The last-minute duet that nearly didn't happen
In short: Michael Jackson’s 1987 hit "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" was a desperate pivot. After two high-profile stars turned down the project, a protégé was summoned to the studio with almost no warning. She arrived expecting to provide background vocals, only to find herself front and center on a global number-one hit.
The creation of the ballad was marked by a series of high-profile rejections. Jackson initially sought out Barbra Streisand and Whitney Houston to share the vocals. Streisand declined, citing a 16-year age difference and feeling the lyrics were unbelievable for their pairing. Meanwhile, Houston's label, Arista Records, feared a collaboration would distract from the promotion of her sophomore album, Whitney. The track was released as the lead single from the Bad album on July 20, 1987. It was the first of five consecutive number-one hits from that specific record.
With the stars unavailable, producers Quincy Jones and Jackson turned to Siedah Garrett, a protégé of Jones. Garrett felt completely blindsided, assuming her studio invitation involved providing overdubs for "Man in the Mirror". To her astonishment, she discovered she was actually slated to perform a duet. Garrett was already a known artist who had previously collaborated with Dennis Edwards. She was constantly sent demos by Jones before this specific recording session.
The song achieved enormous popularity without any warning, topping the Adult Contemporary, R&B Singles, and Billboard Hot 100 charts. The song's legacy is tied to its distinct production choices. It features a spoken-word intro recorded by Jackson while lying in bed, which was famously mixed out of most later releases. While some critics, like Richard Cromelin of the Los Angeles Times, found the opening "creepy," the song's reach was undeniable. It became Britain's 30th best-selling song of 1987 and remains a staple of Jackson's discography, even spawning Spanish and French language versions that continue to be performed as tributes today. The song was set to C major with a tempo of 100 beats per minute. It also inspired a bachata cover by Toby Love that reached the top of the Billboard Tropical Songs chart.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: I Just Can't Stop Loving You
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