“Thriller” is a disco-funk song written by Rod Temperton for Michael Jackson’s 1982 album Thriller. Produced by Quincy Jones, it was recorded at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles and released as the album’s seventh and final single in 1983 in the UK and 1984 in the United States. Temperton conceived it as a theatrical piece suited to Jackson’s love of film, building the song around a persistent bass and drum pattern, rising harmonic tension, horror-film sound effects, and Vincent Price’s spoken closing sequence.
The recording has a moderate 118 BPM pulse and is described as being in C-sharp Dorian. Its arrangement combines an ARP 2600 synthesizer bassline, layered Jupiter-8 and Prophet-5 pads, LinnDrum-based percussion, Rhodes piano, and guitar. The introduction uses creaking-door, thunder, footsteps, wind, and wolf-howl effects, establishing the song’s cinematic horror atmosphere before the groove enters. The single reached number four on the Billboard Hot 100, while John Landis’s zombie-themed video became one of the most celebrated music videos of all time.
