Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. The album was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall. Thriller explores similar genres to those of Off the Wall, including funk, disco, soul, soft rock, R&B and pop. However, Thriller's lyrics deal with generally darker themes, including paranoia and the supernatural. With the release of the second single "Billie Jean", the album topped the charts in many countries. In just over a year, Thriller became—and currently remains—the best-selling album of all time. Seven of the album's nine songs were released as singles, and all reached the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album won a record-breaking eight Grammy Awards at the 1984 Grammys. The album was one of the first to use music videos as successful promotional tools—the videos for Thriller, "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" all received regular rotation on MTV. Thriller ranked number 20 on Rolling Stone magazine's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time list in 2003, and was preserved by the Library of Congress to the National Recording Registry, as it was deemed "culturally significant".

Read the rest of this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thriller_%28album%29

_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:

1585:

The Treaty of Nemours was first signed, forcing Henry III of France to give in to the demands of the Catholic League and revoking all edicts granting concessions to the Huguenots. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaty_of_Nemours

1798:

The Quasi-War, an undeclared war fought entirely at sea, began after the United States rescinded their treaties with France. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quasi-War

1807:

Tsar Alexander I of Russia and Napoleon I of France signed the first agreement of the Treaties of Tilsit, ending the War of the Fourth Coalition. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaties_of_Tilsit

1928:

The Chillicothe Baking Company in Chillicothe, Missouri, USA, first produced sliced bread, advertised as "the greatest forward step in the baking industry since bread was wrapped", which then led to the popular phrase "the greatest thing since sliced bread". http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/sliced_bread

1937:

The Imperial Japanese Army defeated the Republic of China's National Revolutionary Army on Beijing's Marco Polo Bridge, marking the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marco_Polo_Bridge_Incident

_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:

tectiform (adj): Roof-shaped; sloping downwards on two sides from a raised center http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/tectiform

___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:

Do not confuse "duty" with what other people expect of you; they are utterly different. Duty is a debt you owe to yourself to fulfill obligations you have assumed voluntarily. Paying that debt can entail anything from years of patient work to instant willingness to die. Difficult it may be, but the reward is self-respect. --Robert A. Heinlein http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_A._Heinlein