When Eddie Van Halen was asked to do the solo on “Beat It” from Thriller he didn’t want to be credited or paid because it would make everything too complicated. He just asked for a case of beer and for MJ to give him dance lessons.

Thriller has sold somewhere around 50 million copies, Eddie could have asked for a small songwriting credit or performance royalty on "Beat It" and made a ton of money. But being a part of something he thought was great was more important to him.

What's funny is that at the time people complained about how the solo totally ripped off Eddie's style, that's how distinctive his playing was.