Despite being released in the 1980s, Michael Jackson's sixth studio album "Thriller" remains relevant up to this date as it paved the way for many musicians of the recent generations. Famed guitarist Eddie Van Halen was a part of the iconic album, and he previously scared a sound engineer because of his instrumental skills; what happened?
According to Outsider, Van Halen was featured in track 5 of the album titled "Beat It," which is one of the most popular songs of Jackson. The "Van Halen" frontman did a guitar solo in the song, which scared off Bruce Swedien.
In a previous interview with Future Music, as reported by Music Radar, the sound engineer said the guitar solo was the best highlight for him.
When he dropped by the studio to see what was happening, Swedien said Van Halen and Quincy Jones were "tuning and warming up," so he left immediately because he was scared of how loud the music was.
"It was so loud, I would never subject my hearing to that kind of volume level! I didn't record that solo, I hired his engineer - I figured his hearing would probably be a little suspect right now anyway. I then did the mix after it was recorded," he said.
The famed sound engineer passed away late last year. He has been notable for his works with music legends like Paul McCartney, Barbara Streisand, and many more.
The Success of 'Thriller'
2021 is almost over, and Jackson's "Thriller" remains superior as a staggering number of 70 million copies of the record have been sold worldwide.
It immediately sold over a million copies in seven days during its first release. The album received numerous praises and nods, including eight Grammy awards.
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Despite its success, Swedien said in the interview that he never thought the album would be as big as it turned out to be.
"I think anyone who would have the balls to say that is a liar because you don't really know until it gets out in the public and they say 'wow this is really good,'" he said.
Michael Jackson's Punctuality
At the time, Michael Jackson was one of the busiest musicians as he had sold-out shows to attend to and more, but Swedien revealed the singer, who passed away a decade ago, was never late to a recording session.
The sound engineer said Jackson was always early in the studio and would stay up all night memorizing the lyrics they needed to record.
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