Michael Jackson apologised to singer for 'stealing' in one of his most well known songs

Michael Jackson is one of the best-selling solo artists of all time.

But the ‘Billie Jean’ singer ended up apologising to another artist for ‘stealing’ for one of his most well-known songs.

MJ had a four-decade career and still holds the title of best-selling album of all time with Thriller despite his death in 2009.

Fans have recently been enjoying seeing more behind-the-scenes work from Jackson after the release of Netflix film The Greatest Night in Pop.

The documentary retells the night in 1985 when some of the biggest names in music got together to record charity single ‘We Are the World’.

Alongside Jackson at the legendary recording was the likes of Lionel Richie, Diana Ross, Bruce Springsteen and Billy Joel, as well as Daryl Hall from Hall & Oates.

By this time, MJ had already had huge success from the likes of ‘Beat It’, ‘Rock with You’ and of course, the Thriller album.

Two years prior, 'Billie Jean’ - which fans recently realised has a seriously dark meaning - hit number one across various countries and remains instantly recognisable from its very first opening bars.

But, according to Hall, Jackson hadn’t entirely come up with them himself.

Netflix

You know the exact sound I’m on about, that iconic drum beat and hi-hat before a bit of a shaker as the bassline repeats on a loop.

Jackson previously described how he came up with the song while in the car and became so focused he didn’t even realise the vehicle was on fire.

But he went on to admit that the unforgettable intro was 'stolen' from another track – one by Hall & Oates.

Speaking with Q1043, Hall was asked about these rumours that Jackson had taken something from one of his bops.

The singer said: “Yeah, that was true... That happened at the ‘We Are the World’ session.

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“You know, he came up and he said, 'Hey man, I hope you're okay with that... I stole 'No Can Do' for 'Billie Jean’.”

There’s no denying there are some similarities between Hall & Oates’ ‘I Can’t Go for That (No Can Do)’ and ‘Billie Jean’.

But Hall recalled: “And I said, 'It doesn't sound like 'No Can D'o to me, sure, no problem!' But he was really nice about it."

The Greatest Night in Pop shows never-before-seen footage from the night all these stars came together for a moment that went down in music history.

But it also includes rather well-known clips, like Jackson’s stony reactions to others' singing.

Topics: Celebrity, Michael Jackson, Music, Netflix

Jess Battison

Jess is an Entertainment Journalist with a love of all things pop culture. Her main interests include keeping up with the Twitter girlies, waiting for a new series of The Traitors and losing her voice at a Beyoncé concert. She graduated with a first in Journalism from City, University of London in 2021 and has previously worked at MyLondon.

@jessbattison_