Michael Jackson, Prince and Paul McCartney: The Rivalries Behind Music Legends

Amr Hussein- Egypt

Kings need no introduction and the highly controversial King of Pop, Michael Jackson, happens to be more famous than actual monarchs. Nevertheless, there were many incidents that even his diehard fans found disturbing. Now, instead of telling you stories you already know about the King of Pop, we’ll talk about few of the mishaps.

When I said earlier that Michael was exceptionally controversial, I wasn’t talking about the professional side of the artist; it was his personal life that raised a lot of eyebrows. Every now and then, he was involved in a shocking or unpleasant incident, but we can’t delve into all of them, or else this will be a very lengthy article. However, we can mention a couple, including the conflict he had with the legendary artist Paul McCartney of the Beatles.

Paul McCartney

How Michael Jackson Frustrated Paul McCartney:

In case you didn’t know, the Beatles are the most successful band ever and despite disbanding in 1970, they are still the best-selling act ever. FYI, a big chunk of the money artists make comes from music publishing rights, and in the Beatles’ case we are talking about hundreds of millions of dollars.

But what did Michael do to disappoint Paul? Being a good buddy, Paul told Michael that music publishing could make him a fortune because it would allow him to earn royalties every time the songs were played. When Michael replied that he would buy the Beatles’ songs, Paul thought it was a joke, but it wasn’t. In 1985 Michael actually bought the catalog, outbidding Paul who was trying to obtain the rights of his own material and this left him frustrated. Some might wonder how come the Beatles didn’t own songs they had written, but the answer is too complicated; a lot of business and legal deals were made, with numerous parties wanting to get a piece of the cake, and despite several attempts by Paul to buy these rights, he couldn’t.

“Thriller”: The Album That Broke Records:

Paul gave Michael that advice while they were working together on some duets and one of them was “The Girl Is Mine”, which was featured on Michael’s album “Thriller”. Released in 1982, this album broke all records and is still the world’s biggest-selling album ever. In 1984 it swept countless awards including a record-breaking eight Grammys – a Grammy is the equivalent of an Oscar but in the music industry. At that point Michael was incomparable to any other artist, until… yes, the release of “Purple Rain”.

Prince and “Purple Rain”: The Artist Who Challenged Michael Jackson’s Throne:

This brings us to another controversial series of events that took place at the time, involving the genius called Prince, who released an exceptional album, which was also the soundtrack to a movie he starred in, and both were titled “Purple Rain”. This album featured numerous hits and earned several awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song Score at the 1985 Oscars for the entire soundtrack. Although he is a music icon in many countries, Prince has never enjoyed much popularity in Egypt. This man was a lyricist, composer, music producer, singer and multi-instrumentalist who exceled at everything he did.

 Prince

The Night Prince Fell on Stage in Front of Michael Jackson:

The feud between Michael and Prince started earlier. In 1983 an unfortunate incident took place at a James Brown concert. James, the Godfather of Soul music, was idolized by many artists including Michael and Prince, who both were among the audience that evening. During the concert James invited Michael to join him on stage, and Michael gave an amazing performance as expected, before informing James that Prince too is present. Upon Michael’s request James asked Prince to go on stage, but this part of the evening went wrong when the latter leaned against a prop lamppost that fell down, sending him tumbling straight into the crowd. Rumor has it he felt so humiliated that he waited outside in his car wanting to run Michael over, but of course it was just a silly story.

Why Prince Refused to Sing “Bad” with Michael Jackson?

Four years later the rivalry escalated again when Michael asked Prince to duet on the title track of his album “Bad”. Prince declined because he wasn’t happy with the song’s opening line, which implied one of them is dominant over the other. Prince didn’t stop there – he recorded his own version of the song and sent it to Michael to show him how it should be done, which of course offended Michael.

Did Michael Jackson Borrow Elements from Prince’s Sound?

You know the beats Michael is famous for? Some say he ripped them off Prince! In the early 1980s a band called The Time emerged and it was the brainchild of Prince. They worked closely with him adopted the “Minneapolis sound”, which mixed various music genres together. After leaving The Time, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis became very successful music producers and worked with numerous artists – the list includes Michael’s sister Janet in the 1980s and the King of Pop himself in the following decade. The result sounded kind of similar to the works of Prince!

The Awkward Moment Between Prince and Michael Jackson in 2006:

Fast forward to 2006 – Michael attended a Prince concert and during the performance, Prince walked into the crowd and played a bass guitar solo very close to Michael, who later complained about it!

However, Prince got really depressed when Michael passed away and praised the King of Pop. He even played one of Michael’s songs during his concerts as a tribute.

Two Icons, Two Different Legacies:

Needless to say, each one of them had lots of talent, and this feud was mainly about artistic rivalry, and I believe it was also to give the media something to talk about.

Music is like food; while some love a specific dish, others might hate it. It is a matter of personal taste. Even though the majority of people adore Michael, Prince remains a legend in his own right.