Billie Jean
Michael Jackson
1983
Annual listening-list association retained: 1983. The source-checked recording release year is 1982; these are separate date fields. No new regional or single-release date is inferred from this list year.
Release: 1982
Release: 1982Source checked | Recent carryover
The original Thriller album catalog documents this recording in 1982. Only the year is established here; any later single, video, regional issue or compilation is a separate event.
The large badge identifies this listening list, not a newly issued recording. Later reissues and renewed chart popularity do not replace an original release date. How years are assigned.
Michael Jackson: Thriller (official album catalog)
Original album year and matching track, not a later compilation or re-recording. Year precision only; this source does not by itself establish a day-specific first single date.
Inspiration and background
Documented songwriting inspiration
Jackson described Billie Jean as a composite of women whose claims he had encountered around his brothers while the Jackson 5 toured. The song dramatizes a disputed paternity claim. Other biographical accounts differ, so the supplied assertion that it concerns one confirmed real-life fan is not presented as settled history.
Evidence scope: Reviewed secondary account; scope is limited to this paragraph
Sources for this information
Billie Jean - background, including Jackson's published account
Background/composition section; paraphrased, not a quotation | Retrieved 2026-10-11
Other appearances and versions
catalog version unspecified
Textual identity reconciliation, not audio-fingerprint or exact-pressing verification. Version labels are catalog safeguards.
An annual chart year and an original release date are different. Similar titles may be covers or different masters; no audio fingerprint has been performed.
Sources and scope
Source-backed annual association (secondary source; not a complete discographic review)
Song-specific genre labels located in the cited catalog or secondary source; genre is not a universally fixed classification.
Billboard year-end 1983 table (Wikipedia transcription)
Secondary chart transcription reviewed for title, artist and annual association. Not proof of release date, genre or inspiration.
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