Jackson-Wonder connection

arXter

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we know that Michael and Stevie collaborated on a few songs while MJ was at Epic, but apart from I Can't Help It (which imo is one of the greatest songs of all time), i never felt that these tracks had the flare you'd expect from two legends like themselves.

Just Good Friends (1987)

Get It (1987)

but i wasn't that surprised since Stevie had gone downhill compared to the decade before, and the 80s pop scene was all too conventional.

(Mike also provided backgrounds on All I Do (1980), though this song was done many years before on the superior version by Tammi Terrell in 1966)

however, just a couple of years before I Can't Help It sprung up, around 1974-75 there was speculation that Stevie was writing and producing either a full Michael Jackson album, or a Jackson 5 project. but i think either way it would have pretty much been an MJ highlight:


wondernl0.jpg



these are the supposed tracks written/recorded circa 1974-75:


A Pretty Face Is

Buttercup

You're Supposed To Keep
Your Love For Me

No News Is Good News

Bumble-Bee Of Love

Sky Blue Afternoon

The Future

If Your Mama Could See You Now

Would I Live For You,
Would I Die For You​

two songs from this list were recorded later by other artists.

Buttercup, which Stevie intended to duet as well as produce for Mike, was given to Carl Anderson and released in 1982:


20fe2qb.jpg


Buttercup









You're Supposed To Keep Your Love For Me, was originally recorded in 1975 with Jermaine on lead and Michael, Jackie and Stevie doing backgrounds (still unreleased). however, Jermaine later recorded it on his own with Stevie producing on their collaborative effort in 1980:


kdr9cg.jpg


You're Supposed To
Keep Your Love For Me










going by these two tracks alone, i have no doubts as to the quality of this project. word is they're all still in the Wonderland vaults.
 
Jackson 5 & MJ covering Stevie:


A Place In The Sun (unreleased)
(1966 original)

Don't Know Why I Love You (1970)
(1968 original)

Fingertips (unreleased)
(1963 original)

For Once In My Life (unreleased)
(1968 original)

Heaven Help Us All (unreleased)
(1970 original)

Higher Ground (unreleased)
(duet between MJ and Donny Osmond)
(1973 original)

I Was Made To Love Her (1970-73)
(1967 original)

If You Really Love Me (unreleased)
(1971 original)

My Cherie Amour (1969)
(1968 original)

Never Had A Dream Come True (1970)
(1970 original)

Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day (1972)
(1968 original)

Signed, Sealed Delivered I'm Yours (unreleased)
(1970 original)

Someday At Christmas (1970)
(1967 original)

Superstition (1973)
(1972 original)

That's What Christmas Means To Me (unreleased)
(1967 original)

Uptight (Everything's Alright) (unreleased)
(1966 original)

With A Child's Heart (1973)
(1966 original)

Yester-Me, Yester-You, Yesterday (unreleased)
(1969 original)




Stevie covering MJ:


2j0cr5s.jpg


I Can't Help It
(Live at UNCF 2005)











Babyface & Stevie
Gone Too Soon
(Live, 1997)





Billie Jean
(Live, 2008)





Human Nature
(Live, 2008)

 
I would love to hear MJ singing Higher Ground.

You're right in that you'd think that the Jackson/Wonder collaboration on would have turned out to be more iconic songs like Ebony & Ivory w/ McCartney. Even though Get It and Just Good Friends are still good catchy song, theyre not up there with The Girl Is Mine etc. Maybe its the McCartney factor?
 
If Motown wanted to, they could go into the vaults and release a "The Jackson 5 Sings Stevie Wonder" compilation

A Pretty Face Is was also re-recorded for either Bad or Dangerous, but still wasn't released.


Janet and I think the other siblings call Stevie their cousin :lol:
 
I've read another article a while ago from the late 70s or the 80s and they asked Michael why these songs were never released, he said he didn't know...

I'll try to find that article again!

Damn, I knew I had to save that article on my computer!
 
I found it :

source: http://www.the-michael-jackson-archives.com/


These songs have always facinated me so much!!!
I'd really love to hear them all!:yes:
Read those last 2 lines of the article:
"I wish those songs coul have been released back then. But they still could be released now and be #1- God -for a long time..."

This interview is from 1984
 
raisa, you're awesome. i got that first article from you ages ago, i remember. thanks for this clipping.

and if I Can't Help It is any indication of a Jackson-Wonder flare, then i have no doubt as to Mike's claims in those last lines!

thanks again
 
here's the hyperfunky extended remix of Get It:


2i722kz.png


Get It
(12" Remix)









interesting to note that Brad Buxer's on there too (remix overdubs and programming). he worked quite a lot with Stevie in the 80s, then joined Mike in the 90s. could be that's how they met..
 
I am usually on my own on this - But I think Just Good Friends is one of the strongest on the Bad album, and that album has few flaws (if any imo).

Great thread.

It is a damn good song, but as with "Get It" the songs stayed in their decade, I think if they were produced differently without the late 80's synths sound it would be better, I mean if Just God Friends was on OTW or maybe Thriller it would be a different story!

And lets not forget Stevies appearance when he joined MJ for that song in Australia 87 bad tour ;) would kill to hear them singing that live, may well have been quite different
 
I am usually on my own on this - But I think Just Good Friends is one of the strongest on the Bad album, and that album has few flaws (if any imo).
na you're not on your own, it's all down to tastes at the end of the day.

but to try and be objective for a moment: even with conventional synths and quantized drums aside, i can't help but feel gobsmacked as to Stevie's output in the mid-late 80s-and-beyond compared to humanity's greatest musical adventure that he was on less than a decade earlier.

i think their released duets just came at an unfortunate time. plus with Get It, they were never even in the same studio. all done across continents.


And lets not forget Stevies appearance when he joined MJ for that song in Australia 87 bad tour ;)
spurred an iconic-looking snapshot:

libm0.jpg
 
here's the hyperfunky extended remix of Get It:


2i722kz.png


Get It
(12" Remix)









interesting to note that Brad Buxer's on there too (remix overdubs and programming). he worked quite a lot with Stevie in the 80s, then joined Mike in the 90s. could be that's how they met..


Wow! I kind of like this remix better than the original. Interesting...
 
Wow I love this picture! :wild: It was an unforgettable meeting. Is there a video on You Tube that Stevie's participation in Bad Tour? Someone was in country? :scratch:

It was in Australia but no one has any footage of it except Michael. Unless some local TV stations in Sydney got some video of it at the time but we dont know about it. Someone in Sydney could call up channel 7, 9 or 10 there and see if they can help out.
 
Any collab b/w Michael & Stevie I consider historic. Both of them are connected forever thanks to their affiliation with MOTOWN, it's something that's binded. Motown was a family and Michael consider Stevie a close friend so it was undeniable they would collaborate. I want their 1970s collaboration to come out.
 
There are so many goodies in Mikes vault its not funny!
 
It was in Australia but no one has any footage of it except Michael. Unless some local TV stations in Sydney got some video of it at the time but we dont know about it. Someone in Sydney could call up channel 7, 9 or 10 there and see if they can help out.

Thanks! Actually there is no video. I looked at You Tube I never found anything there. I love to see!​
 
I would love to hear MJ singing Higher Ground.

You're right in that you'd think that the Jackson/Wonder collaboration on would have turned out to be more iconic songs like Ebony & Ivory w/ McCartney. Even though Get It and Just Good Friends are still good catchy song, theyre not up there with The Girl Is Mine etc. Maybe its the McCartney factor?

i don't know. i love 'Just Good Friends'. AND 'Get It'.

man that is a lot of genius heat in those photos withMJ and Stevie together. that one in black and white with MJ's fro combined wth curls in the front, has his face in an expression that he would later copy in a photo from the bad era, where he's silohuetted.
 
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i don't know. i love 'Just Good Friends'. AND 'Get It'.
Hey I love Just Good Friends and Get It also, I just dont see it being on par with TGIM or Ebony and Ivory. But I dont see Say Say Say and The Man on the same parr as TGIM or Ebony and Ivory either but I still love those songs too.:punk:
 
spot on, Cam. it's not that they're bad by any means, but a clear decline compared to Stevie's earlier material in the 70s - which is yet to matched.


and here's the extended disco remix of Get It:

2wexdhc.png
the flipside of this just said "instrumental" so i thought it was just the beat behind the remix, but after checking it out it seems to be more of a funky dub with some extra vocals (and only background vocals in the chorus):


e7fqex.png


Get It

(Remix
Instrumental)














 
I'm hopeing Stevie will appear at one of the conerts this summer :)


'I can't help it' is my favoutrite too, it's silky smooth lol
 
Well Just Good Friends was on the list to choose from for the concerts and if its picked, Stevie could come in for one or 2 shows. Thats the beauty of MJ being in one place for so long, anything can happen including surprise guests!
 
Great topic, arx. Obviously, both of these guys top my lists of just about anything musical-related. While underwhelming, I've grown new appreciation for "Get It" and "Just Good Friends" over the years.

Just Good Friends also tops my list for most-wanted video boot ever. I would love to see that performance. Someone has it somewhere.

As for the collaboration, it is quite a shame that it was never released. I can only imagine what gems Stevie and MJ have hiding in their vaults. I wonder what year exactly the collab album was from... just if some of the music was redone for either FFF or Songs In The Key Of Life.

wontgetpaidanickellivei.png


I Want You Back/Bad - Live In Atlanta 1988 (Stevie Wonder forgetting the lyrics, lol)







 
Supe! been waiting for your input, man. cheers and i agree with pretty much everything you said, though i'm still trying to adjust to their '87 collabs (or let them "grow" on me)!

and i've looked everywhere for that helium pitch-warped performance of his! just that i forgot which songs he covered. but that's both hilarious, cute and funky. as is the multifaceted nature of this genius.

thanks again, mate.
 
A couple more connections between the two:

Greg Philinganes was discovered by Stevie Wonder. Greg went on to play record and tour with, among others, Michael Jackson.

180px-Greg_Philinganes_August_2007.jpg


Nathan Watts, Stevie's longtime bass player and musical director, also played bass on several tracks from The Jacksons Destiny and Triumph albums.

pwQ3T2483.jpg


Both have albums that are in the United States National Recording Registry: Stevie's Songs In The Key Of Life and Michael's Thriller.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...the_United_States_National_Recording_Registry

Both had a number-one single with Paul McCartney: Stevie and Paul with "Ebony & Ivory" and MJ and Paul with "Say, Say, Say". McCartney also appeared an album by each artist: dueting with MJ on "The Girl Is Mine" from Thriller, and playing guitar on Stevie's "A Time To Love" from the album of the same name.

Both hold Grammy records. Stevie Wonder holds the record for most wins by a male solo artist, and MJ holds the record for most wins in one year.
 
I've always wanted to see these two collaborate again. They had such studio chemistry.
 
A couple more connections between the two:

Greg Philinganes was discovered by Stevie Wonder. Greg went on to play record and tour with, among others, Michael Jackson.

180px-Greg_Philinganes_August_2007.jpg


Nathan Watts, Stevie's longtime bass player and musical director, also played bass on several tracks from The Jacksons Destiny and Triumph albums.

pwQ3T2483.jpg


Both have albums that are in the United States National Recording Registry: Stevie's Songs In The Key Of Life and Michael's Thriller.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...the_United_States_National_Recording_Registry

Both had a number-one single with Paul McCartney: Stevie and Paul with "Ebony & Ivory" and MJ and Paul with "Say, Say, Say". McCartney also appeared an album by each artist: dueting with MJ on "The Girl Is Mine" from Thriller, and playing guitar on Stevie's "A Time To Love" from the album of the same name.

Both hold Grammy records. Stevie Wonder holds the record for most wins by a male solo artist, and MJ holds the record for most wins in one year.

Both were 10 when they signed with Motown - Stevie in 1961 (I think he signed in April of that year but I'm not sure, he turned 11 in May of that year), Michael in 1969 (in March, before his August birthday, though the J5 were supposed to be signed in 1968).

Both were 13 when they scored their first big solo hit (Stevie with "Fingertips, Pt. 2" in 1963, Michael with "Got to Be There" in 1971).

Both had songs nominated for Academy Awards (MJ with "Ben" in 1972 and Stevie with "I Just Called to Say I Love You" in 1984, Stevie won his and also wrote it, Michael didn't write "Ben" contrary to popular belief, lol).

Stevie & Michael's vocals changed dramatically after their 13th birthday. Both of them sounded grown by 15, lol.

Stevie was 21 when he gained control of his musical career, Michael was also 21 when he gained control of his musical career.

----
They are definitely connected in many ways than one.
 
Stevie & Michael's vocals changed dramatically after their 13th birthday. Both of them sounded grown by 15, lol.

Haha, yeah.. that I Want You Back/Bad clip I posted a few posts up is in response to that exact situation. Stevie used that voice in many concerts in the 80's, and he mentioned how his Motown career almost came to an end after his voice began to change and he started getting older. He had few hits for a four or five year span. It wasn't until Uptight, I believe, that he went on another streak with major and substantial singles.

Also, when it comes to black superstars, I think there are three names you'll often hear tossed around and compared to each other: Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson and Prince.

Oh, and both were on Sesame Street:



 
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