Singer was always cited as an extremely professional person in his work, but he had peculiar habits, like most geniuses
Like any great artist, Michael Jackson He had his own quirks when it came to work. Although everyone says he was very professional both in the studio and on stage, there were some curious habits on the part of the singer, who left us in 2009.
One of these, according to the now deceased sound engineer Bruce Swedishhas to do with the lighting (or rather, lack thereof) Michael required when recording his songs. In an interview given in 2009 to Future musicthe studio professional who died in 2020 said the artist only performed his vocal lines if the lights were all out.
He stated:
“Weirdly, we always recorded Michael in the dark. He hated the lights. I mean, there could have been lights for him, but the studio was totally in the studio.”
Swedien, who spoke about the album sessions at the time Thriller (1982), said he had a scientific explanation for Jackson’s request.
“I think one of the reasons why he wanted it – and why it worked so effectively – is that through my studies of acoustics and so on, I discovered that the human being is primarily a visual animal. Hearing is the our second sense. People can become distracted by having too many lights in the studio, to the point where they can tune them out of the music.”
The recordings of Thriller took place in the studios Westlake Audioin Los Angeles, United States. The work was developed between April and November 1982, with release a few days later: November 30 of that year.
Michael Jackson and professionalism
At another point in the interview, Bruce Swedien recalled that, like everyone else, he didn’t see it coming Thriller it was so successful. We are talking about the best-selling album in the history of music, with an estimated 70 million copies sold worldwide.
“Anyone who says they thought this was going to be successful is lying, because you don’t know until it goes public and the public says, ‘Wow, this is really cool.’ Quincy Jones (producer) along the way to get the best songs we could make, with a passion for detail. Quincy was great to work with, as was Michael. We had a lot of fun.”
All the work around that album was facilitated by Michael Jackson, who, in addition to being talented, was very professional.
“Michael was never late for a session, he was even early. Also, I don’t remember Michael holding down the lyrics when he sang. He would stay up at night until he memorized the song or songs we were going to record that day. . there are many artists like that. There was no difficulty with him.”
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Source: Terra

Earl Johnson is a music writer at Gossipify, known for his in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the industry. A graduate of USC with a degree in Music, he brings years of experience and passion to his writing. He covers the latest releases and trends, always on the lookout for the next big thing in music.