Music & Me
Studio album by
Michael Jackson
ReleasedApril 13, 1973
RecordedMarch 1972 – January 1973
Genre
Length32:09
LabelMotown
ProducerHal Davis
Michael Jackson chronology
Ben
(1972)		 Music & Me
(1973)		 Forever, Michael
(1975)
Singles from Music & Me
  1. "With a Child's Heart"
    Released: May 5, 1973
  2. "Happy"
    Released: July 10, 1973
  3. "Music and Me"
    Released: October 1973
Alternative cover
A photo of Jackson smiling
Music & Me compilation cover

Music & Me is the third studio album by American singer Michael Jackson. It was released on April 13, 1973 on the Motown label.[2] It was arranged by Dave Blumberg, Freddie Perren, Gene Page and James Anthony Carmichael and remains Jackson's lowest selling album. In 2009, the album was reissued as part of the three-disc compilation Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.[3]

Background

The album was released during a difficult period for Jackson, who was 14 years old at the time, as he had been experiencing vocal changes and facing a changing music landscape. Having been influenced by fellow Motown label mates Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, Jackson wanted to include his own compositions on the album, but Motown refused to allow this. Jackson would later express his frustrations about this to his father, Joe Jackson, who would later work to terminate Michael's and his brothers' contract with Motown, and negotiate lucrative contracts for them with Epic Records.[4][5]

Promotion

Since Jackson was on a world tour with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, promotion on this album was limited. The Stevie Wonder cover, "With a Child's Heart", was released as a single in the United States, where it reached number 14 on Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs chart and number 50 on the Billboard Hot 100. Two additional songs, "Music and Me" and "Morning Glow," were released as singles in the United Kingdom, but failed to chart. Another track, "Too Young", was released as a single in Italy, while the track "Happy" was issued as a single in Australia and "Doggin' Around" received a limited-release single in the Netherlands.[6] Ten years after this album's release, "Happy" was released as a single in the United Kingdom to promote Motown's 18 Greatest Hits compilation album.[7] For the compact disc issues of the album, the text on the album was changed and the shade of green was darker.

Compilation album

Music & Me is sometimes confused with a Michael Jackson compilation album of the same name that Motown Records released on CD in the 1990s. It was originally released in 1982 as Motown Legends: Michael Jackson on vinyl and received a US release in 1985 (also on vinyl). The compilation contained all tracks from the 1973 album (with the exception of "Doggin' Around"), with several more from Jackson's other albums. The CD was not released in the US, but it is available as an import.[8]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[9]
Entertainment WeeklyB[10]
Village Voice(B–)[11]

The album received favourable reviews from music critics. Ron Wiynn of AllMusic wrote that the album's songs "were undistinguished" and that "Jackson sounded tentative and uninterested vocally". He also wrote that "the production and arrangements were routine at best, sometimes inferior."[9] In his review of the album for The Village Voice, Robert Christgau wrote that "Michael isn't the black Donny Osmond" since he has "a sense of natural rhythm, but he's a singer, not a marionette" but he ended saying that "if [Jackson is] a real interpreter" he doesn't "understand where the interpretations are coming from."[11] Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B rating and noted: "On the cusp of a deepening, more adult voice, Jackson begins transitioning into grown-up material, including the contemplative title song, a grab bag of subdued show tunes, and a devastatingly fragile cover of Stevie Wonder's "With a Child's Heart"."[10]

Track listing

Side A
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."With a Child's Heart"
3:34
2."Up Again"
2:47
3."All the Things You Are"
2:55
4."Happy" (Love theme from Lady Sings the Blues)
3:19
5."Too Young"
3:37
Side B
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
6."Doggin' Around"Lena Agree2:52
7."Euphoria"
2:48
8."Morning Glow"Stephen Schwartz3:36
9."Johnny Raven"Billy Page3:31
10."Music and Me"
  • Jerry Marcellino
  • Mel Larson
  • Don Fenceton
  • Mike Cannon
2:35

Notes

  • The order of tracks 7-9 was changed in later releases.
Music & Me compilation track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rockin' Robin"Jimmie Thomas2:30
2."Johnny Raven"Billy Page3:31
3."Shoo-Be-Doo-Be-Doo-Da-Day"
3:19
4."Happy" (Love theme from Lady Sings the Blues)
  • Legrand
  • Robinson
3:19
5."Too Young"
  • Lippman
  • Dee
3:37
6."Up Again"
  • Perren
  • Yarian
2:47
7."With a Child's Heart"
  • Moy
  • Cosby
  • Basemore
3:34
8."Ain't No Sunshine"
4:09
9."Euphoria"
  • Ware
  • Hilliard
2:48
10."Morning Glow"Schwartz3:36
11."Music and Me"
  • Marcellino
  • Larson
  • Fenceton
  • Cannon
2:35
12."ll the Things You Are, Are Mine"
  • Hammerstein
  • Kern
2:55
13."Cinderella Stay Awhile"
3:11
14."We've Got Forever"
  • David
  • Elliot Willensky
3:12

Charts

Weekly chart performance for Music & Me
Chart (1973–2009) Peak
position
French Albums (SNEP)[12] 108
US Billboard 200[13] 92
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[14] 24

Sales and certifications

Certifications for Music & Me
Region CertificationCertified units/sales
United States — 80,000[15]

References

  1. ↑ Chery, Carl: XXL: Michael Jackson Special Collecters Edition, page 100. American Press.
  2. ↑ "Music & Me". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 5, 2012. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  3. ↑ "Hello World - the Motown Solo Collection". Rolling Stone. August 5, 2009.
  4. ↑ "Michael Jackson: A life of music".
  5. ↑ François Allard; Richard Lecocq (October 4, 2018). Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Octopus. pp. 105–. ISBN 978-1-78840-123-4.
  6. ↑ "Michael Jackson's "Music & Me"". Los Angeles Times. April 28, 1973.
  7. ↑ Halstead, Craig; Chris Cadman (2003). Michael Jackson: The Solo Years. Authors OnLine. ISBN 0-7552-0091-8.
  8. ↑ François Allard; Richard Lecocq (October 4, 2018). Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. Octopus. pp. 106–. ISBN 978-1-78840-123-4.
  9. 1 2 "Music & Me". AllMusic. Retrieved April 27, 2009.
  10. 1 2 Greenblatt, Leah (July 3, 2009). "Michael Jackson's Albums". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 11, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
  11. 1 2 Christgau, Robert (October 1973). "Michael Jackson: Music and Me". robertchristgau.com. The Village Voice.
  12. ↑ "Lescharts.com – Michael Jackson – Music & Me". Hung Medien. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  13. ↑ "Michael Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  14. ↑ "Michael Jackson Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  15. ↑ Michael Jackson the Solo Years. Authors On Line. 2003. ISBN 9780755200917.
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