Tag: Michael Jackson

My Top 25 Michael Jackson Songs Of All Time: Nos. 10-6

We have now entered the very upper echelon of my personal favorite 25 Michael Jackson tracks with the bottom half of the top ten. If you missed numbers 25-11, you may find them here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/05/13/my-top-25-michael-jackson-songs-of-all-time-nos-25-21/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/05/14/my-top-25-michael-jackson-songs-of-all-time-nos-20-16/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/05/15/top-25-michael-jackson-songs-of-all-time-nos-15-11/

Tomorrow brings the top five and now – numbers 10-6:

10. “Dirty Diana” (from Bad – 1987)

A slow grind of a rock ballad about groupies, this is MJ’s fifth single from the Bad album and made it five out of five to hit #1. Featuring stellar guitar work from Steve Stevens, it’s also got a memorable live concert video.

9. “Off the Wall” (from Off the Wall – 1979)

The third single and title track from his breakout solo album, “Off the Wall” is a joyous disco groove that, in my mind, just eclipses bigger hits from the album “Workin’ Day and Night” and “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”.

8. “Beat It” (from Thriller – 1982)

This rocker featuring Eddie Van Halen’s brilliant guitar work is the third single from the landmark album and one of MJ’s signature tunes. It’s also got choreography from the great music video that many 80s kids attempted to copy.

7. “P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)” (from Thriller – 1982)

One of MJ’s fastest and most infectious grooves served as the sixth Thriller single. It’s got his sisters LaToya and Janet singing backup and what sounds like Alvin and the Chipmunks singing along as well towards the end. My apologies, but this is the one track I couldn’t find a decent YouTube version of (what up with that?).

6. “Rock with You” (from Off the Wall – 1979)

The fourth biggest song of 1980, Michael Jackson created one of the best disco tracks of all time just as the era was ending. It’s the best song on a wonderful album. Others from “Off the Wall” worth a spin that didn’t make the cut: “Girlfriend”, “Get on the Floor”, “I Can’t Help It”, “It’s the Falling in Love”, and the ballad “She’s Out of My Life”.

And that will do it until tomorrow when I reveal my top five King of Pop songs ever.

 

My Top 25 Michael Jackson Songs Of All Time: Nos. 15-11

Continuing along with my personal Top 25 Michael Jackson Songs Of All Time – tonight comes part three with numbers 15 through 11. You can read my two previous posts covering 25-16 here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/05/13/my-top-25-michael-jackson-songs-of-all-time-nos-25-21/

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/05/14/my-top-25-michael-jackson-songs-of-all-time-nos-20-16/

15. “I Wanna Be Where You Are” (from Got To Be There – 1972)

MJ’s oldest song on the list was released when he was just 13 years old and certainly sounds more Jackson 5 than anything else on here with its Motown roots. It reached #2 on the R&B chart. It’s not too well-known anymore, but it should be. This is the only song on the list pre-Off the Wall from 1979, but other noteworthy early MJ songs include “Got To Be There”, “Ben”, and “We’re Almost There”.

14. “Scream” (from HIStory – 1995)

The lead off single from 1995’s HIStory is from mega-producers Jam&Lewis and features his only duet with his sister Janet. It’s my highest track listed from that album, but other quality songs include “They Don’t Care About Us”, “Stranger in Moscow”, “This Time Around”, and “Smile”.

13. “Black or White” (from Dangerous – 1991)

The lead single from 1991’s Dangerous featured a controversial video that included Macaulay Culkin and MJ turning into a panther, but it’s a fantastic song with memorable guitar work from Guns&Roses’ Slash. This is the final Dangerous track included. Those that missed the cut but are great include “Jam”, “Who Is It”, and “Give In To Me”.

12. “Thriller” (from Thriller – 1982)

The title track from the bestselling album of all time is a Halloween time classic with one of the best known music videos ever shot. While one of his most famous songs, there’s plenty of other Thriller tracks still to come in top ten.

11. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” (from Off the Wall – 1979)

The first single from his breakout solo work Off the Wall is a disco-infused club jam that marked MJ’s first #1 single on his own. The track also gave the artist his music video as a solo artist — a medium he would perfect better than anyone before or since.

Tomorrow – we get into the Top Ten! Stay tuned.

My Top 25 Michael Jackson Songs Of All Time: Nos. 20-16

This evening comes part two of my personal Top 25 Michael Jackson Songs Of All Time, covering numbers 20-16. Yesterday I gave you entries 25-21 and you can peruse them here:

https://toddmthatcher.com/2014/05/13/my-top-25-michael-jackson-songs-of-all-time-nos-25-21/

Let’s get to it:

20. “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” (from Bad – 1987)

This romantic ballad is a duet with Siedah Garrett and served as Michael’s first single from the Bad album. During the Bad tour, MJ would sing the track with an unknown backup singer by the name of Sheryl Crow.

19. “Workin’ Day and Night” (from Off the Wall – 1979)

MJ’s first entry on the list from his breakthrough solo album Off the Wall served as the B-side to “Rock With You”. This fast paced dance groove might not have ever been an official single, but it became a live performance staple from the King of Pop.

18. “The Way You Make Me Feel” (from Bad – 1987)

Bad‘s third single was a deserved monster hit and also became a staple of Jackson’s live performances.

17. “Remember the Time” (from Dangerous – 1991)

This was the second single from the Dangerous album and like “In the Closet” features terrific production from Teddy Riley. The music video featured Eddie Murphy, Magic Johnson, and model Iman.

16. “Another Part of Me” (from Bad – 1987)

This Bad heavy portion of my list concludes with “Another Part of Me”, which served as the album’s sixth single. It may not be quite as well known as “The Way You Make Me Feel” or the title track itself, but it’s always been one of my favorites from the album.

***Since the Bad album has received so much love in this portion, now might be a good time to announce that title track “Bad” did not make my personal Top 25 cut. It was close, but there were just too many other great choices that leapfrogged it.

And that’s all for now! I’ll be back tomorrow with numbers 15-11!

 

My Top 25 Michael Jackson Songs of All Time: Nos. 25-21

I’m taking a rare break from movie talk for a blog series about the King of Pop himself Michael Jackson. Today marks the release of MJ’s well reviewed posthumous album Xscape, which I’ve dutifully already downloaded on iTunes. However, I’ve yet to have the opportunity to get into it, but plan to shortly. We’re also approaching the five year anniversary of the superstar’s death in June.

This has led me to creating my personal Top 25 MJ songs of all time. A couple of caveats: this list does not include any Jackson 5 tunes and covers just Michael’s solo work. So if you’re looking for “I Want You Back” or “The Love You Save” or “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” or “I’ll Be There”, perhaps a Jackson 5 top ten list will come in the future. Also, being that I haven’t listened to the new album hardly at all, no tracks will be included from that one. However, I will say the current single “Love Never Felt So Good” featuring Justin Timberlake is fantastic.

Simply put,  I grew up on MJ and he is extraordinarily high on my favorite musical artists of all time. When you listen to pop music, his influence is omnipresent. Listen to “Rock Your Body” by Justin Timberlake. Or “Let the Groove Get In” by JT. Or “Treasure” by Bruno Mars. Or Pharrell music or Chris Brown. It goes on and on.

Let’s get to it, shall we? This will be a five-part series and feel free to comment when all is said and done with your own MJ personal faves.

25. “Baby Be Mine” (from Thriller – 1982)

It’s from the best selling album of all time and yet it’s probably the least talked about track on the record. It’s still great though and is highly reminiscent of his Off the Wall dance tracks that came three years earlier (and will show up on this here list).

24. “Will You Be There?” (from Dangerous – 1991)

Sort of cheesy? Yes. Best remembered for its video and inclusion in the film Free Willy? Yep. Call this a guilty pleasure MJ track if you will, but I love Michael’s vocals on here and the choir that closes it out.

23. “You Are Not Alone” (from HIStory – 1995)

My second MJ slow jam was written and produced by R. Kelly and is the first single in U.S. history to debut at #1.  It’s got a pretty memorable video featuring then wife Lisa Marie Presley, too.

22. “In the Closet” (from Dangerous – 1991)

The third single from 1991’s Dangerous album is a Teddy Riley produced New Jack Swing banger. Once again – the B&W music video featuring Naomi Campbell and directed by famed photographer Herb Ritts is a classic.

21. “Earth Song” (from HIStory – 1995)

This environmentally conscious and operatic tour de force served as MJ’s third single off 1995’s History and is my favorite among his socially conscious anthems (you won’t find “Heal the World” on this list). It’s the artist’s largest selling single ever in the United Kingdom.

And that’s all for now, folks! I’ll be back tomorrow with part two and numbers 20-16.