Michael Jackson, Beat It | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 140th edition of Throwback Vibez (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Beat It” by the King of Pop, Michael Jackson.   

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 140^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2024), we recollect and reflect on “Beat It” performed by Michael Jackson.

“Just beat it (Beat it) / Beat it (Beat it) / No one wants to be defeated / Showin’ how funky and strong is your fight / It doesn’t matter who’s wrong or right / Just beat it!” 1982 was a big year for the late, great Michael Jackson (1958 – 2009). He’d release the biggest album of his career and the biggest solo album of all time with Thriller. Every song on Thriller is a bop. “Beat It” has a strong case as the crowning achievement (“Billie Jean” is in contention, too).  Jackson penned this beloved pop/rock joint while the legendary Quincy Jones produced it.  “Beat It” spent three weeks at no. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. It was certified octuple platinum by the RIAA as of August 2022.  The song won two Grammys (Best Rock Vocal Performance, Male, and Record Of The Year). Additionally, it was nominated for Song of The Year alongside “Billie Jean” (an L to Sting and The Police for “Every Breath You Take”).

What makes “Beat It” one of the most iconic songs, ever? It’s simple: EVERYTHING. That can’t be overstated! Michael Jackson exemplifies a once-in-a-lifetime musician. The talent speaks for itself. His voice sounds youthful, commanding, dynamic, and expressive to the nth degree.  He brings the colorful melodies to life with his prodigious instrument.  The ear-catching songwriting matches his voice. “They told him, ‘Don’t you ever come around here / Don’t wanna see your face, you better disappear’,” he sings in the first verse, continuing, passionately, “The fire’s in their eyes and their words are really clear / So beat it, just beat it.” Word.  The second verse is a vibe too, where, “Don’t wanna be a boy, you wanna be a man,” and “They’ll kick you, then they’ll beat you, then they’ll tell you it’s fair / So, beat it.” Jackson is warning this man of the danger that faces him and to ‘beat it’ aka step back from the fight.  But, the ‘boy’ wants to be a ‘man’ even though he’s likely to get his butt kicked.  The chorus, excerpted above, is the sugar honey iced tea.  That leaves one more component that makes “Beat It” the sugar honey iced tea: the accompaniment.  The sound is locked into sleek 80s rock, giving Jackson an edgier, hard-nosed sound.  This was intentional. The backdrop matches the theme and lyrics perfectly, as masculinity is explored.  The rhythm section is locked in. The guitar is the star particularly the guitar solo by another late musical legend, Eddie Van Halen (1955 – 2020). So much more can be said about “Beat It”.  The best way to analyze is not to analyze it.  The music, in all its timeless genius, speaks volumes.

Michael Jackson // Thriller // MJJ Productions, Inc. // 1982

Michael Jackson, Beat It: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 140 (2024) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; MJJ Productions, Inc.; OpenClipart-Vectors, Clker-Free-Vector-Images, Speedy McVroom from Pixabay]