Paul Anka Claims Michael Jackson Stole “This Is It”
Less than a day after Michael Jackson’s single “This Is It” debuted online, it seems there’s more legal trouble heading for his legacy: music legend Paula Anka is telling TMZ that the song is a copy of “I Never Heard,” a song he recorded with MJ back in 1983.
Paul says they wrote the song, and recorded a demo in Paul’s studio. He then took the tape to a studio in Hollywood to put the finishing touches on it for his album, Walk a Fine Line. That’s when he claims MJ stole the tapes from the studio.
When Paul realized the tapes were missing, he says he called the lawyers who repped both him and Michael — one of whom was Michael’s co-executor for his estate, John Branca. Paul threatened to sue and the tapes were returned — but Paul says MJ made a copy before giving them back. Paul claims “This Is It” is Michael’s voice track from their recording session.
The song ended up going to recording artist Safire, who released it in 1990. Check out TMZ to listen to clips of both songs.
http://www.okmagazin...ole-this-is-it/
More: http://artsbeat.blog...kson-single/?hp
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#1 OFFLINE
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 12:15 AM
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 12:16 AM
First, I knew it's 80s 
and I thought it's around Carousel time I know Michael's voice 
Second, how he can stole the song if he also wrote it? That's a stealing?!
Third... maybe Michael just kept the song just like that without any plans to release or use it. But then after Michael is gone Sony came in, finding some random song in some "box" and deciding release it just like that. In the second article Paula Anka says he may sue if nothing will be changed.
and I thought it's around Carousel time I know Michael's voice Second, how he can stole the song if he also wrote it? That's a stealing?!
Third... maybe Michael just kept the song just like that without any plans to release or use it. But then after Michael is gone Sony came in, finding some random song in some "box" and deciding release it just like that. In the second article Paula Anka says he may sue if nothing will be changed.
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 01:54 AM
Anka gets credit for co-writing Jackson single
LOS ANGELES – With a familiar high-pitched voice counting off one-two-three-four, a new Michael Jackson single debuted online Monday, prompting a hasty response from the singer's estate after Paul Anka revealed he was the song's co-writer.
"This Is It" is featured on the soundtrack to the upcoming documentary featuring the late superstar, but its genesis was actually in 1983 when it was written for a duets album Anka was recording.
The song was titled "I Never Heard," and Jackson and Anka are credited as co-authors on an early 1990s version recorded by the singer Sa-Fire.
Anka said Jackson's estate moved quickly to give him credit, promising Anka 50 percent of the song's profits.
"They did the right thing," Anka said. "I don't think that anybody tried to do the wrong thing. It was an honest mistake."
The string-backed ballad was released on the singer's official Web site and sent to radio stations. It gives advance publicity to the documentary, culled from footage of Jackson rehearsing for the concerts that he never got a chance to do.
Representatives of Jackson's estate acknowledged Anka's work in a prepared statement. Until Anka stepped forward, the song's history was a mystery.
"The song was picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael gave his tour," the statement read. "We are thrilled to present this song in Michael's voice for the first time, and that Michael's fans have responded in unprecedented numbers."
Anka, 68, initially contemplated legal action after being informed Monday by outlets such as the New York Times and TMZ of the similarities between "This Is It" and the Sa-Fire version. But later in the day, he said he was satisfied with how the situation was handled.
"There's nothing but honorable people here," said Anka, a former teen idol from the 1950s and '60s who sang "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" and wrote "She's A Lady", one of Tom Jones' biggest hits.
Sony Music Entertainment had said it wasn't sure when Jackson recorded the song but speculated it could have been around the time Jackson's "Off the Wall" album was done 30 years ago.
Close — Anka said it was recorded right around the time Jackson's "Thriller" album was becoming a smash hit.
"This Is It" was apparently found in a box of tapes with only Jackson's voice and a piano accompaniment.
Strings were added to the bare-bones recording, along with backing vocals from Jackson's brothers. Other touches included finger-click percussion that echoes Jackson's recording of "The Girl Is Mine."
The preparation of "This Is It" is eerily similar to how the surviving Beatles took outtakes from John Lennon following his murder and added their voices and instruments to craft the "Real Love" and "Free As a Bird" songs released as part of the "Anthology" project in 1996.
"This is it," Jackson sings to open the song. "Here I stand. I'm the light of the world. I feel grand."
Sony says it was a coincidence that his upcoming concert series was also titled "This Is It"; the company has no evidence that Jackson himself had planned to release the song.
Posthumous releases follow a long-standing pattern in popular music dating back to Elvis Presley's death in 1977.
Presley's records have continued selling since then, with new greatest hit compilations and live concert releases finding huge new audiences. His estate still receives tens of millions of dollars each year from CD sales and other enterprises, and in 2002 he even topped the UK charts with a remixed version of an older song.
The same was true, to a lesser extent, after the deaths of rock icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. A number of Lennon solo albums were also released in the years following his shooting death in 1980.
Some artists have scored major hits after their deaths. For example, "Time in a Bottle" was the No. 1 hit in early 1974, months after Jim Croce died. Otis Redding's biggest hit, "The Dock of the Bay," was released after his death in a plane crash in December 1967. "Me and Bobby McGee" made the charts in 1971, a year after Joplin died.
It probably won't be the last time music fans hear something new from Jackson. Tommy Mottola, former chairman and CEO of Sony Music, told The Associated Press shortly after Jackson died in Los Angeles June 25 that there are "dozens and dozens of songs" that did not make the pop star's albums, along with more recently recorded material.
Questions about who owns the material and differing opinions among people who control Jackson's estate could complicate the release of these songs, said Rob Levine, executive editor of Billboard.
Making "This Is It" available online before putting CDs on sale might seem counterintuitive. But several artists do it — the Flaming Lips streamed their entire new album online — and Web sites such as myspacemusic.com offer streams of many songs.
Jackson's company is betting that interest generated from early release of the song will spur purchases of the album. More so than many artists, Jackson fans are more inclined to buy CDs than seek out digital copies of his music, Levine said.
"This is aimed at passionate Michael Jackson fans and people who want to participate in a historical event," he said. "In both cases, people are going to want something to hold in their hands."
The two-CD set offers previously released versions of Jackson hits coinciding with the order they are presented on the DVD. Besides "This Is It," the other new material is a spoken-word poem and demo versions of "She's Out of My Life," "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and "Beat It."
Jackson, one of the most commercially successful artists of all time, is expected to sell millions of albums in the coming years. His death already brought some of his classic records back to the top of the charts.
His death at age 50 is still being investigated.
The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Jackson's death was caused by acute intoxication by the anesthetic propofol, with other sedatives a contributing factor. The coroner found the powerful anesthetic was administered without any medical need and that recommended resuscitation equipment was missing.
___
Associated Press Writers David Bauder, Gregory Katz and Mesfin Fekadu contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
http://www.michaeljackson.com
http://www.thisisit-movie.com ___
On the Net:
http://www.michaeljackson.com
http://www.thisisit-movie.com
Source: AP
LOS ANGELES – With a familiar high-pitched voice counting off one-two-three-four, a new Michael Jackson single debuted online Monday, prompting a hasty response from the singer's estate after Paul Anka revealed he was the song's co-writer.
"This Is It" is featured on the soundtrack to the upcoming documentary featuring the late superstar, but its genesis was actually in 1983 when it was written for a duets album Anka was recording.
The song was titled "I Never Heard," and Jackson and Anka are credited as co-authors on an early 1990s version recorded by the singer Sa-Fire.
Anka said Jackson's estate moved quickly to give him credit, promising Anka 50 percent of the song's profits.
"They did the right thing," Anka said. "I don't think that anybody tried to do the wrong thing. It was an honest mistake."
The string-backed ballad was released on the singer's official Web site and sent to radio stations. It gives advance publicity to the documentary, culled from footage of Jackson rehearsing for the concerts that he never got a chance to do.
Representatives of Jackson's estate acknowledged Anka's work in a prepared statement. Until Anka stepped forward, the song's history was a mystery.
"The song was picked because the lyrics were appropriate because of the name Michael gave his tour," the statement read. "We are thrilled to present this song in Michael's voice for the first time, and that Michael's fans have responded in unprecedented numbers."
Anka, 68, initially contemplated legal action after being informed Monday by outlets such as the New York Times and TMZ of the similarities between "This Is It" and the Sa-Fire version. But later in the day, he said he was satisfied with how the situation was handled.
"There's nothing but honorable people here," said Anka, a former teen idol from the 1950s and '60s who sang "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" and wrote "She's A Lady", one of Tom Jones' biggest hits.
Sony Music Entertainment had said it wasn't sure when Jackson recorded the song but speculated it could have been around the time Jackson's "Off the Wall" album was done 30 years ago.
Close — Anka said it was recorded right around the time Jackson's "Thriller" album was becoming a smash hit.
"This Is It" was apparently found in a box of tapes with only Jackson's voice and a piano accompaniment.
Strings were added to the bare-bones recording, along with backing vocals from Jackson's brothers. Other touches included finger-click percussion that echoes Jackson's recording of "The Girl Is Mine."
The preparation of "This Is It" is eerily similar to how the surviving Beatles took outtakes from John Lennon following his murder and added their voices and instruments to craft the "Real Love" and "Free As a Bird" songs released as part of the "Anthology" project in 1996.
"This is it," Jackson sings to open the song. "Here I stand. I'm the light of the world. I feel grand."
Sony says it was a coincidence that his upcoming concert series was also titled "This Is It"; the company has no evidence that Jackson himself had planned to release the song.
Posthumous releases follow a long-standing pattern in popular music dating back to Elvis Presley's death in 1977.
Presley's records have continued selling since then, with new greatest hit compilations and live concert releases finding huge new audiences. His estate still receives tens of millions of dollars each year from CD sales and other enterprises, and in 2002 he even topped the UK charts with a remixed version of an older song.
The same was true, to a lesser extent, after the deaths of rock icons such as Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin. A number of Lennon solo albums were also released in the years following his shooting death in 1980.
Some artists have scored major hits after their deaths. For example, "Time in a Bottle" was the No. 1 hit in early 1974, months after Jim Croce died. Otis Redding's biggest hit, "The Dock of the Bay," was released after his death in a plane crash in December 1967. "Me and Bobby McGee" made the charts in 1971, a year after Joplin died.
It probably won't be the last time music fans hear something new from Jackson. Tommy Mottola, former chairman and CEO of Sony Music, told The Associated Press shortly after Jackson died in Los Angeles June 25 that there are "dozens and dozens of songs" that did not make the pop star's albums, along with more recently recorded material.
Questions about who owns the material and differing opinions among people who control Jackson's estate could complicate the release of these songs, said Rob Levine, executive editor of Billboard.
Making "This Is It" available online before putting CDs on sale might seem counterintuitive. But several artists do it — the Flaming Lips streamed their entire new album online — and Web sites such as myspacemusic.com offer streams of many songs.
Jackson's company is betting that interest generated from early release of the song will spur purchases of the album. More so than many artists, Jackson fans are more inclined to buy CDs than seek out digital copies of his music, Levine said.
"This is aimed at passionate Michael Jackson fans and people who want to participate in a historical event," he said. "In both cases, people are going to want something to hold in their hands."
The two-CD set offers previously released versions of Jackson hits coinciding with the order they are presented on the DVD. Besides "This Is It," the other new material is a spoken-word poem and demo versions of "She's Out of My Life," "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and "Beat It."
Jackson, one of the most commercially successful artists of all time, is expected to sell millions of albums in the coming years. His death already brought some of his classic records back to the top of the charts.
His death at age 50 is still being investigated.
The Los Angeles County coroner has ruled Jackson's death was caused by acute intoxication by the anesthetic propofol, with other sedatives a contributing factor. The coroner found the powerful anesthetic was administered without any medical need and that recommended resuscitation equipment was missing.
___
Associated Press Writers David Bauder, Gregory Katz and Mesfin Fekadu contributed to this report.
___
On the Net:
http://www.michaeljackson.com
http://www.thisisit-movie.com ___
On the Net:
http://www.michaeljackson.com
http://www.thisisit-movie.com
Source: AP
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 01:56 AM
Quote
Anka said Jackson's estate moved quickly to give him credit, promising Anka 50 percent of the song's profits.
"They did the right thing," Anka said. "I don't think that anybody tried to do the wrong thing. It was an honest mistake."
"They did the right thing," Anka said. "I don't think that anybody tried to do the wrong thing. It was an honest mistake."
.gif)
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 05:02 AM
magic, on 13 October 2009 - 12:16 AM, said:
First, I knew it's 80s and I thought it's around Carousel time I know Michael's voice
Second, how he can stole the song if he also wrote it? That's a stealing?!
Third... maybe Michael just kept the song just like that without any plans to release or use it. But then after Michael is gone Sony came in, finding some random song in some "box" and deciding release it just like that. In the second article Paul Anka says he may sue if nothing will be changed.
and I thought it's around Carousel time I know Michael's voice Second, how he can stole the song if he also wrote it? That's a stealing?!
Third... maybe Michael just kept the song just like that without any plans to release or use it. But then after Michael is gone Sony came in, finding some random song in some "box" and deciding release it just like that. In the second article Paul Anka says he may sue if nothing will be changed.
ok im don't understand/know much about copyright/stealing other persons ideaswho is paul anka? and why would he think that moichael steal/browo this is it song
so this does not make sences did paul anka write a different song called this is it?
and who write this version of this is it that michael has redone/record in 1991
paul has no case if she did not write this version and wants some kind of crite for writing a song
i sure do lurn something new each day
Edited by witchanna, 13 October 2009 - 05:07 AM.
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 11:00 AM
witchanna, on 13 October 2009 - 05:02 AM, said:
ok im don't understand/know much about copyright/stealing other persons ideaswho is paul anka? and why would he think that moichael steal/browo this is it song
so this does not make sences did paul anka write a different song called this is it?
and who write this version of this is it that michael has redone/record in 1991
paul has no case if she did not write this version and wants some kind of crite for writing a song
i sure do lurn something new each daywho is paul anka ? then who is michael jackson ? you must joking, right ?
the song THIS IS IT (I NEVER HEARD) are written by MICHAEL JACKSON and PAUL ANKA...
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 05:21 PM
Dimitris, on 13 October 2009 - 11:00 AM, said:
who is paul anka ? then who is michael jackson ? you must joking, right ?
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 06:16 PM
magic, on 13 October 2009 - 05:21 PM, said:
Actually I also didn't know who is he
I think he is a songwriter from Canada. Its interesting to hear how they found this song and that now we are hearing it. I think this will be one of many more unreleased songs that will come from Michael. He wrote hundreds of songs for each album and Sony are probably going through those recordings right now. Maybe we might even get an album of unreleased songs soon
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Posted 13 October 2009 - 06:24 PM
Dimitris, on 13 October 2009 - 11:00 AM, said:
who is paul anka ? then who is michael jackson ? you must joking, right ?
I also had no idea who Paul Anka is
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 12:58 PM
Phantom, on 13 October 2009 - 06:24 PM, said:
I also had no idea who Paul Anka is
ok probably you girls are too young...!!!
Paul Anka,
famous song by Paul Anka:
You Are My Destiny
Put Your Head on My Shoulder
Diana
more info
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Anka
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 01:03 PM
sorry for post again and out of topic
Paul Anka covers Michael Jackson
The Way You Make Me Feel
back to topic
i like very much the THIS IS IT song
written by Michael Jackson and Paul Anka
also i love the song written again
by Michael Jackson and Paul Anka
Love never felt so good
Paul Anka covers Michael Jackson
The Way You Make Me Feel
back to topic
i like very much the THIS IS IT song
written by Michael Jackson and Paul Anka
also i love the song written again
by Michael Jackson and Paul Anka
Love never felt so good
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 02:17 PM
I love Love Never Felt So Good 
I knew the song before as well.
I doubt I would know him also if I would be older. In my case it was Soviet Union cause we never knew foreign singers except maybe so famous like Madonna, Elvis, The Beatles and Michael. But even they were forbidden in Soviet Union. Ppl got their records through black market. It was considered to be brave if TV would play of their music.
I knew the song before as well.I doubt I would know him also if I would be older. In my case it was Soviet Union cause we never knew foreign singers except maybe so famous like Madonna, Elvis, The Beatles and Michael. But even they were forbidden in Soviet Union. Ppl got their records through black market. It was considered to be brave if TV would play of their music.
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 03:31 PM
thank you, Dimitris
yes, I've heard before "You Are My Destiny" and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" from some vynils my mum had when she was a girl, but I didn't remember the name of the singer
I also love "This Is It" and "Love Never Felt So Good"
yes, I've heard before "You Are My Destiny" and "Put Your Head on My Shoulder" from some vynils my mum had when she was a girl, but I didn't remember the name of the singer
I also love "This Is It" and "Love Never Felt So Good"
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 08:40 PM
[quote name='Dimitris' date='14 October 2009 - 01:58 PM' timestamp='1255525137' post='29642'
Diana
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=fuTbB-d12A0
[/quote]
I have heard this song before
Diana
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=fuTbB-d12A0
[/quote]
I have heard this song before
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Posted 14 October 2009 - 08:43 PM
Dimitris, on 14 October 2009 - 12:58 PM, said:
Diana
I have heard this song before
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Posted 15 October 2009 - 02:28 AM
in australia we don't get any famous overseas song writers/singers?as for me i going do more research on who paul anka is?
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