The week of March 10, 1984, was a great one on the Billboard Hot 100.
In the top spot you had Van Halen’s ‘Jump,’ followed by Cyndi Lauper’s ‘Girls Just Wanna Have Fun.’ Rounding out the top three was Nena’s ’99 Luftballons,’ a rare hit not in the English language.
What a great mix of songs. What a great decade!
And as if that bounty wasn’t enough, the #4 song that week was the title track of Michael Jackson’s Thriller. This was the seventh and final single from the album, and the fifth to reach the top five (all seven reached the top ten). Among Thriller‘s tracklist, Only ‘Baby Be Mine’ and ‘The Lady in My Life’ (like this song, written by Rod Templeton) were not released as singles.
‘Thriller’ was buoyed by its John Landis-directed video, which had premiered in December of 1983 and become a sensation. Combining state-of-the-art werewolf effects and iconic zombie dance choreography, the video is considered one of the all-time greats. I’m actually shocked it didn’t help push this song to #1.
This is such a taken-for-granted classic that it’s hard to recall how odd it must have been to first hear a song that opens with haunted house sound effects and closes with a Vincent Price monologue. Anyway, it sounds as good today as it did back then.
It’s close to midnight
And something evil’s lurking in the dark
Under the moonlight
You see a sight that almost stops your heart
You try to scream
But terror takes the sound before you make it
You start to freeze
As horror looks you right between the eyes
You’re paralyzed[Chorus]
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
And no one’s gonna save you
From the beast about to strike
You know it’s thriller, thriller night
You’re fighting for your life inside a killer
Thriller tonight, yeah
Ooh
[Verse 2]
You hear the door slam
And realize there’s nowhere left to run
You feel the cold hand
And wonder if you’ll ever see the sun
You close your eyes
And hope that this is just imagination (Girl)
But all the while
You hear a creature creepin’ up behind
You’re out of time
[Chorus]
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
There ain’t no second chance
Against the thing with forty eyes, girl
Thriller (Ooh), thriller night
You’re fighting for your life
Inside a killer, thriller tonight
[Bridge]
Night creatures call
And the dead start to walk in their masquerade
There’s no escaping the jaws of the alien this time
(They’re open wide)
This is the end of your life, ooh
[Verse 3]
They’re out to get you
There’s demons closing in on every side (Ooh)
They will possess you
Unless you change that number on your dial
Now is the time
For you and I to cuddle close together, yeah
All through the night
I’ll save you from the terror on the screen
I’ll make you see
[Chorus]
That this is thriller, thriller night
‘Cause I can thrill you more
Than any ghoul would ever dare try
Thriller (Ooh), thriller night
So let me hold you tight
And share a killer, thriller, chiller
Thriller, here tonight
‘Cause this is thriller, thriller night
Girl, I can thrill you more
Than any ghoul would ever dare try
Thriller (Ooh), thriller night
So let me hold you tight
And share a killer, thriller (Ow)
[Outro: Vincent Price & Michael Jackson]
I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Darkness falls across the land
The midnight hour is close at hand
Creatures crawl in search of blood
To terrorize y’all’s neighborhood (I’m gonna thrill you tonight)
And whosoever shall be found
Without the soul for getting down
Must stand and face the hounds of hell
And rot inside a corpse’s shell
I’m gonna thrill you tonight
Thriller, ooh, babe (Thriller)
I’m gonna thrill you tonight (Thriller night)
Thriller, oh, darling (Oh, baby)
I’m gonna thrill you tonight (Thriller)
Ooh, babe (Thriller night)
I’m gonna thrill you tonight (Thriller)
Oh, darling (Oh, baby)
Thriller night, babe (Thriller night, babe)
Ooh
The foulest stench is in the air
The funk of forty thousand years (Thriller night, thriller)
And grisly ghouls from every tomb
Are closing in to seal your doom
And though you fight to stay alive
Your body starts to shiver (I’m gonna thrill you tonight)
For no mere mortal can resist
The evil of the thriller
Meet Me In Montauk 
A classic indeed! I would have bet good money that this was one of MJ’s number one hits.
love this song and video❤️❤️❤️ just recently saw a video from the movie 13 I think Jennifer Garner and Mark Ruffalo doing this dance.
pretty sure the video didn’t premiere in December of 2023 😉 but boy do I remember it as it were that recent!
Oops, fixed!