Steve Stevens already knew his way around a rock star’s studio by the time the call came to play on a Michael Jackson record. He’s the guitarist best known for playing with Billy Idol. If you remember the ’80s, you remember Billy Idol.
But this job was different. Michael was making “Bad,” his 1987 album with producer Quincy Jones, and he needed a guitar solo for a song called “Dirty Diana.” According to Guitar World, it was producer Ted Templeman who recommended Stevens for the job.
Stevens walked in expecting a huge entourage. A superstar session, he figured, would come with a crowd of hangers-on and a lot of fuss.
That’s not what he found.
“I opened the studio door, and it was exactly like doing an Idol session,” he told Guitar World in 2024.
“It was Michael, Quincy, and the engineer. So, no big egos, no entourage, none of that stuff.”
That must have been a relief. Here’s Stevens telling the “Dirty Diana” story himself.
Steve Stevens talking about his “Dirty Diana” session
Quincy didn’t hand him a rulebook, either. He gave Stevens the melody and rhythm ideas he had in mind. Then he told him, as Stevens recalled to Ultimate Classic Rock: “You go in there and do what you want.”
So he did. Stevens cut the solo, and it ended up on a record that went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1988.
When you play the official video, listen for the solo, because the high notes are the whole reason this story exists.
Michael Jackson’s official “Dirty Diana” video
Once the solo was done, Michael gave his review. It was short.
“Hey, I really like the high notes,” Michael told him, as Stevens remembers it.
That was the whole review. Michael knew exactly what grabbed him in a guitar solo, and he said so.
The best part came later.
To understand it, you need to know about another guitarist. Eddie Van Halen played the famous solo on Michael’s “Beat It.” That song came before “Dirty Diana,” and it’s the reason Eddie had his own Michael Jackson story to compare notes with.
Here’s the “Beat It” video that made Eddie part of Michael’s world.
Michael Jackson’s official “Beat It” video, with Eddie Van Halen’s famous solo
Some time after the “Dirty Diana” session, Stevens ran into Eddie and mentioned that he’d just worked with Michael.
Eddie had one question ready.
“Hey, man, did he say he liked the high notes?”
He had. It turns out Michael had paid Eddie the very same compliment. On two different songs, both guitarists walked away with the exact same kind words from the King of Pop.
It’s a sweet little window into how Michael listened. He wasn’t trying to sound like a guitar expert. He heard those high notes, loved them and said so in the simplest words he had. Eddie clearly remembered it well enough to call it before Stevens could get the words out.