Photo Credit: Sony Music
Sony and the Michael Jackson estate celebrate the 40th anniversary of Thriller with a new double CD release.
The double CD set is comprised of Michael Jackson’s original masterpiece and an extra CD full of rarities and demos. The Thriller 40th anniversary CD set is available for pre-order today, while ten bonus tracks will be revealed one at a time. The first track will be revealed after Labor Day and the last track on November 18, just before the album’s official release date.
Additionally, 15 tracks that have been limited in release will be available as part of an expanded digital release of Michael Jackson Thriller 40.
The release of Michael Jackson Thriller 40 celebrates the 40th anniversary of the biggest selling album of all time, worldwide. Pop-up events are scheduled across the globe to honor this anniversary for the album that won 8 Grammys, smashed musical barriers, and changed pop music forever.
Thriller spent more than 500 weeks on the Billboard album chart and has sold 100 million albums since its release in 1982. The album holds the record of 37 weeks at the #1 spot on the Billboard chart and was the first album in history to spend its first 80 weeks in the top ten. During its 112 week stint on the Billboard charts, Thriller is the first album to be certified RIAA 20x multi-Platinum and became the first title ever to be certified more than RIAA 30x multi-Platinum in 2015.
Across the globe, Thriller went to the #1 spot in almost every country in the world, including the UK, France, Italy, Australia, Denmark, Belgium, South Africa, Spain, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, and South Africa. Seven tracks from the album went on to become top 10 singles, while “Beat It,” “Billie Jean,” and “Thriller” all hit #1.
Thriller helped African American artists breakthrough on MTV, which refused to play the album at first. Epic Records persisted, and once MTV played the album, the fledgling music network’s ratings soared.