"The Girl Is Mine" is a song recorded 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 ...

and English musician

Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained worldwide fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John Lennon. One ...

. The track was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and

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 ...

. It was released as the first single for Jackson's sixth solo album, ''

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

'' (1982). The song was recorded at

Westlake Studios Westlake Recording Studios is a music recording studio in West Hollywood, California. History Westlake Recording Studios was founded in the early 1970s by the American audio engineer Tom Hidley under the name Westlake Audio. Hidley was experie ...

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, from April 14 to 16, 1982. The year before, Jackson and McCartney had recorded " Say Say Say" and "The Man" for the latter's fifth solo album, '' Pipes of Peace'' (1983). Although "The Girl Is Mine" was released as a single, Jackson never performed the song live. "The Girl Is Mine" achieved success in the music charts. Aside from topping the R&B singles chart, the single peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number eight in the UK. The song also reached number one in Spain. By 1985, it had sold 1.3 million copies, and was eventually

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Gold by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

, for shipments of 1,000,000 units. Despite the song's success, it received generally mixed reviews from critics who considered it to be the weakest song on ''Thriller''. "The Girl Is Mine" has been the subject of two plagiarism lawsuits, the first in 1984 and the latter in 1993. Both instances required Jackson to testify in court, and each lawsuit was decided in favor of the singer and his record label. In 2008, for the 25th anniversary edition of ''Thriller'',

Black Eyed Peas Black Eyed Peas (also known as The Black Eyed Peas) is an American musical group consisting of rappers will.i.am, apl.de.ap, Taboo. The group's line-up during the height of their popularity in the 2000s featured Fergie, who replaced Kim H ...

singer will.i.am remixed "The Girl Is Mine". The remix received generally unfavorable reviews from music critics.

Recording

The writing of "The Girl Is Mine" was completed by Jackson as he watched cartoons with Paul McCartney.Taraborrelli, p. 223 Producer

had initially told Jackson to write a song about two men fighting over a girl. Inspired, Jackson awoke during the night and sang the song into a tape recorder. He later said, "I sang exactly what I heard in my head, starting with the melody and the keyboard and the strings and everything. So, I just orally put it all on tape." Jones also asked Jackson to add a rap verse. The song was then recorded by Jackson and McCartney at

, Los Angeles, from April 14 to 16, 1982. A year earlier, the duo had recorded " Say Say Say" and "The Man," which were released after "The Girl Is Mine" on McCartney's fifth solo album, '' Pipes of Peace'' (1983).Halstead, p. 119 Jackson said that the recording of "The Girl Is Mine" was one of his most enjoyable moments in the studio. He explained, "One of my favorite songs to record, of all my recordings as a solo artist, is probably "The Girl Is Mine", because working with Paul McCartney was pretty exciting and we just literally had fun. It was like lots of kibitzing and playing, and throwing stuff at each other, and making jokes. We actually recorded the (instrumental) track and the vocals pretty much live at the same time, and we do have footage of it, but it's never been shown." He concluded, "Maybe one day we'll give you a sneak preview of it." The footage of the pair was later shown at The Paul McCartney World Tour. Several members of the band Toto participated in the recording of this song, including

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 ...

(piano),

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),

Steve Lukather Steven Lee Lukather (born October 21, 1957) is an American guitarist, singer, songwriter, arranger and record producer, best known as the sole continuous founding member of the rock band Toto. His reputation as a skilled guitarist led to a stea ...

(guitars) and

Steve Porcaro Steven Maxwell Porcaro (born September 2, 1957) is an American keyboardist, songwriter, and film composer, known as one of the founding members of the rock band Toto and the last surviving Porcaro brother (after the deaths of Jeff in 1992 and M ...

(synthesizer programming).

Composition

The musical structuring of "The Girl Is Mine" uses the

AABA form The 32-bar form, also known as the AABA song form, American popular song form and the ballad form, is a song structure commonly found in Tin Pan Alley songs and other American popular music, especially in the first half of the 20th century. A ...

, in which the song's title serves as the main source of needed repetition.Davis, p. 141 When used to the maximum, this structuring, also known as the thirty-two-bar form, has the title repeat itself in the same place, in at least two of the three A verses. Author Sheila Davis' book, ''The Craft of Lyric Writing'', notes that "the repeated title line simultaneously outlines the framework of the design and drives home the main point of the lyric". Jackson's " She's Out of My Life" also uses this musical structuring, as does " Body and Soul", " Oh, Lady Be Good!" and " Try a Little Tenderness". The musical chords in "The Girl Is Mine" are seen in several songs written by Jackson. "Blues Away", from ''The Jacksons'', and other songs ("Why Can't I Be" and "Thank You for Life") used the chords before "The Girl Is Mine".Halstead, p. 362Halstead, p. 310

Release and reception

"The Girl is Mine" was the first single from the album to be released, despite recording "Say Say Say" and "The Man" a year prior. The single's cover photograph was taken by McCartney's wife, Linda. Listeners were not impressed by "The Girl Is Mine", and thought that Jackson's ''Thriller'' would also be a disappointment. The public felt that Jackson and the producer, Quincy Jones, had created a song for the white pop audience. Despite some of the public's concerns, "The Girl Is Mine" achieved success in the music charts. Topping the R&B singles chart, the single peaked at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 (behind " Maneater" by

Hall & Oates Daryl Hall and John Oates, commonly known as Hall & Oates, are an American pop rock duo formed in Philadelphia in 1970. Daryl Hall is generally the lead vocalist; John Oates primarily plays electric guitar and provides backing vocals. The two ...

and " Down Under" by

Men at Work Men at Work are an Australian rock band formed in Melbourne in 1978 and best known for breakthrough hits such as " Down Under", "Who Can It Be Now?", " Be Good Johnny", " Overkill", and " It's a Mistake". Its founding member and frontman is C ...

) and the Norwegian Singles Chart. "The Girl Is Mine" reached number one on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.George, p. 38 The song charted at number eight in the UK, peaking within the New Zealand Top 20. By 1985, the single had sold 1.3 million copies. The single was

gold by the

on January 13, 1983, for shipments of at least one million units. Since its release, "The Girl Is Mine" has received mixed reviews from journalists and

music critics Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

. Journalist

Robert Christgau Robert Thomas Christgau ( ; born April 18, 1942) is an American music journalist and essayist. Among the most well-known and influential music critics, he began his career in the late 1960s as one of the earliest professional rock critics and ...

described the pairing of McCartney and Jackson as "Michael's worst idea since '

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'". ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...

'' stated that the song was a "wimpoid MOR iddle of the roadballad" and that McCartney was "tame". Stephen Erlewine of

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

noted that the song had a "sweet schmaltz". Jackson's breakdown with the "irrepressibly silly Paul McCartney" was "disarmingly goofy", according to ''

Stylus Magazine ''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog. Addi ...

''. Salon.com later described "The Girl Is Mine" as a "sappy duet". They concluded that McCartney had become a "wimpy old fart". The song garnered a favourable review from Jackson's biographer, J. Randy Taraborrelli. The writer stated that the song was "cute" but lacked substance. He added that the track had a "middle-of-the-road calm" and was the antithesis of the "rambunctious" "

Beat It "Beat It" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson from his sixth studio album, ''Thriller (Michael Jackson album), Thriller'' (1982). It was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. Jones encouraged Jackson to include a ...

".Taraborrelli, p. 227

Charts

Certifications

Personnel

* Written and composed by Michael Jackson * Produced by Quincy Jones & Michael Jackson * Rhodes electric piano: Greg Phillinganes * Acoustic piano:

Synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

David Foster David Walter Foster (born November 1, 1949) is a Canadian musician, composer, arranger, record producer and music executive who chaired Verve Records from 2012 to 2016. He has won 16 Grammy Awards from 47 nominations. His music career spans mor ...

* Synthesizer programming:

* Guitar: Dean Parks and

* Bass guitar: Louis Johnson * Drums:

* Vocals: Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson * Vocal arrangement by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones * Rhythm arrangement by Quincy Jones and David Paich * Synthesizer arrangement by David Foster * Strings arranged and conducted by Jerry Hey *

Concertmaster The concertmaster (from the German ''Konzertmeister''), first chair (U.S.) or leader (U.K.) is the principal first violin player in an orchestra (or clarinet in a concert band). After the conductor, the concertmaster is the second-most signifi ...

: Jerry Vinci

Plagiarism lawsuits

"The Girl Is Mine" has been the subject of two

plagiarism Plagiarism is the fraudulent representation of another person's language, thoughts, ideas, or expressions as one's own original work.From the 1995 '' Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary'': use or close imitation of the language and though ...

lawsuits. Both instances required Jackson to testify in court, and each lawsuit was decided in favor of the singer and his

record label A record label, or record company, is a brand or trademark of music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a publishing company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the pr ...

. The first legal trial occurred in 1984, with Fred Sanford claiming that Jackson had cut a tape of his song, "Please Love Me Now". Jackson, however, insisted that he composed "The Girl Is Mine". The $5 million copyright suit was closed after the jury of five men and a woman reached a verdict in favor of Jackson. Their verdict was reached after a three-day

deliberation Deliberation is a process of thoughtfully weighing options, usually prior to voting. Deliberation emphasizes the use of logic and reason as opposed to power-struggle, creativity, or dialogue. Group decisions are generally made after deliberatio ...

. Jackson was not a

defendant In court proceedings, a defendant is a person or object who is the party either accused of committing a crime in criminal prosecution or against whom some type of civil relief is being sought in a civil case. Terminology varies from one jurisd ...

in the trial but testified to maintain his credibility. James Klenk, Jackson's attorney, praised the singer upon the jury's verdict. "The man is a genius. He doesn't need anyone else's songs. His own words were the key." During the court proceedings, Jackson revealed how he composes his songs. "I put them in a tape recorder and I orally sing them into the tape, and that's how it happens." One juror stated, "His presentation indicated that he was well able to develop his own songs." The song's second plagiarism trial was in 1993. Reynaud Jones and Robert Smith alleged that "The Girl Is Mine", along with "

"—written by Rod Temperton—and " We Are the World", resembled their musical works. The pair added that they had been childhood neighbors of the Jackson family when they had resided in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along th ...

. Jackson,

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...

—co-writer of "We Are the World"—and Quincy Jones were named as the defendants. The plaintiffs asserted that Joseph Jackson had received a demo tape from them. From the tapes, the defendants were alleged to have stolen the three hit songs. Reynaud Jones also claimed that he had considered suing Jackson over "

Billie Jean "Billie Jean" is a song by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on January 2, 1983, as the second single from his sixth studio album, '' Thriller'' (1982). It was written and composed by Jackson and produced by Jackson and ...

". Jackson appeared in court via a taped testimony.Campbell, pp. 125–126 Following the testimony, the nine-member jury found Jackson to be the writer and composer of "The Girl Is Mine" in early 1994. They also ruled that the defendants had not plagiarized "Thriller" or "We Are the World".

The Girl Is Mine 2008

For '' Thriller 25'', an album celebrating ''Thrillers 25th anniversary,

singer will.i.am remixed "The Girl Is Mine". Entitled "The Girl Is Mine 2008", the remix features an original solo demo of the song by Jackson without McCartney. will.i.am added his own vocals and new verse. The song reached number 12 in New Zealand, 22 in France, in the top 50 of Denmark and Sweden, and number 51 in Switzerland. Though the remix sampled the demo, ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'' alleged that McCartney was omitted because he and Jackson had fallen out over Jackson's purchase of

Sony/ATV Music Publishing Sony Music Publishing (formerly Sony/ATV Music Publishing) is the largest music publisher in the world, with over five million songs owned or administered as of end March 2021. US-based, it is part of the Sony Music Group, which is itself owned ...

and the Beatles' song catalogue in 1985. However, the original version of "The Girl Is Mine" was included on ''Thriller 25'' with McCartney's vocals included.

Reception

"The Girl Is Mine 2008" received mostly unfavorable reviews. Journalist Christopher Rees stated that will.i.am had "done a fantastic job of murdering a classic song". Rob Sheffield of ''

'' wrote that at will.i.am's production was "dumb-thug bluster" and criticized him for trying to hide the "goofy 'doggone' hook"—"the whole point of the song". Music journalist Aidin Vaziri wrote that will.i.am "completely erases Paul McCartney's vocal track from the original duet to make room for himself spouting nonsense".

Stephen Thomas Erlewine Stephen Thomas Erlewine (; born June 18, 1973) is an American music critic and senior editor for the online music database AllMusic. He is the author of many artist biographies and record reviews for AllMusic, as well as a freelance writer, oc ...

claimed that will.i.am had turned "The Girl Is Mine" into a "hapless dance number".5th Anniversary Expanded Edition> Kelefa Sanneh of '' Blender'' wrote that "will.i.am contributes beats (why?) and rhymes (why, oh, why?) to 'The Girl Is Mine 2008'". IGN's Todd Gilchrist stated that will.i.am's "The Girl Is Mine" remix was an offense. The offense was made even more "egregious" by the insertion of his own "atonal vocal presence" in place of McCartney's.

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

added to the unfavorable reviews, stating of will.i.am, "He takes Macca off 'The Girl Is Mine' but decides it can't work without someone sounding like an idiot and steps manfully in himself." ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...

'' stated that whoever thought it was a good idea for will.i.am to participate in the song ought to be "locked in a windowless cell with nothing but those songs on a continuous loop".

PopMatters ''PopMatters'' is an international online magazine of cultural criticism that covers aspects of popular culture. ''PopMatters'' publishes reviews, interviews, and essays on cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television ...

, however, praised ''Thriller 25'' and the remix of "The Girl Is Mine". They wrote, "Any album good enough to make you forgive (although maybe not forget) a song as bad as the Paul McCartney duet 'The Girl is Mine' has got to be damn good." They added that will.i.am had put a "breezy spin" on the track and that the song's omission of McCartney did not suffer because of it.

Charts

Track listing

* CD single # "The Girl Is Mine 2008 with will.i.am" – 3:10 # "The Girl Is Mine 2008 Club Mix with will.i.am" – 3:25 # "The Girl Is Mine" Original Demo Recording – 3:13

Remix credits

* Written by Michael Jackson, William "will.i.am" Adams, Keith Harris * Produced by William "will.i.am" Adams * Engineered by William "will.i.am" Adams * Mixed by William "will.i.am" Adams * Drum programming: William "will.i.am" Adams * Keyboards: William "will.i.am" Adams, Keith Harris *

s: Keith Harris * Recorded in November 2007

Notes

References

* * * 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 buyou ...

. * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Girl Is Mine, The 1982 singles Michael Jackson songs Paul McCartney songs Male vocal duets Number-one singles in Spain Songs written by Michael Jackson Epic Records singles Song recordings produced by Quincy Jones Songs involved in plagiarism controversies Pop ballads 1982 songs 1980s ballads American soft rock songs British soft rock songs

Recording

Composition

Release and reception

Charts

Certifications

Personnel

Plagiarism lawsuits

The Girl Is Mine 2008

Reception

Charts

Track listing

Remix credits

See also

Notes

References