Human Nature

THE STORY BEHIND ' Human Nature '

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This is the lush, atmospheric ballad that almost didn't make the album. The story below details how a rough demo on a cassette tape saved the song from the trash bin and how the band Toto crafted one of the most beautiful soundscapes in pop history.

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By the time the Thriller sessions were nearing their end, the album was still missing something. Quincy Jones felt they had enough dance tracks ("Billie Jean," "Wanna Be Startin' Somethin'") and rock tracks ("Beat It"), but the album lacked a pure, emotional ballad that could sit alongside "The Lady in My Life."

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The solution came from an unexpected place: the rock band Toto. Quincy Jones had hired the members of Toto (Steve Porcaro, David Paich, Jeff Porcaro, and Steve Lukather) as his house band for the album. He asked them to keep an ear out for any potential songs.

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One day, Steve Porcaro, the keyboardist for Toto, was in the studio helping Quincy. He had recorded a rough demo of a song he had written on a cassette tape. The song was "Human Nature." However, the cassette he gave to Quincy didn't just have "Human Nature" on it; the B-side contained a different groove that David Paich had written. Quincy took the tape home, intending to listen to Paich's groove.

 

When Quincy put the tape in his player, the auto-reverse function kicked in, and instead of hearing Paich's groove, he heard the B-side: Steve Porcaro’s demo of "Human Nature."

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The demo was rough. The lyrics weren't finished (Steve had just mumbled some placeholder words), and the production was basic. But the melody, a haunting, descending synthesizer line caught Quincy's ear immediately. He described it as "musical kaleidoscope." He felt it had a yearning quality that was perfect for Michael. The next morning, Quincy walked into the studio and told the team, "This is the one. This is the missing link."

 

John Bettis While the melody was perfect, the lyrics needed work. Steve Porcaro had written the song about his young daughter coming home from school and asking him, "Why?" after a boy pushed her. The original concept was innocent but a bit juvenile for Michael Jackson.

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Quincy brought in lyricist John Bettis, famous for writing hits for The Carpenters. Bettis listened to the track and felt a different vibe. He didn't hear a song about a child; he heard a song about a lonely observer walking through a city at night. He imagined a character looking out at the "city that winks a sleepless eye."

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Bettis wrote the new lyrics in a frantic burst of inspiration. He kept the chorus hook "If they say, Why? Why? Tell 'em that is human nature" but changed the context to be about romantic longing and the electric atmosphere of New York City after dark. Michael loved the new imagery. It fit perfectly with his own life as a celebrity who often felt like he was watching the world through a window, unable to participate.

 

The production of "Human Nature" is widely considered one of the best-sounding recordings of the 1980s. It is a masterclass in texture.

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• The Synthesizers: The defining sound of the track is the Yamaha CS-80 synthesizer, played by Steve Porcaro. The CS-80 was famous for its "aftertouch" feature, which allowed the player to press down harder on a key to make the sound swell and vibrato. This gave the synth lines a breathing, organic quality that sounded almost like a human voice.

• The Guitars: Steve Lukather played the clean, chiming guitar parts. He used a chorus effect to make the guitar sound "wet" and shimmering, blending it perfectly with the synthesizers so you can barely tell where the guitar ends and the keyboard begins.

• The Drums: Jeff Porcaro, one of the greatest drummers in history, laid down a groove that was deceptively simple. He played a "half-time shuffle," a rhythm that feels relaxed and spacious.

 

The "Softest" Touch For "Human Nature," Michael used the very top of his vocal range. He sang almost the entire song in a breathy, delicate head voice. Quincy Jones instructed him to sing it as if he were whispering a secret.

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The recording technique was crucial here. Engineer Bruce Swedien used a massive amount of reverb on Michael’s voice. This made him sound distant and dreamlike, as if he were singing from a rooftop or a lonely street corner. The ad-libs at the end of the song, the “Da-da-da” vocal runs were improvised. Michael was mimicking the synthesizer melody, blurring the line between man and machine.

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"Human Nature" was released as the fifth single from Thriller in July 1983. It reached #7 on the Billboard Hot 100.

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While it wasn't a "blockbuster" #1 hit like "Billie Jean," it became a critical darling. Music critics, who had often dismissed Michael as just a pop dancer, pointed to "Human Nature" as proof of his artistic depth. It was complex, sophisticated, and mature. It became a staple of Adult Contemporary radio, introducing Michael to an audience that was older and more conservative than his usual fan base.

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Perhaps the greatest legacy of "Human Nature" is its second life in hip-hop. The song’s lush instrumentation made it a favorite for producers looking for samples.

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The most famous usage is by the rapper Nas, who sampled the track for his 1994 hit "It Ain't Hard to Tell." The producer, Large Professor, took the vocal ad-libs and the drum break to create a gritty New York anthem. This recontextualized the song, proving that even Michael’s softest ballad had a "street" credibility. It has also been sampled by SWV ("Right Here"), Chris Brown ("She Ain't You"), and dozens of others.

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"Human Nature" was a permanent fixture in Michael’s tours. It provided a moment of calm in the middle of his high-energy shows. During the Bad and Dangerous tours, he would perform it without any dancers. He would simply stand on stage, often wearing a black jacket, and sing. It was a moment of pure connection with the audience, stripping away the spectacle to focus on the melody.

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Today, it stands as the emotional heart of the Thriller album, a beautiful, shimmering pause in the middle of the funk.