Brad Buxer

Bradley Buxer is an American keyboardist and composer, best known for his collaborations with American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson.^[1] Additionally, Buxer served as the musical director for Jackson's tours throughout the 1990s. In total, the keyboardist worked on 40 songs with Jackson.^[2]

Relation to Jackson[]

Meeting[]

“	Musically speaking, we were on the same wavelength; we spoke the same language.	”
–Brad Buxer

Jackson and Buxer met through Bill Bottrell in 1989.^[2] The latter was originally hired as only a technician, but as it turned out, he was also an excellent keyboardist.

Work[]

1990s[]

At the start of the 1990s, Buxer would work on Dangerous. He'd work on the keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, and programming for "Jam", "Heal the World", "Black or White", "Who Is It", "Give In to Me", "Will You Be There", and "Dangerous".

Jackson and Buxer during the . — Jackson and Buxer during the HIStory World Tour.

From 1992 to 1993, Buxer would serve as both the keyboardist and the musical director during the Dangerous World Tour, and later again at the Super Bowl halftime show. Most notably, he was contracted by Jackson in 1993 to write the soundtrack for Sonic the Hedgehog 3, a then-upcoming video game by Sega. Additionally, one of the tracks would have Jackson's input in it. The recording was meant for the "Staff Roll" theme.

As Jackson dropped out of the project, the composition would go on to later evolve into "Stranger in Moscow". However, Buxer's cues would stay in the game. In the following year, as Jackson was gearing up for his newest release, HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I, Buxer was once again brought in to work on the keyboards, arrangements, orchestration, percussion, piano, programming, sound effects, soundscape, and synthesizers. Between 1996-1997, Brad would return as the keyboardist and the musical director during the HIStory World Tour.

Soon after, the musician helped work on keyboards, synthesizers, percussion, etc., on songs from Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix and Invincible.

2000s[]

Through the 2000s, Jackson and Buxer continued their work together in the studio. The keyboardist recalled 2004 as being "the best year for songwriting", creating such gems as "Beautiful Girl", "In the Back", "Gloucestershire", "Adore You", "A Place with No Name", and "The Way You Love Me".^[3]

“	The most beautiful stuff that we ever did, ever, was at the end. It just kept getting better and better.	”
–Buxer for The MJCast^[2]

According to Buxer, the final time he collaborated with Jackson took place in early 2008.^[2]

Post-Jackson's death[]

Following Jackson's unfortunate passing in 2009, among other artists, Buxer helped work on reworks of "Hollywood Tonight" and "Best of Joy", released on the Michael album. Through the years, he'd give interviews to magazines and Jackson's fans about his work and friendship with Jackson. However, Buxer left behind the job of being a producer and rather focused on becoming a plane pilot.

Sonic Fantasy[]

Buxer made an appearance in a 2022 documentary film directed by Marcos Cabota, Sonic Fantasy. The movie commemorates Bruce Swedien and his work.

Making HIStory with MJ[]

Making HIStory With MJ is a new series of events created by Brad Buxer and Michael Prince. It took place between June 25-June 26, 2022. It featured a seminar with Jackson's ex-personnel discussing their favorite memories with Jackson, a screening of Sonic Fantasy, and an interview with Steven Whitsitt, Jackson's photographer in the mid-1990s.^[4]

Gallery[]

Credits[]

Dangerous[]

HIStory[]

Blood on the Dance Floor[]

Invincible[]

The Ultimate Collection[]

Michael[]

"Best of Joy"
"Hollywood Tonight"

Xscape[]

Unreleased[]

Trivia[]

During the "I Just Can't Stop Loving You" performace at one of the Dangerous World Tour shows in Europe, the computer glitched, looping the final chorus over again. Buxer couldn't make it stop doing so, and Jackson began to clown on him, infamously singing "Brad, what you gonna do? Job's gone! [...]".^[5] Many fans to this day believe Jackson fired Buxer, although this is untrue, considering he worked with him for many years to come. Additionally, Jackson was never actually mad at Buxer or yelled at him.^[2]
In 1982, The Jetzons, a new wave band Buxer was a member of, would craft a song, "Hard Times". While it'd eventually stay unreleased for years, the recording became an inspiration for Buxer while working on the theme for "IceCap Zone", a level in Sonic the Hedgehog 3.
Buxer mentioned "The Lost Children" to be his least favorite song he ever worked on with Jackson.^[3]
"The Loser" was inspired by a breakup Buxer went through in 2003. The second Jackson heard him repeatedly say “I’m a loser! I’m just a loser!”, he suggested writing a song about it.^[6]
Buxer mentioned "Gloucestershire" to have been written "about his life at the time".^[2]
Before working with Jackson, Buxer was a session musician for Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson.

References[]

[1] Michael Jackson's Involvement In 'Sonic The Hedgehog 3' Confirmed

[:0-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 Episode 100: Brad Buxer Special

[:1-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Brad Buxer: at Neverland, on tour, and in the studio with Michael Jackson

[4] Ticketing « Making HIStory With MJ » Dierks Studios, Cologne

[5] ttps://www.tiktok.com/@inthestudiowithmj/video/7076991753517092142

[6] EXCLUSIVE: Origins of ‘The Loser’ by Michael Jackson

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