Bad

This article is about the album. You may have been looking for the song.

BadStudio album by Michael Jackson
Alternate covers
General information
Released	August 31, 1987
Recorded	January 1985–July 1987
Studio	Hayvenhurst (Encino, California) Westlake Recording Studios (Los Angeles, California)
Genre	Dance-pop • R&B
Length	43:59 (1987 LP version) 48:40 (1987 CD version) 48:10 (Later pressings)
Label	Epic Records
Producer(s)	Quincy Jones • Michael Jackson
Albums chronology
Previous	Farewell My Summer Love
Current	Bad
Next	Decade
Singles
1. "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" Released: July 20, 1987 2. "Bad" Released: September 7, 1987 3. "The Way You Make Me Feel" Released: November 9, 1987 4. "Man in the Mirror" Released: February 22, 1988 5. "Dirty Diana" Released: April 18, 1988 6. "Another Part of Me" Released: July 11, 1988 7. "Smooth Criminal" Released: November 14, 1988 8. "Leave Me Alone" Released: February 13, 1989 9. "Liberian Girl" Released: July 3, 1989
Promotional singles
1. "Speed Demon" Released: September 4, 1989

Bad is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released through Epic Records on August 31, 1987. The album serves as Jackson's third and final one to be produced with Quincy Jones.

Bad is one of the most iconic and best-selling albums ever, having sold 35 million copies worldwide. It was also nominated for six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year in 1988, though it only won Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical (for the works of Bruce Swedien and Humberto Gatica).

Background

In 1982, Jackson released his sixth studio album, Thriller. It quickly became a sucess, becoming the best-selling album by the end of 1983, with 32 million copies sold.

In the latter half of 1984, Jackson toured with his brothers for the Victory Tour. However, during the tour's finale at Dodger Stadium, Jackson announced that this would be the last time they'd perform together, much to his brothers' surprise. Following the tour, Jackson left the group, making him a true solo artist. He began thinking of the follow-up to Thriller, but was was nervous about it, questioning how he could follow up an album with the already-iconic album. Jackson decided he wanted to create an album that beat all records set by its predecessor in mind, aiming for this next record to sell 100 million copies, which, although it didn't, did match its predecessor's popularity among the general public.

The album's title symbolizes Jackson's transition into the edgier persona he would adopt for the rest of his future releases.

Production

Jackson created the first demos in November 1983 during the Victory sessions at Hayvenhurst, which included "Liberian Girl" and "Dirty Diana". He hoped that these tracks would end up on said album with The Jacksons, but unfortunately for him, they didn't.

Jackson in the studio during the Bad sessions

Between 1985-1986, he wrote and recorded some initial ideas at Hayvenhurst, such as "Al Capone" or "Hot Fever" (which evolved into "Smooth Criminal" and "The Way You Make Me Feel" respectively). In July 1985, Jackson paused the album's development to focus on his science fiction short film, Captain EO. This featured an early mix of "Another Part of Me", a song that would later create a divide between Jackson and Jones, as the latter wanted the aforementioned track on the album, while the former insisted on releasing "Streetwalker" in its place instead. Having finished filming, Jackson returned to the studio in August. He continued creating tons of new songs with what was known as the "B-team", consisting of such as Bill Bottrell, John Barnes, and Matt Forger. Works with the "A-team" (led by Jones and Bruce Swedien) officially began in August 1986 at Westlake Recording Studios, overlapping with the "B-team" sessions at Hayvenhurst. There, the "A-team" polished and finished up the tracks.

Jackson in the studio during the Bad album sessions

Works on the album continued until July 1987, with a few breaks between the sessions. Before the record was completed, Jackson decided there were so many potential songs to be released, that he at one point wanted Bad to be a 3-disc album, although Jones suggested keeping it 1-disc, as it'd become too expensive otherwise.

Artwork

Main article: 1987 Greg Gorman Photoshoot

The first album cover was shot by Greg Gorman. The main inspiration behind it was a portrait of actress Gloria Swanson, originally taken in 1924. However, this cover was scrapped after Sony stated it didn't present Jackson in a "positive light" enough.

Main article: 1987 Sam Emerson Bad Photoshoot

The final artwork was shot by Sam Emerson and features Jackson in a black leather jacket, representing his transition into the edgier musical sound. The cover was also edited, making Jackson's skin look smoother and somewhat paler. Further edits were made for the remastered cover released in the 2010s, smoothing out the text and overall turning up the saturation.

Bad photoshoot (shot by Gorman)

Unedited Bad pose

Promotion

Tour

Michael Jackson (Bad World Tour, 1988)

Main article: Bad World Tour

To help Bad become more sucessful, Jackson's first solo world tour was announced in June 1987 and eventually began in the following months. It was sponsored by Pepsi, started in Tokyo on September 12, 1987, and finished in Los Angeles on January 27, 1989. At the time, the Bad World Tour held the status of the highest-grossing concert tour in history, having grossed $125 million. Initially, these were meant to be Jackson's final live shows due to his exhaustion from touring, although it was eventually followed by the Dangerous World Tour to raise funds for charity.

The songs from Bad featured on the set list include "I Just Can't Stop Loving You", "Bad", "Another Part of Me", "Smooth Criminal", "Dirty Diana", and "Man in the Mirror". Additionally, songs like "Workin' Day and Night" and "Thriller" made their live debuts. The rest of the setlist featured tracks Michael made with his brothers and other previously performed solo songs.

Re-releases

Bad: Special Edition

On October 16, 2001, a "special edition" of the album was released. This included outtakes "Streetwalker", "Fly Away", and the Spanish version of "I Just Can't Stop Loving You". As a bonus between the tracks, interviews with Quincy and Rod Temperton were included.

However, originally this re-release was also going to include "Bumper Snippet" and a shorter version of the early demo for "Someone Put Your Hand Out", as well as a shorter version of "Fly Away".

Bad (LP + Bonus Cuts) track list

Bad 25

Main article: Bad 25 (album)

On September 18, 2012, Bad 25 was released. This included a vast amount of unreleased music in comparison to the predecessor. It most notably featured songs "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" (which Jackson would continue working on for the rest of his life), "I'm So Blue", "Al Capone", and "Price of Fame".

Singles

"I Just Can't Stop Loving You"
July 20, 1987

"Bad"
September 7, 1987

"The Way You Make Me Feel"
November 9, 1987

"Man in the Mirror"
February 22, 1988

"Dirty Diana"
April 18, 1988

"Another Part of Me"
July 11, 1988

"Smooth Criminal"
November 14, 1988

"Leave Me Alone"
February 13, 1989

"Liberian Girl"
July 3, 1989

Promotional singles

"Speed Demon"
September 4, 1989

Track list

LP
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Bad"	4:07
2.	"The Way You Make Me Feel"	4:58
3.	"Speed Demon"	4:02
4.	"Liberian Girl"	3:52
5.	"Just Good Friends" (featuring Stevie Wonder)	4:06
6.	"Another Part of Me"	3:54
7.	"Man in the Mirror"	5:18
8.	"I Just Can't Stop Loving You" (featuring Siedah Garrett)	4:11
9.	"Dirty Diana"	4:40
10.	"Smooth Criminal"	4:17
Total length:		43:59

CD
No.	Title	Length
11.	"Leave Me Alone"	4:40
Total length:		48:10

Special Edition
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Voice-over Intro Quincy Jones Interview # 1/Quincy Jones Interview #1"	4:03
13.	"Streetwalker"	5:49
14.	"Voice-over Intro Quincy Jones Interview # 2/Quincy Jones Interview #2"	2:53
15.	"Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu"	4:10
16.	"Quincy Jones Interview #3"	2:30
17.	"Voice-over intro "Fly Away""	0:08
18.	"Fly Away"	3:26
Total length:		1:10:19

Bad 25
No.	Title	Length
12.	"Don't Be Messin' 'Round"	4:19
13.	"I'm So Blue"	4:07
14.	"Song Groove (a.k.a. Abortion Papers)"	4:26
15.	"Free"	4:25
16.	"Price of Fame"	4:33
17.	"Al Capone"	3:34
18.	"Streetwalker"	5:53
19.	"Fly Away"	3:27
20.	"Todo Mi Amor Eres Tu"	4:10
21.	"Je Ne Veux Pas La Fin De Nous"	4:07
22.	"Bad" (featuring Pitbull)	4:24
23.	"Speed Demon (Remix by Nero)"	4:08
24.	"Bad (Remix by AfroJack - Club Mix)"	7:31
Total length:		1:47:33

Notes

• The only track that wasn't released as a single is "Just Good Friends".
• "Bad", "The Way You Make Me Feel", "Just Good Friends", and "Smooth Criminal" had to be sped up for the final release, due to the limitations of a 12" LP record at the time.
• Elements of some of the songs were also removed in pressings released after 1987. The most notable difference is the removal of trumpets from "Bad".
• "Leave Me Alone" wasn't included in the original LP pressings of Bad, but rather served as a CD-exclusive bonus track.

Cut songs

"A Way with Words" "Abortion Papers" "Al Capone" "Apocalypse Now" "Bad Girl" "Bill's African Groove" "Buffalo Bill" "Bumper Snippet" "Changes" "Cheater" "Chicago 1945" "Come Together" "Crack Kills" "Do You Know Where Your Children Are" "Don't Be Messin' 'Round" "Fly Away" "Free" "Groove of Midnight" "I'm So Blue"

"Loving You" "Make or Break" "New Song" "Price of Fame" "Scared of the Moon" "Scream-o-Blaster" "Someone Put Your Hand Out" "Song for Epic" "Streetwalker" "Sunset Driver" "Tabloid Jungle" (unconfirmed) "The Choir Song" "They Don't Care About Us" "Throwin' Your Life Away" "Tomboy" "Trash Can Song" "Turnin' Me Off" "What You Do to Me" "Unknown Brian Malouf Song"

Personnel

• Lead and backing vocals: Michael Jackson
• Background vocals: Siedah Garrett (tracks 7–8), The Winans (7), The Andraé Crouch Choir (7)
• Bass guitar: Nathan East (track 8)
• Hammond organ: Jimmy Smith (track 1)
• Drums: John Robinson (tracks 1–4, 9–10), Miko Brando (3), Ollie E. Brown (3, 5), Leon "Ndugu" Chancler (8), Bill Bottrell (10), Bruce Swedien (5, 10), Humberto Gatica (5)
• Programming: Douglas Getschal (tracks 1–4, 9), Cornelius Mims (5), Larry Williams (2, 11), Eric Persing (3), Steve Porcaro (4, 8), Casey Young (11)
• Guitar: David Williams (tracks 1–3, 5, 6, 9–10), Bill Bottrell (3), Eric Gale (2), Danny Hull, Steve Stevens (solo, 9), Dann Huff (7–8), Paul Jackson Jr. (6, 9, 11)
• Trumpet: Gary Grant, Jerry Hey (tracks 1–3, 5–6, 10)
• Engineering: Ken Caillat and Tom Jones
• Percussion: Paulinho da Costa (tracks 1–5, 8), Ollie E. Brown (2, 7)
• Keyboards: Stefan Stefanovic, Greg Phillinganes (track 7)
• Saxophone: Kim Hutchcroft (tracks 1–3, 5–6, 10), Larry Williams (1–2, 5–6, 10)
• Synclavier (tracks 1–6, 8–10), digital guitar (1), finger snaps (2), sound effects (3): Christopher Currell
• Synthesizer: John Barnes (tracks 1–4, 6, 9–10), Michael Boddicker (1–5, 9–10), Greg Phillinganes (1–3, 5, 8, 11, solo–1), Rhett Lawrence (5–6), David Paich (4, 8), Larry Williams (4–5, 11), Glen Ballard (7), Randy Kerber (7), Randy Waldman (9)
• Piano: John Barnes (track 8), Kevin Maloney (10)
• Rhythm arrangements: Michael Jackson (tracks 1–4, 6, 9–11), Quincy Jones (1, 3–5, 7–8), Christopher Currell (1), John Barnes (4, 6, 9–10), Graham Lyle (5), Terry Britten (5), Glen Ballard (7), Jerry Hey (9)
• Horn arrangements: Jerry Hey (tracks 1–3, 5–6, 10)
• Midi saxophone: Larry Williams (track 3)

Trivia

• On October 19, 1985, Jackson claimed at Perth TV Telethon that a follow-up to Thriller would be released during the Summer of 1986.
• "Just Good Friends" was cited by Jones as "a mistake".
• Bad's performance at the 1988 Grammy Awards ceremony has been the subject of much criticism and misconceptions. Despite being commercially successful, the album saw only six nominations, half of Thriller (twelve). However, a common misconception amongst fans is that the album didn't win any awards, when in fact it did win a Grammy for Best Engineered Recording, Non-Classical. It'd also win a 1989 Grammy for "Man in the Mirror" (Record of the Year).