The year is 1982, the album is Thriller, and the song is “Beat It”. What you might not know is that awesome guitar solo at the end was performed by none other than Eddie Van Halen. He was never credited for the performance, never received any compensation, nor did he appear in the accompanying music video due to a clause in his contract. However, he did more than just that, he also helped re-arrange the song which included speeding up the tempo and changing the key from E flat to E minor. Why? Well every guitar player knows that playing in E minor is one the easiest positions to work from.

The call for some musical input was put through by the legendary producer, and co-writer,  Quincy Jones. Van Halen has stated that he initially believed the call to be a hoax but was quick to offer his services once he realized the opportunity. Toto guitarist, and fellow virtuoso, Steve Lukather was also on the track, albeit filling rhythm duties. It’s weird to say this but I think the “Beat It” Solo might be my favorite EVH solo there is. It is one of the shortest solos he ever recorded but he fits everything that defines his style (fast tremolo picking, bar dives, finger tapping, harmonics,) into a tight space and the song really wouldn’t be what it is without it.