Songoftheday 12/8/19 - Another day has gone I'm still all alone, how could this be you're not here with me...
from the album HIStory: Past, Present, Future, Book 1 (1995)
Billboard Hot 100 peak: #1 (one week)
Weeks in the Top-40: 14
Today's song of the day comes from Michael Jackson, who had landed a top five pop hit with a duet with his superstar sister Janet on "Scream" in the summer of 1995. However the single didn't last too long on the charts, probably hindered by the growing legal problems Michael was beginning to face as kids were coming out and "#MeToo"-ing the singer from their days as children staying at the Neverland ranch. He also didn't help things with the rushed marriage to Lisa Marie Presley, which truly did come out of nowhere. The second single from his half-compilation/half-new material album HIStory, "You Are Not Alone" was rushed out to replace "Scream", which I'm sure was originally intended to be a double-sided smash with B-side "Childhood" from Free Willy 2 even more earturning considering the circumstances. The new song they rushed out with was "You Are Not Alone", an inspirational ballad written by, wait for it, R. freaking Kelly, of course before all of his legal woes. Kelly, who produced the track with Jackson, offered up a simple and non-threatening gift of support to those who needed it, and Jackson sold it with a sincerity that fills shopping malls. The music video, though, focused on Michael and Lisa Marie, with shots of Jackson walking alone through a gauntlet of paparazzi, which made this whole affair, well, just weird. And in his state of undress, with his face and body obviously toyed with, distracted from the song which was quite simple in its beauty...
"You Are Not Alone" made its debut in the #1 spot on the American pop Hot 100 chart in September of 1995, spending just a week at the top and 20 weeks on the whole chart (admitted better than "Scream" did). The song spent a month (four weeks) at #1 on Billboard magazine's R&B chart, while making it to #7 on their Adult Contemporary (or "easy listening") radio list. The dance remixes of the ballad done by the likes of Frankie Knuckles and Masters At Work helped it rise to #3 on the Dance Club Play tally. Internationally, the single topped the charts in the UK, France, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, New Zealand, Poland, and Romania. It also made the top-40 in Italy (#3), Germany (#4), the Netherlands (#6), Australia (#7), Iceland (#8), Norway (#9), Finland (#10), and Canada (#11). After Jackson's death in 2009, the song returned to the charts in many countries, including the UK (#35), while in the US is went to #13 on the digital sales list. At the Grammy Awards the song was nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal, which Seal won for "Kiss From A Rose", while the HIStory album was up for Album of the Year, losing it to Alanis Morissette's Jagged Little Pill...
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Here's Michael appearing at the Soul Train Awards in 1995...
And the "Franktified Club Mix" done by Frankie Knuckles...
Back to Michael filmed onscreen in concert in 1997...
Up tomorrow: Couple of rappers are questioning altitiude..
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