

Storybook Record,” says sound effects guru Bruce Cannon in an interview with The Telegraph. “Steven Spielberg and Kathy Kennedy had me help out on a record they were doing with Michael Jackson called The E.T. He got to work right away, even though Michael was working with Steven Spielberg and producer Kathleen Kennedy in a recording studio down the hall where he was doing some voice work for an E.T. When Eddie arrived at Westlake Audio in West Hollywood (the legendary studio at 8447 Beverly Boulevard where Thriller was produced and recorded), he also came equipped with some of his own beer.
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He told Quincy he would agree to do the solo on three conditions: 1) he would never be credited for the work because he didn’t want other members of Van Halen to find out about it, 2) he didn’t need to be paid because it was just a favor so all he wanted was a case of beer in return, 3) Eddie also asked for Michael to “teach him how to dance someday.” Because his bandmates were out of town, Eddie made the decision to go ahead and do it on the down-low. In the end, the lure of one of music’s most prolific producers proved too big to resist. “From our front window, we witnessed, about three bad rumbles between rival gangs.”Įddie was initially reluctant to do the solo work on the track because he had a deal with his bandmates that they would never do any side gigs or solo projects.

Jones wanted to include a rock song on the album in the vein of the Knack’s “My Sharona”, and although Jackson had never previously been interested in rock, Jackson later said, “I wanted to write a song, the type of song that I would buy if I were to buy a rock song … That is how I approached it and I wanted the children to really enjoy it - the school children as well as the college students.” Jermaine Jackson has suggested the inspirational seeds for “Beat It” and its accompanying video came from the Jackson family experiencing gang activity in Gary, Indiana. He explained to Eddie how the album - which still had no working title - was going to “save the recording industry” (which was tanking at the time), and he wanted the guitar legend to do a solo on one of the tracks called “Beat It”. Quincy was reaching out because he was in the middle of producing a brand new album by Michael Jackson which he knew was going to be big. This happened four times before Eddie Van Halen realized it wasn’t a prank call, and it was indeed Quincy Jones calling him. The phone rang and Eddie asked, “Who is it?” The voice on the other end replied, “It’s Quincy!” Eddie asks, “Quincy who?!” And the guy says, “Quincy Jones!” Eddie instantly screams, “Fuck off!” and hangs up the phone.

It was the summer of 1982 and Eddie Van Halen was chilling at home in L.A.
