Why Michael Jackson Recorded ‘The Girl Is Mine’ in the Dark

TL;DR:

• Michael Jackson’s “The Girl Is Mine” is a duet with Paul McCartney that the King of Pop sang in the dark.
• The tune was a huge hit in the United States and the United Kingdom.
• It wasn’t Jackson’s only collaboration with Paul.

Michael Jackson‘s “The Girl Is Mine” is one of his most famous collaborations with Paul McCartney. Jackson recorded the tune in the dark for a special reason. Subsequently, he released the song before its parent album was finished.

Michael Jackson recorded ‘The Girl Is Mine’ in the dark because he hated the light

During a 2009 interview with MusicRadar, engineer Bruce Swedien discussed the recording of “The Girl Is Mine.” “Interestingly, we always recorded with Michael in the dark — he hated light,” he recalled. “I mean I would have a little bit of light for him, but the studio was absolutely dark.”

Swedien hypothesized why Jackson liked recording in darkness. “I think one reason why he wanted this — and why it works so effectively — is that through my study of acoustics and so on, I found that the human being is primarily a visual animal, hearing is our second sense,” he said. “People can be distracted by too much light in the studio to the extent that it can take away from the music.”

Linda McCartney was there when Paul McCartney worked on Michael Jackson’s album

Swedien discussed Paul’s role in recording the song. “That was actually the first track we recorded for the album,” he said. “It was a duet with Michael and Paul McCartney who was an absolute joy to work with. He was such a gentleman, he came to the studio prepared — Linda McCartney was with him and we had a fabulous time.”

Jackson released “The Girl Is Mine” before he even finished the song’s parent album, Thriller. Producer Quincy Jones would play the radio during the sessions, and it was often playing “The Girl Is Mine.” This caused people working on the album to take their work seriously.

How ‘The Girl Is Mine’ performed in the United States and the United Kingdom

“The Girl Is Mine” reached No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 18 weeks. The tune appeared on the album Thriller. The album was No. 1 on the Billboard 200 for 37 weeks, remaining on the chart for 547 in total.

“The Girl Is Mine” was a big hit in Paul’s native United Kingdom as well. The Official Charts Company says “The Girl Is Mine” peaked at No. 8 there, staying on the chart for 12 weeks. Thriller was even bigger in the U.K. The album reached No. 1 for eight weeks. Altogether, it stayed on the chart for 260 weeks.

Jackson also collaborated with Paul on the song “Say Say Say,” which also became famous. While “The Girl Is Mine” is a soft-rock song, “Say Say Say” is a dancefloor filler. This shows how both singers had incredible artistic ranges.

“The Girl Is Mine” became a mainstream hit despite its unconventional origins.