All the studio recordings (songs, demos and alternate versions) recorded by MJ during the History/Blood On The Dancefloor era (1994-1997). Songs and poems written but never recorded, live performances, covers and remixes by other artists are not included.
Sources : My personal research, Wikipedia, Michael Jackson: For The Record by Chris Cadman & Craig Halstead, Twitter account of Damien Shields and the amazing archives of the MJCast.
Basszouille : Written in 1994 by Michael and Bruce Swedien. Remains unreleased.
Blood On The Dance Floor : Recorded in 1989-1991. The song was finalised in January 1997 and released on May 20, 1997 (Blood On The Dance Floor). 1991 demo remains unreleased.
Changes (Demo 2) : Revisited during the HIStory sessions, with a gospel performance from the Andraé Crouch choir and a few ad-lib solos added. Damien Shields : “Changes feels like church. Piano + gospel choir with a totally mumbled, low-effort scratch vocal. 0% chance of completing it. The only sensical lyrics are “can’t cope with changes. What are you trying to do to me?” The rest is mumbles. But it’s great as a demo. The choir on it is phenomenal. There are two epic vocal solos on the demo from members of the choir”. Remains unreleased.
Childhood : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
Childhood (recording session) : Recorded in 1994. Leaked on January 28, 2023. Remains unreleased.
Dangerous (1995 mix) : Mix done for the MTV Video Music Awards 1995 performance. Remains unreleased.
Dangerous (HBO 1995 mix) : Mix done for the canceled HBO Special in December 1995. Remains unreleased.
Dangerous (History Tour mix) : Mix done for the History World Tour 1996-1997 performances. Remains unreleased.
D.S : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
Earth Song : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
Elizabeth I Love You : Recorded in January 1997 & used in February 1997 for a TV Show celebrating Elizabeth Taylor’s 65th birthday. A snippet from the studio version leaked in 2010. The full studio version remains unreleased.
Faces : Recorded in 1994/1995. Failed to make the HIStory album. Also known as “Face” The song is about African pride. Michael Jackson has never recorded any vocals on this track except the introduction words. Originally intended to feature a spoken intro by South African Nelson Mandela made by Jackson on the demo. Features a performance by the percussion group STOMP. The song has never been completed due to Mandela’s advisors not allowing him to send back the song to Jackson with his intro because of the scandals surrounding him during this time. Full demo leaked in 2018 in LQ. HQ demo leaked on January 28, 2023 but remains unreleased.
Fear : Written circa 1993. Failed to make the HIStory album. Remains unreleased.
Ghosts (Demo Guide Vocal) : Recorded in 1994. Full demo leaked in 2017 but remains unreleased.
Ghosts (1996 mix) : First version of the song used in the closing credits of the “Ghosts” short film in 1996. Different bassline, different backing vocals and different sound effects from the 1997 version. Remains unreleased.
Ghosts : Recorded from 1994-1997. Released on May 20, 1997 (Blood On The Dance Floor).
History : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
I Need You : Song recorded by 3T in 1994. Released on November 7, 1995 on their debut album Brotherhood. Michael does background vocals.
In The Back (demo) : First mix recorded in 1994. Later worked on in January 1997 at Mountain Studios in Montreux. New mix recorded in 2004 & released on November 16, 2004 (The Ultimate Collection Box Set).
Is It Scary : Recorded in 1994-1997. Released on May 20, 1997 (Blood On The Dance Floor).
Learned My Lesson (Much Too Soon) aka Much Too Soon : Written in 1981 but recorded in 1994. A different version was released on December 10, 2010 (Michael) under the title “Much Too Soon”. Original demo from 1994 leaked in 2018 but remains unreleased.
Little Susie ; Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History). The demo was written and recorded by Michael Jackson circa 1978 under the title “Susie”. 1978 demo remains unreleased.
Money : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
Morphine : Recorded 1994-1997 & released in 1997 (Blood On The Dance Floor).
On The Line : Recorded in 1994-1996. First used in the closing creditd of Spike Lee’s movie Get On The Bus (released on October, 16, 1996) but not featured on the soundtrack album. Finally released in December 1997 (Ghosts’ Deluxe Collector Box Set).
Scream : Duet with Janet Jackson recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
Smile : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
Stranger In Moscow (demo) : Recorded in September 1993 in Moscow. Remains unreleased.
Stranger in Moscow : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
Tabloid Junkie : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
They Don’t Care About Us : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
They Don’t Care About Us (Prison version) : Mix done in January 1996 for the Prison version of the short film. Remains unreleased.
They Don’t Care About Us (Brazil version) : Mix done in January 1996 for the Brazil version of the short film. Remains unreleased.
This Time Around : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
Why : Recorded in 1994 with 3T. Released on November 7, 1995 (Brotherhood).
Willing And Waiting : A demo of this was recorded in 1994 to present to Michael for possible inclusion on HIStory, with Babyface heavily involved in the production. One of two songs he presented to Michael, the other being “Why” (later given to 3T). Despite being referred to as a demo, the song was quite developed with background vocals, polished instrumentation and completed lyrics – “record ready”, in a sense
However, as assistant engineer Brad Sundberg asserts, “Michael was looking to push things pretty hard on HIStory [and] Willing and Waiting was maybe a bit softer than the direction he was going”. Remains unreleased.
You Are Not Alone : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
2 Bad : Recorded from February 1994 to March 1995. Released on June 20, 1995 (History).
2 Bad (Ghost version) : Special version remixed in 1996 for the “Ghost” short film but remains unreleased.
Jackson Dynasty 