How a casual dinner conversation between Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson changed music history
In short: During a 1981 recording session, Paul McCartney showed Michael Jackson a booklet of his music publishing rights, explaining how he earned royalties whenever his songs were performed. This simple advice sparked Jackson's interest in the business, eventually leading him to purchase the massive ATV Music Publishing catalog in 1985.
The collaboration between Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson on the 1983 hit Say Say Say began during the production of McCartney's album Tug of War. Recording sessions took place at AIR Studios in London starting in May 1981. During this period, Jackson stayed with McCartney and his wife Linda, forging a personal friendship. While the two artists worked as equals in the studio, the song's production was overseen by George Martin, the legendary producer who had previously worked with the Beatles.
The song itself was a commercial juggernaut, topping the Billboard Hot 100 for six weeks and becoming Jackson's seventh top-ten hit of 1983. This achievement broke a record previously held by the Beatles and Elvis Presley. To this day, the track stands as McCartney's last single to reach the number-one spot on the Hot 100 chart. Despite its success, the song received mixed critical reception, with some reviewers labeling it a vapid dance groove, while others praised the vocal harmonies between the two stars.
The accompanying music video, directed by Bob Giraldi, was a $500,000 production that featured the duo as con artists named Mac and Jack. Filmed in California, the video utilized the Sycamore Valley Ranch as a base, a property Jackson would later purchase and rename Neverland Ranch. Beyond its narrative, the video has been analyzed for its themes, including the portrayal of a child-to-man transition and its complex, often criticized, references to historical minstrelsy and blackface performance.
In 2015, McCartney revisited the track, releasing a remix that inverted the original vocal roles, allowing Jackson to lead the first verse. This version was included on a reissue of the album Pipes of Peace. The song's legacy continues to evolve, as evidenced by a 2023 remake from Norwegian DJ Kygo, ensuring that the collaboration remains a significant, if debated, moment in pop culture history.
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Sources
- Summary by Intellect · source: Say Say Say
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