When I was a kid, there were definitely people that cast aspersions on Michael Jackson’s sexuality. In the late ‘70s and ‘80s, the “Michael is gay” rumors were prevalent, to the point that a rumor floated (and was published) that MJ had actually undergone a sex change operation. Allegedly, the sex change was so that… Read More “Human Nature” by Michael Jackson (1982)
I’ve been thinking recently about Quincy Jones and Michael Jackson’s oft-repeated assertion that Epic Records wasn’t enthused about the choice of Quincy as producer for Off The Wall, stating that he was “too jazzy”. I can’t verify whether that (or a variation of it) was said or not said, obviously. I wasn’t there, Michael is… Read More “Give Me The Night” by George Benson (1980)
So, there are a lot of disco songs that begin with the word “get”, clearly. “Get On The Floor” closes out side 1 of Off The Wall. After a 1-2-3 punch of “Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough”, “Rock With You” and “Working Day And Night”, one might think Michael would put the non-stop boogieing… Read More “Get On The Floor” by Michael Jackson (1979)
Let’s give it up for Quincy Jones and two of the finest vocalists he ever worked with. Patti was an actual Quincy protege. She’d been a professional singer for a full decade, making one-off singles, cutting jazz records, doing a ton of jingle work. She finally leveled up by duetting with MJ on ‘79′s “It’s The Falling… Read More “Do You Love Me” by Patti Austin (1981) | “Do You Love What You Feel” by Rufus & Chaka (1979)
I can’t talk about “Billie Jean” without bringing up Motown 25. The special, which celebrated the anniversary of the label that brought Michael Jackson (and many, many others) to fame’s doorstep aired on NBC in mid-May 1983, about two weeks before I turned 7. The show was taped in March, two months before its air… Read More “Billie Jean” by Michael Jackson (1982)
“Beat It”’s legend is greater than the song itself, which says a lot considering how great the actual song is. How do I accurately summarize this song’s impact on me and the world? I’m not going to even try. Here are a few interesting facts/theories, though. The story about Quincy Jones calling Eddie Van Halen… Read More “Beat It” by Michael Jackson (1982)
Similar to “At This Moment”, which we profiled a bit earlier, here’s another song that performed modestly in its original chart run before being resurrected years later (in this case, about a year and a half) thanks to TV exposure. In “Baby, Come To Me”’s case, it was used in a storyline on the daytime… Read More “Baby, Come To Me” by Patti Austin (duet with James Ingram), 1981
There was a quote attributed to Chris Rock, in which the conversation revolved around Prince being a better musician than Michael Jackson (he is.) When comparing the albums that represented the commercial peaks for each (Mike’s Thriller and Prince’s Purple Rain), Rock’s reasoning for picking Purple Rain as the better of the two albums (it… Read More “Baby Be Mine” by Michael Jackson (1982)
There was a lot of talent in the Franklin family. Dad C.L. was the Grandaddy of the modern preacher (so I guess we have him to thank for dudes like Creflo Dollar and Bishop Eddie Long? Hmmmm…) Sister Erma is most famous for recording the original version of “Piece Of My Heart”, a song most famous… Read More “Angel” by Aretha Franklin (1973)
Five Star Jamz 