"Beat It" is a pop-rock song written and produced by Michael Jackson, composed in 1982 and released on his landmark album Thriller on Epic Records. Jackson wrote the song as a home demo at the request of producer Quincy Jones, who wanted a rock-oriented track to diversify the album's sound beyond funk and pop. The lyrics address street gang violence and reject macho confrontation, with Jackson drawing on childhood experiences growing up in Gary, Indiana. The composition follows a verse-chorus structure driven by drum machine percussion and synthesized bass tones that give it a punchy, mechanical pulse, contrasted by aggressive rock guitar work. The most distinctive element of the original recording is a guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen, who was brought in to contribute an unaccompanied improvisation. Van Halen reportedly rearranged the solo section to play over the verse chord progression for greater impact, recording two takes that were edited together for the final version. "Beat It" peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks and became one of Jackson's biggest commercial successes. While it is a defining song of 1980s popular music and has been widely covered in rock and pop contexts, it sits outside the jazz and traditional standard repertoire, making its inclusion in an improvisation-focused setting an unusual and cross-genre choice.
