Michael Jackson‘s red “Thriller” jacket is getting a brand new (temporary) home. The Rock & Roll Hall of Fame is now the new destination for fans to view the King of Pop’s iconic jacket, as it has entered the museum’s Legends of Rock exhibit as a featured artifact, ahead of the 40th anniversary of Thriller.
“We are thrilled to display Michael Jackson’s jacket from his groundbreaking music video for ‘Thriller’ – one of the greatest videos of all time and the title track to the best-selling album of all time,” said Rock & Roll Hall of Fame curator Amanda Pecsenye in a statement. “It’s an iconic artifact from Jackson’s monumental career.”
The jacket — which is owned by the Verret family in Austin — was transported to the Rock Hall in Cleveland, Ohio, under “high level security,” and will remain in the exhibit for at least a year, according to a press release.
The red and black “Thriller” jacket worn by the late pop star was created by costumer designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis in collaboration with her husband John Landis, in attempt to make Jackson look more “virile,” Landis told The Wall Street Journal in 2009. She also noted that Jackson, who was 25 at the time, weighed just 99 lbs., and had a 26-inch waist.
Thriller is widely recognized as Jackson’s greatest LP. It has spent a total of 522 weeks on the Billboard 200 following its Nov. 30, 1982, release, with 37 of those weeks spent in the No. 1 spot. The 25th anniversary reissued versions of Thriller were reproduced with a still of Jackson in the red and black “Thriller” jacket, surrounded by zombies from the video. A 40th anniversary reissue of the album will arrive on Nov. 18, and will feature a double-CD of the album’s original songs, plus a bonus disc of never-released tracks that Jackson had worked on for the album.
Watch the arrival of Jackson’s “Thriller” jacket to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame below.
