Right from his start in Gary, Indiana with his brothers in The Jackson 5, it was obvious that Michael Jackson was destined for stardom. Over a four-decade career, his contributions to music, dance and fashion, along with his globally publicized personal life, made him a world-renown figure in pop culture. Jackson influenced artists across many music genres; through stage and video performances, he popularized complicated dance moves such as the moonwalk, to which he gave the name, as well as the robot.
He was indeed destined for stardom. Michael Jackson is the most awarded recording artist in pop music history.
It was not easy for me to pick a song by Michael Jackson; after watching a few videos, I kept coming back to one because of its creativity in both song and dance. The precision of the dance moves by Jackson and the ensemble cast is impeccable. We’d never seen anything quite like it before or since. My choice for you today is Thriller.
What you are about to see is the short version; no singing or dancing has been cut from the long version so you won’t be missing anything. The full version is more than 13 minutes long and is all about what happens before the zombie song/dance routine. I saw no reason in taking up your time with what can readily be viewed on YouTube at your leisure.
The first time I saw this on MTV, I couldn’t believe what I was watching. Hold onto something and get ready for Thriller!
That was crazy good! So fabulous to watch and still great after all these years!
Now for the question of the day:
In the original long version of “Thriller”, we can hear narration being done by a very ‘creepy’ and easily recognizable voice. Can you name the famous old-time actor well known for his many spooky movies who was the voice of “Thriller”?
Check the bottom of the page for the answer.
Well, I hope you’re having a great time here In The Groove. I love comments as well as answers so don’t be shy; let me know what you’re thinking.
Catch you Thursday At The Movies.
See you on the flip side.
I’m The Sicilian Storyteller
NAR © 2023
The unforgettable spooky voice was that of ….. Vincent Price.
The Elephant's Trunk 
I know all of the answers to this one! Vincent Price… Michael Jackson, Thriller. I haven’t seen the video in full, but I remember VP being on the vinyl LP my brother owned. I wasn’t overly keen on MJ, but this is a good song… I like Hallowe’en!
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Sorry, Tom. I’m just seeing this! Mea culpa!
I was never “overly keen” on MJ either; I thought his songs were just so-so. It’s his dancing and his incredible musicality that I admired.
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No worries, Nancy! I’m just doing the same myself now! 😊 He did have his own take.
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Price added the perfect creepy tone to the end of that video.
When my kids were in tae kwon do, the black belts were invited to a local college to do a presentation during their Halloween celebration. I helped their master choreograph a routine to Thriller. My daughter was the lead zombie and my son played Michael’s part. It was a combo of the dance and their TKD skills. They brought down the house. I’d like to say it was their skills, and I’m sure that was part of it because they were quite talented, but I have to give credit to the song itself. EVERYONE loves it.
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Being a TKD Grammy myself, I can picture the whole thing. I bet it was fantastic!
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I was as proud of them as you might imagine.
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Thanks for trotting this one out N.! One of my favorites.
As was Vincent Price! I loved it when he narrated Masterpiece Mystery.
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There’s so much great music to write about, D! And MJ could probably have his own segment here in The Rhythm Section. A supremely talented individual with a truckload of idiosyncrasies!
Vincent Price! What a classic character he was!
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Adored them both!
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Yeah I could hear the voice in my head and I knew it was one of the old horror actors.
He was a funny old boy, Jackson. He was for sure talented but however good his voice, yes he had a messed up childhood, but you’ve got to treat people right.
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MJ…Michael Jackson, Michael Jordan, Mick Jagger, Magic Johnson, MidJourney… there seems to be stardust infused in those initials!
Thriller and Smooth Criminal were so unique…in a decade that had no shortage of flair!
Here is another prime moment of MJ… the energy, the connotation, the rhythm shared is unparalleled.
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This one fell through the crack in my memory bank. Thanks for the reminder, Nick!
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I heard Vincent Price took money instead of a cut of the royalties. Suspect the decision haunted him later
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Well… only something like that could haunt Vincent!
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I got a chuckle from it
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Ha! Great answer!
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It is an amazing video. I think his video for Smooth Criminal is also one of his best. And of course, it’s Vincent Price’s voice.
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It was a tough call but I ultimately chose Thriller over Smooth Criminal, although the latter was like watching a ballet and did appeal to me in a fashion sense.
Of course, the one and only Vincent Price is the right answer.
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