This Wednesday marks the 38th anniversary of when MTV first aired the video for Billie Jean, the second single from Michael Jackson’s album, Thriller on March 10th, 1983.
That might not seem like such a big deal now, but back then it was huge. MTV had been on the air for just about two years and almost all of the videos they played were by white bands and musicians. The excuse for this back then from the suits that ran the station was that they played rock ’n roll and there weren’t that many black rock ’n roll artists.
MTV originally refused to air the video for Billie Jean, when CBS records submitted it to the music channel, according to the label’s president at the time, Walter Yetnikoff. After Yetnikoff threatened to pull every video from the station, they caved in, played the video and it was the start of black artists getting their rightly deserved exposure on MTV.
The video was a huge hit and went into heavy rotation and the song became a number one hit for Michael Jackson and helped push him to superstar status.
Below are six online articles about this groundbreaking musical moment in history and a link to a mini video documentary about the video and song.
And then there’s the MBIP Coming Attractions as to what’s happening on the blog next week!
How the ‘Billie Jean’ Video Changed MTV - This article looks back at how MTV caved in to the pressure to finally run “Billie Jean” and how it changed the structure of the network.
How MTV Handled Accusations of Racism and Became More Inclusive - Billie Jean was the first step that started MTV’s integration of black artist’s becoming part of the rotation of videos and later having shows dedicated to black musicians.
30 Cool Facts You Didn’t Know About ‘Billie Jean’ - I never knew that producer Quincy Jones hated the intro and bass line, which Michael Jackson rightfully fought for and gave the song it’s originality.
Behind The Song: Michael Jackson, “Billie Jean” - An article that goes behind the making and writing of “Billie Jean.”
The Number Ones: Michael Jackson’s “Billie Jean” - This article shows how “Billie Jean” took Michael Jackson to superstar status in the showbiz world.
Steve Barron recalls directing Michael Jackson’s ‘Billie Jean’: ‘I thought, when people see this, the world is going to change.’ - The video was groundbreaking and no one knew this better than Steve Barron, who directed it.
Behind The Music - ‘Billie Jean’ by Michael Jackson - A mini documentary on the song and video that changed MTV and Michael Jackson’s solo career.
Monday: Two weeks ago I posted a pizza link to an MBIP post about Fedora’s which led to some people asking if it was closed. Well I’m happy to report that it’s still open and I got my Saturday Night Take-Out dinner from there. Tune in tomorrow to see what I got!
Tuesday: We’ll be looking at what happened a year ago on the blog and it will be getting into pandemic times, so it starts to get pretty interesting.
Wednesday: I’m going to be taking a day off from the blog, but I’ll be highlighting the last twelve week’s of grilled cheese sandwiches on this day.
Thursday: The Peoria Riverfront Museum has opened back up and there’s a sculpture by Preston Jackson I’m going to go look at and take photos of today and this will be up next Thursday.
Friday: Last week I had a mixed up trip to Panda Express. I’m going to try and correct that this week.
Saturday: This will be another saucy post about a pizza from the past.
Okay, I have to get busy here, have a wonderful Sunday and we’ll see you all tomorrow!
Related Posts: Sunday Links: Saturday Night Live ’80, End Of The Century By The Ramones and Heart.