10 Best Rock Music Collaborations Of The 1980s
5. Eddie Van Halen & Michael Jackson - Beat It
Michael Jackson's 1982 monster album Thriller didn't need a rock song on it, but everyone was very glad that one made its way on there. On the insistence of producer Quincy Jones, Jackson wrote Beat It - a song that would go on to become one of his signature tunes.
Now Jones needed someone to play the song's guitar solo, so he looked at his phonebook and found the number of one of the biggest names in rock music at the time. When Quincy rang up Eddie Van Halen and asked him if he'd do it, the Van Halen guitarist thought he was being pranked.
After it was established that this was the real deal, Eddie was more than happy to lay something down for the King of Pop. He recorded the now-legendary solo completely for free, and that was that.
There's a lot to like about Beat It, but the instrumental section is one of the highlights. Van Halen brings his A-game with this performance, which no doubt reassured those who were wondering why a guy from a bubblegum pop background was giving hair metal a go.