Recording "Say Say Say", "The Man"

About

In May 1981, Michael Jackson traveled to UK, to collaborate with Paul McCartney. They wrote and started recording “Say Say Say” and “The Man” which would appear on the 1983 album “Pipes Of Peace“.

Michael rang up, and said he wanted to work together. I said, ‘What do you mean?’ […] He said, ‘I wanna make some hits, you know?’ I said, ‘Sounds good.’ So he came over.

We sat around upstairs in my office in London, I grabbed a guitar and ‘Say, Say, Say’ came out of that. He helped with a lot of the words. It’s not a very wordy song, but it was fun working with him because he’s enthusiastic. But again it’s nothing like working with John. At that stage with Michael, you weren’t even talking about a writer, more just a vocalist and a dancer. But he said, ‘Let’s make a couple of hits’, and that’s exactly what we did.

Paul McCartney, from Conversations with McCartney, by Paul Du Noyer

I first heard from Michael when he phoned me over the Christmas holiday season in 1980 and my initial reaction
was ‘who is this and how did he get my private telephone number?’. Michael laughed and explained who it was and, as we talked and I asked him why he was ringing, he said ‚’Do you wanna make some hits?’ and that was the start of our adventure together. He came over to England with his close friend and minder, Billy and they visited our house in the country many times as Michael and I put together the ideas for our songs together. First of all, we came up with and
finished an idea for a song I had started which became Say Say Say. We recorded in Air Studios, London with George Martin producing and eventually went to California to make the video for the song. Funnily enough, I was staying at the ranch that Michael later bought and made into Neverland.

Paul McCartney, from paulmccartney.com, July 4, 2009

In October 2014, Bill Wolfer, the keyboard player on the song, was the first to share his recollection of the making of Say Say Say. He related how Michael Jackson called to ask him to make a finished demo using a cassette on which he and Paul McCartney had recorded their two voices plus a single guitar line. […]

From Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track, By François Allard, Richard Lecocq

Last updated on May 13, 2020

Songs recorded