09 BEAT IT MICHAEL JACKSON
GUITARIST: EDDIE VAN HALEN (1982)
Breathtaking results from an unlikely pairing
When Eddie Van Halen went turned up to the studio where Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones were making Thriller and enquired as to what exactly they were after, he was told to just play whatever he wanted. Two takes and 20 minutes later, the shred guitar pioneer was done – having reworked the solo section to suit his unique style of playing. “I was just finishing the second solo when Michael walked in,” Eddie told CNN in 2012. “So I warned him before he listened. I said, ‘Look, I changed the middle section of your song’. He gave it a listen, turned to me and went, ‘Wow, thank you so much for having the passion to not just come in and blaze a solo, but to actually care about the song.’”