While most fans know the dozens of solo hits that Michael Jackson released, fewer know of the many, many songs he recorded that never left the vault.
While Jackson was recording his Bad album, the follow-up to his earth shattering Thriller LP, one of the songs tested was a mild dance groove composed by legendary songwriter Rod Temperton, who also wrote “Rock With You,” “Thriller” and “Off the Wall,” among others, on MJ’s prior two albums. “Groove of Midnight” had a strong hook and a vibe that would have fit nicely on Off The Wall. But it may not have been consistent with the edgier direction of Bad, and it didn’t make the album, even though Jackson cut a rough demo of the song.
While most fans know the dozens of solo hits that Michael Jackson released, fewer know of the many, many songs he recorded that never left the vault.
While Jackson was recording his Bad album, the follow-up to his earth shattering Thriller LP, one of the songs tested was a mild dance groove composed by legendary songwriter Rod Temperton, who also wrote “Rock With You,” “Thriller” and “Off the Wall,” among others, on MJ’s prior two albums. “Groove of Midnight” had a strong hook and a vibe that would have fit nicely on Off The Wall. But it may not have been consistent with the edgier direction of Bad, and it didn’t make the album, even though Jackson cut a rough demo of the song.
Fortunately, singer and songwriter Siedah Garrett, who wrote “Man In the Mirror” for Bad, was working on her own album, Kiss of Life, and “Groove of Midnight” found its way to that project. The result was a tasty number that became a solid addition to the project, and another strong vocal performance by Garrett.
For our latest SoulTracks Lost Gem, we present the original Michael Jackson demo, as well as the final project from Siedah. Both are fun to hear, but also convince us that the groovealicious number ended in the right place as part of the very talented Siedah's Kiss of Life.
Check out both versions below and tell us what you think.