Author: Fred Colby

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

1969-1975 : Motown era

RECORDING DATE

Stevie Wonder cover recorded by The Jackson 5 in 1969-1974.

“A Place in the Sun” is a 1966 soul single by American and Motown musician Stevie Wonder. Written by Ronald Miller and Bryan Wells, it was one of Wonder’s first songs to contain social commentary.[citation needed] “A Place in the Sun” was his third Top Ten hit since 1963, hitting number 9 on the Billboard pop singles chart and number 3 on the R&B charts. Billboard described the song as a “folk-oriented release” to which Wonder gives an “exciting treatment.”

STUDIO(S)

Motown Recording Studios, Hollywood, California

SONGWRITER(S)

Ronald Miller and Bryan Wells

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 :

Not 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

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

1985-1989 : Bad era

RECORDING DATE

Recorded in 1985-1987.

STUDIO(S)

Hayvenhurst home studio in Encino, California

Westlake Recording Studios (studio D), Los Angeles

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson

PRODUCER(S)

Quincy Jones & Michael Jackson

RELEASE DATE :

August 31, 1987 (“Bad” album).

July 11, 1988 (single)

LABEL

Epic Records

LENGTH

3:54 (album version)
3:46 (single version)
6:18 (12″ edit)

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

(Captain Eo version) : Recorded in 1985 during the Hayvenhurst sessions with John Barnes, Bill Bottrell & Matt Forger. Used in Captain Eo in 1986. Different version released in 1987 (Bad) but Captain Eo version remains unreleased.

MUSICIANS

Written and composed by Michael Jackson
Produced by Quincy Jones
Co-Produced by Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson: solo and background vocals
Paul Jackson, Jr., David Williams: guitars
Kim Hutchcroft, Larry Williams: saxophones
Gary Grant, Jerry Hey: trumpets
Christopher Currell: Synclavier
John Barnes, Rhett Lawrence: synthesizers
Rhythm and vocal arrangements by Michael Jackson and John Barnes
Horn arrangement by Jerry Hey

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

11

SHORT FILM (filmed by MJ during his lifetime)

Music video directed by Patrick Kelly

Date of shooting : The film footage was taken on July 14 and 22 at Wembley Stadium and at Rotterdam on June 7 with soundtrack mixed from live multitrack recording taken on July 15 (while the drum multitrack is from July 16), with additional footage from June 28 show at Parc des Princes in Paris as well as some footage from Volksparkstadion in Hamburg on July 1 and in Cork on July 30.

Date of premiere : July 31, 1988

Official release : Released on DVD in 2003 (Number Ones) and in 2010 (Vision) and on Michael’ You Tube official page.

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on TV

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Bad World Tour (1988-1989 leg)

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

Recorded in 1999-2001.

The song was first recorded in 1999 during the Invincible sessions. It’s entirely produced by Lenny Kravitz. The song didn’t make the cut and was given to Kravitz for his album, Baptism, and renamed to Storm. After Michael’s passing, on January 2, 2010, a minute and a half long snippet of the song leaked online. Two days later, Lenny posted a video on his YouTube channel talking about the song, and that more info would arrive soon. Less than a year later, the full song would finally be released on the posthumous album, Michael, with a few additional touches to the mixing done by Kravitz.

STUDIO(S)

Los Angeles

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson
Lenny Kravitz

PRODUCER(S)

Michael Jackson
Lenny Kravitz

RELEASE DATE :

Released posthumously on December 10, 2010 as a remix (“Michael”‘s compilation).

Original demo remains unreleased.

LABEL

MJJ Music
Epic Records
Legacy Recording
Sony

LENGTH

3:54

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

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

Written, produced, mixed, arranged, background vocals, electric guitar, bass, mini moog, timpani, gong, string and horn samples: Lenny Kravitz
Lead, background vocals and co-produced: Michael Jackson
12-String Electric Guitar: Craig Ross
Drum Programming and Noise: David Barron and Lenny Kravitz
Synthesizer Programming: David Baron
Programming: Craig Ross
Studio Technician and Additional Synthesizer Programming: Alex Alvarez

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

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

Song written by Babyface and recorded by MJ in 1998. Described by Babyface as “simply fantastic”. Planned to be featured on a scrapped Greatest Hits compilation.

STUDIO(S)

Los Angeles

SONGWRITER(S)

Babyface

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 :

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

Never performed in concerts

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

Recorded in September 1990 – February 1991.

STUDIO(S)

Record One, Los Angeles
Westlake, Los Angeles
Larrabee, Los Angeles
Record Plant, Los Angeles
Ocean Way, Hollywood
Smoketree Ranch, Chatsworth
Toad Hall, Pasadena

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell, and Teddy Riley

PRODUCER(S)

Teddy Riley and Michael Jackson

RELEASE DATE :

November 26, 1991 (Dangerous album)

This song was planned to be the tenth single from the album (Set for a January 1994 release), unfortunately these plans were canceled due to allegations of child sexual abuse which were made against Jackson in August 1993, Jackson’s health concerns, and the failure of previous single, “Gone Too Soon”, to top the charts.

LABEL

Sony

LENGTH

6:57

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

Dangerous (demo 1) : Recorded in 1990/1991, played in a courtroom in 1994 during the trial for the song “Dangerous”. Slightly different version from the one released in 2004. It remains unreleased.

Dangerous (demo 2) : Recorded in 1990/1991 & released in 2004 (The Ultimate Collection Box Set).

Dangerous (1993 mix) : Mix done for the American Music Awards 1993 and Dangerous World Tour 1993 performances. 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.

Dangerous (Michael Jackson And Friends) : Mix done for the Michael Jackson And Friends performances in June 1999. Remains unreleased.

Dangerous (American Bandstand) : Mix done for the American Bandstand and Apollo Theatre performances in April 2002. Remains unreleased.

Dangerous (This Is It) : Mix done for the canceled This Is It performances in June 2009. Audio of the intro was released in 2010, which featured samples of “Morphine”, “2000 Watts”, and “This Place Hotel”. The This Is It dancers performed a snippet of the song at the 2011 Carnival Dance Showcase, with the performance featuring snippets of “Smooth Criminal”, “Stranger in Moscow”, and the Psycho theme. Remains unreleased.

MUSICIANS
Written and composed by Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell and Teddy Riley
Produced by Teddy Riley and Michael Jackson
Recorded by Jean-Marie Horvat, Bruce Swedien, Teddy Riley and Thom Russo
Mixed by Bruce Swedien and Teddy Riley
Michael Jackson: Solo and background vocals
Vocal arrangement by Michael Jackson
Rhythm and synthesizer arrangements by Teddy Riley
Teddy Riley: Synthesizer
Brad Buxer, Rhett Lawrence: Synthesizers

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

Never released as a single

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

January 25, 1993 : Michael opens the American Music Awards ceremony held at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles with a performance of “Dangerous”.

September 7, 1995 : Michael & Janet attend the MTV Video Music Awards in New York City with Lisa Marie & Rene . MJ opens the ceremony with a 20 minutes long medley (including “Dangerous” & “You Are Not Alone”) and accepts an award with Janet for Scream.

October 31, 1995 : Michael performs Dangerous & You Are Not Alone at the Soul Train 25th Anniversary Special.

November 4, 1995 : Michael is in Munich, Germany where he performs “Dangerous” and “Earth Song” on Wetten Dass.

April 20, 2002 : At the Pasadena Civic Auditorium, Michael tapes a performance of “Dangerous” for Dick Clark’s 50th Anniversary of American Bandstand.

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON CONCERTS

Dangerous World Tour (1993 leg)

HBO Special at the Beacon Theatre in New York in 1995 (the song was reheased but the show was canceled after Michael collapsed on stage)

Royal Brunei Concert 1996

History World Tour 1996-1997

Michael Jackson & Friends (June 25 + 27, 1999)

Democratic National Committee’s Every Vote Counts ‘campaign concert at thr Apollo Theatre in Harlem (April 24, 2002)

This Is It (the song was rehearsed in June 2009 but is not featured in the This Is It movie)

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 by Bryan Loren. One of 20-25 songs recorded with Bryan Loren in 1989-1991. Loren sings on this song, with Michael in the choruses. Song registered with Broadcast Music Incorporated. 

In 2024, a trove of unreleased Michael Jackson tapes were found in a storage unit deep in the San Fernando Valley. Musgrove’s journey to the tapes began when an associate contacted Greg Musgrove about a storage unit he’d recently bought in Van Nuys. The unit once belonged to Bryan Loren, a music producer and singer. On the tapes are 12 unreleased tracks, music Jackson worked on prior to the Dangerous album, around 1989 to 1991 including the song “All The Truth You Need” (dated March 27, 1991, Loren with MJ on chorus). He and the attorney he brought on approached the Jackson Estate with their findings earlier this year. The estate, who Musgrove says did their own research into the tapes, declined to purchase the tapes for an unknown reason, but did provide him with an official letter stating that the estate does not claim ownership. They make it clear in the letter, however, that he and anyone else who might purchase these tapes down the line do not own the copyright on the recordings or the compositions, the estate does. Essentially, these tapes can never be released publicly. Remains unreleased.

STUDIO(S)

???

SONGWRITER(S)

Bryan Loren

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 unreleased 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

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

Music & Me (1973)

RECORDING DATE

Recorded in March 1972 – January 1973.

“All the Things You Are” is a song composed by Jerome Kern with lyrics written by Oscar Hammerstein II. The song was written for the musical Very Warm for May (1939) and was introduced by Hiram Sherman, Frances Mercer, Hollace Shaw, and Ralph Stuart. It appeared in the film Broadway Rhythm (1944) when it was sung by Ginny Simms, and again in the Kern biopic Till the Clouds Roll By (1946), sung by Tony Martin. Popular recordings of the song in 1939 were by Tommy Dorsey and His Orchestra (vocal by Jack Leonard), Artie Shaw and His Orchestra (vocal by Helen Forrest) and Frankie Masters and His Orchestra (vocal by Harlan Rogers). The song has been recorded by many artists.

STUDIO(S)

Motown Recording Studios, Hollywood, California

SONGWRITER(S)

Oscar Hammerstein II & Jerome Kern

PRODUCER(S)

???

RELEASE DATE :

April 13, 1973 (Music And Me).

LABEL

Motown

LENGTH

2:59

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

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on TV

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Never performed in concerts

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

1978 : Destiny era

RECORDING DATE

In January-July 1978 with The Jacksons

STUDIO(S)

Hayvenhurst home Studio in Encino, California

Total EXperience Recording Studios (Hollywood, California)
Record Plant
(Los Angeles, California)
Cherokee Studios
(Hollywood, California)
Dawnbreaker Studios
(San Fernando, California)

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson & Randy Jackson

PRODUCER(S)

The Jacksons

RELEASE DATE :

December 18, 1978 (Destiny).

LABEL

Epic CBS Records

LENGTH

6:11

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

All Night Dancin’ Demo : recorded with Randy Jackson at Hayvenhurst home studio in 1978 (remains unreleased)

MUSICIANS

Ricky Lawson – drums
Rick Marotta – drums, percussion
Paulinho da Costa – percussion
Laudir de Oliveira – congas
Claudio Slon – congas
Seawind Horns – trumpet, saxophone, flute

Roland Bautista – guitar
Paul Jackson, Jr. – guitar, guitar solo
Michael Sembello – guitar, bass
Michael Boddicker – synthesizers
Greg Phillinganes – keyboards, synthesizers , rhythm arrangements
Gary King – bass
Nathan Watts – bass
Ed Greene – drums

Produced by The Jacksons
Bobby Colomby, Mike Atkinson – executive producers
Don Murray, Peter Granet – engineer
Clare Fischer – string arrangement
Tom Tom 84 – horn arrangements, string arrangements
Jerry Hey – horn arrangements

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)

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 co-written in summer of 2002 by Gibb and Jackson in protest of the U.S. government’s plan to invade Iraq in 2003. It was recorded in December 2002 in Miami, Florida. Gibb first confirmed the song in October, 2005.

STUDIO(S)

Miami, Florida

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Jackson & Barry Gibb

PRODUCER(S)

Barry Gibb
John Merchant

RELEASE DATE :

The track, its music video and footage of recording sessions were released posthumously on Gibb’s site on June 25, 2011, 2 years after Michael’s passing.

LABEL

Motown

LENGTH

5:37

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

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

Never performed on a TV show

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Never performed in concerts

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

Recorded with The Jackson 5 in February 1975.

STUDIO(S)

Motown Recording Studios, Hollywood, California

SONGWRITER(S)

Michael Lovesmith & Brian Holland

PRODUCER(S)

Michael Lovesmith

RELEASE DATE :

May 15, 1975 (album version on “Moving Violation”).

October 1975 (single version)

It was initially released as the B-side to the group’s single “Forever Came Today” before being released as an A-side single months later.

LABEL

Motown

LENGTH

3:15

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

No other version known to exist

MUSICIANS

Troop (John Harreld, Allen McNeil, Reggie Warren, Rodney Benford, Steve Russell): vocals
Derek Organ: drums (overdubs)
Chuckii Booker: all other instruments

PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :

“All I Do Is Think of You” was gaining airplay on urban radios and was issued as a single in October 1975. It peaked at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot Soul Singles chart. The song is the final charted single by the group before they left Motown for Epic Records in 1976.

SHORT FILM

No short film

LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS

January 24, 1976 : Michael performs “Just A Little Bit Of You,”, “One Day In Your Life” & “We’ve Got Forever” solo on the Soul Train Show + “Forever Came Today” & “”All I Do Is Think Of You” with the Jackson 5.

LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS

Never performed in concerts