Baby Be Mine

THE STORY BEHIND ' BABY BE MINE'

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This is one of the most interesting "deep cuts" on the Thriller album. It is one of only two songs on the record that was never released as a single (the other being "The Lady in My Life"), yet it was Michael Jackson's personal favorite track to record. The story below details how this song beat out massive hits to make the final cut and its legacy as the "lost" classic of the album.

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By 1982, Rod Temperton had established himself as Michael Jackson’s secret weapon. The British songwriter, formerly of the disco band Heatwave, had already penned "Rock With You" and "Off the Wall" for Michael’s previous album. When the Thriller sessions began, Quincy Jones brought Temperton in with a specific mandate: write songs that have "melody first."

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Temperton arrived in Los Angeles with three demos in his pocket. One was a slow, atmospheric song called "The Lady in My Life." One was a title track called "Starlight" (which would famously be rewritten as "Thriller"). And the third was a mid-tempo, synth-heavy groover called "Baby Be Mine."

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When Temperton played the demo for "Baby Be Mine," Quincy Jones loved it immediately. It had a breezy, "West Coast" vibe that balanced out the aggressive funk of "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'" and the dark rock of "Beat It." It was sunny, optimistic, and incredibly catchy, the perfect bridge between the disco era Michael was leaving behind and the pop era he was entering.

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The inclusion of "Baby Be Mine" on the album was not without controversy behind the scenes. The Thriller tracklist was notoriously difficult to finalize. Michael and Quincy had a rule that the album would only have nine songs to ensure maximum audio quality on the vinyl pressing (more songs meant thinner grooves and less bass).

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For months, a song called "Hot Street" (also known as "Slapstick") was slated to be on the album. Another strong contender was a song written by Michael Sembello called "Carousel." "Carousel" was fully recorded and mixed; it was a finished product ready for the pressing plant.

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However, at the eleventh hour, Quincy Jones listened to "Baby Be Mine" again. He felt that "Carousel," while a great song, had a "carnival" atmosphere that didn't fit the cool, sophisticated vibe of the rest of the record. "Baby Be Mine," on the other hand, felt timeless. In a heartbreaking decision for Sembello, "Carousel" was cut, and "Baby Be Mine" took the slot as Track #2. This decision proved that the team was prioritizing "flow" and "vibe" over just hoarding hits.

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Musically, "Baby Be Mine" is the spiritual successor to "Rock With You," but with a modern, electronic twist. It is a prime example of the genre now lovingly called "Yacht Rock" which was slick, highly produced R&B-pop with jazz chords.

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The production is dominated by synthesizers. Greg Phillinganes and David Paich (of the band Toto) played the keyboards. They used a combination of the warm, analog Fender Rhodes and the sharper, digital Yamaha synthesizers that were just becoming popular. The result is a sound that sparkles. The opening synth riff is iconic among musicians for its "glide", a pitch-bending effect that makes the keyboard sound like it's stretching.

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The drum programming is also distinct. Unlike the heavy, live-sounding drums of "Billie Jean," the drums on "Baby Be Mine" are tighter and more mechanical. They were programmed on the LinnLM-1 drum machine, giving the song a "stepper’s groove" that was very popular in the UK soul scene at the time.

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Michael’s Vocal Playground Michael Jackson famously cited "Baby Be Mine" as one of his favorite vocal performances on the album. Why? Because it was pure fun.

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On tracks like "Billie Jean," Michael had to be a character (paranoid, angry). On "Beat It," he had to be tough, but on "Baby Be Mine," he could just be a singer. His performance is incredibly relaxed and playful. He uses his full range, dipping into his lower chest voice for the verses and soaring into his falsetto for the chorus.

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If you listen closely to the ad-libs at the end of the song, you can hear Michael improvising vocal runs that are heavily influenced by Stevie Wonder. He stretches the word "Mine" into complex melismas, bending the notes with incredible precision. There is a joy in his delivery that is palpable; it is the sound of a 24-year-old superstar in his prime, knowing he is creating magic.

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Rod Temperton was known for writing lyrics that didn't get in the way of the melody. "Baby Be Mine" is a classic example. The lyrics are standard love-song fare: a plea for a girl to give him a chance. Lines like "I don't want to be the one to broken-hearted" aren't Shakespeare, but they are phonetically perfect. They roll off the tongue easily, making the song an instant earworm.

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However, there is a subtle sophistication in the phrasing. The pre-chorus ("So listen to my heart...") builds tension perfectly before the release of the chorus. Temperton understood the "math" of a pop song better than anyone, and Michael executed that math with soul.

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As it was never released as a single, "Baby Be Mine" never had a music video. It never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 on its own. It was never performed live on any of Michael’s three solo world tours. For the general public, it is the "song between Wanna Be Startin' Somethin' and The Girl Is Mine" but for hardcore fans and musicians, it is a cult classic. In the years since Thriller’s release, "Baby Be Mine" has gained a reputation as the "best song that wasn't a hit." It has been sampled heavily in hip-hop and house music. In 1993, the hip-hop duo Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince (Will Smith) sampled the song for their track "I Wanna Rock."

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In a 2008 re-evaluation of Thriller for its 25th anniversary, many critics pointed to "Baby Be Mine" as the song that has aged the best. While the rock guitars of "Beat It" scream "1980s," the smooth synth-funk of "Baby Be Mine" sounds remarkably fresh and modern. It fits perfectly into the modern "synth-wave" and "retro-pop" trends popularized by artists like The Weeknd and Bruno Mars.

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It stands as a testament to the depth of the Thriller album. On any other artist's record, "Baby Be Mine" would have been the lead single and a #1 hit. On Thriller, it was just Track #2, a humble placeholder that happened to be a masterpiece.