What is this about Paul Anka and his accusations of MJ being a thief?

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The other day I saw a article about Paul Anka and how he basically says MJ stole a tape from him, because he wanted nothing to interfere with Thriller.

https://pagesix-com.cdn.ampproject....-was-beyond-pissed-with-mj-over-stolen-tapes/

And then today Chrome recommended me this article, turns out it's a story from back in 2009

https://www.showbiz411.com/2009/10/14/20091014paul-anka-wrote-a-second-song-with-michael-jackson

And that article has some lovely stuff to say too ..

"The thing Jackson fans donÂ’t like to hear about Michael is that he was sneaky, and lied a lot. He was willful. He was taught all this by his father. He broke agreements all the time, stole tapes from studios and held them for ransom, and so on. Does it make him a bad person? You can decide for yourselves."

And a part from Anka about Mike

"Who is to blame? Michael Jackson. In death he’s just as much trouble as he is in life. This was an example of his basic dishonesty. He was not a great songwriter and often took credit for material that wasn’t his. “He was more of a riff writer than a melodist,” said Anka."

The problem with this kind of stuff is, the man is not here to tell his side of the story. All we have is one side. Do we know anything more about this or not really?
 
janet-jackson-poetic-justice.gif
 
The other day I saw a article about Paul Anka and how he basically says MJ stole a tape from him, because he wanted nothing to interfere with Thriller.

https://pagesix-com.cdn.ampproject....-was-beyond-pissed-with-mj-over-stolen-tapes/

And then today Chrome recommended me this article, turns out it's a story from back in 2009

https://www.showbiz411.com/2009/10/14/20091014paul-anka-wrote-a-second-song-with-michael-jackson

And that article has some lovely stuff to say too ..

"The thing Jackson fans don’t like to hear about Michael is that he was sneaky, and lied a lot. He was willful. He was taught all this by his father. He broke agreements all the time, stole tapes from studios and held them for ransom, and so on. Does it make him a bad person? You can decide for yourselves."

And a part from Anka about Mike

"Who is to blame? Michael Jackson. In death he’s just as much trouble as he is in life. This was an example of his basic dishonesty. He was not a great songwriter and often took credit for material that wasn’t his. “He was more of a riff writer than a melodist,” said Anka."

The problem with this kind of stuff is, the man is not here to tell his side of the story. All we have is one side. Do we know anything more about this or not really?

If this is what Paul Anka really said, it sounds like someone who is just a little bit jealous... I vaguely remember he said that Michael stole something from him, but I don't remember if he just said it in interviews or sued the Estate... I just don't know.
 
Sound like BS. By the way MJ wrote Billie Jean, Beat it, song for Diana Ross, Rebbie's biggest hit Centerpede, and many others. Now my question to Paul Anka, what have U stolen from someone else. Sound like bitterness to me or someone lying about what Paul said.
 
What tapes? Maybe there's something about tapes that I don't understand... or maybe, this is one of the stupidest things I heard for a while...

Of recordings he and Anka allegedly made together I would assume. He claims Love never felt so Good is a song by him, also This is it.

But it's clear he's not being genuine when he says MJ was not a good songwriter, because if anything he was a very underrated songwriter. As Terrell said, he wrote Billie Jean, happens to be my favorite song ever by any artist. He says he was more of a riff writer than a melodist he says, what?

This is my problem with people that start to talk shit once a person is long gone, he's not here to tell his side of the story.

Also if he stole tapes from studios all the time....I would think many more people that knew him would have accused him of this and I don't recall them.
 
I remember the fuss about Paul Anka not getting his songwriting credits, which was later rectified. But the fact that that happened in the first place would seem to back up his claims. I wouldn't be surprised if Michael stole the tapes. The part about him taking credit for things that he wasn't responsible for has also come up before from other people.
Michael wasn't someone who liked hearing the word 'No'. That's clear from his behaviour and from the people he surrounded himself with. If he wanted to do something, he did it. If he wanted something, he found a way to get it. He was very ambitious, stubborn, and ruthless at times. Paul Anka's right about fans not wanting to hear about Michael's negative traits. It seems that a lot can't seem to accept that he wasn't some kind of saint.
 
"In 2009, just before Jackson’s sudden death, he released the song “This Is It,” which Anka immediately recognized as the song they penned together.
---------------------

Proven and documented false claim/lie
 
I find it very funny that Paul Anka knew all those years that Michael allegedly had that tape and didn’t sue. Paul Anka has been big for years. He could’ve easily taken Michael to court in the 1980s. Why not? But then he accuses Michael after Michael is dead and gone. Huh? Yes. Michael was accused of stealing songs before. But I know these people sued him and lost their lawsuits. So there must not be anything to the claim of Michael being a thief, in my opinion. Michael never even released the song nor did he take credit for it publicly. The estate found the tape in a nondescript state in a box after he died. They gave Paul Anka song writing credit for it after he complained when the song was eventually released, which he really should’ve done 20 years earlier and should’ve followed it up with a court case also. I’m not saying that Michael is perfect. Heck. I still get angry when I think of the positions he put himself in where he could get hurt, including how he died. But really, didn’t Michael write this song with Paul Anka? Why shouldn’t he have his own copy. Paul Anka should’ve demanded the original and let Michael keep a copy of the song. That’s on Paul that he didn’t do that, in my opinion. So why wasn’t this “This Is It” tape thing dealt with years before Michael died? This didn’t have to be made a public issue only since Michael is gone.
 
I remember the fuss about Paul Anka not getting his songwriting credits, which was later rectified. But the fact that that happened in the first place would seem to back up his claims. I wouldn't be surprised if Michael stole the tapes. The part about him taking credit for things that he wasn't responsible for has also come up before from other people.
Michael wasn't someone who liked hearing the word 'No'. That's clear from his behaviour and from the people he surrounded himself with. If he wanted to do something, he did it. If he wanted something, he found a way to get it. He was very ambitious, stubborn, and ruthless at times. Paul Anka's right about fans not wanting to hear about Michael's negative traits. It seems that a lot can't seem to accept that he wasn't some kind of saint.

Nobody is perfect, nobody and that's fine, but these kind of accusations are not some stuff to be brushed aside. Personally I know of only one other person that called Michael a thief and that is Quincy Jones. But among that he also denied MJ had vitligo and what not, he did take back the part about being a thief though, but....wow Quincy.

Other than that I don't know of any others. The issue with this is...the man is dead and gone, he can't give us his side of the story. They should have come out with this when he was fully alive, so that he could defend himself. But it's all being said and done after he died, it's telling.
 
Nobody is perfect, nobody and that's fine, but these kind of accusations are not some stuff to be brushed aside. Personally I know of only one other person that called Michael a thief and that is Quincy Jones. But among that he also denied MJ had vitligo and what not, he did take back the part about being a thief though, but....wow Quincy.

Other than that I don't know of any others. The issue with this is...the man is dead and gone, he can't give us his side of the story. They should have come out with this when he was fully alive, so that he could defend himself. But it's all being said and done after he died, it's telling.

I guess he's still pissed off. But it is pointless and certainly not very nice to be insulting MJ to the press at this point. Seems that everyone and their mother who knew or worked with Michael gets poked for some juicy gossip whenever they get interviewed. Sad.
Looks like Paul Anka has a new album and tour coming up, what a surprise. Perfect time to dish the dirt...
 
Both love never felt so good (Johnny Mathis 1984) as well as I never heard (safire 1991) were credited correctly to both
 
I remember the fuss about Paul Anka not getting his songwriting credits, which was later rectified. But the fact that that happened in the first place would seem to back up his claims. I wouldn't be surprised if Michael stole the tapes. The part about him taking credit for things that he wasn't responsible for has also come up before from other people.
Michael wasn't someone who liked hearing the word 'No'. That's clear from his behaviour and from the people he surrounded himself with. If he wanted to do something, he did it. If he wanted something, he found a way to get it. He was very ambitious, stubborn, and ruthless at times. Paul Anka's right about fans not wanting to hear about Michael's negative traits. It seems that a lot can't seem to accept that he wasn't some kind of saint.



Except this story , like so many others coming from the crooks around MJ, does not make any sense and Anka cannot keep his story straight.

1. If he and MJ wrote the song together then MJ had as much of a right to have that tape as Anka himself.

2. How did Anka find out that MJ took the tape? Wouldn't it be pretty stupid of MJ to take a tape illegally when it is so damn easy to find out it was him?

3. How and when did this supposed theft happen? MJ broke in himself? He hired someone? He took the tape while Anka was in the studio himself? Would like to know the full logistics of this supposed theft.

4. No wonder MJ got rid of the Anka part since it's corny and cheesy and shows that Anka is not a good melodist. MJ kept the good part
as he had a good sense of melody. Here's the duet. The rerecorded version if so much better:

3. MJ did not release the song hence he never profited from it. So even if it has been composed by Anka (and I am sure the good part was NOT composed by Anka)
where exactly is the theft? It's not that MJ released the song under his name and deprived Anka of royalties. Does Anka want to say that without the tape
he couldn't know his own song? (supposedly his own?) So this sounds more like Anka was pissed off because MJ got rid of the shitty part he composed.
Sounds like jealousy.

4. After MJ died Anka told a different story on TV than what he told Roger, assuming that Roger quoted him correctly.

Here he said it was just a honest mistake , he said WE wrote the song not I wrote the song, he said that he (Anka) didn't have the right to put the song on his album (so how the hell can he say that it was his?). He says here that he doesn't know if it was MJ or those around him who took the tape. (funny, to Roger he fully blamed MJ.). He also said MJ was great, and a very very talented guy to work with, that he had something very very special. And he said when they met again MJ told him "Paul I hope you're not still mad", and he said , Michael don't worry about it. He said all in all it's a happy ending.

So suddenly he is mad over it again? Come on.

Here's the Oct 2009 interview with Anka:

And just to show you what a spineless coward flip-flopper Anka is. He is hardly a person I would take lessons from about honesty:

After LN came out he said this:

"It's very disturbing, to be honest. We must separate his talent from the sick things he may have done, like thousands of people in the world do. I don't know, is he hated or is he still loved in Spain? Would it be appropriate to sing it?" - Paul Anka, July 13th, 2019.

Then he did this in Budapest just a few days later, pretending he respected him

https://www.instagram.com/p/B0CKSGSBfmp/


So **** Paul Anka. He is another Sheryl Crow.
He is also a shitty melodist. He knows other than My Way nobody gives a shit about his songs anymore and he hates that MJ wrote so many timeless hits.
 
But its so much easier to keep pushing the agenda of big bad MJ. Why let the facts get in the way?
 
But its so much easier to keep pushing the agenda of big bad MJ. Why let the facts get in the way?

This story just makes no sense.

What exactly could MJ achieve by stealing the tape?

If he wants to release the song without crediting Paul Paul could easily sue him and embarrass him in the media.
And MJ made songs with others so why would he be bothered with Paul, of all people, getting credit?

It's much more likely that Paul is pissed off because MJ got rid of the part which he composed and hence his attack
that MJ was not a great melodist when in fact the opposite was true.

If you listen to the Safire version you can hear Paul's part is not there either.
Cause it's not good, Paul butchers the core melody of this song.








I agree with this comment:

No disrespect to Paul Anka (since he played the piano on all 3 originals) but this
“revision” sounds like some mediocre upbeat country song and is no comparison to the soundtrack rework.
 
Yeah, I donÂ’t buy AnkaÂ’s story that Michael stole the tapes. Why would Michael steal the tapes and not release the song? Anka is talking completely nonsense, in my opinion.
 
Anka is an arrogant asshole and I don't trust him. I saw some video where he is on some oldies tour and he is chastising the heck out of his backing band for not keeping the beat and reminding them he is this big star (Who last had a hit in 1974 some 48 years ago and mostly known for a song from 1957 or 65 years ago). The fact he is going after the estate and messing with Michael Jackson does not surprise.

Remember how when Michael did his speeches and he would start name dropping pioneering performers, movie stars, dancers and all his influences - never heard the name Paul Anka once.

Paul Anka is the worst type of hasbeen.
 
Paul Anka can not be rejected for his importance on music for the last 60 years. - He may have become old and an id¤#t - like Quincy Jones - but even though you may not like them - they can not be ignored and their huge importance/impact on the music industry the last 60 years is amazing.

A man can be talentet but not a good person. Hate the man, not the art.
 
I can only think of 1957's Diana recorded when he was 14 and a couple of other 1950s bubblegum songs like Teenagers Lament and then the horrendous 1973 Your Having my baby.

This man did not have heaps of hits or much of a legacy. He had a comeback in the early 1970s which is remembered fondly as the line "Marconi play the Mamba" from the hideous Jeffason Starship song is. The rest is his mid 1950s legacy. Seeing an 80 year old man still touring and milking 65 year old songs from when he was teenager is just tragic.

Although I just looked up and it seems that song "We built this city" was written by Bernie Taupin of Elton John fame, someone who I consider one of the most talented songwriters of all time.
 
I can only think of 1957's Diana recorded when he was 14 and a couple of other 1950s bubblegum songs like Teenagers Lament and then the horrendous 1973 Your Having my baby.

This man did not have heaps of hits or much of a legacy. He had a comeback in the early 1970s which is remembered fondly as the line "Marconi play the Mamba" from the hideous Jeffason Starship song is. The rest is his mid 1950s legacy. Seeing an 80 year old man still touring and milking 65 year old songs from when he was teenager is just tragic.

Although I just looked up and it seems that song "We built this city" was written by Bernie Taupin of Elton John fame, someone who I consider one of the most talented songwriters of all time.
I agree. In the 1960's and early 1970's the UK charts had lots of MOR stuff, easy listening stuff. But dead popular. Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Tony Bennett, Matt Munro, Andy Williams, Engelbert Humperdinck, Jim Reeves, Val Doonican. Maybe Sammy Davis Jr although that would probably have been very early '60's, I think. I might have forgotten one or two. But my point is, Paul Anka was not among them. These guys were huge. He just wasn't there. I don't see him as being that important.
 
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