The big Michael Jackson musical tribute thread

filmandmusic

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One thing I always love is other artists paying tribute to MJ (It makes me glow with pride). It is not enough to post a nice tweet or to praise him in an interview, I want music! So I made this thread to ”file” all covers and or samples of Michael Jackson songs either live or recorded in the studio.
Please include youtube links or when not available point us towards where we can listen to the music for free 😎

- ENRICO RAVA - ON THE DANCEFLOOR live recorded tribute of jazz legend Enrico Rava on Trumpet, completely instrumental, HIGHLY recommended for jazz fans. Listen to it on Spotify. Year 2012

1)Speechless
2)They Don’t Care About Us
3)Thriller
4)Privacy
5)Smile
6)I Just Can’t Stop Loving You/Smooth Criminal
7)Little Susie
8)Blood On The Dancefloor
9)HIStory

An interview about Michael with the master

- TONY SUCCAR - UNITY the latin tribute to Michael Jackson. Live recorded album with a host of latin top musicians. Also highly recommended and available on Spotify. Year 2016
The wiki page about this particular project https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Unity:_The_Latin_Tribute_to_Michael_Jackson

1)Billie Jean
2)I Want You Back
3)Human Nature
4)Thriller
5)Todo Mi Amores Tu
6)They Don’t Care About Us
7)Smooth Criminal
8)You Are Not Alone
9)Earth Song
10)Black Or White
11)Man In The Mirror

Thriller live performance

- ROBBIE FULKS - HAPPY a country/folk artists’ tribute to Michael. Only available on Spotify. Studio recording. Recommended listen. Year 2010
His wiki page https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robbie_Fulks

1)Goin Back To Indiana
2)Black Or White
3)Billie Jean
4)Mama’s Pearl
5)The Way You Make Me Feel
6)Man In The Mirror
7)Ben
8)Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough
9)The Girl Is Mine
10)Don’t Let It Get You Down
11)Privacy
12)Farewell My Summer Love
13)Happy
14)Goin Back To Goin Back To Indiana

A live performance of Fulks doing Billie Jean

- JOEY DEFRANCESCO - NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE the music of Michael Jackson. Another jazz tribute, studio recording. This guy is an organist, trumpeter, saxophone player and singer. Available on Spotify. Year 2010
The wiki page for the album https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Never_Can_Say_Goodbye:_The_Music_of_Michael_Jackson

1)Thriller
2)Never Can Say Goodbye
3)Beat It
4)Human Nature
5)Rock With You
6)She’s Out Of My Life
7)The Way You Make Me Feel
8)The Lady In My Life
9)Billie Jean

Defrancesco performing billie jean

- JENNIE LENA - SINGS MICHAEL JACKSON
She is Dutch pop singer, haven't listened to this yet. Recorded in studio + tour. I read her wiki. She's got good credentials. A Katy Perry cover of hers made it to the soundtrack of the film "the interview". Apparently she also worked with Prince and Bruno Mars. She toured in the US and one of her songs reached the iTunes top 10 over there. No links found for this full record but clips are available on YouTube. Year 2021

1)I Wanna Be Where You Are
2)Another Part Of Me
3)Lady In My Life
4)I Just Can't Stop Loving You
5) Rock With You
6)Heartbreak Hotel
7)P.Y.T.
8) Ben
9)Got To Be There
10)Earth Song
11)Dirty Diana
12)Beat It
13)Who's Loving You
14)Rock With You (acoustic)
15)With A Childs Heart

Her The Voice audition singing who's loving you

- TRIJNTJE O0STERHUIS & LEONARDO AMUEDO - NEVER CAN SAY GOODBYE
Another famous Dutch singer. Haven't listened to this yet, it is labelled jazz/pop. Recorded in studio + tour. Available on Spotify. Year 2009

1)Never Can Say Goodbye
2)Baby Be Mine
3)Music & Me
4)Lady in My Life
5)I Want You Back
6)One Day in Your Life
7)I Just Can't Stop Loving You
8)Don't Stop Till You Get Enough / Working Day & Night / Wanna Be Starting Something
9)Can't Help It
10)Rock with You
11)Human Nature
12)Gone Too Soon
13)I'll Be There
14)You Were There (Tribute to Sammy Davis Jr.)

A video of a one day in your life live performance
 
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Am I allowed to post non-musical stuff?

I must have misunderstood you, I thought it was going to be a general tribute thread.

You've posted the Enrico Rava interview - fab! I'd love to post the little interview with David Zard, as well. I have a better version of it than the other one I posted.
 


Chris Cornell / Billie Jean - acoustic live version from The Lowery 2012

4m 16s

EDIT - just found this on Smooth Radio website:

"While you're never going to beat the funky original, Chris showed the brilliance of Jackson's music by turning [the song] into something totally different.

The late Cornell once told Rolling Stone: "The brilliance of 'Billie Jean' came to me when I was reading the lyrics for the first time ..."
 
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Reposted from another thread by request:

Updated video (since the original is unavailable, at least for me):
Diana Ross / Beat It

1m 43s

Diana has always been a favourite of mine, her work with The Supremes as well as solo. And her voice is quite special: especially in ballads such as Do You Know Where You’re Going To?, I think there is a certain resemblance to Michael’s voice.
 
Am I allowed to post non-musical stuff?

I must have misunderstood you, I thought it was going to be a general tribute thread.

You've posted the Enrico Rava interview - fab! I'd love to post the little interview with David Zard, as well. I have a better version of it than the other one I posted.
Yeah do what you want really. I posted that Rava interview to maybe get some people more interested, if they see the interview maybe their curiosity will grow, at least it is a tangible connection that the tribute exists.
 

Enrico Rava, jazz musician, talks about Michael as a genius and why he covers Michael's songs. Interview in Italian, English subtitles.

N.B. first four minutes of the video is an interview with David Zard. Enrico Rava interview starts at approx 4m 12s.
 
Uzbek band Abbos performs Smooth Criminal (instrumental) using traditional Uzbek instruments.

4m 30s

 
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Pfffff I completely forgot I made this thread

Anyway this is great, the singer doesn't interest me but the band is great. Don't stop till you get enough. This is basically how I wanted to see MJ do a gig just once.

 
Don't stop till you get enough in a bluegrass jacket masterfully done by Robbie Fulks. Part of his MJ tribute album I posted about in the first post.
At 2.19 the bluegrass really kicks in. yihaaaaaaaa

 

0:31 Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough
1:50 Bad
3:19 You Will Be There
3:53 They Don’t Care About Us
5:05 The Way You Make Me Feel
7:30 Man In The Mirror
11:13 Billie Jean, Smooth Criminal

Pihalni Orkester Zelezarjev Ravne
Wind Orchestra Zelezarjev Ravne

Arranger: Miha Ferk
Conductor: Gregor Kovačič
Drums: Blaž Satler/MikiMaiden
Video/Editing: Marko Pavlak

Recorded live 25.12.2019- Christmas - New Year's Concert
 

Description from youtube channel:
"My name is Ahmed Alshaiba, A young musician from Yemen, I live in New York, I play Oud (Lute) I'm a self-taught, I play a mix between the eastern-style and western-style."
 
London Symphony Orchestra (june 2011)
A Film by Pascal Himmelsbach
MJ Art by Pascal Himmelsbach
London Symphonic Orchestra plays Michael Jackson:
0:00 Bad
2:45 Beat It
6:09 Ben
8:54 Billie Jean
13:36 I Just Can't Stop Loving You
17:40 Leave Me Alone
21:57 Man in the Mirror
26:26 One Day in Your Life
30:04 She's Out of My Life
33:21 Smooth Criminal
37:41 The Girl is Mine
40:41 The Way You Make Me Feel
44:13 Thriller
-------------------------------------------------------
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra🇬🇧:
 
(Here's the rest: beat it, triller, medley, human nature, smooth criminal,
I Just Can't Stop Loving You, and say,say say)
It's divine.
Tokyo Kosei Wind Orchestra. One of the best orchestras in the world.
----------------------------------------------------------------
"Over the years much has been written and broadcast about Michael Jackson. Naohiro Iwai has created a powerful medley by letting the music of the undisputed ‘King of Pop’ speak for itself. The medley contains the hits Thriller, I’ll Be There and I Want You Back. Don’t stop ’til you get enough!"
 
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(Here's the rest)
Orquestra Petrobras Sinfônica

Apresentação em tributo a Michael Jackson pela Banda do Comando Militar do Norte (CMN) no Shopping Boulevard em Belém do Pará, no dia 23 de agosto de 2018. Parte das celebrações em homenagem ao Dia do Soldado - Duque de Caxias (25 de agosto).
 
"We are a symphonic orchestra consisted of young and enthusiastic musicians from the East Bohemian region. Our hometown is Police nad Metují where the orchestra was founded in 2010 by siblings Petra and Jakub Soukupovi. We aren't professionals, but we play with our hearts. There is around 60 of us nowadays and we practice in the Police monastery."
---------------------------------------------------------------
Minsk 13.02.2021.
Grand Hall, Belarusian State Philharmonic Society.
Author's program "Man and Woman" by Viktor Babarikin.
Symphony Orchestra of Belteleradiocompany
of the Republic of Belarus.
Conductor - Viktor Babarikin.
The author of the arrangement - Lev Karpenko
---------------------------------------------------------------
Orchestra of the National Academic Kazakh Music and Drama Theater named after K. Kuanyshbayev.
Chief Conductor Yerlan Beisembayev.
 
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Johann Strauss Orchestra, Andre Rieu, Carmen Monarcha, Jermaine Jackson.
Maastricht (July 2009)
 
(Here's the rest: bad, beat it, man in the mirror, dirty Diana, never can say goodbye, rock with you, shake your body oown to the ground, smooth criminal, the way you make me feel, they don't care about us)

.......Thriller.............
..A..Metal..Tribute..
............to................
..Michael Jackson.
...........2013............

A&R – Bob Kulick, Mindy Mitchell
Bass – Billy Sheehan , Rudy Sarz, Tony Franklin
Bass, Rhythm Guitar – Bob Kulick
Design – Aliyah Davis
Drums, Drum Programming, Backing Vocals – Brett Chassen
Engineer [Assistant] – Grant Benziger, Nick "Bushy" Ericson
Lead Guitar – Bruce Kulick , Craig Goldy, Doug Aldrich, Phil Campbell, Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal
Mastered By – Maor Appelbaum
Mixed By, Engineer – Brett Chassen
Producer – Alien Ant Farm, Bob Kulic, Brett Chassen, Dave Watson
Soloist – Bob Kulick, Bruce Kulick
Vocals – Angelo Moore, Chris Jericho, Chuck Billy, Corey Glover, Danny Worsnop, Doug Pinnick, Elias Soriano, Lajon Witherspoon , Lonnie Jordan, Paul Dianno, Priya Panda
 
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