How Michael Jackson’s classic ‘Human Nature’ nearly never existed

4 November 2024, 13:37

'Human Nature': How a tape mixup led to Quincy Jones picking the song for Thriller. Picture: Getty / Michael Jackson

By Mayer Nissim

The forgotten technology of auto-reverse changed the course of pop history.

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As the world of music mourns the passing of Quincy Jones, fans are no doubt spinning some of his biggest accomplishments in his memory.

That means his early jazz work, his critically acclaimed soundtracks, 'We Are The World' and Lesley Gore's 'It's My Party', and of course his remarkable trilogy of albums co-produced with Michael Jackson: Off The Wall, Thriller and Bad.

Thriller is the biggest-selling album of all time, racking up reported sales of over 70 MILLION copies since its release in 1982.

It feels impossible to imagine that perfecly-crafted album other than how it is, but it turns out that one of its tracks (and one of its then-record SEVEN hit singles) was a relatively late addition to the album.

'Human Nature' was swapped in for 'Carousel' – and it was a quirky turn of events that led to the change.

Michael Jackson - Carousel (Official Audio)

Four of the nine songs on Thriller were written by Michael Jackson himself. Three were written by Heatwave's Rod Temperton. One was written by producer Quincy Jones with songwriter James Ingram.

'Human Nature' though came from an unlikely source: Toto keyboard player Steve Porcaro (and lyricist-for-hire John Bettis), who had spun the song out of the comforting words he gave his young daughter when a boy pushed her off a slide.

And we have the mainly-forgotten technology of "auto-reverse" to thank for the song making its way to Quincy Jones's ears and its eventual inclusion on Thriller.

Steve Porcaro of Toto hanging out with Rosanna Arquette in 1983. Picture: Getty Images

For those who are fully digital, auto-reverse was a neat bit of time-saving tech that meant that when one side of a tape finished, the mechanism inside the player would flip and play the second side without you having to manually take the tape out and turn it around.

"I was already in studio doing synth overdubs on different tracks on Thriller," Porcaro told Story Behind The Song.

"He'd been asking David Paich, who is the well-known songwriter in Toto, for songs... I was helping him record grooves and jams and something that Quincy might dig."

Michael Jackson - Human Nature (Audio)

He continued: "I had just kind of finished my demo of 'Human Nature' and I'd recorded it... I'd just thrown it down on cassette when David had called down to me and said, 'Hey, those two grooves we're doing last night. Put those on tape. Quincy's guy’s on his way over here to pick up some stuff'.

"So I turned it over, rewound it, put a new label on it and put 'David's Things' on the A side of the cassette. I had no intention of Quincy hearing 'Human Nature'.

"That was unfinished demo. The lyrics weren't done. It was a completely unfinished song. I would have never handed that in a million years to a Quincy Jones.

Steve Porcaro Story Behind Human Nature by Michael Jackson

"I believe what happened is he just let the tape run and auto-reverse kicked in. He was very excited about it."

Apparently, Quincy thought that 'Human Nature' was written by David Paich for quite some time till David set him straight.

With the song in its unfinished state, Porcaro rushed off some lyrics, but Quincy asked if he minded letting someone else have a go, and Steve was kind enough to admit that John Bettis's words "elevated" the track.