9781422274392

The Roots of Pop Music Have you ever heard of a popular rock star getting paid in beer to help another musician with a pop song that ends up becoming a major hit? It happened! Pop music is full of interesting stories, including the time when Eddie Van Halen ended up recording the guitar solo for Michael Jackson’s iconic song “Beat It” off his Thriller album. Award-winning music producer Quincy Jones was working on Michael Jackson’s Thriller album in the spring of 1982, when he called Eddie Van Halen and asked him to contribute his guitar playing talents to a new song. Eddie’s band Van Halen was one of the most popular rock groups of the 1980s. The band members had promised each other they wouldn’t do side projects, but Eddie was interested in the idea. According to music journalist Brent Lambert, Eddie agreed to create the guitar solo on three conditions. “First, he would never be credited for the work because he didn’t want other members of Van Halen to find out about it,” wrote Lambert. “Second, he didn’t need to be paid because it was just a favor, so all he wanted was a case of beer in return. And third, Eddie also asked for Michael to ‘teach him how to dance someday.’” Eddie rewrote part of “Beat It” to make his guitar solo work. The song hit #1 on the music charts soon after it was released. The success of “Beat It” helped Thriller become the best-selling album of all time.

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