"Will You Be There" is a song by American singer and songwriter
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 Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...
which was released on June 28, 1993, by
Epic Records
Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America, the American division of Japanese conglomerate Sony
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate (company), cong ...
as the eighth single from his eighth studio album, ''
Dangerous'' (1991). Jackson wrote and produced the song with additional production from
Bruce Swedien. Originally debuted at
MTV
MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...
's 10th anniversary special, the song gained recognition over a year and a half later due to its appearance on the
soundtrack
A soundtrack is a recorded audio signal accompanying and synchronised to the images of a book, drama, motion picture, radio program, television show, television program, or video game; colloquially, a commercially released soundtrack album of m ...
to the 1993 film ''
Free Willy
''Free Willy'' is a 1993 American Adventure film, adventure Drama (film and television), drama film, directed by Simon Wincer, produced by Lauren Shuler Donner and Jennie Lew Tugend, written by Keith A. Walker and Corey Blechman from a story by ...
'' of which it is the main theme. With the album version clocking in at seven minutes and 40 seconds, it is the longest song in Michael Jackson's solo discography.
"Will You Be There" became yet another successful single from ''
Dangerous'', peaking at numbers seven and six on the US
''Billboard'' Hot 100 and
''Cash Box'' Top 100, selling one million copies and earning a
platinum certification
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
. Outside of the United States, "Will You Be There" peaked within the top 10 of the charts in Belgium, Canada, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Republic of Ireland, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Vince Patterson.
Background
In the documentary ''
Living with Michael Jackson'', Jackson said that "Will You Be There" was one of several songs he wrote while at the Giving Tree, located on his
Neverland Ranch
Sycamore Valley Ranch, formerly Neverland Ranch["Neverland Never More"](_blank)
, by William Etling (author ...
property. "
Heal the World", also from ''Dangerous'', was written at the same location
In a 2016 interview with
/Film
''/Film'', also spelled ''SlashFilm'', is a blog that covers movie news, reviews, interviews, and trailers. It was founded by Peter Sciretta in August 2005. The site's reviews appear on Rotten Tomatoes, and as of 2024, two of its leading film cr ...
, ''Free Willy'' director
Simon Wincer
Simon Wincer (born 1943) is an Australian film and television director best known for the miniseries ''Lonesome Dove (miniseries), Lonesome Dove'' and the film ''Free Willy''. He attended Cranbrook School, Sydney, Cranbrook School, Sydney, from ...
stated that the idea of including a Michael Jackson song in the film originated when the film's music budget increased following positive reception to an advance screening. It was hoped that Jackson would write and record an entirely new song for the film, but he was unable to do so in time for the film's release. "Will You Be There" was featured in the film at the suggestion of
Jerry L. Greenberg, the president of Jackson's record label MJJ Music.
Composition
The sheet music shows the key of
D major
D major is a major scale based on D (musical note), D, consisting of the pitches D, E (musical note), E, F♯ (musical note), F, G (musical note), G, A (musical note), A, B (musical note), B, and C♯ (musical note), C. Its key signature has two S ...
and towards the end is modulated to
E major
E major is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, F-flat maj ...
,
F major
F major is a major scale based on F, with the pitches F, G, A, B, C, D, and E. Its key signature has one flat.Music Theory'. (1950). United States: Standards and Curriculum Division, Training, Bureau of Naval Personnel. 28. Its relati ...
and finally to
A major
A major is a major scale based on A, with the pitches A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has three sharps. Its relative minor is F-sharp minor and its parallel minor is A minor.
The A major scale is:
Changes needed for the ...
,
The vocals span from D
3 to E
5.
The song has a tempo of 83 beats per minute. Jackson wrote and produced "Will You Be There"—with co-producing credits going to Bruce Swedien—and orchestrated the rhythm and vocal arrangements. Featured instruments are noted as piano, synthesizer, keyboard, drums, and percussion.
Song information
The album version of the song includes a prelude featuring the
Cleveland Orchestra performing a portion of
Beethoven's ninth symphony
The Symphony No. 9 in D minor, Opus number, Op. 125, is a choral symphony, the final complete symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven, composed between 1822 and 1824. It was first performed in Vienna on 7 May 1824. The symphony is regarded by many criti ...
for one minute and seven seconds. The segment is from the fourth movement and is a lesser-known portion of the famous "
Ode to Joy
"Ode to Joy" ( ) is an ode written in the summer of 1785 by the German poet, playwright, and historian Friedrich Schiller. It was published the following year in the Thalia (German magazine), German magazine ''Thalia''. In 1808, a slightly revi ...
". The German lyrics were written by
Friedrich Schiller
Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, philosopher and historian. Schiller is considered by most Germans to be Germany's most important classical playwright.
He was born i ...
.
This classical introduction is then followed by a chorale interlude arranged by
Andrae and
Sandra Crouch. The Andrae Crouch Singers are heard throughout the rest of the song as well. At the ending, Jackson recites a poem. This spoken outro was also featured in his book ''Dancing the Dream''.
Edited versions of "Will You Be There" were created for the ''Free Willy'' soundtrack. The first that played in the film's end credits (which features
orca
The orca (''Orcinus orca''), or killer whale, is a toothed whale and the largest member of the oceanic dolphin family. The only extant species in the genus '' Orcinus'', it is recognizable by its black-and-white-patterned body. A cosmopol ...
footage shot by Bob Talbot) is similar to the album version, but without the orchestral prelude and interlude, while the single version, subtitled "Reprise" on the soundtrack, removes the spoken outro.
Legal issues
"Will You Be There" was the subject of two lawsuits. The first was for copyright infringement of a recording by the Cleveland Orchestra of
Ludwig van Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
's "Symphony No. 9" that played for 67 seconds at the beginning of the song. The suit was filed by the Cleveland Orchestra for $7 million and was settled out of court with subsequent pressings of ''Dangerous'' including full credits in the album booklet. The second lawsuit was a claim of plagiarism by Italian songwriter
Albano Carrisi who claimed that "Will You Be There" was copied from his song "I Cigni di Balaka" ("The Swans of Balaka"). After seven years, an Italian court ruled in favor of Carrisi because Jackson failed to show up to court. In a follow-up case some months later, the court ruled in favor of Jackson and rejected the claim, stating that while the two songs were very similar, they both may have been inspired by
the Ink Spots' 1939 hit "
Bless You for Being an Angel".
Critical reception
Chris Lacy from Albumism noted the "
gospel
Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...
fervor" of "Will You Be There" and "Keep the Faith" in his retrospective on ''Dangerous 25th anniversary. Calling the former song "a symphonic, heart-wrenching confession in which the shackles of Jackson’s deepest insecurities snap and crash to the floor". The song was picked as critic's choice in a ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' review from
Larry Flick
Larry Flick is an American journalist, former dance music columnist, single reviewer, and Senior Talent Editor for ''Billboard'' magazine, where he worked for 14 years. Now he produces and hosts Sirius XM radio shows. Flick started in the musi ...
who described it as a "highly inspirational, gospel/pop tune", stating that Jackson "offers one of his purest vocals in a long while, wisely sidestepping busy instrumentation and studio gimmicks. As a result, listeners are reminded how special and unique he truly is." Troy J. Augusto from ''
Cash Box
''Cashbox'', also known as ''Cash Box'', is an American music industry trade magazine, originally published weekly from July 1942 to November 1996. Ten years after its dissolution, it was revived and continues as ''Cashbox Magazine'', an online ...
'' named it Pick of the Week, saying, "Not as immediate as much of Michael's material, but dreamy enough to connect with his audience." He added, "Big vocal chorus and string arrangement add to song's appeal." Alan Jones from ''
Music Week
''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future.
History
Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...
'' gave it four out of five, stating that this "Afrocentric, spiritually uplifting" track "will be a hit." ''
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.
The magazine was first known fo ...
'' wrote that "the grandiose 'Will You Be There' never catches fire" and added that "the sequencing of ''Dangerous'' often clusters similar songs in bunches", and with that "it's easy to overlook" the following track "Keep The Faith" which, like "Will You Be There", also features the Andrae Crouch Singers. However, according to the article the latter song "is looser and sets off fireworks with a call-and-response gospel coda".
Accolades
Music video
Vince Patterson directed two music videos for "Will You Be There". The official video included Jackson performing the song during various stops of the
Dangerous World Tour while scenes from ''Free Willy'' centering around the friendship of Jesse and Willy are shown. The original
VHS
VHS (Video Home System) is a discontinued standard for consumer-level analog video recording on tape cassettes, introduced in 1976 by JVC. It was the dominant home video format throughout the tape media period of the 1980s and 1990s.
Ma ...
copies of ''Free Willy'' included the music video prior to the film. The second video from ''
Dangerous: The Short Films'' combines the MTV's 10th anniversary special performance with the concert tour footage.
Live performances
"Will You Be There" along with "
Black or White" both made their live debuts at MTV's 10th anniversary special that was taped in the summer of 1991 and later aired on
ABC the day after the release of ''Dangerous'' on November 27 that year. Jackson would later perform it again throughout the Dangerous World Tour. The angel at the end of the 10th anniversary performance was played by Angela Ice.
At the
25th NAACP Image Awards in 1993 where Jackson accepted "Entertainer of the Year" that night,
Daryl Coley
Daryl Lynn Coley (October 30, 1955 – March 15, 2016) was an American Christian singer. At 14, Coley was a member of the ensemble "Helen Stephens and the Voices of Christ". He began performing with Edwin Hawkins in the Edwin Hawkins Singers and ...
,
Patti LaBelle
Patricia Louise Holte (born May 24, 1944), known professionally as Patti LaBelle, is an American Rhythm and blues, R&B singer and actress. She has been referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godmother of Soul". LaBelle began ...
and the Voices of Faith Choir performed the song with Jackson joining in at the end. The song was planned for the
HIStory World Tour
The ''HIS''tory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts spanning the gl ...
but was not included in the final setlist. A version was released on the 2004 DVD ''
Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour''. Jackson would have performed the song for the
This Is It concerts which never took place due to
his sudden death. The rehearsal for it, which took place on June 23, was not featured in the film ''
This Is It'' (although it appears briefly on the DVD/Blu-ray bonus features), but was confirmed to have been part of the concert.
Other performances
Jennifer Hudson
Jennifer Kate Hudson (born September 12, 1981), also known by her nickname J.Hud, is an American singer, actress, producer, and talk show host. Having received List of awards and nominations received by Jennifer Hudson, numerous accolades for ...
performed the song at
Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009.
Boyce Avenue included a cover of the song on their 2010 album ''Influential Sessions''. Proceeds from sales of the cover as a
single were donated to the
American Red Cross
The American National Red Cross is a Nonprofit organization, nonprofit Humanitarianism, humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. Clara Barton founded ...
to aid victims of the
2010 Haiti earthquake
The 2010 Haiti earthquake was a catastrophic Moment magnitude scale, magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake that struck Haiti at 16:53 local time (21:53 UTC) on Tuesday, 12 January 2010. The epicenter was near the town of Léogâne, Ouest (departm ...
. Boyce Avenue frontman Alejandro Manzano said that "...though we knew that any cover of
ichael Jackson'smusic would pale in comparison to the original, we were still compelled to give a shout out to the late great in this time of need, by doing our rendition of one of our favorite songs of his, 'Will You Be There.'"
Michael Lynche performed the song on the ninth season of ''
American Idol
''American Idol'' is an American Music competition, singing competition television series created by Simon Fuller, produced by Fremantle (company), Fremantle North America and 19 Entertainment, and distributed by Fremantle North America. It a ...
'' on May 11, 2010, prior to being eliminated from the Final 4.
Melanie Amaro
Melanie Ann Amaro (born June 26, 1992) is an American singer who won the first season of '' The X Factor USA'' in 2011, securing a $5 million recording contract with Syco Music and Epic Records. Amaro was also the youngest contestant to win the ...
performed the song in the first season of the American version ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' in 2011. She survived during elimination bouts at judges' houses.
Fleur East
Fleur East (born 29 October 1987) is an English singer, songwriter, rapper and presenter. East competed on the second series of ''The X Factor'' in 2005 as part of the girl group Addictiv Ladies but was unsuccessful. In 2012, she signed with ...
performed the song on the 11th season of the British version of ''
The X Factor
''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for '' Pop Idol'' (2001–200 ...
'' on November 8, 2014, during Queen vs. Michael Jackson week.
A remix of "Will You Be There" was included in
Cirque du Soleil
Cirque du Soleil (, ; ) is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, Montreal, Saint-Michel, Montreal, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Jun ...
's 2011 show
Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour.
Track listing
* CD and 12" single
# "Will You Be There" (Radio Edit) – 3:40
# "
Man in the Mirror" – 5:19
# "
Girlfriend
A girlfriend is a woman who is a friend, acquaintance or partner to the speaker, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed r ...
" – 3:04
# "Will You Be There" (Album Version) – 7:40
* 7" and cassette single
# "Will You Be There" (Radio Edit) – 3:40
# "Will You Be There" (Instrumental) – 3:40
* 3-inch single
# "Will You Be There" (Radio Edit) – 3:40
# "Girlfriend" – 3:04
* Australian Maxi CD single
# "Will You Be There" (Radio Edit) – 3:40
# "Will You Be There" (Edit) – 5:22
# "Man in the Mirror" – 5:19
# "Girlfriend" – 3:04
# "Will You Be There" (Album Version) – 7:40
* Video single
# "Will You Be There" (music video) – 5:56
Personnel
* Written, composed, produced, solo and background vocals by Michael Jackson
* Co-produced by
Bruce Swedien
* Recorded and
mixed by Bruce Swedien and Matt Forger
*
Rhythm arrangement by Michael Jackson and
Greg Phillinganes
Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, vocalist, and arranger. A session musician, Phillinganes has contributed to numerous albums over a broad array of artists and genres. He has toured with artists includin ...
* Orchestra arranged and conducted by
Johnny Mandel
John Alfred Mandel (November 23, 1925June 29, 2020) was an American composer and arranger of popular songs, film music and jazz. The musicians he worked with include Count Basie, Frank Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Anita O'Day, Barbra Streisand, Tony Benn ...
* Vocal arrangement by Michael Jackson
*
Choir
A choir ( ), also known as a chorale or chorus (from Latin ''chorus'', meaning 'a dance in a circle') is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform or in other words ...
arrangement by
Andrae and
Sandra Crouch, featuring the Andrae Crouch Singers
* Greg Phillinganes and
Brad Buxer: Keyboards
* Michael Boddicker: Synthesizers
*
Rhett Lawrence
James Everett "Rhett" Lawrence is an American record producer and songwriter. He first became known for producing the 1990 single " Vision of Love" by Mariah Carey, which received a Grammy Award and peaked on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. His prod ...
: Synthesizers and synthesizer programming
* Brad Buxer, Bruce Swedien: Drums and percussion
*
Paulinho Da Costa
Paulinho da Costa (, born Paulo Roberto da Costa on May 31, 1948) is a Brazilian percussionist. Beginning his career as a samba musician in Brazil, he moved to the United States in the early 1970s and worked with Brazilian bandleader Sérgio Me ...
: Percussion
*
Prelude –
Beethoven
Ludwig van Beethoven (baptised 17 December 177026 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. He is one of the most revered figures in the history of Western music; his works rank among the most performed of the classical music repertoire ...
:
Symphony No. 9 in D Minor, Opus 125: Presto
** Performed by the
Cleveland Orchestra Chorus
** Directed by
Robert Shaw
** Performed by the Cleveland Orchestra
** Conducted by
George Szell
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Certifications
Notes
References
{{Authority control
1991 songs
1993 singles
Michael Jackson songs
Pop ballads
Contemporary R&B ballads
Songs written by Michael Jackson
Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson
Epic Records singles
1990s ballads
Songs involved in plagiarism controversies
Gospel songs
Symphony No. 9 (Beethoven)
Cleveland Orchestra