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Peace, Out to The Thriller: RIP
June 26, 2009Back in December of 1983, a group of U.S. Air Force basic trainees and a Training Instructor sat together in the lounge at the 3707th Basic Military Training Squadron.
But there was no shouting or standing at attention that night, just a group of people watching a relatively new television station, MTV, for the premiere of Michael Jackson's new music video,"Thriller."
We all sat riveted as the King of Pop escorted vivacious former Playboy Playmate Ola Ray (who would later sue Jackson in a dispute over royalties) from the movies and through the world's best-choreographed graveyard before Vincent Price dropped in for a cameo.
To this day, I still wonder how they convinced Price to use the phrase, "yall's neighborhood" in what Wikipedia later described as his "sinister rap," but it made for a good night and an oasis of calm in a sea of military discipline.
And even though Jackson lived to become a sad parody of himself, he was great once.
Especially that night in December 1983.
RIP MJ.
Posted by Stephen Smith at 2:01 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
