№ 05 · COLLABORATION
The Free Van Halen Solo
Beat It guitar solo — recorded in one afternoon, 1982
MICHAEL JACKSON
The King of Pop
★ LEGENDARY
← MICHAEL JACKSON
CARD N° 05 · COLLABORATION · ★ LEGENDARY
The Free Van Halen Solo
Beat It guitar solo — recorded in one afternoon, 1982
№ 05 COLLABORATION
The Free Van Halen Solo
Quincy Jones called Eddie Van Halen and asked him to play the guitar solo on Beat It. Eddie did it for free, alone, on lunch break from a Van Halen tour — and didn't tell his bandmates. He blew out a studio monitor in the process.
▶ THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson — Beat It (Official Video, 1983)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRdxUFDoQe0
MICHAEL JACKSON · B·SIDE · VOL.I
HOVER TO FLIP
THE FACT
Quincy Jones called Eddie Van Halen and asked him to play the guitar solo on Beat It. Eddie did it for free, alone, on lunch break from a Van Halen tour — and didn't tell his bandmates. He blew out a studio monitor in the process.
WHAT MOST DON'T KNOW
Eddie said later: 'I thought Quincy was kidding. Then he played me the track and I said yes immediately, but I told him I was going to do it for nothing. As a thank-you, he could do me a favour someday.' He arrived at Westlake Studios, recorded two complete solos in about 30 minutes, picked the better one, and left. He also restructured the rhythm of the song's bridge to make room for the solo, telling engineer Bruce Swedien which two bars to repeat. When the rest of Van Halen heard about it on the radio, David Lee Roth was furious. Eddie, asked later why he'd done it, said: 'Because nobody had ever asked me to do something so different. I owe Michael a lot for that one phone call.'
▶
THE MOMENT
Michael Jackson — Beat It (Official Video, 1983) — Real Crips and Bloods were cast to defuse LA gang tensions during filming.