In 1984, John Branca, Michael’s lawyer, received a call from Transportation Secretary Elizabeth Dole asking if Michael would donate Beat it as background music for an ad on drink-driving. Michael’s initial reaction to this request was to refuse, saying he thought the idea was tacky.
Then, thinking it over, he came up with an idea. Ever the clever businessman, Michael told John that if he could get some kind of award from the White House, then he would give them the song. According to biographer J Randy Taraborrelli, Michael asked John to negotiate something, saying, “i want to go to the White House. I want to be on stage with the President [Ronald Reagan], and get an award from him. And sure i want to meet Nancy [First Lady, Nancy Reagan]. The whole works. Why not? You think you can do that, Branca. Can you get me an award form the President?”
And so on 14 May 1984, Michael arrived at the White House to receive an award from the President. His arrival caused a sensation. Once at the podium, the President said that Michael was “proof of what a person can accomplish through a lifestyle free of alcohol and drug abuse…And if Americans follow his example, then we can face up to the problem of drinking and driving, and we can, in Michael’s words, beat it.”
That day, Michael was treated like an American hero. He was flush with the success of Thriller and the world was his.
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