Music and Me

Updated on Oct 24, 2023

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Released April 13, 1973 Artist Michael Jackson Producer Hal Davis		Length 32:09 Release date 13 April 1973 Label Motown/Universal Records

Recorded April 1972 – January 1973 Music & Me (1973) Forever, Michael (1975) Genres Pop music, Soul music, Rock music, Rhythm and blues Similar Michael Jackson albums, Soul music albums

Music & Me is the third studio album by American artist Michael Jackson, released in 1973 on the Motown label, selling two million copies worldwide. The album was reissued in 2009 as part of the 3-disc compilation Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.

Album information

The album was released during a difficult period for Jackson, who was 14 years old at the time, as he was experiencing vocal changes and facing a changing music landscape. Having been influenced by fellow Motown label mates Marvin Gaye and Stevie Wonder, Jackson wanted to include his own compositions on the album, but Motown refused to allow this.

Despite featuring a photo of Jackson strumming an acoustic guitar on the album cover, he does not actually play an instrument on the album. Jackson would later express his frustrations about this to his father, Joe Jackson, who would later work to terminate Michael's and his brothers' contract with Motown, and negotiate lucrative contracts for them with Epic Records.

Since Jackson was on a world tour with his brothers as a member of The Jackson 5, promotion on this album was limited. The Stevie Wonder cover, "With a Child's Heart", was released as a single in the United States, where it reached #14 on the Billboard R&B Singles chart and #50 on the Billboard Pop Singles chart. Two additional songs ("Music and Me" and "Morning Glow") were released as singles in the UK, but they failed to chart. Another track, "Too Young", was released as a single in Italy, while the track "Happy" was a single in Australia and "Doggin' Around" was a limited-release single in the Netherlands. Ten years after this album's release, "Happy" was released as a single in the UK to promote Motown's 18 Greatest Hits compilation album. For the compact disc issues of the album, the text on the album was changed and the shade of green was darker.

The album was arranged by Dave Blumberg, Freddie Perren, Gene Page and James Anthony Carmichael and is the singer's lowest selling.

Follow-up

After this release, it would take Motown two years to release another Jackson solo album, entitled Forever, Michael. A solo album recorded by Jackson soon after Music and Me was shelved following the surprising smash success of the "Dancing Machine" single from the Jackson 5; the album would later be overdubbed and released in 1984 as Farewell My Summer Love, cashing in on the success of the Thriller album. The original mix of the album would be released as part of the Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection in 2009.

Track listing

The track order of 7-9 were changed in later releases. "Johnny Raven" was moved to track 7, "Euphoria" was moved to track 8 and "Morning Glow" was moved to track 9.

Compilation album

Music & Me is sometimes confused with a Michael Jackson compilation album of the same name that Motown Records released in 1982 in the UK. The compilation contained all the songs from the 1973 album (with the exception of "Doggin' Around"), with a few more from Jackson's other albums. It was not released in the US, but it is available as an import.