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The Latest Breaking News from Bruce Swedien

“We always recorded with Michael in the dark - he hated light. The studio was absolutely dark”: Behind the scenes of Michael Jackson’s monster hit

Back in 2009, we spoke with Thriller’s legendary recording engineer Bruce Swedien, who shared some remarkable insights into the making of Michael Jackson’s biggest ever success

MusicRadar · Aug 14

“He said, ‘We have this Michael Jackson tune.’ I looked at Quincy and said, ‘What does it need? Who should we…?’ Then he said, ‘Carlton’” Session legend Larry Carlton on how he ended up playing on a Michael Jackson hit

Carlton is part of a very select group of guitarists that's ever worked with the King of Pop and his elite team

Guitar World · Apr 30

“I was just a new guy, probably number nine on the list”: Larry Carlton on his nerve-shredding debut session with Quincy Jones – and the time he was called to play guitar on a Michael Jackson smash-hit

Carlton's experiences are a great example of why a session player has to be ready for anything

MusicRadar · Apr 21

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“The thing was lighting up like a toaster. It was glowing red”: Eddie Van Halen’s guitar solo didn't set a speaker on fire during the making of Michael Jackson’s Beat It, but an AC/DC issue did

“Something let loose in the amplifier and put out a tremendous power surge,” says engineer Matt Forger

MusicRadar · Mar 10

“Michael said he knew when he was writing it that it was a hit. Quincy thought it was a hit. But I don’t think any of us knew how huge it was going to be”: The making of Billie Jean, the single that transformed Michael Jackson into a phenomenon

Thriller turns 43 this week

MusicRadar · Nov 30, 2025

5 Quincy Jones songs producers need to hear

In tribute to Quincy Jones, who has passed away aged 91 it’s time to take some tips from the master

MusicRadar · Nov 4, 2024

“Quincy said, ‘Ritenour, this is Q. You gotta get down here right now!’”: Lee Ritenour reveals all about his top secret mission to save George Benson’s Give Me The Night solo

After an unfortunate recording accident in the analogue tape days, Quincy Jones needed an 11th hour rescue job and duly made a late night call to the only player who could help

MusicRadar · Apr 25, 2024

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"We always recorded with Michael in the dark - he hated light": Engineer Bruce Swedien on the making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, track by track

We get a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of the biggest-selling album of all time

MusicRadar · Apr 8, 2024

Engineer Bruce Swedien on the making of Michael Jackson's Thriller, track-by-track: "We always recorded with Michael in the dark - he hated light"

RECORDING WEEK 2023: We get a behind-the-scenes look at the recording of the biggest-selling album of all time

MusicRadar · Nov 2, 2023

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