November 30 marks the 40th anniversary of the best-selling album of all time — Michael Jackson‘s Thriller. An expanded version of the Grammy-winning album arrives November 18, and fans can begin pre-ordering it now.
Back in May, Sony Music first announced Michael Jackson Thriller 40 — a double CD set with a bonus record filled with rare audio recordings and demos that Jackson worked on during the 1982 album’s sessions.
In a new release posted Monday, the record label revealed that they’ll begin unveiling the titles of every bonus track after Labor Day — but only one at a time. The final mystery title will be made known on November 17.
Sony is further treating fans by including 15 rarely heard tracks in an expanded digital release of the Thriller album. These songs were previously granted a limited release.
Furthermore, Sony Music will host pop-up events and other Michael Jackson-centered celebrations across the globe.
Thriller has sold over 70 million copies worldwide and is certified 34-times Platinum by the RIAA, making it the second-best-selling album ever in the U.S. The album dominated the Billboard 200 chart for an impressive 37 weeks.
It also fired up the Billboard Hot 100 with seven top-10 hits, including the chart-topping singles “Billie Jean” and “Beat It,” as well as “The Girl Is Mine,” the Paul McCartney duet that peaked at number two.
The album also is credited with breaking the color barrier at MTV with the 1982 music video “Billie Jean.” Prior to the clip, the channel rarely played material from Black artists.
In addition to “Billie Jean,” the John Landis-directed cinematic music video for “Thriller” became the standard by which all music videos were judged.
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