How long is billie jean

Jackson's all-encompassing appeal was something that had never happened before in the history of pop music: Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley and the Beatles were preposterously famous in their time, but their appeal was still basically limited to white people.

Michael Jackson, during his Thriller LP era, had everybody talking about him. To shatter this perception, Jackson created the flashy, enigmatic, vaguely dangerous persona who appeared in Billie Jean, Beat It and Bad. At a time when most music videos were either primitive or stupid, Jackson made a video that was clever, original, visually opulent and mysterious.

This was the first time that a song had been upstaged by the performance of a song, creating a peculiar situation where no one really had any interest in hearing the song unless they could simultaneously watch the song being performed.

Other bands - ZZ Top, the Police, Cyndie Lauper, the Bangles - were putting out amusing, entertaining videos at the time, but no one was watching them because of Sting's dancing. Michael Jackson's footwork was the central conversational theme of Planet Earth throughout the 's. Not until the Berlin Wall came down in did mankind move on to another topic. Billie Jean, which has nothing to do with the tennis legend Billie Jean King, was recorded on a specially designed set to capture the muted sound of the snare drum that Jackson insisted upon.

It was produced by the legendary Quincy Jones, who wanted Jackson to change the name of the song and also to shorten the improbably lengthy second introduction, during which Jackson does not actually sing. More thought went into the production of this single than would go into the entire recording careers of Axl Rose, Coldplay, Shania Twain or Gwen Stefani. Billie Jean King. Printer Friendly. Media Credits Copyright Privacy.

Sullivan Jim Thorpe Kristi Yamaguchi view larger. Acutely aware of the media frenzy surrounding her match with Riggs, King chose this flashy polyester-knit costume created by Teddy Tingling.

Not only is it one of the highest selling singles of all time and the catapult that shot Jacko to the zenith of pop, it also changed the entertainment world. First, it was the video that drew attention to MTV and kickstarted its significance in popular culture. Second, it finally broke the grip of the racists in charge who refused to play videos featuring black performers.

Here are 30 other facts you might not know. Michael Jackson said he came up with the idea while driving his Rolls-Royce down a motorway.

A guy passing on a motorcyclist warned him and saved his life. And the rest is history.