{"id":56536,"date":"2016-04-01T22:04:00","date_gmt":"2016-04-02T02:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/marcellee.com\/?p=56536"},"modified":"2020-09-29T20:32:35","modified_gmt":"2020-09-30T00:32:35","slug":"jimmy-jam-talking-about-recording-michael-jacksons-scream-vocals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/marcellee.com\/?p=56536","title":{"rendered":"Jimmy Jam talking about recording Michael Jackson’s Scream vocals"},"content":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t think of a studio moment that blew us away more than the first time he got in front of a microphone on \u201cScream.\u201d It was really funny. First of all, when we put that track together, I had Janet come to Minneapolis. I just said, \u201cI need you to be here for inspiration.\u201d So Terry and I put together four or five different tracks, and for one of the tracks, Janet said, \u201cI hope he doesn\u2019t like this one, because I want this one for me.\u201d And another one of the tracks, she said, \u201cThis is the one he\u2019s going to like, I know my brother.\u201d<\/p>\n

So we go to the Hit Factory in New York. We played all these tracks, and when the track that ended up being \u201cScream\u201d came on, he said, \u201cYeah I like that.\u201d Janet said, \u201cI told you that\u2019s the one he was going to like! I\u2019m so glad he didn\u2019t like that other track.\u201d Well, the other track ended up being \u201cRunaway,\u201d her single from Design of a Decade. I actually thought that track would\u2019ve been a great duet for them, but Michael wanted to be real aggressive and real hard. He had things on his mind about how he felt he was being treated in the press. And the track for \u201cScream\u201d was sonically perfect for what he wanted to do lyrically.<\/p>\n

When he went into the studio, the idea was that he was going to sing it first and then Janet would go in and sing after him. So Janet\u2019s sitting there, me and Terry are sitting there, and Michael goes in. Before he sings, he\u2019s just real calm and quiet, \u201cCan you turn my headphones up a little bit?\u201d Then all of a sudden the music comes on and he starts dancing around the room, hitting all his signature moves. And he\u2019s like, wearing a bracelet or something while clapping \u2014 you\u2019re not really supposed to do that when you\u2019re on the mic, but it didn\u2019t even matter. When it was over, I swear to God, it was just silence in the room. He said, \u201cHow was that?\u201d We\u2019re like, \u201cYeah, that sounded really good.\u201d And I turned and looked at Janet and she said to me, \u201cI\u2019ll just do my vocal in Minneapolis.\u201d It was like, \u201cI\u2019m not going to do my vocal right now.\u201d Obviously he just killed it, right? [laughs]<\/p>\n

So we go to Minneapolis with Janet, where she does a great job on her vocal. We send it to Michael, he goes, \u201cWow, Janet sounds great. Where did she record that vocal?\u201d I said it was in Minneapolis. \u201cI\u2019m coming to Minneapolis.\u201d So Michael comes to Minneapolis to re-record his vocal, and it was a real glimpse into his competitive nature. It didn\u2019t even matter that it was his sister. It was just like, \u201cNo. I have to redo it. She did hers, I have to redo mine.\u201d It was just crazy, his competitiveness even with his own sister. But it was that drive for perfection. And the original vocal he did in New York ended up being probably 90 percent of the vocal on the final song.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

themortonreport.com<\/p>\n

2012<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I can\u2019t think of a studio moment that blew us away more than the first time he got in front of a microphone on \u201cScream.\u201d It was really funny. First of all, when we put that track together, I had Janet come to Minneapolis. I just said, \u201cI need you to be here for inspiration.\u201d … Continue reading Jimmy Jam talking about recording Michael Jackson’s Scream vocals<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[101,5865,855,93,7896,11454,7811,6425],"class_list":["post-56536","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","tag-janet-jackson","tag-jimmy-jam","tag-jimmy-jam-and-terry-lewis","tag-michael-jackson","tag-minnesota","tag-music","tag-new-york","tag-terry-lewis"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t