E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is an audiobook and soundtrack companion album by American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson, released through MCA Records on November 15, 1982. It was made for the 1982 film of the same name. The album was composed by John Williams and produced by Quincy Jones.
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial reached #37 on the Billboard 200 and #82 on the UK Albums Chart. It was well-receive and won Jackson a Grammy Award for Best Recording for Children.
Background[]
Two months before recording for the soundtrack album started, Jackson and Jones started working on the former's sixth studio album, Thriller.
According to Quincy Jones Productions executive vice president/general manager Ed Eckstine in the Thriller 40 documentary at approximately 46 minutes and 25 seconds in, Jones became friends with Steven Spielberg, who was working on the science film, E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. While Spielberg was working on said film, Jones and Jackson were invited on the set.
During the visit, Spielberg suggested to Jones a record they'd do together. Jones then pitched the idea of doing a storybook album for the science fiction film to Jackson, where the latter would narrate the story and write and sing a song for the album. Jackson was on board with the idea, and accepted it.
Production[]
Epic Records allowed Jackson to record the story-book album for MCA, under two conditions:
- MCA Records couldn't release E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial until after Christmas 1982, to avoid competing with Jackson's Thriller album.
- "Someone in the Dark" couldn't be released as a single.[1]
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial started production in June 1982, with Jackson and Jones switching work between the audiobook and Thriller. The latter also was the narrative writer for the audiobook.[2][3]
Several contributors to the storybook album also had worked with Jackson in the past. Rod Temperton, who wrote several songs for Jackson's previous two albums, wrote "Someone in the Dark". Freddy DeMann and Ron Weisner, former managers of The Jacksons, served as the production coordinators. Engineer Bruce Swedien was also involved in production. Dick Zimmerman photographed Jackson for the accompanying poster to the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial album.[4]
When recording and engineering had been completed, MCA Records pressed more than a million copies of the audiobook. As said by a journalist for Billboard, it was one of the "most ambitious" projects MCA had taken on to date.[5]
Controversies[]
Breach of conditions[]
Despite Epic making it clear that they would take action if the two conditions were breached, MCA breached them anyway, releasing E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in November 1982 and giving radio stations 7-inch promo copies of "Someone in the Dark".[1][4] No one at MCA called Walter Yetnikoff, the then-President of Epic, to clear the rights over due to the album being released on Universal/MCA. This forced Yetnikoff to relay a message to John Branca, which said "stop kissing the monster", referencing the poster of E.T. hugging Jackson. Yetnikoff also told Branca to relay this message to Jackson.
Meanwhile, Epic responded to MCA's breach by suing them for $2 million, forcing MCA to withdraw E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial and stop releasing "Someone in the Dark" as a single. The plaintiffs also requested that MCA should be banned from working with Jackson in the future and that any other media owned by MCA featuring Jackson should be prohibited from release.[5]
As a result of the prohibition of the single release of "Someone in the Dark", promo copies of the track have become one of the rarest and most sought-after records by Jackson; some have sold for over $1,600.[6] By the time the court order was issued against MCA, more than 450,000 copies were already sold in the United States.[7] According to Branca in the Thriller 40 documentary, Jackson was upset at Yetnikoff, who in turn asked Jackson what he should do to make the situation better.
Singles[]
1982
Track list[]
| Standard edition | ||
|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Length |
| 1. | "Someone in the Dark" (Opening Version) | 4:54 |
| 2. | "Landing" | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Alone" | 3:50 |
| 4. | "Discovery" | 2:13 |
| 5. | "School" | 2:26 |
| 6. | "Home" | 2:17 |
| 7. | "Intrusion" | 3:39 |
| 8. | "E.T. Phone Home" | 3:01 |
| 9. | "Chase" | 3:18 |
| 10. | "Good-Bye" | 4:45 |
| 11. | "Someone in the Dark" (Closing Version) | 2:54 |
| Total length: | 39:31 | |
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Then came 'Thriller'! - Toledo Blade, March 7, 1984
- ↑ Michael Jackson: King of Pop
- ↑ Michael Jackson: The Magic, the Madness, the Whole Story
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Michael Jackson: The King of Pop (1993)
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Billboard (November 27, 1982) - Google Books
- ↑ Michael Jackson: For the Record
- ↑ Court Orders MCA To Stop E.T. Push - Cashbox, December 11, 1982