The Truth About Eddie Van Halens Beat It Guitar Solo

You probably can t tell, but Michael Jackson s infectious Beat It was his firstever attempt at a rock song. But, the King of Pop s ode to street life might have never charted at, 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 if it wasn t for the memorable work of hard rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen. In 1982, the antidisco movement was strong, so Jackson and his producer Quincy Jones were looking for something that would give him a harder edge and set his next record apart. Jones tasked him with penning a rock song in the mold of The Knack s megahit My Sharona for his upcoming album Thriller. Who might you enlist if you re a legendary pop superstar dipping your toe in the rock genre For Michael Jackson, it was none other than legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. Eddie Van Halen s iconic guitar riff is now known as the centerpiece of Beat It, but when Quincy Jones approached Van Halen to record on the track, he thought it was a joke. According to St