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Sunset Driver co-writer?

dethorro

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According to the booklet in the 'Ultimate Collection' boxset, Michael is the sole writer of Sunset Driver. This does make sense since it appears to be a home demo because we can hear Michael talking to Janet at the end.

However, during the 1993 Mexico deposition, Michael remembers having co-written Sunset Driver with someone, though he doesn't mention the name. (14:50)


The following questions arise: Did Michael misremember? Was Sunset Driver perhaps co-written with one of his brothers?

Does anyone have any information regarding this topic?
 
It was clearly a case of misremembering.

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Interesting to see that it was registered as having been created in 1982 even though it is widely seen as an Off The Wall outtake. The booklet in the Ultimate Collection boxset also says 1982.

Is it possible that Michael later reworked this song with someone (after 1982) and this is why he remembers having co-written it?
 
1982!!??

I always thought this was an Off The Wall outtake, I could NEVER see this on Thriller
Or even Bad, since this could have been made after Thriller was released
 
^ Joe Vogel tells a bit of a different story though:
Jackson wrote "Sunset Driver" in 1978. The funky, keyboard-driven track feels right at home with the Destiny - Off the Wall material.
It tells the story of a girl cruising Sunset Boulevard who is "much too fast" (a theme - and metaphor - Prince would pick up a few year later with "Little Red Corvette").
Jackson revisited the track during the Bad sessions. The original demo was released on Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection in 2004.
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However, I do believe that the Richard Lecocq version is the one that is correct.
 
The US Copyright Office dates aren’t all accurate. “In the Back” has a listed creation date of 1989, and “We’ve Had Enough” is listed as 2004. I wouldn’t rely too much on them as sources of info.
 
I personally always saw it as a Triumph outtake. It is too synth driven to be on off the wall.
Same goes for "got the hots" it doesn't sound like a thriller song to me.
 
filmandmusic said:
I personally always saw it as a Triumph outtake. It is too synth driven to be on off the wall.
Same goes for "got the hots" it doesn't sound like a thriller song to me.
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This is why I believe Richard Lecocq is right in saying that the demo that was released on The Ultimate Collection is from 1982. The 1978 demo is probably a very rough demo, as most 1978 demos are in general (e.g Don't Stop, Working Day and Night, Shake a Body).
 
dethorro said:
^ Joe Vogel tells a bit of a different story though:

However, I do believe that the Richard Lecocq version is the one that is correct.
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Richard Lecocq is much more credible source than Joe Vogel. In his book Vogel made a lot of mistakes (e.g. Slave To The Rhythm or Cascio tracks).
 
OnirMJ said:
Richard Lecocq is much more credible source than Joe Vogel. In his book Vogel made a lot of mistakes (e.g. Slave To The Rhythm or Cascio tracks).
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The quote I posted is from the 2019 edition of the book, in which many of the mistakes were corrected and a lot of new information was added.
 
Vogel’s most recent book has made several big corrections and is much closer to accurate than the original edition. However, as far as biographies go, I still think Making Michael by Mike Smallcombe is the gold standard.
 
1982? The instruments used on the version we all know sound like something from OTW.
 
AlwaysThere said:
Vogel’s most recent book has made several big corrections and is much closer to accurate than the original edition. However, as far as biographies go, I still think Making Michael by Mike Smallcombe is the gold standard.
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The section about the Bad era tracks was by far the most interesting. It was really cool to learn more about the dates when they were recorded.
 
Derek1984 said:
1982? The instruments used on the version we all know sound like something from OTW.
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It may have been touched upon during the OTW sessions, but the latest version Michael was satisfied with wasn't done until 1982. I can only assume an earlier hypothetical (non-demo) version lacked the synths and final vocals from MJ. Remember that overdub sessions exist for a reason...
 
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dethorro said:
According to the booklet in the 'Ultimate Collection' boxset, Michael is the sole writer of Sunset Driver. This does make sense since it appears to be a home demo because we can hear Michael talking to Janet at the end.

However, during the 1993 Mexico deposition, Michael remembers having co-written Sunset Driver with someone, though he doesn't mention the name. (14:50)


The following questions arise: Did Michael misremember? Was Sunset Driver perhaps co-written with one of his brothers?

Does anyone have any information regarding this topic?
Click to expand...
My idea is he was getting mixed up with the Blood on the Dance Floor/Sunset Driver mashup he came up with, if that tracks.
 
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