@Vegan: Regarding "Thriller," the main problem there was the timing. When the John Landis-directed video was released, the song could've likely made it to #1 but there was small problem--it wasn't released as a commercial single. Billboard's policy (not changed until 1998) required a commercial single be available in order for a song to be eligible to chart. Jackson's record label didn't release "Thriller" as a commercial single until January of 1984 while radio stations had played the song as an album track months earlier. IOW, by the time people could buy a copy of the physical single (which actually lacked the Vincent Price "rap" largely due to compensation rights for the single's release), radio stations were largely burned out on playing the song--the late fall 1983 airplay is sometimes blamed for causing the somewhat lackluster chart performance of "PYT." Somewhat interestingly, "Thriller"s performance as a single mirrored John Lennon's "Imagine"; the latter song had also been "played to death" at radio before the song was commercially released (both songs debuted in the Top 20 on Billboard's Hot 100, then jumped to the Top 10 in their second weeks, peaking within their next two weeks, and spending only 9 weeks in the Top 40).
Somewhat interestingly, the same Billboard policy which hurt "Thriller"s chance at hitting #1 also caused Michael's "You Are Not Alone" to become the first US single to ever "debut" at #1 on the Hot 100. The song had already made it to the Top 10 on Billboard's "Airplay" chart after a couple of months of airplay but the label had held back releasing a commercial single (there's speculation it was because of the relatively lackluster radio reception to the earlier release of "Scream"--while that song debuted, and peaked, at #5, it did so almost entirely based on sales). In mid-August, the label relented and released the single which sold *very* well in its first week, and did so for a couple weeks, although it was never the biggest-selling single of any week. But, the way |
Songs on Thriller
Vincent Price's Thriller
Michael Jackson Albums
