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 idea came to Michael’s mind in 1984. The track evolved from another demo recorded in 1985, Al Capone, which melodies of resemble the ones in Smooth Criminal.
October 1, 1985 : Recording studio session at Michael’s Hayvenhurst home studio. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
October 2, 1985 : Recording session at Michael’s Hayvenhurst home studio. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
October 4, 1985 : Recording session at Michael’s Hayvenhurst home studio. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
October 5, 1985 : Recording session at Michael’s Hayvenhurst home studio. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
January 06, 1986 : Recording session at Michael’s Hayvenhurst home studio. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
January 07, 1986 : Recording session at Michael’s Hayvenhurst home studio. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
July 10, 1986 : Recording session at Westlake Studios. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
July 11, 1986 : Recording session at Westlake Studios . MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
July 12, 1986 : Recording session at Westlake Studios. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
July 15, 1986 : Recording session at Michael’s Hayvenhurst home studio + Westlake studios. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
July 16, 1986 : Recording session at Michael’s Hayvenhurst home studio + Westlake studios. MJ, Bill Bottrell, John Barnes and Matt Forger work on the song “Smooth Criminal”.
The song was re recorded in 1987 during the Westlake sessions and released on the “Bad” album.
STUDIO(S)
Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, California
SONGWRITER(S)
Michael Jackson
PRODUCER(S)
Quincy Jones
RELEASE DATE :
August 31, 1987 (album version “Bad”)
November 14, 1988 (single version)
LABEL
Epic Records
LENGTH
4:17
ALTERNATE VERSIONS RECORDED BY MJ (covers and remixes by other artists are not included)
Al Capone : recorded in 1985
Smooth Criminal demo : recorded in 1985-1986 during the Hayvenhurst sessions with John Barnes, Bill Bottrell & Matt Forger. A snippet of the demo leaked on January 28, 2023 but original demo remains unreleased.
Smooth Criminal (Moonwalker mix) : Recorded in 1987. Features an extra verse. Used in the Moonwalker film/Smooth Criminal short film. Remains unreleased.
MUSICIANS
???
PEAK ON HOT 100 BILLBOARD :
7
SHORT FILM
Directed by Colin Chilvers
Date of shooting : February-April 1987 (as part of the Moonwalker film)
Date of premiere : October 13, 1988
Official release : Released on VHS in 1989 (Moonwalker), DVD in 1997 (History Vol 2), in 2003 (Number Ones) and in 2010 (Vision) and on Michael’ You Tube official page (short version)
Smooth Criminal 3D
June 01-11, 2009 : In Culver Studios in Culver City, Michael shoots “The Dome” Project which consists seven works: “Smooth Criminal” (MJ inserted into classic 2D black-and-white film noir chase sequence). The video was used in the This Is It Movie released on October 26, 2009.
LIVE PERFORMANCES ON TV SHOWS
Never performed on TV
LIVE PERFORMANCES IN CONCERTS
Bad World Tour 1988-1989
Dangerous World Tour 1992
Dangerous World Tour 1993
Brunei Royal Concert on July 16, 1996
History World Tour 1996
History World Tour 1997
This Is It 2009 (the song was rehearsed in June 2009 and is part of the This Is It movie)
Jackson Dynasty 