MTV, race, and radio: How Michael Jackson's 'Thriller' prevailed during troubling times

By any measure, Michael Jackson's Thriller was an unbelievable success — but at the time of its release, that success was far from assured. Between the death of popular AM radio, the backlash of disco that made DJs avoid playing "black music," and the birth of the rock-themed MTV, the 1980s brought with it a myriad of challenges that questioned the identity of the music industry as a whole and threatened the viability of Jackon's sixth studio album. Billboard has taken a look back at the ...