How Quincy Jones Saved Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” From Heavy Metal

Legendary producer, songwriter, composer, and musician Quincy Jones died Nov. 3 at age 91. Jones leaves behind quite the legacy, racking up 28 Grammy Awards and seven Oscar nominations. Additionally, he produced three of Michael Jackson’s biggest smash hits: Off the Wall, Thriller and Bad. In particular, Thriller became the best-selling album of all time with 32 million copies sold. And one of the album’s most timeless tracks could have sounded very different had Jones not intervened.

Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson Were a Force To Be Reckoned With

Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones met in 1978 on the set of the film adaptation for the groundbreaking Broadway musical The Wiz. Jackson starred as the Scarecrow, while Jones composed the film’s musical score.

The two teamed up to create 1979’s Off the Wall, which wound up becoming a major career breakthrough for the King of Pop. When they reunited three years later, the “Bad” singer wanted to create a record where “every song was a killer.” The gift of hindsight tells us that was a success — “Beat It,” “Thriller,” and “Billie Jean,” anyone?

[RELATED: The Story Behind How Quincy Jones Nearly Cut “Billie Jean” From Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’]

At Jones’ urging, Jackson decided to toss a rock song into the mix. Thus came “Beat It,” featuring an absolutely shredding guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen.

“You Gotta Calm It Down”

Quincy Jones enlisted Steve Luthakar, a founding member of the Los Angeles rock band Toto, to play guitar on Thriller. In a recent interview with The Guardian, Luthakar, now 67, admitted he may have understood the initial “rock song” assignment too well.

“I was doing real hard rock, a quadruple-track riff,” he remembered of making “Beat It.”

“Quincy wasn’t even there, he was at Westlake doing overdubs on ‘Billie Jean’ while we were fixing ‘Beat It,’” Luthakar continued. So we’d be on the phone and he goes: ‘It’s too metal, you gotta calm down. I gotta get it on pop radio! Use the small amp, not so much distortion.’”

“Beat It” serves as a lasting testament to Jones’ true genius, Luthakar said.

“Quincy is the only guy that can do a solo album without playing or writing anything,” he told The Guardian. “Somehow, no matter what he did, there was a Quincy Jones sound, even if he didn’t play, sing, write or whatever. He was a director.”

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