Say Say Say
| "Say Say Say" | |
|---|---|
| Song | |
| B-side | "Ode to a Koala Bear" |
"Say Say Say" is a song by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney. The track was written by the duo, and produced by George Martin for McCartney's fifth solo album, Pipes of Peace (1983). The song was the pair's second duet, following "The Girl Is Mine" for Jackson's Thriller (1982). Recorded at the same time as McCartney's Tug of War album, the single became Jackson's seventh top ten hit in a year upon its release in October, 1983. "Say Say Say" was a number one hit in the US and peaked at number two in the UK. Number one in Canada, Finland, Italy, Norway and Sweden, the single peaked within the top ten of Austria and New Zealand.
Certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, the song was promoted with a music video directed by Bob Giraldi. The video, filmed in Santa Ynez Valley, California, featured cameo appearances by Linda McCartney, LaToya Jackson and Mr. T. The short film centered around two con artists, "Mack and Jack", and introduced dialogue and storylines to music videos. Upon its release, the video was considered too violent by the National Coalition of Television Violence. "Say Say Say" was covered by the Dutch music group Hi-Tack in early 2006. They took the song to number four on the UK singles chart.
Recording
Prior to recording "Say Say Say", McCartney had collaborated with Jackson on "The Girl Is Mine", for Jackson's Thriller album. In return, Jackson agreed to record "Say Say Say" for McCartney's Pipes of Peace.[1] The song was recorded at Abbey Road Studios from May to September, 1981. During this time, McCartney was also recording Tug of War, his first solo album since splitting from the Wings.[2] Jackson stayed at the home of McCartney and his wife Linda during the recording sessions, becoming friendly with both. One evening whilst at the dining table, McCartney brought out a booklet displaying all the songs he owned the publishing rights to. "This is the way to make big money", the musician told Jackson. "Every time someone records one of these songs, I get paid. Every time someone plays these songs on the radio, or in live performances, I get paid". McCartney's words later influenced Jackson's purchase of the Northern Songs song catalogue in 1985.[3] The recording of "Say Say Say" was completed in February, 1983. George Martin, who had worked with The Beatles, produced "Say Say Say". He said of Jackson, "He actually does radiate an aura when he comes into the studio, there's no question about it. He's not a musician in the sense that Paul is...but he does know what he wants in music and he has very firm ideas".[2]
Release and reception
Following the release of Thriller and its accompanying singles, "Say Say Say" was released on October 9, 1983.[4] Remaining atop the Billboard's Hot 100 for six weeks, the single was Jackson's seventh top ten hit in a year—breaking a record previously held by The Beatles and Elvis Presley.[5] It was also Jackson's third single to top the Hot 100; "Say Say Say", "Billie Jean" and "Beat It" logged Jackson sixteen combined weeks at the top. Peaking at number two on the R&B chart, "Say Say Say" also reached number three on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.[4][6] The song peaked low in the UK and was slowly dropping from the charts. An interview was then held with McCartney, who discussed the song's music video. The interview helped propel the song to number two on the UK Singles Chart.[7] Screenings of the video on Top of the Pops (who usually only screened videos within the Top 40), The Tube and Noel Edmonds' The Late, Late Breakfast Show also aided the song's UK chart performance. Reaching number one in Canada, Finland, Italy, Norway and Sweden, the single was also within the top ten of Austria and New Zealand.[7][4][8]
"Say Say Say" received mixed reviews from music critics. The song was named as having the worst lyrics of 1983 by Anthony Violanti of The Buffalo News.[9] The Lexington Herald-Leader stated that aside from "Say Say Say" and "The Man", "McCartney wastes the rest of the album [Pipes of Peace] on bathos and whimsy".[10] Los Angeles Times' Paul Grein claimed that McCartney redeemed himself with the success of the "spunky" song "but plunged back into wimpdom with 'No More Lonely Nights'".[11] Whitney Pastorek compared the song to McCartney's duet with Stevie Wonder, "Ebony and Ivory". She asserted that "Say Say Say" was a better song and had a better, "though slightly more nonsensical", video. She added that the song had no "heavy-handed social content".[12] The Daily Collegian of Penn State described the track as a good song, despite the ad nauseum broadcasts of it.[13] The Deseret News noted that the "pleading love song" had a "masterful, catchy hook".[14] In a Rolling Stone review, the track was described as an "amiable though vapid dance groove". The reviewer, Parke Puterbaugh, added that it was "instantly hit-bound froth-funk that tends, after all, toward banality".[15] Salon.com later described the song as a "sappy duet". They concluded that McCartney had become a "wimpy old fart".[16] The single was later certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, for shipments of at least one million units.[4] The song was also covered by the Dutch music group Hi-Tack in early 2006. Hi-Tack took the song, entitled "Say Say Say (Waiting For U), to number four on the UK singles chart.[17]
Music video
Directed by Bob Giraldi—the director of "Beat It"—the music video for "Say Say Say" featured cameo appearances by Linda McCartney, LaToya Jackson and Mr. T.[17][18] It was filmed in Santa Ynez Valley, California, and McCartney had to fly out to Jackson; the latter's schedule was busy.[19] As "Mack and Jack", the duo play a pair of conmen selling a "miracle potion". The salesman (McCartney) offers Jackson the potion, claiming it's "guaranteed to give you the strength of a raging bull". Jackson drinks the potion and challenges a large man, also in on the scam, to arm wrestle. Upon Jackson winning, the crowd surges forward, hoping to buy the magical potion. With the money earned from the scam, Mack and Jack donate it all to an orphanage.[19] In their hotel, Jackson enters the bathroom while McCartney is shaving. He playfully dabs foam on his own cheek, despite not needing a shave. McCartney and Jackson then star as vaudeville performers singing and dancing at a bar.[20] Jackson's love interest, with whom he flirts, was played by his sister LaToya.[21] Before taking to the stage, the duo appear in blackface makeup.[22] The video ends with Paul, Linda and Michael driving off into the sunset. LaToya, handed a bunch of flowers by McCartney, is left at the roadside.[20] The video cost the singers $500,000 to make.[7]
Giraldi said of the duo, "Michael didn't outdance Paul, and Paul didn't outsing Michael". He added that making the video was hard work, "The egos could fill a room".[23] The video introduced both dialogue and storyline, an element extended upon in Thriller.[24] Upon its release, the National Coalition of Television Violence classified the music video as too violent to be aired. They also classified Thriller and more than half of the 200 videos surveyed from MTV as being overtly violent.[25] The Manchester Evening News later described the video as an "anarchic caper" that "plays out like an Emir Kusturica feature".[26] PopMatters stated that the music videos of "Say Say Say" and "Goodnight Tonight" turned "a pair of otherwise forgettable songs into something worth watching".[27] Steven Greenlee of The Boston Globe reflected that the video was both "horrifying and compelling", while noting the ridiculousness of a potion aiding Jackson in beating somebody at arm wrestling. He added, "It's even harder to believe that the two of them didn't get the pulp beaten out of them in that bar for dressing like a pair of Chess King employees".[28] The video was later included on the McCartney DVD, The McCartney Years.[29][30]
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Austrian Singles Chart | 10 [8] |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 8 [31] |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 1 [4] |
| Italian Singles Chart | 1 [4] |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 1 [32] |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 1 [33] |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 2 [34] |
| UK Singles Chart | 2[4] |
| US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 [4] |
| US R&B Singles Chart | 2 [4] |
Chart procession and succession
Credits
- Written, arranged and composed by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
- Lead and background vocals by Michael Jackson and Paul McCartney
- Produced by George Martin
- Engineered by Geoff Emerick
- Harmonica by Chris Smith
- Guitar by Paul McCartney
- Bass by Paul McCartney
- Drums by Paul McCartney
- Synthesizer by Paul McCartney
Notes
- ^ Stephen Thomas Erlewine & William Ruhlmann. "Paul McCartney biography". MTV. Retrieved on March 3, 2009.
- ^ a b Halstead, p. 268
- ^ Taraborrelli, p. 333
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Halstead, p. 269
- ^ Campbell, p. 68
- ^ George, p. 39
- ^ a b c Barrow, p. 92
- ^ a b "Austrian Singles Chart Archives". austriancharts.at. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- ^ Violanti, Anthony (August 18, 1996). "Schlock: An Unusually Confused and Nasal Dylan". The Buffalo News. Retrieved on March 19, 2009.
- ^ "Paul McCartney's New Album Is Just 'Embarrassing Fluff'". Lexington Herald-Leader. (January 15, 1983). Retrieved on March 19, 2009.
- ^ Grein, Paul (January 3, 1988). "Hits That Hurt In Some Cases, That Top 10 Smash Can Smash an Artist's Image". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on March 19, 2009.
- ^ Pastorek, Whitney (May 3, 2007). "This Week in '82". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved March 19, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Yeany, Ron (November 22, 1990). "McCartney and Simon". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved March 2, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "McCartney, Jackson together again". Deseret News. (November 18, 1993). Retrieved March 7, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Puterbaugh, Parke (January 19, 1984). "Pipes of Peace review". Rolling Stone. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Garcia, Gilbert (Jan 27, 2003). "The ballad of Paul and Yoko". Salon.com. Retrieved March 7, 2009.
- ^ a b Halstead, p. 270
- ^ "Linda McCartney Dies Of Cancer". MTV. (April 20, 1998). Retrieved March 8, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|date=(help) - ^ a b Campbell, p. 69
- ^ a b Curtis, p. 323
- ^ Morris, Davina (August 24, 2008). "Happy birthday MJ". The Voice. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Lhamon, p. 219
- ^ Garcia, Guy (November 18, 1983). "'Say Say Say' - Bob Giraldi". Time. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Sklar, Ron (November 23, 1990). "Thriller video". The Daily Collegian. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Day, Patrick (February 12, 2008). "25 'Thriller' facts". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Gilliver, Stephen (November 20, 2007). "DVD review: Paul McCartney - The McCartney Years (Warner)". The Manchester Evening News. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Lawson, Terry (November 20, 2007). "Old rockers go on a DVD roll". PopMatters. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
- ^ Greenlee, Steven. "Back when MTV had videos". The Boston Globe. Retrieved March 16, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ Cashmere, Paul (December 31, 2007). "Jackson and McCartney Will Continue To Thrill". Undercover.com.au. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
- ^ Widner, Ellis (December 16, 2007). "Music DVDs easy on ears and Santa's aching back". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved March 8, 2009.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|publisher=(help) - ^ "Dutch Singles Chart Archives". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- ^ "Norwegian Singles Chart Archives". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- ^ "Swedish Singles Chart Archives". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
- ^ "Swiss Singles Chart Archives". hitparade.ch. Retrieved March 3, 2009.
References
- Barrow, Tony (1994). Inside the Music Business. Routledge. ISBN 0415136601.
- Campbell, Lisa (1993). Michael Jackson: The King of Pop. Branden. ISBN 082831957X.
- Curtis, James M. (1987). Rock Eras. Popular Press. ISBN 0879723696.
- George, Nelson (2004). Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection booklet. Sony BMG.
- Halstead, Craig (2007). Michael Jackson: For the Record. Authors OnLine. ISBN 978-0-7552026-7-6.
- Lhamon, W.H. (1998). Raising Cain. Harvard University Press. ISBN 0674747119.
- Taraborrelli, J. Randy (2004). The Magic and the Madness. Terra Alta, WV: Headline. ISBN 0-330-42005-4.
