Michael Jackson, The #5 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Six

 

(Continued from Part Five)

 

The iconic video of this song featured Jackson and Michael Jordan, with Jordan teaching Jackson how to play basketball and Jackson teaching Jordan how to dance.  Heavy D performed the "rap" on the song, and "Jam" was a big hit in Spain (#1) and New Zealand (#2), but stalled at #26 in the U.S., although it did reach #3 on the R&B chart.

Teddy Riley helped produce this song as well as many on the album.  "This reminds me so much of "Dirty Diana", Riley told Musicradar.com.  "I think he recaptured that sound on the song, he continued.  "You know, I think he went back to his roots of recording with this song to record an incredible track.  I thought it would take someone like Quincy [Jones] to get that sound, but Michael came up with it."

"Who Is It?" placed at #6 in Canada, #8 in France and #9 in Germany.

 

Here is the song that Jackson said in 2001 that he was most proud of--"Heal The World" was kept out of the top spot in the U.K. only by Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You", The #1 Song of the Rock Era*.  Is there any more appropriate song for this time in Earth's history?

Michael founded the Heal the World Foundation in 1992, which brought underprivileged children to Jackson's ranch to the theme park rides and raised millions of dollars to help children around the world threatened by war, poverty, and disease.     

 

"Give In To Me", which features a great guitar solo from Slash of Guns N' Roses, was released in select countries and hit the Top 10 in every one, including #1 in Ireland and in New Zealand for four weeks.

 

Riley came up with the car sound effects on "She Drives Me Wild".  "My biggest memory from that recording was that we used all car sounds as drum sounds and it came out perfectly," he told Musicradar.com.  "It wasn't something I'd done before; it was the first time I went for unusual sounds in the place of drums."

Jackson brought in the Andrae Crouch Singers for backing him on this song that topped out at #2 in New Zealand, #3 in the Netherlands and Switzerland, #6 in Canada, #7 in the United States and #9 in the U.K.  The prelude that you hear at the beginning of "Will You Be There" (featured in the movie Free Willy) is Beethoven's great Ninth "Ode To Joy" Symphony."

 

The lyrics in this song about the strange woman with a mouth smoother than oil are from Proverbs 5:3-5 in the Bible, which warns against letting a seductive woman lead you down the wrong path.  Here is the title song from Dangerous. 

Jackson received Billboard Music Awards for No. 1 World Album, No. 1 World Single ("Black Or White") and a Special Award commemorating the 10th Anniversary of Thriller.  Riley started out in the R&B group Guy, and was known as the king of New Jack Swing, a popular genre in the '90's.  Riley described designing the feel of "Can't Let Her Get Away":

             This was mostly from a sample CD that

               I just put together myself, and it kind of

               reminded me of the James Brown sound.  

                 I could feel it.  I thought I'd bring a shadow

                 of some of the greatness of the James Brown

                 production sound to this.  I made the sample

                 CD myself--that was me playing

                 instruments, then looping them up and 

                 having them lying around for potential

                 projects.

An incredible selection of songs from a truly unique artist.  Inside The Rock Era has much more!