Breath aka River Ripple

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.

RECORDING DATE

Breath” (also known as “Breathe” or “Breed”) is an unreleased song written by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, intended for the scrapped late 2000s project. It was set to be co-written with Indian-American author Deepak Chopra, and is currently known as the last song Jackson worked on in his lifetime.

Part of Michael’s inspiration for the tour was his concern about global warming. Three weeks before his death, Jackson sent Chopra a CD, hand-delivered to his home in Carlsbad, California. “The music is a very soft, mellow piece,” says Chopra. “It’s called ‘Breathe.’ He wanted to do a song about the environment, and he wanted me to help him with the lyrics. There were big ideas behind the lyrics – how the trees are our lungs, the Earth is our body.”

A snippet of “Breath” was played by Chopra during an interview that took shortly after Jackson’s http://passing.It is unknown whether the snippet is the full track or just a part of it. A CD was later found in the court documents of the Jeffré Phillips lawsuit.] The title was included in Jackson’s notes found after his passing in 2009.

The title “Breed” was a mishearing included in the digital releases of Rolling Stone’s “The Last Days of Michael Jackson” article, as the physical releases of it do cite it as “Breathe”, which also makes more sense in the context of Chopra’s description of the song.
It is unknown who produced the track.
Fans dubbed this song “River Ripple” after an article by The Sun was released, claiming that Jackson had made a song by that title after a day of playing with his children.Considering the source material, there is no official confirmation whether or not a track by the title of “River Ripple” actually exists.

STUDIO(S)

???

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson

PRODUCER(S)

Michael Jackson

RELEASE DATE :

Unreleased.

LABEL

Unreleased

LENGTH

???

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

???

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Never released as a single

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on TV

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Never performed in concerts

Break Of Dawn

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.

ERA

1998-2004 : Invincible/Number Ones/The Ultimate Collection era

RECORDING DATE

The song was recorded between August 1998 and February 1999 for the Invincible album. Final mix was done in July 2001.

STUDIO(S)

Los Angeles (California)

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson

Elliot “Dr. Freeze” Straite

PRODUCER(S)

Michael Jackson
Elliot “Dr. Freeze” Straite

RELEASE DATE :

October 30, 2001 (Invincible)

LABEL
Sony Music

LENGTH

5:32

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Not released as a single in the US

SHORT FILM (filmed by MJ during his lifetime)

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on a TV show

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Never performed in concerts

Broken Chair

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.

ERA

2005-2009 : Thriller 25/This Is It

RECORDING DATE

Instrumental was done in April 2009. This title is just working title for future work. One of the songs listed by MJ on a handwritten note of songs he wanted to finish found in his room after his death June 2009.

CD was found in court documents of Jeffre Phillips’ lawsuit.

Damien Shields :

“What I heard was an instrumental. My notes say “booming digital drums and rock/electric guitar”. Don’t ask me to describe it further – that’s all my notes say. It’s one of the many work-in-progress ideas MJ gave random titles to – to make it easier to refer to the track.

STUDIO(S)

???

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson

PRODUCER(S)

Michael Jackson

RELEASE DATE :

Unreleased.

LABEL

Unreleased

LENGTH

???

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

???

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Never released as a single

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on TV

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Never performed in concerts

Boys & Girls We Are the Jackson Five

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.

ERA

1967-1968 : Steeltown era

RECORDING DATE

Recorded with the Jackson 5 in 1967-1968.

STUDIO(S)

Steeltown Studios in Gary, Indiana

SONGWRITER(S)

Sandy Wilborn

PRODUCER(S)

Unknown

RELEASE DATE :

In 1989 (The Jackson 5 – Beginning Years 1967-1968)

LABEL

Steeltown Records

LENGTH

4:02

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

???

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Remains unreleased as a single

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on TV

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON CONCERTS

Never performed on concerts

Boy No

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.

RECORDING DATE

The track was made in 2007. Credits Brad Buxer as the co-producer and Michael Prince as the sound engineer.

Damien Shields:

“I have no clue when it was recorded. One of the instruments (maybe a classical guitar not sure) sounds similar to what can be heard in “Days In Gloucestershire”. But in my opinion “Boy No” bears no resemblance to “Beautiful Girl” and definitely not to “Human Nature”.[1] […] Boy No is quite somber. The verses are largely mumbled, but he’s mumbling about seeing the city lights, being alone, and having nowhere to go. Chorus is “Boy, no. [We/they] ain’t got a place for [you/me] to stay.”

The song was registered with the U.S. Copyright Office in 2010, crediting Brad Buxer as the producer. It was later being acknowledged by fans. The track was recorded in 2007.

On August 28, 2025, a low-quality snippet was leaked on Discord by LegendZx1. Later, a high-quality snippet was leaked by MJ Leaker on YouTube. Other snippets leaked in January 2026. The full demo remains unreleased.

STUDIO(S)

???

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson

PRODUCER(S)

Michael Jackson & Brad Buxer

RELEASE DATE :

Unreleased.

LABEL

Unreleased

LENGTH

???

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

???

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Never released as a single

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on TV

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Never performed in concerts

Bottle of Smoke

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.

ERA

1989-1993 : Dangerous era

RECORDING DATE

Written and possibly recorded in 1989.

STUDIO(S)

???

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson

PRODUCER(S)

Unknown

RELEASE DATE :

Unreleased

LABEL

Unreleased

LENGTH

???

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

???

MUSICIANS

???

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Remains unreleased

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on TV

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Never performed in concerts

Born To Love You 

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.

ERA

Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5

RECORDING DATE

Recorded with The Jackson 5 in June 1969.

STUDIO(S)

Motown Studios in California

SONGWRITER(S)

Ivy Jo Hunter, William “Mickey” Stevenson

PRODUCER(S)

Bobby Taylor

RELEASE DATE :

December 12, 1969 (Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5).

LABEL

Motown

LENGTH

2:38

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

???

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Never released as a single

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on TV

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON CONCERTS

Never performed on concerts

Bomb Detonation

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.

ERA

2005-2009 : Thriller 25/This Is It

RECORDING DATE

Written during MJ’s stay in Bahrain in 2005 and 2006 for the shelved album promised to be released in late 2007 by 2seas. Rough vocal demo known to exist. 

STUDIO(S)

???

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson, Sheik Abdullah of Bahrain

PRODUCER(S)

???

RELEASE DATE :

Unreleased.

LABEL

Unreleased

LENGTH

???

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

???

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Never released as a single

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on TV

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Never performed in concerts

Body Language (Do the Love Dance) 

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.

RECORDING DATE

In 1974-1975 with the Jackson 5

STUDIO(S)

Motown Recording Studios, Hollywood, California

SONGWRITER(S)

Hal Davis, Donald Fletcher

PRODUCER(S)

Michael Lovesmith, Hal Davis, Brian Holland, Mel Larsen, Jerry Marcellino

RELEASE DATE :

May 15, 1975 (Moving Violation).

January 24, 1976 (single)

LABEL

Motown

LENGTH

4:07

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

???

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

July 1975 : The Jackson 5 perform Forever Came Today & Body Language on the Carol Burnett Show without Jermaine!

January 21, 1976 : The Jackson 5 perform “Forever Came Today” and “Body Language” the Carol Burnett Show (taped at the Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City).

February 26, 1977 : The Jacksons perform “One Day in Your Life”, “I’ll Be There”, “Body Language (Do the Love Dance)” on Súper Sábado Sensacional TV show taped in Caracas, Venezuela.

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Jackson 5’s Last tour 1975-1976

Blues Away

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.

ERA

1976-1977 : The Jacksons

RECORDING DATE

June to October 1976 with The Jacksons

STUDIO(S)

Sigma Sound Studios
(Philadelphia)

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson

PRODUCER(S)

The Jacksons, Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff

RELEASE DATE :

November 27, 1976 (The Jacksons)

LABEL

Epic CBS Records

LENGTH

3:12

ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)

No alternate version known to exist

MUSICIANS

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Not released as a single in the US

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on a TV show

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Destiny World Tour 1979 (first leg)