The Girl Is Mine

"The Girl Is Mine" is a song recorded by Michael Jackson featuring Paul McCartney. The track was written by Jackson and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released as the first single for Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller (1982). The song was recorded at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, from April 14 to 16, 1982. McCartney is the only featured guest on the album. 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 it 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. By 1985, it had sold 1.3 million copies, and was eventually certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least one million units.
"The Girl Is Mine" has been the subject of two plagiarism lawsuits. Both instances required Jackson to testify in court, and each lawsuit found in the favour of the singer and his record label. In 2008, for the 25th anniversary edition of Thriller, Black Eyed Peas singer Will.i.am remixed "The Girl Is Mine". The remix received generally unfavourable reviews from music critics.

Recording


The writing of "The Girl Is Mine" was completed by Jackson as he watched cartoons with Paul McCartney.[1] Producer Quincy Jones 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 the singer to add a rap verse. Jackson recalled, "Quincy called me up one morning and says, 'Smelly'—he calls me Smelly—'we have to have some rapping in this.'"[2] The song was then recorded by Jackson and McCartney at Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, from April 14 to 16, 1982. The year before, the duo had recorded "Say Say Say" and "The Man" for McCartney's fifth solo album, Pipes of Peace (1983).[3] Jackson stated that the recording of the song was one of his most enjoyable moments in the studio. "One of my favourite 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 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."[3] The footage of the pair was later shown at The Paul McCartney World Tour.[3]

Music


The musical structuring of "The Girl Is Mine" uses the AABA form, in which the song's title serves as the main source of needed repetition.[4] 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.[4] 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".[4] 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".[4] The musical chords in "The Girl Is Mine" are seen in several songs written by Jackson. "That's What You Get for Being Polite", from The Jacksons' Destiny album, and two unreleased songs ("Why Can't I Be" and "Thank You For Life") used the chords before "The Girl Is Mine".[2][5][6]

Release and Reception


Despite recording "Say Say Say" and "The Man" a year prior, "The Girl Is Mine" was the first song to gain a release from the duo and the first single from the Thriller album. "The Girl Is Mine" was released as a single on October 18, 1982. The single's cover photograph was taken by McCartney's wife, Linda.[3] 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.[1] 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 and the Norwegian Singles Chart.[3][7] "The Girl Is Mine" reached number one on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.[8] The song charted at number eight in the UK, peaking within the New Zealand Top 20.[3][7] By 1985, the single had sold 1.3 million copies.[2] The single was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least one million units.[9]

Since its release, "The Girl Is Mine" has received several negative reviews from journalists and music critics. Journalist Robert Christgau described the pairing of McCartney and Jackson as "Michael's worst idea since "Ben"".[10] Rolling Stone stated that the song was a "wimpoid MOR [middle of the road] ballad" and that McCartney was "tame".[11] Stephen Erlewine of Allmusic noted that the song had a "sweet schmaltz".[12] Jackson's breakdown with the "irrepressibly silly Paul McCartney" was "disarmingly goofy", according to Stylus Magazine.[13] Salon.com later described "The Girl Is Mine" as a "sappy duet". They concluded that McCartney had become a "wimpy old fart".[14] 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".[1][15]

Plagiarism Lawsuits


"The Girl Is Mine" has been the subject of two plagiarism lawsuits. Both instances required Jackson to testify in court, and each lawsuit found in the favour of the singer and his record label. 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 the favour of Jackson. Their verdict was reached after a three day deliberation. Jackson was not a defendant in the trial but testified to maintain his credibility.[2][16] 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."[2] 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."[2] One juror stated, "His presentation indicated that he was well able to develop his own songs."[2][16]
The song's second plagiarism trial was in 1993. Reynaud Jones and Robert Smith alleged that "The Girl Is Mine", along with "Thriller"— written by Rod Temperton— and "We Are the World", resembled their musical works. The pair added that they had been childhood neighbours of the Jackson family when they had resided in Gary, Indiana. Jackson, Lionel Richie—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". Jackson appeared in court via a taped testimony.[17][18] 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".[17]

Charts


Chart (1983) Peak
position
Dutch Singles Chart 16[7]
Norwegian Singles Chart 2[38]
UK Singles Chart 8[3]
US Billboard Hot 100 2[3]
US R&B Singles Chart 1[3]

Personnel


Written and composed by Michael Jackson
Produced by Quincy Jones & Michael Jackson
Rhodes piano: Greg Phillinganes
Piano: David Paich
Synthesizer: David Foster
Synthesizer programming: Steve Porcaro
Guitar: Dean Parks and Steve Lukather
Bass guitar: Louis Johnson
Drums: Jeff Porcaro
Vocal: 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: Jerry Vinci