline and closing credits. It was even released theatrically for a brief time to make it eligible for an Academy Award.

The Thriller album went on to garner eight American Music Awards and another seven Grammys. It sold an astounding 104 million copies worldwide, a historical accomplishment so staggering that most of the greatest artists of all-time haven't even sold that much with their entire discography. As for the film, the quarter century since its premiere has given it a firm place in pop culture lore and it has been mimicked and praised as an iconic creation that has raised the bar tremendously on creativity in the music industry.

Special salute to the great Michael Jackson for making every creative person on the planet better than we ever dreamed of being.