Say Say Say
Encyclopedia
"Say Say Say" is a pop song written and performed by Paul McCartney
and Michael Jackson
. The track was produced by George Martin
for McCartney's fifth solo album, Pipes of Peace (1983). The song was recorded during production of McCartney's 1982 Tug of War album, about a year before the release of "The Girl Is Mine"—the pair's first duet from Jackson's record-breaking album, Thriller
(1982). After its release in October 1983, "Say Say Say" became Jackson's seventh top-ten hit inside a year. It was a number one hit in the United States, Norway, Sweden and several other countries, reached number two in the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten in Australia, Austria, New Zealand, the Netherlands Switzerland and over 20 other nations.
Certified
platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
, the song was promoted with a music video directed by Bob Giraldi
. The video, filmed in Santa Ynez Valley
, California, featured cameo appearances by Linda McCartney
and La Toya Jackson
. The short film centers around two con artists called "Mac and Jack" (played by McCartney and Jackson), and is credited for the introduction of dialogue and storyline to music videos.
", from the latter's Thriller
, and in return Jackson agreed to work on "Say Say Say" for McCartney's Pipes of Peace. McCartney biographer Ray Coleman
asserted that the majority of the song's lyrics were written by Jackson, and given to McCartney the next day. "Say Say Say" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios
between May and September 1981. At the time, McCartney was recording Tug of War, the former Beatle
's first solo album after the disbandment of his group Wings
. Jackson stayed at the home of McCartney and his wife Linda
during the recording sessions, and became friends with both. While at the dining table one evening, Paul McCartney brought out a booklet that displayed all of the songs to which he owned the publishing rights. "This is the way to make big money", the musician informed Jackson. "Every time someone records one of these songs, I get paid. Every time someone plays these songs on the radio, or in live performances, I get paid." McCartney's words influenced Jackson's later purchase of the Northern Songs
music catalogue in 1985.
McCartney played several instruments on "Say Say Say", including percussion, synthesiser, guitar and bass guitar. The harmonica
was played by Chris Smith, and the rhythm guitar
was played by David Williams. The song was engineered by Geoff Emerick
. The production of "Say Say Say" was completed in February 1983, after it had been refined and overdubbed
at Cherokee Studios
in California
. George Martin
, who had worked with The Beatles, produced the song. He said of his experience with Jackson, "He actually does radiate an aura when he comes into the studio, there's no question about it. He's not a musician in the sense that Paul is ... but he does know what he wants in music and he has very firm ideas." Jackson also spoke of the experience in his autobiography, Moonwalk. The younger singer revealed that the collaboration boosted his confidence, as Quincy Jones
—producer of Thriller—was not present to correct his mistakes. Jackson added that he and McCartney worked as equals, stating, "Paul never had to carry me in that studio."
"Say Say Say" is cited as a pop song
on the sheet music published on Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing. The song was performed in common time
, with a dance beat of 116 beats per minute
. It was composed in a B minor key, and sung in a vocal range from F4 to B♭5. The lyrics to "Say Say Say" reflect an attempt to "win back" a girl's affection; Deseret News considered the song to be a "pleading kind of love song".
in the US. It remained atop Billboards Hot 100
for six weeks and became Jackson's seventh top ten hit of 1983, breaking a record that until then was held jointly by The Beatles and Elvis Presley
. Also in the US, "Say Say Say" reached number two on the R&B chart and number three on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
chart. Although the song had peaked at number ten in the UK, it began to fall steadily; McCartney subsequently held an early weekday live television interview, where he discussed the song's music video. This, along with screenings of the video on Top of the Pops
(which normally played only singles that were rising in the charts), The Tube
and Noel Edmonds
' The Late, Late Breakfast Show
, helped propel the song to number two on the UK Singles Chart
. "Say Say Say" reached number one in Norway and Sweden, and the single also reached the top ten in Austria, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. With wholesale shipments of at least one million units, the single was later certified
platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
.
McCartney album releases of "Say Say Say" include 1983's Pipes of Peace and 1987's All the Best!
.
"Say Say Say" received mixed reviews from music critics. The lyrics were named the worst of 1983 by The Buffalo News
's Anthony Violanti, while the Lexington Herald-Leader
stated in a review of Pipes of Peace that, aside from "Say Say Say" and "The Man", "McCartney waste[d] the rest of the album on bathos and whimsy". Los Angeles Times
Paul Grein also reviewed the McCartney album and opined that the singer had redeemed himself with the success of the "spunky" song "but plunged back into wimpdom with 'No More Lonely Nights
'". Journalist Whitney Pastorek compared the song to McCartney's 1982 duet with Stevie Wonder
, "Ebony and Ivory
". She asserted that "Say Say Say" was a better song, and had a better "though slightly more nonsensical" music video, adding that the song had no "heavy-handed social content". Penn State's The Daily Collegian described the track as a good song, despite its ad nauseam
broadcasts.
Deseret News stated that the "pleading love song" had a "masterful, catchy hook". In a Rolling Stone
review, the track was described as an "amiable though vapid dance groove". The reviewer, Parke Puterbaugh, added that it was an "instantly hit-bound froth-funk that tends, after all, toward banality". Music critic Nelson George
stated that "Say Say Say" would not have "deserved the airplay it received without McCartey and Jackson". Salon.com
later described the song as a "sappy duet". The online magazine concluded that McCartney had become a "wimpy old fart". Billboard
ranked the song third in its list of top tracks for 1984. In a 2007 article, a writer the magazine Vibe listed "Say Say Say" as the 22nd greatest duet of all time. The writer commented that the song was "a true falsetto fantasy" and that it was "still thrilling to hear the sweet-voiced duo trade harmonies on the chorus". In 2005, Dutch musicians Hi Tack sampled "Say Say Say" on their debut single, "Say Say Say (Waiting 4 U)
". The song featured Jackson's vocals from the original recording.
, who had previously directed Michael Jackson's "Beat It
". The McCartney-Jackson collaboration featured cameo appearances by the former's late wife Linda
, and the latter's older sister La Toya
. To accommodate Jackson's busy schedule the video was filmed at Los Alamos
near Santa Barbara
, California
. McCartney flew in specially for filming. The video cost $500,000 to produce.
In the short film, the duo play "Mac and Jack" (a possible reference to the singers' names: Paul McCartney [which sounds like Mac], and Michael Jackson), a pair of conmen who sell a "miracle potion". The salesman (McCartney) offers Jackson the potion, and claims that it is "guaranteed to give you the strength of a raging bull". Jackson drinks the potion and challenges a large man to arm wrestle. Unbeknownst to a watching crowd, the man—along with Linda—is also in on the scam. After Jackson wins the rigged contest, the crowd of people surge forward and buy the potion. Mac and Jack then donate all of the money earned from the scam to an orphanage. Later, while in a hotel, Jackson enters the bathroom as McCartney shaves. The latter playfully dabs shaving foam on Jackson's cheek, despite the fact that the younger man does not need a shave. After this scene, McCartney and Jackson star as vaudeville
performers who sing and dance at a bar. On stage, the duo appear in clown makeup at one point and quickly go through a number of costume changes. Jackson's love interest, with whom he flirts, was played by his sister La Toya. The video ends with Paul, Linda and Michael as they drive off into the sunset. La Toya, who was handed a bunch of flowers by McCartney, is left at the roadside.
Director Giraldi said of Jackson and McCartney, "Michael didn't outdance Paul, and Paul didn't outsing Michael". He added that production of the video was hard work because "the egos could fill a room". The video introduced both dialogue and storyline, an element extended upon in Michael Jackson's Thriller. In a 1984 study of music videos conducted by the National Coalition on Television Violence, the Jacksons
were rated "very violent," citing Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," "Thriller" and "Say Say Say" as well as Jermaine Jackson's "Dynamite" and the Jacksons' "Torture." In a list compiled by Billboard at the end of 1984, the music video was named the fourth best of the year, and the rest of the top four were also short films by Jackson.
The Manchester Evening News later described the "Say Say Say" video as an "anarchic caper" that "plays out like an Emir Kusturica
feature". PopMatters
stated that the music videos of "Say Say Say" and "Goodnight Tonight
" turned "a pair of otherwise forgettable songs into something worth watching". Steven Greenlee of The Boston Globe
reflected that the video was both "horrifying and compelling", and stated the ridiculousness of a potion which could aid Jackson in beating somebody at arm wrestling. He added, "It's even harder to believe that the two of them didn't get the pulp beaten out of them in that bar for dressing like a pair of Chess King
employees". The "Say Say Say" video was later included on the DVDs The McCartney Years
and Michael Jackson's Vision
.
, a 1931 film starring Charlie Chaplin
, whom the singer greatly adored.
The second of the two main themes in the music video is of African American history
and culture
, as some of the vaudeville scenes in the short film acknowledge minstrel shows and blackface
. Author W. T. Lhamon writes that the video is set in the Californian Depression, and that McCartney and Jackson "convey a compactly corrupt history of blackface" as they con their way to riches with the Mac and Jack show. Lhamon was critical of the pair and of the video because he felt that the African American theme had not been made explicitly known. The author expressed his view that aspects of the short film were historically out-of-synch with interracial relations. He stated, "Nearly everything in the video is backward. Mack's white hand continually helping black Jack on board, for instance, reverses the general process I have shown of blacks providing whites with their sustaining gestures." Lhamon added, "In a just world, Jackson should be pulling McCartney onto the wagon, not the other way around."
Paul McCartney
Sir James Paul McCartney, MBE, Hon RAM, FRCM is an English musician, singer-songwriter and composer. Formerly of The Beatles and Wings , McCartney is listed in Guinness World Records as the "most successful musician and composer in popular music history", with 60 gold discs and sales of 100...
and Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
. The track was produced by George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
for McCartney's fifth solo album, Pipes of Peace (1983). The song was recorded during production of McCartney's 1982 Tug of War album, about a year before the release of "The Girl Is Mine"—the pair's first duet from Jackson's record-breaking album, Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
(1982). After its release in October 1983, "Say Say Say" became Jackson's seventh top-ten hit inside a year. It was a number one hit in the United States, Norway, Sweden and several other countries, reached number two in the United Kingdom, and peaked within the top ten in Australia, Austria, New Zealand, the Netherlands Switzerland and over 20 other nations.
Certified
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
, the song was promoted with a music video directed by Bob Giraldi
Bob Giraldi
Bob Giraldi is an American film and television director best known for directing the music video for Michael Jackson's song "Beat It." His work has garnered many accolades, including several , , NY International Awards, Addy Awards, and hundreds of Clio Awards...
. The video, filmed in Santa Ynez Valley
Santa Ynez Valley
The Santa Ynez Valley is located in Santa Barbara County, California, between the Santa Ynez Mountains to the south and the San Rafael Mountains to the north. The Santa Ynez River flows through the valley from east to west. The Santa Ynez Valley is separated from the Los Alamos Valley, to the...
, California, featured cameo appearances by Linda McCartney
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
and La Toya Jackson
La Toya Jackson
La Toya Yvonne Jackson is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, television personality, actress, businesswoman, philanthropist, activist and former model. She is the fifth child of the Jackson family...
. The short film centers around two con artists called "Mac and Jack" (played by McCartney and Jackson), and is credited for the introduction of dialogue and storyline to music videos.
Background, recording and composition
McCartney had already collaborated with Jackson on "The Girl Is MineThe Girl Is Mine
"The Girl Is Mine" is a song by Michael Jackson featuring Paul McCartney. It is the first single from Jackson's sixth solo album, Thriller. It is one of the three songs that Jackson and McCartney recorded together. McCartney is the only featured guest on the album. The track was written and...
", from the latter's Thriller
Thriller (album)
Thriller is the sixth studio album by American recording artist Michael Jackson. It was released on November 30, 1982, by Epic Records as the follow-up to Jackson's critically and commercially successful 1979 album Off the Wall...
, and in return Jackson agreed to work on "Say Say Say" for McCartney's Pipes of Peace. McCartney biographer Ray Coleman
Ray Coleman
Ray Coleman was a British author and former Editor-in-chief of Melody Maker known for biographies of The Beatles. Besides Melody Maker, Coleman was a participant with music magazines including Disc, Black Music, and Musicians Only, and a contributor to magazines such as Billboard...
asserted that the majority of the song's lyrics were written by Jackson, and given to McCartney the next day. "Say Say Say" was recorded at Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios
Abbey Road Studios is a recording studio located at 3 Abbey Road, St John's Wood, City of Westminster, London, England. It was established in November 1931 by the Gramophone Company, a predecessor of British music company EMI, its present owner...
between May and September 1981. At the time, McCartney was recording Tug of War, the former Beatle
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
's first solo album after the disbandment of his group Wings
Wings (band)
Wings were a British-American rock group formed in 1971 by Paul McCartney, Denny Laine and Linda McCartney that remained active until 1981....
. Jackson stayed at the home of McCartney and his wife Linda
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
during the recording sessions, and became friends with both. While at the dining table one evening, Paul McCartney brought out a booklet that displayed all of the songs to which he owned the publishing rights. "This is the way to make big money", the musician informed Jackson. "Every time someone records one of these songs, I get paid. Every time someone plays these songs on the radio, or in live performances, I get paid." McCartney's words influenced Jackson's later purchase of the Northern Songs
Northern Songs
Northern Songs was a company founded in 1963, by music publisher Dick James, Brian Epstein, John Lennon and Paul McCartney, to publish songs written by Lennon and McCartney , as well as songs written by George Harrison and Ringo Starr, who were all members of The Beatles...
music catalogue in 1985.
McCartney played several instruments on "Say Say Say", including percussion, synthesiser, guitar and bass guitar. The harmonica
Harmonica
The harmonica, also called harp, French harp, blues harp, and mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used primarily in blues and American folk music, jazz, country, and rock and roll. It is played by blowing air into it or drawing air out by placing lips over individual holes or multiple holes...
was played by Chris Smith, and the rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar
Rhythm guitar is a technique and rôle that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse in conjunction with singers or other instruments; and to provide all or part of the harmony, ie. the chords, where a chord is a group of notes played together...
was played by David Williams. The song was engineered by Geoff Emerick
Geoff Emerick
Geoffrey Emerick is an English recording studio audio engineer, who is best known for his work with The Beatles' albums Revolver, Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, The Beatles and Abbey Road...
. The production of "Say Say Say" was completed in February 1983, after it had been refined and overdubbed
Overdubbing
Overdubbing is a technique used by recording studios to add a supplementary recorded sound to a previously recorded performance....
at Cherokee Studios
Cherokee Studios
Cherokee Studios was a recording facility in Hollywood, founded in 1972 and closed in August 2007 to make way for a new building, after 35 years of operation under the Cherokee name as a well-renowned studio...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. George Martin
George Martin
Sir George Henry Martin CBE is an English record producer, arranger, composer and musician. He is sometimes referred to as "the Fifth Beatle"— a title that he often describes as "nonsense," but the fact remains that he served as producer on all but one of The Beatles' original albums...
, who had worked with The Beatles, produced the song. He said of his experience with Jackson, "He actually does radiate an aura when he comes into the studio, there's no question about it. He's not a musician in the sense that Paul is ... but he does know what he wants in music and he has very firm ideas." Jackson also spoke of the experience in his autobiography, Moonwalk. The younger singer revealed that the collaboration boosted his confidence, as Quincy Jones
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delightt Jones, Jr. is an American record producer and musician. A conductor, musical arranger, film composer, television producer, and trumpeter. His career spans five decades in the entertainment industry and a record 79 Grammy Award nominations, 27 Grammys, including a Grammy Legend...
—producer of Thriller—was not present to correct his mistakes. Jackson added that he and McCartney worked as equals, stating, "Paul never had to carry me in that studio."
"Say Say Say" is cited as a pop song
Pop Song
Pop Song is the first single by the Drugs. It was released in 2000 and earned the Drugs some positive press. It has been described as "addictive". A live version was released on The Only Way Is Up...
on the sheet music published on Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing. The song was performed in common time
Time signature
The time signature is a notational convention used in Western musical notation to specify how many beats are in each measure and which note value constitutes one beat....
, with a dance beat of 116 beats per minute
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
. It was composed in a B minor key, and sung in a vocal range from F4 to B♭5. The lyrics to "Say Say Say" reflect an attempt to "win back" a girl's affection; Deseret News considered the song to be a "pleading kind of love song".
Release and reception
Following the release of Thriller and most of its singles, "Say Say Say" was released on 3 October 1983 by Parlophone Records in the UK and Columbia RecordsColumbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
in the US. It remained atop Billboards Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
for six weeks and became Jackson's seventh top ten hit of 1983, breaking a record that until then was held jointly by The Beatles and Elvis Presley
Elvis Presley
Elvis Aaron Presley was one of the most popular American singers of the 20th century. A cultural icon, he is widely known by the single name Elvis. He is often referred to as the "King of Rock and Roll" or simply "the King"....
. Also in the US, "Say Say Say" reached number two on the R&B chart and number three on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks
The Adult Contemporary chart is a weekly chart published in Billboard magazine that lists the most popular songs on adult contemporary and "lite-pop" radio stations in the United States...
chart. Although the song had peaked at number ten in the UK, it began to fall steadily; McCartney subsequently held an early weekday live television interview, where he discussed the song's music video. This, along with screenings of the video on Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops
Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...
(which normally played only singles that were rising in the charts), The Tube
The Tube (TV series)
The Tube was an innovative United Kingdom pop/rock music television programme, which ran for five seasons, from 5 November 1982 until 1987...
and Noel Edmonds
Noel Edmonds
Noel Ernest Edmonds, is an English broadcaster and executive, who made his name as a DJ on BBC Radio 1 in the UK. He has presented many light entertainment television programmes, including Multi-Coloured Swap Shop, Top of the Pops, The Late, Late Breakfast Show, Telly Addicts, Noel's Saturday...
' The Late, Late Breakfast Show
The Late, Late Breakfast Show
The Late, Late Breakfast Show was a BBC television light entertainment show broadcast live on Saturday evenings from 4 September 1982 to 8 November 1986. It was presented by Noel Edmonds, initially with co-host Leni Harper and also featured Mike Smith and John Peel...
, helped propel the song to number two on the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. "Say Say Say" reached number one in Norway and Sweden, and the single also reached the top ten in Austria, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. With wholesale shipments of at least one million units, the single was later certified
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
Recording Industry Association of America
The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...
.
McCartney album releases of "Say Say Say" include 1983's Pipes of Peace and 1987's All the Best!
All the Best!
All the Best! is the second official compilation album of Paul McCartney music, after 1978's Wings Greatest and was released in 1987. The album contains tracks from the beginning of his solo career in 1970 up to the newly recorded "Once Upon a Long Ago." The track inclusion and running order...
.
"Say Say Say" received mixed reviews from music critics. The lyrics were named the worst of 1983 by The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News
The Buffalo News is the primary newspaper of the Buffalo – Niagara Falls metropolitan area, and the area's only daily newspaper. It is the only newspaper owned by Berkshire Hathaway.-History:...
Lexington Herald-Leader
The Lexington Herald-Leader is a newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company and based in the U.S. city of Lexington, Kentucky. According to the 1999 Editor & Publisher International Yearbook, the Herald-Leaders paid circulation is the second largest in the Commonwealth of Kentucky...
stated in a review of Pipes of Peace that, aside from "Say Say Say" and "The Man", "McCartney waste[d] the rest of the album on bathos and whimsy". Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
Paul Grein also reviewed the McCartney album and opined that the singer had redeemed himself with the success of the "spunky" song "but plunged back into wimpdom with 'No More Lonely Nights
No More Lonely Nights
No More Lonely Nights is a song written by Paul McCartney, which was first released in September 1984. It can be heard on the soundtrack, Give My Regards to Broad Street. The single reached #6 in the US and #2 in the UK...
'". Journalist Whitney Pastorek compared the song to McCartney's 1982 duet with Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, "Ebony and Ivory
Ebony and Ivory
"Ebony and Ivory" is a 1982 number-one single by Paul McCartney and Stevie Wonder. It was released on March 29 of that year. The song is featured on McCartney's album Tug of War. The song reached number one on both the UK and the U.S. charts...
". She asserted that "Say Say Say" was a better song, and had a better "though slightly more nonsensical" music video, adding that the song had no "heavy-handed social content". Penn State's The Daily Collegian described the track as a good song, despite its ad nauseam
Ad nauseam
Ad nauseam is a Latin term used to describe an argument which has been continuing "to [the point of] nausea". For example, the sentence, "This topic has been discussed ad nauseam", signifies that the topic in question has been discussed extensively, and that those involved in the discussion have...
broadcasts.
Deseret News stated that the "pleading love song" had a "masterful, catchy hook". In a Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
review, the track was described as an "amiable though vapid dance groove". The reviewer, Parke Puterbaugh, added that it was an "instantly hit-bound froth-funk that tends, after all, toward banality". Music critic Nelson George
Nelson George
Nelson George is an African American author, columnist, music and culture critic, journalist, and filmmaker. He has been nominated twice for the National Book Critics Circle Award....
stated that "Say Say Say" would not have "deserved the airplay it received without McCartey and Jackson". Salon.com
Salon.com
Salon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...
later described the song as a "sappy duet". The online magazine concluded that McCartney had become a "wimpy old fart". Billboard
Billboard (magazine)
Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...
ranked the song third in its list of top tracks for 1984. In a 2007 article, a writer the magazine Vibe listed "Say Say Say" as the 22nd greatest duet of all time. The writer commented that the song was "a true falsetto fantasy" and that it was "still thrilling to hear the sweet-voiced duo trade harmonies on the chorus". In 2005, Dutch musicians Hi Tack sampled "Say Say Say" on their debut single, "Say Say Say (Waiting 4 U)
Say Say Say (Waiting 4 U)
"Say Say Say " is a song by Dutch house group Hi_Tack, released on 6 December 2005. It samples the 1983 song "Say Say Say" by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson. The song peaked at number three in Finland, number four in the United Kingdom, and number eight in Ireland...
". The song featured Jackson's vocals from the original recording.
Production, plot and reception
The music video (or "short film") for "Say Say Say" was directed by Bob GiraldiBob Giraldi
Bob Giraldi is an American film and television director best known for directing the music video for Michael Jackson's song "Beat It." His work has garnered many accolades, including several , , NY International Awards, Addy Awards, and hundreds of Clio Awards...
, who had previously directed Michael Jackson's "Beat It
Beat It
"Beat It" is a song written and performed by American recording artist Michael Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones . It is the third single from the singer's sixth solo album, Thriller . Eddie Van Halen was hired to add the song's distinctive overdriven guitar solo, but was prevented by his...
". The McCartney-Jackson collaboration featured cameo appearances by the former's late wife Linda
Linda McCartney
Linda Louise McCartney, Lady McCartney was an American photographer, musician and animal rights activist. Her father and mother were Lee Eastman and Louise Sara Lindner Eastman....
, and the latter's older sister La Toya
La Toya Jackson
La Toya Yvonne Jackson is an American singer-songwriter, musician, author, television personality, actress, businesswoman, philanthropist, activist and former model. She is the fifth child of the Jackson family...
. To accommodate Jackson's busy schedule the video was filmed at Los Alamos
Los Alamos, California
Los Alamos is a census-designated place in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Although located in the Los Alamos Valley, the town of Los Alamos is usually considered to be a part of the Santa Ynez Valley community...
near Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, California
Santa Barbara is the county seat of Santa Barbara County, California, United States. Situated on an east-west trending section of coastline, the longest such section on the West Coast of the United States, the city lies between the steeply-rising Santa Ynez Mountains and the Pacific Ocean...
, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. McCartney flew in specially for filming. The video cost $500,000 to produce.
In the short film, the duo play "Mac and Jack" (a possible reference to the singers' names: Paul McCartney [which sounds like Mac], and Michael Jackson), a pair of conmen who sell a "miracle potion". The salesman (McCartney) offers Jackson the potion, and claims that it is "guaranteed to give you the strength of a raging bull". Jackson drinks the potion and challenges a large man to arm wrestle. Unbeknownst to a watching crowd, the man—along with Linda—is also in on the scam. After Jackson wins the rigged contest, the crowd of people surge forward and buy the potion. Mac and Jack then donate all of the money earned from the scam to an orphanage. Later, while in a hotel, Jackson enters the bathroom as McCartney shaves. The latter playfully dabs shaving foam on Jackson's cheek, despite the fact that the younger man does not need a shave. After this scene, McCartney and Jackson star as vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performers who sing and dance at a bar. On stage, the duo appear in clown makeup at one point and quickly go through a number of costume changes. Jackson's love interest, with whom he flirts, was played by his sister La Toya. The video ends with Paul, Linda and Michael as they drive off into the sunset. La Toya, who was handed a bunch of flowers by McCartney, is left at the roadside.
Director Giraldi said of Jackson and McCartney, "Michael didn't outdance Paul, and Paul didn't outsing Michael". He added that production of the video was hard work because "the egos could fill a room". The video introduced both dialogue and storyline, an element extended upon in Michael Jackson's Thriller. In a 1984 study of music videos conducted by the National Coalition on Television Violence, the Jacksons
The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
were rated "very violent," citing Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean," "Thriller" and "Say Say Say" as well as Jermaine Jackson's "Dynamite" and the Jacksons' "Torture." In a list compiled by Billboard at the end of 1984, the music video was named the fourth best of the year, and the rest of the top four were also short films by Jackson.
The Manchester Evening News later described the "Say Say Say" video as an "anarchic caper" that "plays out like an Emir Kusturica
Emir Kusturica
Emir Nemanja Kusturica , is a Serbian filmmaker, actor and musician, recognized for several internationally acclaimed feature films...
feature". PopMatters
PopMatters
PopMatters is an international webzine of cultural criticism that covers many aspects of popular culture. PopMatters publishes reviews, interviews, and detailed essays on most cultural products and expressions in areas such as music, television, films, books, video games, comics, sports, theater,...
stated that the music videos of "Say Say Say" and "Goodnight Tonight
Goodnight Tonight
"Goodnight Tonight" is Wings' disco-inflected single which included a spirited flamenco guitar break. It peaked at number five in both the United Kingdom and United States during 1979. The track did not appear on Wings' then-current LP Back to the Egg , however it was included on the 1987 McCartney...
" turned "a pair of otherwise forgettable songs into something worth watching". Steven Greenlee of The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe
The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
reflected that the video was both "horrifying and compelling", and stated the ridiculousness of a potion which could aid Jackson in beating somebody at arm wrestling. He added, "It's even harder to believe that the two of them didn't get the pulp beaten out of them in that bar for dressing like a pair of Chess King
Chess King
Chess King was a United States men's clothing retailer created by the Melville Corporation. From its founding in 1968 it grew to over 500 locations by the mid 1980s, before an eventual decline, sale, and closure of the chain in 1995.- History:...
employees". The "Say Say Say" video was later included on the DVDs The McCartney Years
The McCartney Years
The McCartney Years is a three-DVD set featuring music videos, live performances and other rare footage from Paul McCartney's solo career and Wings. The set spans the years 1970 to 2005...
and Michael Jackson's Vision
Michael Jackson's Vision
Michael Jackson's Vision is a deluxe DVD box set released on November 22, 2010. It includes three DVDs, featuring 4.5 hours of content of 42 music videos by Michael Jackson, with newly restored color and remastered audio. Michael referred to each of these productions as a "short film" and not a...
.
Themes
Two authors later reviewed the short film and documented two central themes. The first is a "Child/Man" theme; the role of both a boy and an adult, which writer James M. Curtis states Jackson plays throughout the music video for "Say Say Say". Curtis writes that the bathroom scene involving the shaving foam is reminiscent of boys copying their fathers. He adds that the scene marks "the distinction between Michael's roles as a Child and as a Man". The writer also highlights the part where the singer supposedly becomes strengthened with a miracle potion, a further play on the "Child/Man" theme. Furthermore, Curtis observes that Paul and Linda McCartney seem to act as if they are Jackson's parents in the short film. The author also notes that in a scene where Jackson is handed a bouquet of flowers from a girl, it is a reversal of one from City LightsCity Lights
City Lights is a 1931 American silent film and romantic comedy-drama written by, directed by, and starring Charlie Chaplin. It also has the leads Virginia Cherrill and Harry Myers. Although "talking" pictures were on the rise since 1928, City Lights was immediately popular. Today, it is thought of...
, a 1931 film starring Charlie Chaplin
Charlie Chaplin
Sir Charles Spencer "Charlie" Chaplin, KBE was an English comic actor, film director and composer best known for his work during the silent film era. He became the most famous film star in the world before the end of World War I...
, whom the singer greatly adored.
The second of the two main themes in the music video is of African American history
African American history
African-American history is the portion of American history that specifically discusses the African American or Black American ethnic group in the United States. Most African Americans are the descendants of captive Africans held in the United States from 1619 to 1865...
and culture
African American culture
African-American culture, also known as black culture, in the United States refers to the cultural contributions of Americans of African descent to the culture of the United States, either as part of or distinct from American culture. The distinct identity of African-American culture is rooted in...
, as some of the vaudeville scenes in the short film acknowledge minstrel shows and blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
. Author W. T. Lhamon writes that the video is set in the Californian Depression, and that McCartney and Jackson "convey a compactly corrupt history of blackface" as they con their way to riches with the Mac and Jack show. Lhamon was critical of the pair and of the video because he felt that the African American theme had not been made explicitly known. The author expressed his view that aspects of the short film were historically out-of-synch with interracial relations. He stated, "Nearly everything in the video is backward. Mack's white hand continually helping black Jack on board, for instance, reverses the general process I have shown of blacks providing whites with their sustaining gestures." Lhamon added, "In a just world, Jackson should be pulling McCartney onto the wagon, not the other way around."
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Singles Chart Kent Music Report The Kent Music Report was a weekly record chart of Australian music singles and albums which was compiled by music enthusiast David Kent from May 1974 through to 1998... |
4 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 10 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 8 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 10 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 2 |
| UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
2 |
| US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
1 |
| US R&B Singles Chart | 2 |