Which famous guitar player plays the solo in Michael Jackson’s “Beat It”?
Some artists hope that maybe, someday, one of their songs will platinum — meaning it sold a million copies. But when you’re the King of Pop, that’s what you call the third single of your album.
“Beat It” was released on the 1982 "Thriller" album, the sixth studio album from Michael Jackson. After "The Girl Is Mine" and "Billie Jean" did well as singles, “Beat It” was released as a single in February of 1983 — and would go on to be certified 8x platinum.
I doubt I need to say this, but it bears repeating: It’s also one of the greatest music videos of all time.
But the song wouldn’t be quite as good without that iconic guitar solo. To record it, producers wanted to bring in a known musician to make sure they got it right. Which famous guitar player lent their talents on this legendary song?
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The answer is: Eddie Van Halen. In 1982, if you needed someone to lay down a guitar solo on a new hit track, Eddie Van Halen was the obvious choice — and according to Entertainment Weekly, he even did it for free. Eddie also once joined MJ on stage in 1984 to play it live.Source
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