Karen and Michael Jackson timeline question

Proudofyou

Well-Known Member
Being that Karen passed on songs that ultimately went to Michael, do you think this added to some of the regret? I don't know which songs ultimately went to the Rock with You album and if any made it to Thriller, but do you think watching his meteoric rise, was difficult? Was she around to hear chatter of these incredible sessions Michael had through inside industry? Just curious. :)
 
Proudofyou, I've had that same thought. By the way, I always considered Jackson's song, "One Day in Your Life," oddly reminiscent of Karen.
 
Off the Wall is my favorite Jackson album. Maybe that influence is partially why I like Karen's solo album so much.
 
I think most artists regret ‘the one that got away’. ‘Rock With You’ was perfect for Karen and the solo project in every way. Low notes, background vocals and overall ‘vibe’. It’s also very easy to hear the influence Carpenters had in Michael’s music. In a 1983 interview, he said his biggest influences were the Beatles, Motown and Carpenters.
 
I think most artists regret ‘the one that got away’. ‘Rock With You’ was perfect for Karen and the solo project in every way. Low notes, background vocals and overall ‘vibe’.

Rock With You is the track that should have opened the solo album. Imagine it with the groove and bass of Lovelines plus Karen echoing her own vocals, similar to the backgrounds on Remember When Lovin’ Took All Night:

I wanna rock with you/All Night/
Dance You Into Day/Sunlight
 
Yah see, this is what keeps my wheels spinning. So she was alive when Rock with You came out. This is what I was wondering. Oy vey. She was HIS inspiration, then he records a song that was offered to her and it sets him into the solo stratosphere of a life time and hers gets shelved. But alas, her legacy is pretty incredible and her work lives on. Destiny, timing, and a higher plan is always in order for sure.....especially in showbiz. lol.
 
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Yah see, this is what keeps my wheels spinning. So she was alive when Rock with You came out. This is what I was wondering. Oy vey. She was HIS inspiration, then he records a song that was offered to her and it sets him into the solo stratosphere of a life time and hers gets shelved. But alas, her legacy is pretty incredible and her work lives on. Destiny, timing, and a higher plan is always in order for sure.....especially in showbiz. lol.

As an interesting side note, Karen was invited by Michael and Quincy Jones to the recording session for ‘Get On The Floor’ during the sessions for ‘Off The Wall’, in 1979. She attended the session with Phil and Itchy Ramone.
 
this is why I love this board. who knew there were others in the world who think about this stuff. by the way it's too bad she didn't collab on a song for that album. can you imagine Karen and Michael on off the wall? maybe collab would have been an easier transition than just going solo. she needed one collab hit away from the carpenters to test the waters maybe.
 
I'm glad Karen passed on Rock with You as it's much more suited to Jackson's more soulful voice than her naturally restrained style. Karen demonstrated early on with And When I Die that she could belt with genuine soul, but I can't imagine her letting lose like that on this song in 1979 for some reason.
 
omg plus I just remembered the Bahler connection to her and she's out of my life. that also was epic for Michael. it is such a small business.
 
When I hear Rock with you on the radio I wish there was a Karen demo somewhere.
I listen to Off the wall as an album quite a lot.I would love to hear Quincys mixes of Karens solo album. Perfect for a vinyl record store day release.
I listened to Harriet's take on Shes out of my life on her album.Just to have a vague what if moment.
 
Quite frankly I’ve never really been impressed with Jackson’s “Rock With You”. It’s fine as background music, but I never really found it was a good disco hit. I don’t think it would’ve made a good intro for Karen’s solo album or even a single for her. It would’ve been fine as an album track, but nothing more. I’m glad Karen passed on it.

Now in terms of Disco had she had a track that was brighter, closer to an ABBA feel, it would’ve been a great single.
 
Quite frankly I’ve never really been impressed with Jackson’s “Rock With You”. It’s fine as background music, but I never really found it was a good disco hit. I don’t think it would’ve made a good intro for Karen’s solo album or even a single for her. It would’ve been fine as an album track, but nothing more. I’m glad Karen passed on it.

It topped the Billboard Charts in the US and hit #7 in the UK. Karen could have done a lot worse than to try this track out. I think it was a misjudgment for her to dismiss the chart for being too raw and funky when she went on to record tracks like Don’t Try To Win Me Back Again and Love Makin’ Love To You. I think it’s a superb track with a sublime vocal arrangement and just what the album needed to make any shelving of it out of the question.
 
Its all fate and destiny at this point. That song was a game changer for Michael and Quincy produced that album. would it have been for Karen if she did it? it was a different band, and different team. who knows.
 
Rock With You is the track that should have opened the solo album. Imagine it with the groove and bass of Lovelines plus Karen echoing her own vocals, similar to the backgrounds on Remember When Lovin’ Took All Night:

I wanna rock with you/All Night/
Dance You Into Day/Sunlight

I am "hearing" it now. WOW! What might have been!

Randy

YES! She would have knocked that out of the park. Damn. The what-if's...
 
Is it right that Quincy Jones did further production/mixing work on Karen's solo tracks? I'd have to dig out the Ray Coleman biography, but from what I recall, in there it implied that Derek Green was 'made' to hear the album again when he went to see Quincy after the playback, at which Phil Ramone was also present. My understanding of this was that it was Phil who'd undertaken the additional mixing, but that Quincy was acting as cheerleader for the album and for Phil's efforts in an attempt to change A&M's negative attitude towards the album.

I don't think 'Off the Wall' would have suited Karen at all, but I can imagine her singing 'Rock with You' for sure. Rod Temperton was a superb singwriter and his songs were quite a good match for her. Ironically, she'd already sung one of his tracks: 'Boogie Nights' for the Space Encounters TV special.
 
I think a Karen/MJ duet would've been a great thing at this point in their careers. The cut could've appeared on both solo efforts. It certainly would have helped Karen but maybe not so much Michael. "Off The Wall" was such a classic in and of itself. As a bonus track maybe?
 
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