Michael Jackson’s 20 Greatest Songs and Greatest Discs (Representative Songs and Hidden Masterpieces)

In this article, we have created a ranking of Michael Jackson.

He is the greatest entertainer of all time and has been called the “King of Pop”.

But his true charm may lie in his inner self.

He doesn’t just sing about beautiful things.

He is a real fantasist who can bring reality to what is beautiful.

This blog is an automatic translation of a Japanese blog into English.

Please understand that it may be difficult to read.

No.1「Beat It」(Album:Thriller)

■Song Title：Beat It
■Album Name：Thriller
■Video link：「Beat It」

Michael Jackson was a rock fan who won the hearts of rock fans.

There are three guitarists on this song.

Edward Van Halen
Steve Lukather
Paul Jackson Jr.

The guitar solo by Eddie Van Halen is particularly noteworthy.

The guitar solo that starts at 3:11 is one of the most famous guitar solos.

According to Steve Lukather, Quincy Jones, the producer, said, “I’ve never heard a guitar solo like this before.

At first, Eddie played a good solo and it was very rocking, but Quincy said it was too strong. So I had to cut back on the distortion guitar sound. That’s how it got released.

今夜はビート・イット　ウィキペディア

In the end, it seems that the take that Quincy said was “too strong” was adopted.

It was probably adopted in Michael’s opinion.

Michael seems to like this kind of hard rock guitar.

No.2「Billie Jean」(Album:Thriller)

■Song Title：Billie Jean
■Album Name：Thriller
■Video link：「Billie Jean」

Who “Billie Jean” is, is one of the mysteries about Michael.

The producer, Quincy Jones, was concerned that people would associate “Billie Jean” with Billie Jean King, a female professional tennis player, and recommended that it be released under the title “Not My Lover”.

In response, Michael emphasized that it was not about anyone real, and stuck to his idea.

ビリー・ジーン　ウィキペディア

Reading the lyrics, Billie Jean seems to be a female dancer who claims to be Michael’s girlfriend.

Michael sings that Billie Jean is not my lover.

One theory was that it was Miki Howard who claimed that her child was Michael in the illegitimate child scandal.

But all theories are still just rumors.

At the time, he was plagued with all kinds of problems from being too popular.

No.3「Rock with You」(Album:Off The Wall)

■Song Title：Rock with You
■Album Name：Off The Wall
■Video link：「Rock with You」

This time, I decided to cover the period after this album.

This album produced two number one singles and two top ten hits in the US singles chart.

Before this album, however, his solo career was not as successful as it was during his time with The Jackson 5.

After hitting #5 on the Album chart with “Ben,” “Music & Me” hit #92 and “Forever, Michael” hit #101.

Quincy Jones became the producer.

This song was written by Quincy’s buddy, Rod Temperton.

As a result, not only did it reach number one, but it also became the fourth best-selling single of 1980.

Meeting Quincy seemed to be a big turning point for Michael.

No.4「Heal the World」(Album:DANGEROUS)

■Song Title：Heal the World
■Album Name：DANGEROUS
■Video link：「Heal the World」

Some people have described this song as “One Man We Are The World”.

It was produced by the same Quincy Jones, and the tune may be similar.

We Are The World” was written by Michael and Lionel Richie together.

The demo version, by the way, is sung by Michael.

Michael Jackson – We Are The World (Demo)

Heal the World” is the same type of message song, but I think it’s just as great.

Michael founded the Heal the World Foundation to help children around the world who are in poverty or in danger.

Michael was a man of action, not just a man of message songs.

No.5「Man In The Mirror」(Album:Bad)

■Song Title：Man In The Mirror
■Album Name：Bad
■Video link：「Man In The Mirror」

The producer, Quincy Jones, is a producer who cares about the quality of the songs.

Quincy trusted Michael and said that Michael should write all the songs when this album was produced.

However, as a result, only two songs were written by outside writers.

It seems that Michael was even more particular about the quality of the songs.

The singles from this album became number one in the U.S. for five consecutive years.

The fact that Michael thought so highly of this song can be seen from the fact that it was often chosen as the final song for live performances.

No.6「Off The Wall」(Album:Off The Wall)

■Song Title：Off The Wall
■Album Name：Off The Wall
■Video link：「Off The Wall」

Michael was born on August 29, 1958.

When this album was released in 1979, he was just a young man of 20.

At that time, he was appealing as a singer who could dance well against the backdrop of the disco boom.

In this song, he appeals to people to live their lives in their own way.

When Michael made this Album, he was thinking of making the music different from the Jackson 5.

He wanted to create his own unique future that was different from the traditional line.

That decision later led to an extraordinary success.

No.7「Butterflies」(Album:Invincible)

■Song Title：Butterflies
■Album Name：Invincible
■Video link：「Butterflies」

This is his last album, but in his later years he was moving towards a more melodic direction.

This song, for example, reminds me of Babyface.

He also showed his outstanding talent for ballads.

For example, this song.

The song from 1:45 is especially wonderful.

Usher, one of the best ballad singers of our time, also shows Michael’s influence.

No.8「Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’」(Album:Thriller)

■Song Title：Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’
■Album Name：Thriller
■Video link：「Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’」

This Album has recorded the following sales.

Since its release to date, 70 million copies have been sold, making it the “best-selling album of all time”.

スリラー (Album)　ウィキペディア

This album was number one for 37 weeks of the year.

Since a year is 52 weeks, this album dominated the top spot for 71% of the year.

This year, no matter how many good albums were released by others, they were all blocked by this album, and it ended up at No. 2.

I feel sorry for the other artists.

In Japan, many children tried to do the “Moon Walk”.

Even now, more than ten years after his death, when I type “Michael” in Google, his name appears at the top of the predictive list.

There may never be a better star than him in my lifetime.

No.9「Best Of Joy」(Album:MICHAEL)

■Song Title：Best Of Joy
■Album Name：MICHAEL
■Video link：「Best Of Joy」

This is a collection of unpublished songs released after his death.

As a composer, Michael was a very prolific person.

Bad” was originally going to be a 3-disc set, so there must have been a lot of songs lying around.

This song is one of the best songs that was buried.

By the way, I still have Michael’s handwritten note for this song.

Best of Joy の手書き歌詞

Michael’s letters have a sense of rhythm to them, and don’t they look like the letters of a musician?

Incidentally, there are other ballads on this album as well, such as the following。

Michael Jackson – Much Too Soon

This song was also unreleased.

No.10「It’s The Falling In Love」(Album:Off The Wall)

■Song Title：It’s The Falling In Love
■Album Name：Off The Wall
■Video link：「It’s The Falling In Love」

Michael has had several best albums released, including “This is It”.

But he may not need a best album.

With “Thriller,” seven of the nine songs were single cuts, so it was said to be practically his best album.

Here is the title track that I have not been able to introduce.

Michael Jackson – Thriller

Even “Off The Wall” has five single cuts, but the rest of the songs are of high quality.

The song I mentioned, “It’s The Falling In Love,” is also not a single cut.

This song was written by Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster.

Michael’s best albums do not sell as well as the original albums.

It seems that if the quality of the original album is too high, the best album will not sell well.

No.11「You Are Not Alone」(Album:HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I)

■Song Title：You Are Not Alone
■Album Name：HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
■Video link：「You Are Not Alone」

This song has been recognized by Guinness World Records.

He has been recognized by Guinness World Records as “the first artist in history to reach number one on the U.S. singles chart” with “You Are Not Alone.

ヒストリー パスト、プレズント・アンド・フューチャー ブック1　ウィキペディア

In the U.S., the market is so large that it is difficult for any popular artist to make it to the top of the charts.

This album is a two-disc set, the first one is the best album and the second one is the new album.

The first one is the best album, and the second one is the new album. The new album has a lot of angry and sad songs, and to be honest, I don’t really want to listen to it again.

This song, however, is a typical Michael song.

No.12「I Just Can’t Stop Loving You(with Siedah Garrett)」(Album:Bad)

■Song Title：I Just Can’t Stop Loving You(with Siedah Garrett)
■Album Name：Bad
■Video link：「I Just Can’t Stop Loving You(with Siedah Garrett)」

This song is a duet song.

The duet is with Siedah Garrett, who was brought in by Quincy Jones.

Siedah also wrote the lyrics for “Man In The Mirror” and plays an important role in this album.

On the day of the recording, Siedah went to the studio thinking she was invited to sing on the chorus of a song she had written, and was surprised to find out that she was going to sing a duet.

I tried to find a photo of the two of them.

サイーダ・ギャレット、「彼は本当に地に足がついた人だった」。

They are like two lovers, aren’t they?

This recording must have been a memory that Saida will cherish forever.

No.13「Love Never Felt So Good」(Album:Xscape)

■Song Title：Love Never Felt So Good
■Album Name：Xscape
■Video link：「Love Never Felt So Good」

This song is from the second posthumously released collection of unreleased songs.

This album is a pre-recorded vocal take that was finished by Timbaland and others.

This kind of album always has its critics!

I have mixed feelings about it.

Michael was a man who was always trying to move forward.

Especially in “Thriller”, “Bad” and “DANGEROUS”, he changed the sound each time to show his will to challenge.

However, in this album, I don’t feel such a will to evolve.

However, if you don’t expect that, you can enjoy this album in its own way.

For fans who want to hear Michael’s voice anyway, this may be a great gift.

No.14「Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough」(Album:Off The Wall)

■Song Title：Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough
■Album Name：Off The Wall
■Video link：「Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough」

It is a disco style song, but the street beat style sound has not faded.

The success of this album was of great significance.

In the past, he only sang and danced, but with this album, he started to assert himself as an artist for the first time.

A particularly big change was that he started writing his own songs.

This song was the first song he wrote that became a number one song in the US.

He went on to write such masterpieces as “Beat It” and “Billie Jean” on his own.

No.15「Black or Whit」(Album:DANGEROUS)

■Song Title：Black or Whit
■Album Name：DANGEROUS
■Video link：「Black or Whit」

This song is about racism.

He appeals that when you love someone, it doesn’t matter if they are white or black, and that such discrimination leads to conflict in the world.

The guitar is played by Slash of Guns N’ Roses.

Michael seems to be a stickler for his guitar.

Here’s one more rock song.

Michael Jackson – Morphine

Michael seems to like hard guitars.

This album was produced by Teddy Riley of New Jack Swing.

This album is produced by Teddy Riley of New jack Swing.

No.16「The Girl Is Mine」(Album:Thriller)

■Song Title：The Girl Is Mine
■Album Name：Thriller
※The cover of the single is shown here.
■Video link：「The Girl Is Mine」

This song is a duet with Paul Mccartney, formerly of The Beatles.

At the time, the combination of the two was a collaboration between superstars.

Incidentally, they also duetted on two songs on Paul’s “Pipes of Peace” album.

Both songs are excellent, but I’ll quote one of them here.

Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson – Say Say Say

The Girl Is Mine” became the first single from “Thriller”.

No.17「Bad」(Album:Bad)

■Song Title：Bad
■Album Name：Bad
■Video link：「Bad」

This was the last album produced by Quincy Jones.

Michael has changed his sound a lot here.

Up until now, it had been disco and blacons, but here he brought the digital sound to the fore.

This album is characterized by the use of “Synclavier,” an instrument that integrates the roles of synthesizer, sampler, and sequencer.

This influence is really evident in this song.

Let me introduce one more such song to you.

Michael Jackson – The Way You Make Me Feel

I just prefer the sound of the “Thriller” days.

No.18「Hold My Hand」(Album:MICHAEL)

■Song Title：Hold My Hand
■Album Name：MICHAEL
■Video link：「Hold My Hand」

On June 25, 2009, Michael fell into a critical condition at home and was rushed to the emergency room.

He was pronounced dead at 14:26 on the same day.

There are many rumors whispering about his death, but I don’t feel like introducing them to you.

The problem is that we lost a great artist.

At that time, I was surrounded by various music professionals and music fans.

The more you know about music, the more critical you become of the music that is selling.

But when Michael died, they were all sad.

It seems that they all loved Michael.

No.19「Scream Louder」(Flyte Tyme Remix)」(Album:Blood On The Dance Floor: HIStory In The Mix)

■Song Title：Scream Louder」(Flyte Tyme Remix)
■Album Name：Blood On The Dance Floor: HIStory In The Mix
■Video link：「Scream Louder」(Flyte Tyme Remix)」

During this period, Michael was suspected of sexual abuse and there were many malicious reports every day.

Perhaps because of this, many of Michael’s songs at this time were filled with anger and sadness, and sometimes it was a little painful to listen to them.

This song is a remix of “Scream/Childhood,” and like the original, it is performed with Janet Jackson.

The bassline is quite different from the original, but I prefer this one.

The bassline of this song always reminds me of the song below, though.

WildCherry – Play That Funky Music

I really think the media has done a sinful thing.

No.20「Smile」(Album:HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I)

■Song Title：Smile
■Album Name：HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I
■Video link：「Smile」

This song was written by Charles Chaplin.

The original was written for the 1936 movie “Modern Times”.

It is used in the last scene of the movie.

I found a video of the scene.

Smile, Charlie Chaplin , Modern Times, 1936

While Michael has achieved brilliant success, he has also experienced a lot of hardships.

But because he was such a man, I think there is a song that can be sung realistically.

This is what Michael and Chaplin wanted to convey in this song.

If you keep smiling, tomorrow will be better.

Michael may be the most appropriate person to sing this song.