40 Years Later, Thriller's Grammy Sweep Still Resonates Professors Lil John Roberts and Mimi Jones, part of the team leading the upcoming Michael Jackson Ensemble concert, share their thoughts on the most successful album of all time.
By
Daniel Pesquera
February 28, 2024
Lil John Roberts serves as the concerts executive musical director.
Image courtesy of the artist
Image by Benjamin Brown
February 28 marks 40 years since Michael Jackson's game-changing album Thriller took home eight trophies at the 1984 Grammy Awards. His wins that night included Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Engineered Recording. This historic moment confirmed what many music fans already knew: Thriller was not only an all-time record (one that still holds strong as the best-selling album ever with over 50 million certified copies), but a masterpiece that would alter the direction of mainstream entertainment.
On April 12 and 13, Berklee will present Michael Jackson Ensemble: Human Nature as part of the college's spring Signature Series. Tia Fuller, professor of ensembles, is the shows executive director, along with Lil John Roberts, professor of ensembles and percussion, serving as executive musical director, and Mimi Jones, associate professor of ensembles, as director. Roberts previously worked with Jackson and toured extensively with Janet Jackson during her 1998 Velvet Rope tour.
In recognition of the anniversary, we spoke with Roberts and Jones about why Thriller has remained such a force that continues to inspire generations of artists.
This interview was edited for length and clarity.
How did this album change peoples perception about how a record could impact the global culture?Mimi Jones: Thriller set a new standard in multimedia across the board for music, music videos, cinematography, choreography, and storyline for a song. The production of the music was a great combination of pop/funk with elements of other genres. It was classic and revolutionary at the same time. Could you imagine creating a 13-minute music video at that time and even in our present day? Videos after this would now take more time to create an actual storyline and incorporate a much higher level of cinema instead of a cheesy ad for the song. It was also rare to see an African American man and his African American girlfriend admired and be the stars of the video, where they both were depicted in a beautiful and normal light, when so many movies still had Black people looking angry, menacing, or on drugs.
The album took home eight Grammys, including Album of the Year, Record of the Year, and Best Engineered Album. Is there an aspect of Thriller that still stands out to you as particularly singular or genre-defining, such as the songwriting and the production?Lil John Roberts: The things that stand out to me is the production blend of programming and live musicians. They found a way to marry both and have it grooving so hard. The players were tight! My buddy Jerry Hey on the horn arrangements, David Paich, Tom Bahler, Brian Banks, Greg Phillinganes, David Foster, Jeff Porcaro, Steve Porcaro, Steve Lukather, and many, many others made profound contributions to the album. It changed the way that pop music sounded.
Professor Roberts, youve worked with Michael Jackson, and you toured extensively with Janet Jackson as well. What would you say are the essential hallmarks of successful entertainers such as Michael and Janet Jackson from the standpoint of creating and sustaining success as a performing artist?Roberts: The things that stood out to me working with Michael and Janet was how hard they worked and their dedication to the art, striving to reach perfection the best way they could. Even if it wasn't perfect, you had to bring your A-game all the time, and push past that to be even greater. We would rehearse for hours, days, weeks, months before we hit the road. We knew the parts in our sleep, and every night just got better and better! I didn't get to tour with Michael, but I did a session in the studio for him, and later on he reached out to me asking if I was interested. I was elated just being asked by him.
Do you have a favorite song from the record and why?Jones: This is such a difficult question; I seriously love every song on the record. The storytelling, harmonic movement, and production of all the sounds integrated in Human Nature were done so succulently, its like fine chocolate. Michaels voice is hypnotic. [It felt like] everyone needed this in their lives. The groove alone in Billie Jean gives us all an empowered feeling. Even if we didnt understand all the lyrics or what the song was about. Its edgy and kind of angry. I love that it has so many strings playing but has more of a rock edge.
Roberts: OMG! It's so hard to pick one song from that album that I like the most-they are all amazing! One that stood out to me was P.Y.T. because of the syncopated groove and those chipmunk-ish sounding background vocals in the chorus. But Billie Jean because of the video with the lighting up floor tiles was outstanding. But Thriller ? No question that is the one! The groove, the theatrics of the song, accompanied by the video of course. Game changing!
Talk to us about the upcoming Michael Jackson Ensemble concert at the Berklee Performance Center.
Members of the Michael Jackson Ensemble.
Image courtesy of the artists
Roberts: I'm very proud of the work that we are all putting in for the MJ Ensemble tribute, from the professors Tia Fuller, Mimi, Jhony Keys, Anthony Burrell, and myself; along with the creative team, the band, and the students (vocalists and band, programmers, dancers)-it's a lot! We have a working list of almost 50 songs! We would need a lot more time to really dig into the production and theatrical side of things. We're trying to teach the songs and
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
04/08/2026
Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...
04/07/2026
April 7 2026, 19:00 (PDT) Detective Conan: Fallen Angel of the Highway Opens in...
01/06/2026
January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026
Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...
18/05/2026
Despite a bumpy start to the year, the provider of event-production support and ...
18/05/2026
Daktronics has partnered with the University of North Carolina to manufacture and install 11 LED displays totaling more than 10,000 square feet and more than 14...
18/05/2026
CBS LA has announced a multi-year partnership with the Los Angeles Rams, covering exclusive local broadcasts of Rams preseason games, weekly year-round programm...
18/05/2026
Skyline Communications has announced an integration between its DataMiner xOps p...
18/05/2026
eCLUTCH, the hybrid esports platform powered by iKOMG, has announced an expansion of its distribution across Europe, MENA, Africa, and Asia, along with new cont...
18/05/2026
Behind The Mic provides a roundup of recent news regarding on-air talent, includ...
18/05/2026
With 22 games this season, the production team looks forward to tweaking and enhancing the coverage
After 8,660 days off the air, the WNBA returned to NBC yest...
18/05/2026
(L-R) Midori Francis and Natalie Erika James attend the Saccharine premiere during the 2026 Sundance Film Festival at The Ray Theatre on January 22, 2026, in ...
18/05/2026
Last night, the Spotify Podcast Awards in Mexico returned to the country's capital. Now in its second year, the evening honors creators whose voices are hel...
18/05/2026
ZEN-Core synth goes mobile
Roland's powerful ZEN-Core software synthesizer has just been introduced to the iPad, offering a convenient entry point into ...
18/05/2026
Versatile new limiter plug-in announced
Based in Sheffield, UK, fedDSP offer a range of plug-ins that span the music production, live sound and high-end med...
18/05/2026
A new use for convolution?
Viiri Audio's debut plug-in aims to do something a little different with convolution processing, allowing users to adjust all...
18/05/2026
Delta Goodrem shines for SBS as more than 3.27 million Australians tune in for E...
18/05/2026
The Australian Defence Force uses L3Harris T4 and T7 robots for explosive ordnan...
18/05/2026
Continued investment across Europe and Germany is expanding local teams and improving access to stock, regional expertise, and specialist broadcast support.
CV...
18/05/2026
18 May 2026
Dubai and New York, May 18, 2026 - VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON), a glob...
18/05/2026
Monday 18 May 2026
Sky News offers ad-free podcasts and bonus episodes for just...
18/05/2026
Comscore March 2026 Consumer AI Chatbot Usage Rankings Show Claude Gaining Share OpenAI's ChatGPT maintains lead while Anthropic's Claude continues to c...
17/05/2026
Delta Goodrem's Eurovision Eclipse marks end of a stellar run
17 May, 2026
Media releases
Bulgaria wins Eurovision 2026
Relive every spellbinding mome...
17/05/2026
Back to All News
Oasis Premieres on Netflix June 19
Entertainment
17 May 2026
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Summer, sunshine, the beach, parties. T...
16/05/2026
Helps to deliver a clean, balanced midrange
Developed alongside Newfangled Audio, the latest plug-in in Eventide's software collection has been designed...
16/05/2026
Brings onboard stem rendering to RANE System One
Engine DJ have just released Engine DJ 5.0, a free update for their Engine DJ OS embedded hardware and Engi...
16/05/2026
Boris FX Continuum Pairs AI Precision and Advanced Creative Controls
Jessie Electa Petrov May 16, 2026
0 Comments
The 2026.5 release adds automatic de...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
16/05/2026
Share
Copy link
Facebook
X
Linkedin
Bluesky
Email...
15/05/2026
Seattle Sounders FC and Seattle Reign FC, in partnership with RAVE Foundation an...
15/05/2026
Dan Brumm has served as sound designer on Bluey, the Australian children's t...
15/05/2026
The Professional Audio Manufacturers Alliance (PAMA) and Shure Incorporated are accepting applications for the 6th annual Mark Brunner Professional Audio Schola...
15/05/2026
Netflix has announced an expanded NFL schedule for 2026 and beyond under a four-year partnership extension with the NFL through the 2029-30 season. Each season,...
15/05/2026
Ateme is supporting TVRI (Televisi Republik Indonesia) with a contribution and d...
15/05/2026
Concacaf has announced the launch of a new website and mobile app built on Deltatre's FORGE platform. Concacaf.com and the mobile app, available on iOS and ...
15/05/2026
Eutelsat has announced the launch of QBC Business Economic Channel by Qatar Media Corporation, broadcasting in 4K/UHD via Eutelsat's 7/8 West video neighbo...
15/05/2026
Major League Soccer has announced four original content series timed to the 2026...
15/05/2026
The Alliance for IP Media Solutions (AIMS) has announced it will exhibit and present at InfoComm 2026, taking place June 13-19 at the Las Vegas Convention Cente...
15/05/2026
InfoComm 2026 will take place June 13-19 (exhibits June 17-19) at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The show will include sessions and exhibits covering broadcas...
15/05/2026
Tracy McGrady's Ones Basketball League (OBL) and FuboTV Inc. have announced ...
15/05/2026
Disguise has partnered with Creative Technology (CT) to deliver visual playback ...
15/05/2026
Sony Electronics has announced two new products for professional imaging: the Alpha 7R VI full-frame mirrorless camera and the FE 100-400mm F4.5 GM OSS super-te...
15/05/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
15/05/2026
Ratings Roundup is a rundown of recent rating news and is derived from press rel...
15/05/2026
For sports organizations, the most valuable assets are often the most sensitive:...
15/05/2026
The NFL's broadcast partners released their 2026 regular season schedules ye...
15/05/2026
Besides drawing on experience with boxing, the production integrates specialty c...
40 Years Later, Thriller's Grammy Sweep Still Resonates Professors Lil John Roberts and Mimi Jones, part of the team leading the upcoming Michael Jackson Ensemble concert, share their thoughts on the most successful album of all time.
