My Michael Jackson Covers
A lot of my most popular Soundcloud tracks are covers of Michael Jackson songs. Feel free to download and enjoy them!
I just can't stop loving You
This is a very accomplished piece of song writing by Michael Jackson, reminding us that he didn't just cherry pick material from others, he really was a true master. The chord progressions are unusual and complex, changing key subtly and confidently like a modal jazz composition.
I approach it by keeping it clean for the intro, following Jackson's melody line. I then explore with piano and light acoustic guitars. The hook gets a typical jazz technique of playing octaves for the line. The solo is then restrained to keep the song's beauty. The middle eight gets a guitar solo with a tougher tone. It's a joy to play over by following the key changes.
Originally this track a 1987 ballad by Michael Jackson featuring a duet with Siedah Garrett and was the first single released from his seventh album, Bad. The song was written by Jackson and co-produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, R&B and adult contemporary charts.
The song became the first of five consecutive number-one Hot 100 singles from the Bad album. It was Jackson's second number-one song on the AC chart (his first, coincidentally, had also been a duet: 1982's "The Girl Is Mine" with Paul McCartney). It was released without an accompanying music video.
The presence of Garrett on the track was a last-minute decision by Jackson and Jones, after Jackson's first two choices for the duet, Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston, both decided against participating. Garrett, a protégé of Jones's who co-wrote another song on Bad, "Man in the Mirror", did not know that she would be singing the song until the day of the recording session.
Beat It
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OK, I'll stick my hands up! I went a bit OTT with the guitar on this one! Watch out Eddie Van Halen, the jazz guy's got overdrive too!
My version is not as rocky as Jacksons, it's peppered with jazz chords rather than rock riffs. See if you can spot the Earth, Wind and Fire horn section parts.
From a guitar players point of view the original had one of the top 5 guitar solos of all time. On this occasion I didn't bother to learn it note for note, just the spirit of it (so loads of fretboard tapping). I do a second solo later on, which is pure me!
It is the third single from Jacko's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). He had so many #1 US albums
Come Back to Me
I was enticed to this track because it has such a haunting melody and general vibe. It has always reminded me of "I'm only Human" by the Human League. It has some very similar chord progressions. I use a nylon stringed classical and electric guitars, as well as bass to pick out the tune.
"Come Back to Me" is by Janet Jackson, taken from her fourth studio album, Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 (1989). It was written by Jackson, while James Harris III, and Terry Lewis co-wrote and produced the song.
She's Out of My Life
MJ did such a great job of this track. Remember how his voice breaks down at the end? To do this justice you need that same emotional investment. I'm not sure I could take it as far as him but, for nylon strings, this is as expressive as I dared!
DYK It was not written by MJ but by American songwriter Tom Bahler.
Jackson's version was released as the fourth single from his 1979 album Off the Wall. It peaked at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, marking the first time any solo artist had ever achieved four Top 10 hits from one album.
The Girl Is Mine
MJ had so many great power ballads and this is one of them. It was recorded by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney, written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones.
It was released as the first single off Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982).
Smooth Criminal
This was one of the MTV breakout tracks for MJ, one of the first to combine R&B with rock and pop. Previously conventional wisdom kept the two apart and made MTV a dull rock channel. MJ changed all that for good!
Sheet Music
Michael Jackson sheet music (arranged by Benny Sutton) free to download.