Thriller turned Michael Jackson from a pop star into a cultural icon. Since its release over forty years ago, Thriller has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide. The album, and its titular song, was a multimedia phenomenon of hit songs, videos, and merchandise.

It amassed Jackson — the one-time child singer of the Jackson 5 — enormous wealth. At the time of his 2009 death, Jackson had a net worth of $500 million, but his estate continues to grow. Thriller also made millions for other parties involved, including producer Quincy Jones. However, one party missed out on the gold.

Michael Jackson Recorded YMO’s “Behind the Mask” For Thriller

The song “Behind the Mask” came from popular Japanese group Yellow Magic Orchestra

Michael Jackson rode high into 1982 as he recorded Thriller, his sixth solo studio album and second as an adult after 1979’s Off the Wall, which spawned two No. 1 hits: “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Rock with You.”

Jackson teamed with producer Quincy Jones on both albums, which feature songs by Jackson and keyboardist Rod Temperton (formerly of Heatwave).

As with Off the Wall — which contains covers of songs by Paul McCartney (“Girlfriend”) and Carole Bayer Sager (“It’s the Falling in Love,” also covered by Dionne Warwick and Dee Dee Bridgewater) — Jackson prepared a cover song for Thriller. It came all the way from Tokyo.

In 1980, a quirky electronic post-disco song titled “Behind the Mask” appeared on A&M Records by a Japanese trio called Yellow Magic Orchestra (YMO). The single got little exposure in the US, but Quincy Jones heard the song during a trip to Japan.

Jones brought the song to Jackson, who gave it new lyrics and melodic details. Unlike the original, which has a voice rendered robot-like through a vocoder, Jackson recreated “Behind the Mask” as a romantic soul-pop number with his trademark multi-octave delivery.

Alas, “Behind the Mask” didn’t make the final Thriller tracklist because Jackson couldn’t negotiate a royalty agreement with the song’s writer, YMO keyboardist Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Thriller Became The Biggest Selling Pop Album Ever

Michael Jackson’s Thriller was a massive hit, but it could have been bigger

Michael Jackson released Thriller on November 29, 1982, five weeks after its lead single “The Girl Is Mine,” Jackson’s humorous duet with Paul McCartney, in which they argue over a girl. The single reached No. 2 and propelled the album’s modest start.

In January and February 1983, Jackson released “Billie Jean” and “Beat It” as back-to-back singles. For both songs, he filmed vivid videos that became the first two clips by a black artist to gain high rotation on MTV. By late February, Thriller became his first No. 1 album.

Thriller catapulted to new heights after Michael Jackson’s performance on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever, the 1983 NBC television special that celebrated the 25th anniversary of Motown Records.

After the May 16 broadcast, Thriller sold one million copies per week. It spent seventeen straight weeks at No. 1 and twice returned that summer for three further weeks. In late December, Thriller commenced a second seventeen-week run at No. 1, which extended the album’s chart life to the spring of 1984.

Michael Jackson’s Thriller spawned two No. 1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100: “Billie Jean” (seven weeks) and “Beat It” (three weeks). Of the album’s nine songs, seven became Top 10 singles. Thriller became the biggest-selling album of all time.

Animal House director John Landis directed the video for the epic Thriller title track. The “Thriller” video, which spoofs the werewolf horror genre, was the first long-form video for a rock song.

As Michael raked millions off Thriller, his version of “Behind the Mask” languished in obscurity. However, its writer made global headway among rock’s cognoscenti as a bandleader, composer, solo artist, and actor.

Ryuichi Sakamoto Wrote “Behind the Mask” For A Japanese TV Commercial

Eric Clapton later released “Behind the Mask” — and it was a hit in the UK

Ryuichi Sakamoto (1952–2023) emerged as the focal point of Yellow Magic Orchestra, a Tokyo synthpop trio formed in 1978 with two veterans of the Japanese music industry: drummer Yukihiro Takahashi (ex-Sadistic Mika Band) and multi-instrumentalist Haruomi Hosono, a longtime solo artist who originated in the late-’60s Japanese psychedelic rock scene with the bands Apryl Fool and Happy End.

Sakamoto conceived “Behind the Mask” as a jingle for a 1978 Japanese TV commercial for the Seiko watch brand. He then used its theme for an actual song with added lyrics by British poet Chris Mosdell.

The Yellow Magic Orchestra version of “Behind the Mask” appeared on their 1979 album Solid State Survivor. In 1980, the song reappeared on the US version of X∞Multiplies, a YMO compilation for the Western Hemisphere.

YMO released nine albums between 1978 and 1984, of which four reached No. 1 in Japan. Their Japanese chart hits include “Technopolis” (No. 9, 1979) and “Kimi ni Mune Kyun” (No. 2, 1983).

Sakamoto launched his solo career during YMO’s run. His 1987 album Neo Geo spawned a minor US hit, “Risky,” sung by Iggy Pop.

In 1983, Sakamoto co-starred with David Bowie in Merry Christmas Mr. Lawrence, a WWII-period drama set in Japanese-occupied Java, where POW Maj. Jack “Strafer” Celliers (Bowie) gains sympathy from the otherwise strict camp commander, Captain Yonoi (Sakamoto).

Despite missing his part of the Thriller cash cow, Sakamoto earned royalties off “Behind the Mask” covers inspired by Jackson’s 1982 demo.

“Behind the Mask” became a 1987 UK hit for Eric Clapton, who learned of the song through Jackson’s keyboardist, Greg Phillinganes. Greg, who played on the Jackson and Clapton versions, cut an R&B version for his 1984 album Pulse.

The song was well-received — suggesting that the same may have happened had Michael Jackson had a chance with the hit.