The unreleased songs of Michael Jackson and the Jacksons

Yeah, I know, another MJ thread! but I thought that maybe, the org could have one....with substance

anyway, this ongoing list is extracted from the book "For The Record", which I helped on, my own research, and others' research on the Michael Jackson Vault forum


here it goes....

123- The Alternate Version of ABC

7 Rooms of Gloom- The Jackson 5ive's cover of the Four Tops single

A Baby Smiles-song Michael wrote in 1979 and included as a poem in his 1992 book, "Dancing The Dream"

A Place In The Sun-The Jackson 5ive's cover of the Stevie Wonder classic

A Pretty Face Is-written by Stevie circa 1974. either intended for J5 or a duet between Stevie and Michael. Stevie talked about it during an interview in Japan in 1988 and said he envisioned it as a duet with Michael. A version from 1987 with Michael and Stevie was recorded for the Characters album

After The Storm (The Sun Will Shine)-written by Willie Hutch

Ain't Too Proud To Beg-J5 cover of Temptations single

Al Capone- written for the BAD album but didn't make the cut

All In Your Name- a duet with Michael and Barry Gibb from 2002

Alright Now-Michael's original version that was recorded by Ralph Tresvant

Angel- written by Babyface for an unreleased greatest hits compilation from 1998

Another Day-duet with Lenny Kravitz from the Invincible sessions

Attitude-Michael solo

Baby I Need Your Lovin-J5 cover of Four Tops single

Baby It's Love- rumored duet with J5 and Diana Ross from 1970

Back In My Arms Again-J5 cover of Supremes single

Bad Girl-Michael solo

Bassouille-track from the HIStory sessions

Be Me 4 A Day-written during Michael's 2004 trial. Alternative title is "Be Michael" and "Just For One Day, Be Michael."

Be My Girl-song performed during 1973 and cited as a new single with Jermaine on lead, but was never released

Behind The Mask-vocal version of Yellow Magic Orchestra's song that was recorded for Thriller, but due to legal reasons, didn't make the tracklistings. Later recorded by Greg Philliganes and Eric Clapton

Belong 2-song done by Michael and Teddy Riley for the Invincible album, but never released

Blowin In The Wind-J5 cover of Bob Dylan song

Bottle of Smoke-song intended for the Dangerous album. written in 1989

Buffalo Bill-written around the 1983-1984 period and intended for either Victory and Bad

Buttercup-written 1974/1975 by Stevie for a J5 album that he was going to produce. Buttercup was cited for release for 1975

California Grass-Michael solo

Can I Get A Witness-J5 cover of Marvin Gaye song

Can I Live-written by Sisqo and Teddy Riley. intended for Invincible but didn't make the cut

Carousel-written by Michael Sembello (who wrote New Edition's Mr Telephone Man), was to be on Thriller but replaced by Human Nature

Cheater-recorded in 1987 or 1986 for Bad. Written by Michael and Greg Philliganes

Chicago 1945-written by Michael and Toto's Steve Pocaro. Recorded for Bad and again for Invincible. The possible original version of Smooth Criminal

The Children's Hour-Michael solo

Color of My Soul-the possible original album title and title track to the album that became Invincible

Color of Love-written by Randy for 2300 Jackson Street(a friend of mine and Maxx has the DAT tape to this one)

Come and Get It-J5 song that was recorded for Motown

Crack Kills-planned as a duet between Michael and Run DMC but was shelved for several reasons

Cry-written by Michael for HIStory album. Different track from the song on Invincible

Daydreamer-song written and performed by The Jackson 5 for the 1972 TV special "The Jackson 5 Show), but was never released

Do You Love Me- J5 cover of Contours hit

Do You Love Me-song written by Babyface for Invincible

Do You Want Me-written by Dru Hill for Invincible

Doing Dirty-written by Michael and Marlon in 1982 or 1983 for Victory. Also considered for the shelved "Decade 1980-1990/1979-1989" greatest hits project

Dreams-Michael solo

What About Us-original version of Earth Song and intended for Dangerous. Also intended as a duet with Michael and Shirley Caesar

Eaten Alive-written by Barry and Maurice Gibb and Michael. Michael's demo version is unreleased

Free- song written by Michael possibly around the 83-91 period

From The Bottom of My Heart-the Katrina single that was later cancelled

Girls Girls Girls (Remix)- version of Jay Z's 2002 hit that featured Michael on the hook but due to legal warnings from Sony, it was cancelled.

The Gloved One- written by Sisqo for inclusion on Invincible in 1999

God Rest Ye Merry Christmas- recorded for the Jackson 5 Christmas Album but didn't make the cut

Goin' To Rio- written by Michael in Carole Sager Bayer in 1976 and considered for Off The Wall

Got The Hots- written by Michael and Quincy for Thriller. Was to be released in 2001 for the Special Edition of Thriller but was taken off the tracklisting at the last minute. Was finally released on the Japanese edition of Thriller 25

Got To Find A Way Somehow- written by Michael in 1979 and possibly for Off The Wall or Triumph

Groove of Midnight- written by Rod Temperton for the Bad album but then recorded by Siedah Garrett for her 1988 album

Guess Who's Making Whoopie With Your Girlfriend- original version of Mama's Pearl. Berry Gordy felt the the original lyrics didn't fit the group's image

Happy Birthday, Lisa- written by Michael for the The Simpsons' episode "Stark Raving Dad". Michael's version finally surfaced in 2007

He Who Makes The Sky Grey- written by Jermaine Jackson and Sheik Abdullah of Bahrain with Michael featured on vocals

Heaven Help Us All- Jackson 5 cover of Stevie Wonder's song

Heaven Is Here- written by Michael and included in his 1992 book "Dancing The Dream" rumored to have been recorded due to the structure of the poem

Heaven's Girl- written by R. Kelly for HIStory, but was later recorded by Kelly himself for Quincy Jones' compilation, "Q's Jook Joint"

I'm Your Sunny Boy- J5's version of The Supreme's song that was titled "He's My Sunny Boy"

Ecstacy- poem by Michael from his 1992 book "Dancing The Dream", possibly originally a song

Ekam Satyam (The One Truth) written by A.R. Rahman and A.R. Porthasarathy with English translation by Karika Myer Bharat
Recorded as a duet with Michael singing in English and Rahman singing in Sanskrit. Recorded in September for the Invincible album

Elizabeth I Love You- written by Michael for his friend Elizabeth Taylor. Performed for her during her 65th birthday celebration special in February 1997

Face- song Michael written for HIStory

Fall Again- written by Walter Afanasieff and Robin Thicke. The song was 3/4 finished when Michael's oldest became ill

Fantasy- written by Michael and Jermaine. Possibly for Victory or Jermaine's "Dynamite" album

Far Far Away- written by Michael

Fear- written by Michael in 1993 for HIStory

Fingertips- Jackson 5's cover of Stevie Wonder's first ever single

Fly Away- written by Michael in 1986/87 for the Bad album but later given for sister Rebbie for her 1998 album

For All Time- writte by Michael Sherwood, David Paich, and Steve Pocaro for the Thriller album but wasn't recorded until 1990 for the Dangerous album. Surfaced on the internet in 2002. Finally released in 2008 on Thriller 25 with new vocals and added production

For Once In My Life- Jackson 5 cover of Stevie Wonder classic

For The Rest of My Life- song rumored to be a duet with The Jackson 5 and Diana Ross in 1970

Free- written by Michael before 1992

Get Around- written by Michael before 1993, possibly for Bad or Dangerous. A second version credited to Michael, Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins, and LaShawn Davis for the Invincible album is said to exist

Girl You're So Together- featured on the 1984 compilation "Farewell My Summer Love" recorded on August 31, 1973, the same day he recorded Don't Let It Get You Down, and Farewell My Summer Love

Holiday Inn- written by Michael in 1976 and registered with the U.S Copyright Office in late 1984

Hot Fever- the original version of The Way You Make Me Feel from 1985.

Hot Street- written by Rod Temperton for the Thriller album. Although Michael liked the song, Temperton and Jones felt it wasn't strong enough

Slapstick- the early demo of Hot Street

How Sweet It Is To Be Loved By You- the J5 cover of Marvin Gaye's Top 10 hit

I Ain't Gonna Eat My Heart Out Anymore- one of the seven songs that was issued on the 1979 compilation "Boogie"

I Can't Get You Off My Mind- song Michael worked on in the early 70s

I Can't Help Myself(Sugar Pie Honey Bunch)- J5 cover of Four Tops classic

I Don't Live Here Anymore- song written by Michael for Invincible

I Forgive You- written by Michael in either the 70s or 80s

I Got A Feeling- J5 cover of Four Tops song

I Have This Dream- written by Michael with Carole Sager Bayer and David Foster for inclusion on Invincible, but later became the subject of a song writing contest by Tonos Entertainment and AOL Music.

Recorded again in 2006 with guest vocalists such as James Ingram, Shanice, R. Kelly, The O'Jays, Jermaine Jackson, Snoop Dogg, and others but remains unreleased

I Have This Love In Me- written by Michael before 1993

I Hear A Symphony- J5 cover of Supremes hit. Michael suggested singing a male version of the song in 1970-73. Released in 1986 on the "Looking Back At Yesterday" compilation. Alternate vocal version released on the 1995 "Soulsation" boxset

I Like The Way You Are- J5 unreleased song recorded in 1970-73. Later released in 1986 on "Looking Back At Yesterday"

I Want To Be Free- the original title of I Want You Back

I Was Made To Love Her- J5 cover of Stevie Wonder hit. Released in 1979 on "Boogie", alternate vocal version released on "Looking Back At Yesterday"

If I Can't (Nobody Can)- recorded by The Jackson 5 and written by Stevie Wonder. Recorded for the shelved Jackson 5/ Stevie Wonder album

If You Don't Love Me- recorded for the Dangerous album in 1990. Was going to be included on the second disc of the 2001 special edition, but the second disc was shelved

If You Really Love Me- J5 cover of Stevie Wonder's 1971 hit

If You Want Heaven- written by Michael and his brothers for Motown, but was never released, probably due to Motown barring the brothers from releasing material that they wrote

I'll Turn To Stone- J5 cover of Four Tops hit

In The Back- written by Michael in 1994, and was to included on the 1997 album "Blood On The Dancefloor". Released in 2004 on the compilation "The Ultimate Collection"

In The Life of Chico-written by Michael in 1979 along with Be Not Always and Little Susie

In The Valley- written by Michael

Iowa-piece of classical music by Michael. Recorded before he left Encino to film the Wiz and put Iowa and other songs on tape at the family home studio.

It's Christmas Time- song recorded for the Jackson 5 Christmas Album but failed to make the cut

It's Not Worth It- recorded by Michael for the Invincible album but later given to Brandy for her "Full Moon" album with Michael contributing background vocals

It's The Same Old Song- J5 cover of Four Tops hit

I've Gotta Be Me- J5 cover of Sammy Davis Jr song

Jackson Man-recorded for Steeltown as somewhat of a tribute to their father.

Take My Heart- another unreleased Steeltown song

Joy To The World- recorded for the Jackson 5 Christmas Album, but didn't make the cut

Keep Off The Grass- recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Jackson 5/Stevie Wonder album

Kentucky-written by Michael in the mid 70s, possibly 1976

Kentucky Road- recorded by The Jackson 5 for Motown

Kick It- written by Michael, Rodney Jerkins, Fred Jerkins, LaShawn Davis, and Norman Gregg for the Invincible album in 1999

Lavender Blue- J5 cover of Disney song by Burl Ives from the 1948 movie, "So Dear To My Heart"

Learned My Lesson- written by Michael in 1981 and registered at the US Copyright Office in 1985

I'll post more later

There's a rumor that Stevie Wonder produced a solo album for Michael in 1973.A first single was chosen ("Buttercup") but the project remains unreleased...stored in the Motown vaults.Any truth to this story?

SoulAlive said:

SoulAlive said:

Mozorro said:

Let's Have A Party-unreleased J5 song from 1970-1972 that was later included on the 4th disc of the 1995 compilation "Soulsation"

Life-written by R.Kelly that Michael wanted to record for HIStory but Kelly convinced him to record "You Are Not Alone" instead. Was later recorded by K Ci and Jojo for the 1999 movie "Life"

Little Girls-written by Michael before 1992

Lonely Heart- unreleased J5 song on the mid 60s. Surfaced in 1989. Believed to be from a demo tape that was recorded in the 2300 Jackson Street home living room or Tito's music teacher Shirley Cartman's living room, who passed the tape to Steeltown Records' Gordon Keith. Cartman later had the tape transferred to a better quality tape, after moving to Atlanta Georgia, to preserve the recordings.

Lonely Man- written by Michael before 1992

Lonely Teardrops- MJ cover of Jackie Wilson's classic. Recorded by Michael in 1972-73 as a favor to Berry Gordy, later surfaced on the 1986 compilation "Looking Back At Yesterday"

Love Call- unreleased J5 song that was recorded on October 12, 1971. Circulating among fans

Love Feels Like Fire- unreleased J5 cover of Four Tops song

Love Go Away- J5 song recorded for Motown. Lyrics appeared in the Winter '84 issue of "Rock And Soul Magazine"

Love Never Felt So Good- written by Michael with Paul Anka and Kathy Wakefield and recorded by Johnny Mathis in 1984

Love Scenes- unreleased J5 song that appeared on the 4th disc of Soulsation

Love's Gone Bad-MJ solo song recorded for Motown that was recorded 3 different times. One version featured on the 1979 compilation "Boogie" another version featured on the 1986 compilation "Looking Back At Yesterday". Earliest version, from 1972, featured on the 1995 compilation "The Best of Michael Jackson: Anthology"

Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever- J5 cover of Four Tops single

Lucy Is In Love With Linus- song written by Michael, written possibly around 1978-1980

Lulu- unreleased J5 song that was featured on the 4th disc of Soulsation

Make A Wish- unreleased MJ song. During the 1993 deposition, he couldn't recall if he had written it or not

Make Or Break- written by Michael and John Barnes in 1985-1987. Alternate titles are "For God's Sake/Make Or Break" and "Make A Break"

Maybe We Can Do It- written by Michael, Rodney Jerkins, and P. Diddy for Invincible, but didn't make the cut

Men In Black- recorded in 1989 for Decade but then later considered for Dangerous. Included on a rare promo CD "Promo Flight Only" of which 10 copies exist and given to certain Sony executives on the way to Neverland from Europe in 1991 as a teaser from the Dangerous album. One of those copies are on eBay right now

Michael McKeller- written by Michael, possibly for Bad or Dangerous

Miss Lucky Day- J5 song recorded for Motown. A small snippet is circulating among certain fans.

Money Honey- unreleased J5 song that was included on the 1995 "Soulsation" compilation

Monkey Business- recorded in 1989 for consideration for the Dangerous album. written by Michael and Bill Bottrell and recorded in Record One Studios and Westlake Studios. Was to be included on the 2001 special edition, until Sony pulled the second disc of the release. Surfaced in 2002 on the internet and released in 2004 on the "Ultimate Collection" release

Much Too Soon- written by Michael in 1981. Believed by fans to be an early version of "Gone Too Soon"

My Favorite Things- J5 cover of the song from The Sound of Music. recorded for the 1970 Christmas Album, but failed to make the album

Mystery- written by Rod Temperton for Michael. Michael turned the song down and Anita Baker recorded it instead in 1986.

Neither One Of Us (Wants To Say Goodbye)- J5 cover of Gladys Knight and The Pips hit.

Neverland Landing- written by Michael before 1993

Nightline- written by Glen Ballard and recorded by Michael for Thriller. Ballard was optimistic after finding out the song wasn't going to be included on Thriller, knowing he'd write for the next album. He would go on to write Man In The Mirror, which he feels is a better song, for the "Bad" album and Keep The Faith for the "Dangerous" album. Later recorded by The Pointer Sisters for the original 1983 edition of "Breakout", but was replaced by "I'm So Excited" on later editions. Also recorded by Ellen Foley and Randy Crawford

That`s QUITE a list! I wish we could have these songs on cd. I would think almost everything by The Supremes has been released by now, so why not M.J.

SunnySkies said:

I am dying to hear those songs. Damn, Mike! What good do they make lying in your vaults?

alphastreet said:

anyway, most of this stuff most be specualtions. Someone may have said he wrote a certain song for MJ, but MJ may have never recorded it.
I'm keen on the OTW demos

I think if half this stuff existed in a completed or even half completed form, Sony would have found a way to release it by now instead of putting the same old previoulsy released tracks on all the compilations over and over again.

The fact that even on the Ultimate Collection there were not a great deal of previously unreleased tracks, and some of them were demos, shows that the barrel has already been scraped. Otherwise, they would have cashed in and put more unreleased tracks on there and on Thriller 25. Instead, in the latter case, they resorted to pretending that For All Time was from the Thriller sessions when most fans knew it came from the Bad era.

I don't buy the idea that MJ has a 'vault', he just isn't productive enough.
[Edited 8/14/08 4:13am]
[Edited 8/14/08 4:13am]

graecophilos said:

pjh1972 said:

pjh1972 said:

Marrk said:

bboy87 said:

Wow, this is easily the best MJ thread I've read on the org maybe ever and I'm being serious. It makes me want to hear these songs. Good thread bboy87

The Mercury colab is great.

Matronik said:

paisleypark4 said:

bboy87 said:

Carousel-written by Michael Sembello (who wrote New Edition's Mr Telephone Man), was to be on Thriller but replaced by Human Nature

I'll post more later

Ray Parker Jr wrote Mr Telephone Man.


GOOD INFO!!!!

how many of these are surfacing?

pjh1972 said:

bboy87 said:

paisleypark4 said:

Ray Parker Jr wrote Mr Telephone Man.


GOOD INFO!!!!

how many of these are surfacing?

I thought Sembello co-wrote it. It must've been another song on the 1984 album

bboy!

THIS IS HEAVEN:

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...el_Jackson

i think he's very profilic even today. he just don't think his songs can stand teh time or are the best records ever made...

he apparently recorded 70 songs for Dangerous, and 100 for Invincible. In fact we know over 20 songs from the Vince sessions!

thanks for telling me this so i can go on my mj hunt and look for some of these songs

LEAVE ME ALONE?

This is a great thread! Vaults?

bboy87 said:

Mozorro said:

I don't think I posted a disclaimer saying "Mozorro must look and comment on this thread" sooooo.....

graecophilos said: