Beladona Fris
On this day in music history: December 10, 1983 - “Say Say Say” by Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson hits #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for 6 weeks, also peaking at #2 on the R&B singles chart on the same date. Written by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, it is the ninth solo chart topper for McCartney and the sixth chart topper for Jackson. The collaboration between the duo takes place when Michael Jackson calls Paul McCartney on Christmas Day of 1981, and suggests that they try writing some songs together. Jackson flies over to England and spends time at McCartney’s home in Peasmarsh, East Sussex where they write the songs “Say Say Say” and “The Man”. Working with producer George Martin, they begin recording the songs at Abbey Road Studios in London, then later completing them at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. The musicians featured on the track include McCartney (guitar, keyboards, percussion), Jackson (percussion), Nathan Watts (bass), Ricky Lawson (drums), Bill Wolfer (keyboards), Chris Hammer Smith (harmonica), Linda McCartney, Eric Stewart (backing vocals), Jerry Hey, Ernie Watts, Gary E. Grant and Gary Herbig (horns). Issued as the first single from McCartney’s album “Pipes Of Peace” on October 3, 1983, the single is an immediate smash. Entering the Hot 100 at #26 on October 15, 1983, it climbs to the top of the chart seven weeks later. “Say” is the highest chart debut for a single on the Billboard pop chart since John Lennon’s “Imagine” (entering at #20) twelve years before, though though it holds at #2 for three weeks on the pop singles chart before finally overtaking Lionel Richie’s “All Night Long (All Night)”. The songs’ music video directed by Bob Giraldi (“Beat It”, “Running With The Night”) is filmed in Santa Ynez Valley, CA at the Sycamore Ranch, which Jackson later buys in 1988 and re-names “Neverland Ranch”. “Say Say Say” makes Michael Jackson the only other artist in history besides Elvis Presley and The Beatles to have seven top ten singles in one calendar year. In October of 2015, a remixed version of the song featuring alternate lead vocals by McCartney and Jackson is released as a bonus track on the newly remastered reissue of the “Pipes Of Peace” album. “Say Say Say” is certified Platinum in the US by the RIAA.


