10 Best Rock Guitar Riffs Of The 1980s
6. Beat It - Michael Jackson (1983)
Even the King of Pop was making excursion's into the realm of rock during the 1980s. Beat It was a result of one of the most unlikely collaborations imaginable, leading to one of the biggest tracks of the century. This was in no small part thanks to the guitar part.
Although Beat It appeared on the best selling pop album of all time, it was undeniably a rock number. Containing an indisputably confident guitar riff at its core, the track screamed of 80s classic rock, and that's not surprising given those involved in the creation of this song.
The writing process was a combined effort, Toto's Steve Lukather performed the main riff and Eddie Van Halen was pulled in to perform the solo. These were two of the biggest names in rock teaming up with the biggest name in pop. It was only going to end one way.
The riff for this track is endlessly enjoyable, you cant help but adopt the power stance whiling riding that initial E string.