That time Eddie Van Halen joined the Jacksons on stage to play 'Beat It'

On July 14, 1984, attendees at the Jacksons concert in Houston, Texas were given quite the rare treat. Due to a scheduling miracle, Eddie Van Halen and his band were in Dallas to play Reunion Arena the same day Michael and his brothers were set to perform for 120,000 people at Texas Stadium. And since Eddie had recorded the memorable guitar solo on MJ’s #1 song “Beat It” about a year earlier, it was the perfect chance for Eddie and Michael to perform the song together live.

This was one of the only times they performed the song together live and the moment has gone down in rock n’ roll lore as a special moment when two of the biggest stars in the music world joined forces. Just check out Michael’s excitement when Eddie starts to jam!

“You got it, Eddie, Eddie, Eddie!” – Michael Jackson

If you don’t mind the low-quality video, you can view the magic moment below (Eddie appears around the 2:26 mark):