Draft: Thriller
Thriller memorialized
IN 2015, Marinelli sat for an interview with the BBC, reflecting on his memories and contributions to Michael Jackson's Thriller.[1] Tom Baylor had introduced Marinelli to music producer Quincy Jones. Marinelli and partner, Brian Banks were hired as session musicians working at "Studio B", at Westlake Studios in West Hollywood for the creation of Thriller. In addition to bringing in three truckloads of synthesizer gear, preliminary duties consisted of briefing Michael Jackson on the capabilities of the emerging technologies, sound creation and programming.[2]
Most instrumental parts of Thriller were played by session musicians as sequencing and digital synthesizers had yet to be introduced to the industry (???)[2] ...the Synclavier originally used FM synthesis technology licensed from Yamaha,[15] before adding the world's first 16-bit, real-time hard drive streaming sampler later in 1982.11 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Digital_synthesizer#History (Some performances required assistance as the performer played, while the programmer modulated the sound manually????) Template:Citation needed
The BBC "Witness" radio podcast was followed by three pilot vlogs for Marinelli's YouTube channel called How We Created It. In the first episode, Marinelli demonstrates how to recreate the falling star sound that opens the "Thriller" song. The following two part series is called "Studio Stories".[2] Quincy Jones production assistant, Steven Ray,[3] who was present at both studios, joins Marinelli to compare stories in 2020.[4] Marinelli and Ray continued recording episodes and was approached by Audivita Studios and a podcast distribution deal with David Wolf producing, Christian D. Bruun directing. Stories In The Room: “Michael Jackson’s Thriller Album” has published 72 episodes as of February 2024. [5] Guest appearances include:
- Matt Forger (sound engineer)[6]
- Lorraine Fields (Thriller zombie dancer)[7]
- Larry Williams (keyboards and reeds)
- Greg Phillinganes (keyboards)
- Steve Porcaro (keyboards, composer on "Human Nature and "The Girl Is Mine")
- Paul Jackson Jr. (guitar and bass, no relation to Michael Jackson)
- The Waters Family (vocal ensemble, Luther Waters, Julia Waters Tillman. Oren Waters, and Maxine Willard Waters)
Content from Stories in The Room appears in the film Thriller 40 (Showtime - Paramount+).Template:Citation needed Marinelli continues to talk shop about sound creation, composing and most recently, what it was like to work with Giorgio Moroder.[8] on his own Youtube channel, Anthony Marinelli Music.
References
- ↑ "Witness History, Michael Jackson's Thriller". BBC. 2015-12-23. Archived from the original on 2024-02-02. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
In 1982 the world's best selling album was released. Thriller included hits such as Beat It, Billie Jean and Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' as well as the title track. Witness speaks to Anthony Marinelli who worked on the seminal album.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Carr, Dan (2022-11-30). "The synth sounds of Michael Jackson's Thriller (and how to recreate them in your DAW)". MusicRadar. Archived from the original on 2024-01-17. Retrieved 2024-02-02.
Looking for a more ‘cinematic’ sound, Quincy Jones enlisted synthesizer programmers Anthony Marinelli and Brian Banks, who bought every synth available at the time and turned up to Westlake Studios with three trucks full of instruments.
- ↑ Steven Ray Credits at AllMusic
- ↑ "Blog". (/\/\) Anthony Marinelli // Music Forever. 2020-10-13. Archived from the original on 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ↑ "Stories In The Room: Michael Jackson's Thriller Album". MJVibe. 2023-02-11. Archived from the original on 2024-02-03. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ↑ "Original programmer who worked on Michael Jackson's Billie Jean reveals how he created its iconic four-chord stack". MusicTech. 2023-12-22. Archived from the original on 2024-01-06. Retrieved 2024-02-03.
- ↑ "Monster budgets, visits from Jackie Onassis, and a very angry Vincent Price: how Michael Jackson made Thriller". The Telegraph. 2018-08-29. Archived from the original on 2022-12-06. Retrieved 2024-02-04.
This was before the internet, so I don't know how people found out. It was like dancing on stage, it was like doing a concert. We didn't start taping until the middle of the night. Every night it was like, he came out and people were screaming. It was like being in concert with Michael Jackson - it was very exciting.
- ↑ ""Don't think, just do": Former Giorgio Moroder collaborator says the godfather of disco was "all about the melody"". MusicTech. 2024-01-04. Archived from the original on 2024-02-05. Retrieved 2024-02-05.