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TL;DR:

  • A Sherlock Holmes move inspired a sound effect from Michael Jackson’s “Thriller.”
  • Jackson created the sound effect himself when an animal wouldn’t do it.
  • “Thriller” wasn’t nearly as popular as the album of the same name.
"Thriller" singer Michael Jackson in a fedora
Michael Jackson | KMazur / Contributor

A Sherlock Holmes movie inspired part of Michael Jackson‘s “Thriller.” Surprisingly, the tune was not a No. 1 hit in the United States. Despite this, “Thriller” became an enduring Halloween song.

Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ was inspired by an adaptation of a Sherlock Holmes book

Bruce Swedien served as an engineer on Thriller. During a 2009 interview with MusicRadar, he discussed the origin of a sound effect on the title track. “When we did ‘Thriller’ the song, the opening in particular, Rob Temperton — who wrote the track — had conceived us to have wolf howls in it,” he said.

Swedien said he was inspired by an adaptation of the Sherlock Holmes novel The Hound of the Baskervilles. “At the time there was a Sherlock Holmes movie, The Hound of The Baskervilles, that had this huge dog — a Great Dane — in it that did some howling and of course I had that in my mind’s ear,” he remembered. The engineer did not specify which film version of The Hound of the Baskervilles inspired him.

Bruce Swedien wanted his dog’s howls to appear on Michael Jackson’s song

Swedien thought of a certain dog. “I automatically thought of my Great Dane who I figured ought to be in showbusiness!” he said. “So I tried to get him to do those howls and you know what? He never did it. We put him up in the barn at night to listen to the coyotes and I had my tape machine ready to record him. 

“He was a fantastic dog, 200lbs, his name was Max,” he recalled. “I thought ‘Wouldn’t this be great to have him doing those howls on the record?’ but he just never got it together! He didn’t want to be in showbusiness.”

Howls can still be heard on the final version of “Thriller.” Those howls were provided by the King of Pop himself. Jackson might have provided the footstep sounds for the song as well.

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How ‘Thriller’ and its parent album performed on the pop charts in the United States

While “Thriller” is perhaps the most famous Halloween song ever, it did not top the Billboard Hot 100. The tune reached No. 4, staying on the chart for 22 weeks. The tune appeared on the album of the same name. The album Thriller reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 37 weeks. It remained on the chart for an astonishing 547 weeks.

The song’s time on the charts is impressive. However, it’s true legacy has been its shelf-life. Alongside Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters” and Bobby “Boris” Pickett’s “Monster Mash,” it’s one of the only ubiquitous Halloween songs. The music video for “Thriller” also set the gold standard for music videos for the next 40 years.

“Thriller” was a huge hit and it wouldn’t be the same without Sherlock Holmes.

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