Thirty-five years ago this fall, a new Michael Jackson song came roaring out of every radio in America. It was “Black or White,” and it landed like a storm.
Within 24 hours of hitting the airwaves in early November 1991, almost every Top 40 station in the country was playing it. The exact number is wild. About 96 percent of 237 American stations added it in a single day.
It kept climbing. “Black or White” reached No. 1 on December 7, 1991, in just its third week. That made it the fastest song to hit the top since the Beatles’ “Get Back.” It then sat at No. 1 for seven straight weeks.
You know the song. You know the beat. And you know that rap part in the middle.
Here’s the thing almost nobody knows. The person rapping isn’t a rapper.
The song that ruled the radio 35 years ago
Give it a play and listen close when the rap kicks in. That voice has been in your ears for three and a half decades, and odds are you’ve never once wondered who it belonged to.
So who is he?
His name is Bill Bottrell, and he was the producer working on the song. He wanted a rap section in the middle, and he had big names in mind. He suggested LL Cool J. He suggested Heavy D. For one reason or another, neither one came together.
The search dragged on for eight long months. The team kept trying to find the right person to write and perform those lines.
In the end, the answer was standing right there in the room the whole time.
Bottrell wrote the rap himself. He recorded it a few times, just as a rough demo to show what he was thinking. But when Michael heard the producer’s own take, he wouldn’t let it go. Michael insisted they keep Bottrell’s voice on the record.
So the man rapping on one of the biggest hits of Michael’s life was the fellow behind the recording desk, doing a part he only meant as a placeholder.
Go back and listen again now that you know. Same song, brand new ears.