Michael Jackson, Ghosts | Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶

In the 46^th edition of Throwback Vibez (2023), we recollect and reflect on “Ghosts” by the late, great King of Pop, Michael Jackson. 

The vibes, the vibes, those Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶! Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 is a column that celebrates awesome songs from the past.  The records that grace this column are older, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that they’re ancient – no fossils 🦴! All genres of music are welcome. In the 46^th edition of Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 (2023), we recollect and reflect on 🎵 “Ghosts”, performed by the late, great King of Pop, 🎙 Michael Jackson. 

via GIPHY

“There’s a ghost down in the hall / There’s a ghoul upon the bed.” 😱 In the 1990s, 🎙 Michael Jackson, THE king of pop, adapted his sound to the times: New Jack Swing.  The 🏆 Grammy-winner’s  studio albums 💿 Dangerous (1991), the somewhat controversial 💿 HIStory (1995), and the remix album, 💿 Blood on the Dance Floor – HIStory in The Mix (1997), reflected this brand of R&B. 🎵 “Ghosts” was written and produced by Jackson and 🎼 ✍ 🎛 Teddy Riley, who is renowned for his New Jack Swing contributions.  The drum programming is electrifying, even if by today’s standards it sounds more dated.  At the time, especially, the sound of this record were incredibly slick, and, dare I say, haunting 👻! Notably, “Ghosts” is a soundtrack cut from the short film, 🎦 Michael Jackson’s Ghosts.

The biggest attraction, beyond the sound of “Ghosts” are the prodigious vocals by Jackson – the man was incredibly gifted.  Furthermore, the songwriting is a blast too with its ghostly intentions. “There’s something in the walls,” MJ continues singing in the first verse, adding, “There’s blood 🩸 up on the stairs.” Later, in the second verse, “There’s a ghostly smell around / But nobody to be found.” Frightening AF 😬 😱!  Ultimately, Jackson admits, “Don’t understand it,” before unveiling the centerpiece of the record, the chorus:

“And who gave you the right to scare my family?

And who gave you the right to shame my baby, she needs me

And who gave you the right to shake my family tree?

You put a knife in my back, shot an arrow in me!

Tell me, are you the ghost of jealousy?

The ghost of jealousy.”

All told, 🎵 “Ghosts” is another memorable Michael Jackson gem even if didn’t earn the same height of his greatest hits.

via GIPHY

🎙 Michael Jackson • 💿 Blood on the Dance Floor – HIStory in The Mix • 🏷 MJJ Productions, Inc. • 📅 1997

Michael Jackson, “Ghosts”: Throwback Vibez 🕶️🎶 No. 46 (2023) [📷: Brent Faulkner / The Musical Hype; MJJ Productions, Inc.; John Alan Sperry, PIRO via  Pixabay]