Human Nature (Michael Jackson song)
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"Human Nature" is a song performed by American singer
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
, and the fifth single from his sixth solo album, '' Thriller''. The track was produced by
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
and performed by members of Toto with Michael Jackson providing vocals. It was originally written by keyboardist Steve Porcaro, based on a conversation he had with his young daughter Heather after a boy pushed her at school, Porcaro said "he probably likes you and it's human nature". Porcaro, along with some of his bandmates from the band Toto, had been assisting with the production of ''Thriller'', but he had not intended for "Human Nature" to be used by Jackson. However, ''Thriller'' producer
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
inadvertently heard a demo version of the track and thought it would be a great fit for the album. Jones then brought in songwriter
John Bettis John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for " Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and Th ...
to rewrite the verses, whose lyrics are about a passerby in
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. "Human Nature" was released as a single on July 3, 1983. Like the four ''Thriller'' singles before it, the song became a top 10 hit in the US, reaching number seven on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. It also reached number two on the ''
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''
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chart and is certified
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by the
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(RIAA). In Canada and the Netherlands, the single reached number 11. The single was not released in the UK. The song garnered positive reviews from music critics. "Human Nature" has been
sampled Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of so ...
by numerous artists, including
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with "
It Ain't Hard to Tell "It Ain't Hard to Tell" is the second single and last track from American rapper Nas' debut album, ''Illmatic''. Although the track was technically the second single on the album, it was the first single to be released after the album was presse ...
" , and
Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. "Tedd ...
who remixed
SWV SWV (Sisters with Voices) is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B g ...
's single " Right Here", with a sample of "Human Nature", with the remix reaching number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100.


Production

The first version of "Human Nature" was written and composed by Steve Porcaro of Toto.Halstead, p. 144 He wrote the song when his first-grade daughter came home crying after a boy pushed her off the slide. He blurted out three reasons for the incident to comfort her: the boy liked her, people can be strange, and it's "human nature". He recorded a rough demo of the song in their studio while the Toto song "
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" was being mixed. Fellow Toto keyboardist
David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ba ...
added some synthesizer strings on top of the demo. Originally, the song was offered to Toto but they passed on it as they preferred
stadium rock Arena rock (also known as AOR, melodic rock, stadium rock, anthem rock, pomp rock, corporate rock and dad rock; ; ) is a style of rock music that originated in the mid-1970s. As hard rock bands and those playing a softer yet strident kind of po ...
-oriented material. Paich had prepared some demo tracks for producer
Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
to listen to as possible songs for ''Thriller'' and asked Porcaro to make Jones a tape with the songs. Running low on cassette tapes, Porcaro used the tape on which he had already recorded his "Human Nature" demo, putting Paich's songs on the reverse side and marking that on the label as the side that Jones should listen to. Jones listened to Paich's songs but did not think they were right for ''Thriller''. However, he did not stop the tape when the songs finished playing, and the
cassette deck A cassette deck is a type of tape machine for playing and recording audio cassettes that does not have a built-in power amplifier or speakers, and serves primarily as a transport. It can be a part of an automotive entertainment system, a part of a ...
playing the tape had "auto-reverse" capability, meaning that it started playing the other side as soon as the first side was finished. As Jones described it, "All of a sudden, at the end, there was all this silence, there was: 'why, why, dah dah da-dum dah dah, why, why'. Just a dummy lyric and a very skeletal thing—I get goosebumps talking about it. I said, 'This is where we wanna go, because it's got such a wonderful flavor'". However, Jones was dissatisfied with the original lyrics for the verses and asked
John Bettis John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for " Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and Th ...
, who had written lyrics for hits by
the Carpenters The Carpenters (officially known as Carpenters) were an American vocal and instrumental duo consisting of siblings Karen Carpenter, Karen (1950–1983) and Richard Carpenter (musician), Richard Carpenter (born 1946). They produced a distinct ...
and
the Pointer Sisters The Pointer Sisters are an American pop and R&B singing group from Oakland, California, that achieved mainstream success during the 1970s and 1980s. Their repertoire has included such diverse genres as pop, jazz, electronic music, bebop, b ...
, among others, to write new lyrics for the song. He completed the song in two days. Jones asked if the song could be included on Jackson's album, to which Porcaro and Bettis agreed. Porcaro discusses Bettis' input in "Human Nature": The song, as it turns out, did not change much musically from the demo through to the final album, as Jones liked the song as it was. It was, for the most part, recreated in the studio. Even engineer
Bruce Swedien Bruce Swedien (; April 19, 1934 – November 16, 2020) was an American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer. He was widely known for his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand. Swedien fi ...
asked Porcaro, who played most of the parts and helped Jackson with the vocal phrasing, to help reproduce the phrasing of the accents of the "Why, why" that can be heard on the demo.


Release and reception

"Human Nature" was released on July 3, 1983, as the fifth single from ''Thriller''. It was not released in the UK for unknown reasons. The song achieved chart success in the US. Reaching number two on ''Billboard'''s Hot
Adult Contemporary Adult contemporary music (AC) is a form of radio-played popular music, ranging from 1960s vocal and 1970s soft rock music to predominantly ballad-heavy music of the present day, with varying degrees of easy listening, pop, soul, R&B, quie ...
chart and number seven on the
Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streaming ...
, the song became Jackson's fifth Top 10 hit from ''Thriller''.George, p. 39 "Human Nature" charted at number 27 on the
R&B singles chart The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by ''Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 p ...
. In the Netherlands the single reached number 11. John Rockwell, of ''
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'', stated that "Human Nature" was a "haunting, brooding ballad" with an "irresistible" chorus.
Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databas ...
noted that the "gentle and lovely" "Human Nature" coexisted comfortably with the "tough, scared" " Beat It". They later added that the song was a "soft rocker". Reflecting on ''Thriller'', ''
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'' expressed their fondness of the song, stating that it was "probably the best musical composition on the album and surely one of the only A/C ballads of its era worth remembering". The magazine added that the track's "buttery harmonies" were powerful. ''
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'' also praised the song, describing it as "the smoothest of ballads". However, they further added that the music "does little to embody the song's message" and that it couches Jackson's "glazed voice" in "bubble synths and drum pillows".
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's Bill Lamb looked back on the track 25 years after its release. He felt that the song "set down a blueprint for what would become known as adult R&B". Kelefa Sanneh of ''
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'' described the "soft-serve balladry" of the song as a "silk-sheets masterstroke". In a 2008
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review, Todd Gilchrist explained that the elements of "Human Nature" worked better today than they did before. He added that it may be because modern R&B "sucks". Tom Ewing, reviewer for
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, described the song as "meltingly tender", with
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adding that it was an "airy ballad". ''
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'' claimed that the "most beautifully fragile" "Human Nature" was so open and brave it made "
She's Out of My Life "She's Out of My Life" is a song written by American songwriter Tom Bahler and performed by American singer Michael Jackson. The song was released as the fourth single from Jackson's 1979 album ''Off the Wall'' released on April 19, 1980. In 200 ...
" seem phony. The ''
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'' concluded that it was Jackson's delivery that made the "middling ballad" take off.


Live performances

The song was first performed during
the Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
' Victory Tour. Michael started to sing "
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", but stopped and proceeded to sing "Human Nature". It was also performed during Michael's
Bad World Tour Bad was the first solo concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson, launched in support of his seventh studio album '' Bad'' (1987). Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts for over 4.4 million fans across ...
and
Dangerous World Tour The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson to promote his eighth studio album ''Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various charities including Jacks ...
. Jackson also performed the song live during his 1996 Royal Brunei concert. It was going to be performed for Jackson's This Is It concerts, which were canceled due to his death; however, it was included on the posthumous album to coincide with the concerts. Live versions of the song are available on the DVDs ''
Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 ''Live at Wembley July 16, 1988'' is a live concert DVD by American recording artist Michael Jackson released on September 18, 2012. It was included with the ''Bad 25'' reissue, as well as by itself. This is the third Jackson tour stop released on ...
'' and '' Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour''. Toto has performed the song in some of their shows with vocals by Joseph Williams. A live version is available on the 2019 DVD ''40 Trips Around the Sun''.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


Certifications


Track listing

* 7-inch vinyl # "Human Nature" (single version) – 3:47 (Misprinted as 4:05) # "Baby Be Mine" – 4:20


Official remixes

# Album version – 4:06 # Single version – 3:47 # Live – 4:29 (This version is taken from ''
Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 ''Live at Wembley July 16, 1988'' is a live concert DVD by American recording artist Michael Jackson released on September 18, 2012. It was included with the ''Bad 25'' reissue, as well as by itself. This is the third Jackson tour stop released on ...
'' and included in the deluxe edition of ''
Bad 25 ''Bad 25'' is the 25th anniversary edition reissue of American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson's seventh studio album '' Bad'' (1987). This is the second album by Jackson re-released on its 25th anniversary, the first being ''Thriller 25'' (20 ...
''.)
# " Speechless"/"Human Nature" – 3:18 (''
Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film ''The Wisdom of ...
'' version)


Samplings

Songs that have sampled "Human Nature" include: * "Right Here (Human Nature Remix)" by SWV, a 1993
Teddy Riley Edward Theodore Riley (born October 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer credited with the creation of the New Jack Swing genre. Riley credits Barry Michael Cooper with giving the genre its name.Hogan, Paul. "Tedd ...
-produced
remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
of the 1992
SWV SWV (Sisters with Voices) is an American R&B vocal trio from New York City whose members are Cheryl (Coko) Gamble, Tamara (Taj) Johnson, and Leanne (Lelee) Lyons. Formed in 1988 as a gospel group, SWV became one of the most successful R&B g ...
song " Right Here". It spent seven weeks at number one on the ''Billboard''
Hot R&B Singles The Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart ranks the most popular R&B and hip hop songs in the United States and is published weekly by '' Billboard''. Rankings are based on a measure of radio airplay, sales data, and streaming activity. The chart had 100 ...
chart. The music video for the remix included clips of Jackson performing on the
Dangerous World Tour The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson to promote his eighth studio album ''Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various charities including Jacks ...
, including a hologram of the pop singer intercut with wildlife footage from ''
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'' in which the song was featured in. * "
It Ain't Hard to Tell "It Ain't Hard to Tell" is the second single and last track from American rapper Nas' debut album, ''Illmatic''. Although the track was technically the second single on the album, it was the first single to be released after the album was presse ...
" (1994) by
Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air ( ...
. Nas has performed "It Ain't Hard to Tell" as a mashup with "Human Nature" using Jackson's original vocals at some concerts. * " I'm in Heaven" (2003) by
Jason Nevins Jason Nevins (born December 15, 1972) is an American songwriter, record producer and remixer, who is most widely known for his pop and dance productions, including his multi-platinum, multi-million selling production of " It's Like That" by Ameri ...
featuring Holly James, used an interpolation of the hook from "Human Nature". * "
She Ain't You "She Ain't You" is a song by American recording artist Chris Brown. The Tempo, mid-tempo Contemporary R&B, R&B record was written by Brown, Jean Baptiste Kouame, Jean Baptiste, Ryan Buendia, Kevin McCall and Jason Boyd, and was produced by Free ...
" by
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from his album '' F.A.M.E.'' (2011). * "Don Life" by
Big Sean Sean Michael Leonard Anderson (born March 25, 1988), known professionally as Big Sean, is an American rapper. Anderson began his music career in 2007 and gained popularity in 2010 with his third mixtape '' Finally Famous Vol. 3: Big''. He then s ...
(feat. Lil Wayne) from his album ''
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'' (2020).


Personnel

* Written and composed by Steve Porcaro and
John Bettis John Gregory Bettis (born October 24, 1946) is an American lyricist. He was originally part of the band Spectrum, which also featured Richard and Karen Carpenter. He wrote the lyrics for " Top of the World", a hit for both Lynn Anderson and Th ...
Jackson, Michael. ''Thriller'' booklet. Sony BMG. * Produced by Quincy Jones * Michael Jackson: vocals *
David Paich David Frank Paich (born June 25, 1954) is an American musician, best known as the co-founder, principal songwriter, keyboardist and singer of the rock band Toto since 1977. He wrote or co-wrote much of Toto's original material, including the ba ...
: synthesizer * Steve Porcaro: synthesizer, synthesizer programming * Steve Lukather: guitar *
Jeff Porcaro Jeffrey Thomas Porcaro (; April 1, 1954 – August 5, 1992) was an American drummer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known for his work with the rock band Toto but is one of the most recorded session musicians in history, working o ...
: drums * Paulinho Da Costa: percussion *
Michael Boddicker Michael Lehmann Boddicker (born January 19, 1953) is an American film composer and session musician, specializing in electronic music. He is a three times National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (N.A.R.A.S.) Most Valuable Player "Synthe ...
:
E-mu Emulator The Emulator is a series of digital sampling synthesizers using floppy disk storage, manufactured by E-mu Systems from 1981 until 2002. Though not the first commercial sampler, the Emulator was among the first to find wide use among ordinary m ...
* Arrangement by David Paich, Steve Porcaro and Steve Lukather


Other versions

"Human Nature" was covered by
Miles Davis Miles Dewey Davis III (May 26, 1926September 28, 1991) was an American trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. He is among the most influential and acclaimed figures in the history of jazz and 20th-century music. Davis adopted a variety of music ...
in the mid-1980s; at the time Davis also suggested that the song could become a
jazz standard Jazz standards are musical compositions that are an important part of the musical repertoire of jazz musicians, in that they are widely known, performed, and recorded by jazz musicians, and widely known by listeners. There is no definitive lis ...
.


References


Sources

* George, Nelson (2004). '' Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection'' booklet.
Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...
. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Human Nature (Michael Jackson Song) Michael Jackson songs 1982 songs 1983 singles Contemporary R&B ballads Rock ballads Songs with lyrics by John Bettis Song recordings produced by Quincy Jones Epic Records singles Songs about New York City 1980s ballads Songs written by Steve Porcaro American soft rock songs