Forever, Michael

Forever, Michael is the fourth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown Records on January 16, 1975. The album is credited as having songs with funk and soul material. Edward Holland, Jr., Brian Holland, Hal Davis, Freddie Perren, and Sam Brown III served as producers to Forever, Michael. It is the final album before Jackson's solo breakthrough with his next album, Off the Wall (1979).

Forever, Michael
Studio album by
Michael Jackson
ReleasedJanuary 16, 1975
RecordedOctober–December 1974
Genre
Length33:36
LabelMotown
Producer
Michael Jackson chronology
Music & Me
(1973)		 Forever, Michael
(1975)		 The Best of Michael Jackson
(1975)
Singles from Forever, Michael
  1. "We're Almost There"
    Released: February 1975
  2. "Just a Little Bit of You"
    Released: April 1975
  3. "One Day in Your Life"
    Released: March 25, 1981
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[3]
Entertainment WeeklyB−[1]
Tom HullB+ ()[4]
The Village VoiceA–[5]

Except for the peak position of number 101 on the Billboard 200 and number 10 on the Billboard Top R&B Albums, Forever, Michael failed to chart in other countries. Unlike Jackson's previous studio albums, the album was not commercially successful worldwide. However, Forever, Michael was generally well received by contemporary music critics. As part of promotion for the album, three singles were released from Forever, Michael, all of which were moderate commercial successes on the Billboard Hot 100 and other music charts worldwide.

In 1981, Motown released "One Day in Your Life" as a single, coupled with the compilation album of the same name. The single went to number one in the UK, becoming the 6th best-selling single of 1981 in the country. Songs from the album were reissued in 2009 after Jackson's death in June of the same year as part of the 3-disc compilation album entitled, Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.

Album information

The album was Jackson's fourth as a solo artist and would end up being his final album released with Motown before he and his brothers, the Jackson 5 (save for Jermaine, who would remain with Motown until 1983) left for CBS Records after the release of their tenth album, Moving Violation. This album displayed a change in musical style for the 16-year-old, who adopted a smoother soul sound that he would continue to develop on his later solo albums for Epic Records, the label he would record on for the rest of his life. The album is also credited as having songs with funk elements.[1][2][6]

Most of the tracks were recorded in 1974, and the album was originally set to be released that year. But because of demand from the Jackson 5's huge hit "Dancing Machine", production on Jackson's album was delayed until the hype from that song died down.

The album helped return Jackson to the top 40, aided by the singles "We're Almost There" and "Just a Little Bit of You", both written by the Holland Brothers (Eddie and Brian) of Holland–Dozier–Holland.

In 1981, Motown released "One Day in Your Life" as a single, coupled with the compilation album of the same name, to capitalize off the success of Jackson's Off the Wall on Epic. The single went to number one in the UK, becoming the 6th best-selling single of 1981 in that country.[7]

This is the only Jackson studio album that doesn't share a name with one of the songs on the album (not counting the posthumous 2010 album Michael.)

Although his voice was already showing signs of changing on his previous album Music & Me two years earlier, this was also the first album to feature Jackson as a tenor rather than a boy soprano.

The compact disc version of the album removes the white border around the photograph of Jackson from the album cover, and instead makes the image larger so that the background cannot be seen. Furthermore, the "Forever, Michael" text is changed to more simple text which lists both "Michael Jackson" and "Forever, Michael" in a different font.

Track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."We're Almost There"
  • Edward Holland, Jr.
  • Brian Holland
3:41
2."Take Me Back"
  • E. Holland
  • B. Holland
3:29
3."One Day in Your Life"
4:15
4."Cinderella Stay Awhile"
  • Mack David
  • Michael Burnett Sutton
3:11
5."We've Got Forever"
  • David
  • Elliot Willensky
3:12
6."Just a Little Bit of You"
  • E. Holland
  • B. Holland
3:14
7."You Are There"
  • Brown
  • Randy Meitzenheimer
  • Christine Yarian
3:23
8."Dapper-Dan"
3:08
9."Dear Michael"
  • Davis
  • Willensky
2:37
10."I'll Come Home to You"
3:05

Personnel

Adapted from AllMusic.[8]

Charts
Charts (1975) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[9] 101
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[10] 10

References
  1. Greenblatt, Leah (2009-07-03). "Michael Jackson's Albums". Entertainment Weekly. Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  2. Bernadette McNulty (26 June 2009). "Michael Jackson's music: the solo albums". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2019. Key sound: Philly funk [...] Brian Holland and Eddie Holland, who along with Dozier and Lamont were former hit makers for Motown, create a sparser, more adult soul feel for a deeper voiced Jackson
  3. Ruhlmann, William. "Michael Jackson - Forever, Michael". Rovi Corporation. Allmusic. Retrieved 2010-04-06.
  4. Hull, Tom (November 2013). "Recycled Goods (#114)". A Consumer Guide to the Trailing Edge. Tom Hull. Retrieved June 20, 2020.
  5. Christgau, Robert (March 17, 1975). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved April 28, 2013.
  6. https://www.popmatters.com/107878-michael-jackson-forever-2496052523.html
  7. https://www.billboard.com/music/michael-jackson/chart-history/billboard-200/3
  8. "allmusic ((( Forever, Michael > Credits )))". Allmusic. Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 2010-04-08.
  9. "Michael Jackson Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
  10. "Michael Jackson Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 27, 2017.
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