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Black or White

January 19, 2023

For other uses, see Black or White (disambiguation).

"Black or White" is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson, released by Epic Records on November 11, 1991, as the first single from his eighth studio album, Dangerous (1991). Jackson wrote, composed, and produced it with Bill Bottrell. The song is a fusion of pop rock, dance and hip hop.[2] Epic Records described it as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony".

"Black or White"
Single by Michael Jackson
from the album Dangerous
ReleasedNovember 11, 1991
Recorded1989–1990[1]
Studio
Genre
Length3:22
LabelEpic
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Michael Jackson singles chronology
"Do the Bartman"
(1990) 		"Black or White"
(1991) 		"Remember the Time"
(1992)
Music video
"Black or White"
(Short version) on YouTube
Music video
"Black or White"
(Long version) on YouTube
Audio sample

"Black or White" reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on December 7, 1991, making it the fastest US chart topper since the Beatles' "Get Back". It stayed there for a total of seven weeks. Jackson became the first artist to have number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100, in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s with the song. It is certified 3× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). Around the world, "Black or White" hit number one in 20 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the Eurochart Hot 100. It was the best-selling single worldwide of 1992.[3]

The music video for "Black or White" premiered on MTV, BET, VH1, and Fox, which gave them their highest Nielsen ratings ever at the time, as well as the BBC's Top of the Pops in the UK on November 14, 1991. The video was directed by John Landis, who previously directed Thriller. It was co-choreographed by Jackson and Vincent Paterson. It premiered simultaneously in 27 countries, with an audience of 500 million viewers, the most ever for a music video.

"Black or White" was honored with the first Billboard No. 1 World Single.[3] The music video of the song appears on the video albums: Dangerous: The Short Films (long version), Video Greatest Hits – HIStory (long version, without graffiti on VHS version but with graffiti on DVD version), Number Ones (short version), and Michael Jackson's Vision (long version without graffiti). In 2003, Q magazine ranked "Black or White" at number 84 in their list of the "1001 Best Songs Ever".[4]

Songwriting and recording

"Black or White" was written and recorded over 18 months starting in early 1989. Michael Jackson hired producer Bill Bottrell to help him craft a new sound, one that would shift his style away from his earlier work with Quincy Jones. Bottrell had already worked with Jackson on Victory (1984) and Bad (1987), the latter collaboration performed at Hayvenhurst, Jackson's estate in Encino, California. Jackson invited Bottrell to join him producing and composing songs at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles in late 1988, but none of the material from several weeks of sessions there made it to the album. In early 1989, the project was moved to Westlake Audio in West Hollywood, and one of the first things Jackson did was to hum the main riff of "Black or White" to Bottrell, who interpreted the tune on guitar, using a Kramer American Series electric guitar plugged into a Mesa Boogie amplifier, miked with a Beyerdynamic M 160. Jackson also suggested the song's rhythm with his voice, and Bottrell programmed this rhythm into an E-mu Systems drum machine. Bottrell augmented the pattern with samples from an Emulator III. His Atari computer ran a MIDI editing program by Hybrid Arts; Bottrell and Brad Buxer used the program to tweak the percussion timings to give more of a swing feel. Jackson recorded his main and backing vocals into a Neumann U47 microphone. Bottrell said that throughout the next 18 months of changes to the song, Jackson's initial scratch vocal was left in place, and it appears on the final version.[5]

After two days of work, the song had vocals, drum sounds and electric guitar. Bottrell added an acoustic guitar part using a Gibson LG-2 built in the 1940s; a robust model with a big country sound reminiscent of Gene Vincent's classic rockabilly style. Jackson became busy working on other projects, and "Black or White" languished for a few months. The song was picked up again when Bottrell's part of the album project moved to Record One in Sherman Oaks. Bottrell and Jackson felt that the song had two big gaps in the middle, and they determined to fill them. Jackson wanted a heavy metal guitar to fill one of the gaps, so he sang the part he wanted, including chord arpeggiations, to session player Tim Pierce who performed it on a Les Paul instrument plugged into a Marshall stack. Michael Boddicker added the sound of a high-speed guitar by using a Roland sequencer, assisted by Kevin Gilbert. Bottrell blended two different bass sounds, primarily Bryan Loren playing a Moog keyboard bass, augmented by Terry Jackson playing an electric bass guitar. (Terry Jackson was unrelated to Michael Jackson. Terry was discovered by Thomas Dolby, and played bass in 1988 on Aliens Ate My Buick, co-produced by Bottrell.) Bottrell replaced some of the E-mu default rhythm samples with live drum samples taken from an Akai machine.[5]

For most of the recording process, Michael Jackson left Bottrell alone to work on various ideas. Bottrell wanted a section of rapping to fill the remaining gap, and he suggested LL Cool J or Heavy D, but these proposals did not work out. Bottrell said he had been trying to get someone to write a rap verse for eight months when he was suddenly inspired to write it himself. He recorded Loren performing the rap, but Loren was not at ease in the role. Bottrell recorded it himself several times, editing one of these takes to use as a demonstration for Jackson. Upon hearing the take, Jackson wanted it for the final version. Bottrell pleaded again that they should get a "real rapper", but Jackson insisted on Bottrell's take.[5]

The final polishing of the song involved Bottrell filling a keyboard with various sampled electric guitar notes, and bringing his friend Jasun Martz to play it, taking advantage of Martz's fresh ears and rock sensibility. For the final mix, Bottrell was frustrated by the Solid State Logic (SSL) mixer at Larrabee Sound Studios, which sounded good on the heavy metal guitar, but made the classic guitars seem "too cold and clinical". He ended up using the Neve mixer at Record One to mix the majority of the song, and the SSL for the rap and heavy metal sections. Original tracks were recorded on two Studer 24-track 2-inch analog tape machines, and a compilation of these was laid down on a Mitsubishi ProDigi 32-track digital audio tape deck.[5]

Composition

The song has elements of dance, hip hop and hard rock music such as Bill Bottrell's guitars and Jackson's vocal style. This song is played in the key of E major, and towards the end is modulated to F♯ major and again to A♭ major, with Jackson's vocal spanning from E3 to E♭6. Its tempo is measured at 115 BPM.[2][6][7][8][9][10][11]

The song's main riff, played by Bill Bottrell, is often incorrectly attributed to Guns N' Roses guitarist Slash. Slash's guitar playing is actually heard in the skit that precedes the album version of the song[12][13] and he did play the main riff during live performances of the song.

Release

Promotion

"Black or White" was picked as the first single from the album Dangerous. An alternate version was first heard by Sony executives on a plane trip to Neverland, as the third track of the promotional CD acetate. It began to be promoted on radio stations the first week of November 1991 in New York and Los Angeles.[14][15] "Black or White" was officially released one week later, on November 5, 1991.[15]

Commercial reception

To prepare the audience for the special occasion of the televised premiere of the "Black or White" video, Epic records released the song (without the accompanying images) to radio stations just two days in advance. In a period of 24 hours, "Black or White", described by the record company as "a rock 'n' roll dance song about racial harmony", had been added to the playlists of 96 percent of 237 of the United States' Top 40 radio stations.[16]

"Black or White" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 35.[17] A week later it shot up to number three and in its third week, December 7, 1991, it ascended to number one, making it the fastest chart topper since the Beatles' "Get Back", which also won the Hot 100 in just three weeks in 1969 and also his twelfth number-one entry.[17][18] It closed the year at number one, and remained at the top of the singles chart into 1992 for a total of seven weeks, making Michael Jackson the first artist to have number one popular hits in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s.[18] In the UK, the single became the first single by an American to go into the singles chart at number one since 1960, when "It's Now or Never" by Elvis Presley did in the same manner.[17] Around the world, "Black or White" hit number one in 20 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Mexico, Cuba, Turkey, Zimbabwe, Australia, New Zealand, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the Eurochart Hot 100, number two in Germany and Austria and number three in the Netherlands.[17][18][19] Previously, Billie Jean and I Just Can't Stop Loving You had each been number one in 9 countries. The single was certified platinum in the US, selling over one million copies and became the second-best-selling single of the year.[16][18] As of August 2018 the song further certified two-time platinum for the digital sales.[20]

Critical reception

Reviews of the song were generally favorable. In an retrospective review, Chris Lacy from Albumism stated that it "merges classic rock with soulful crooning in a call for racial unity."[21] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic highlighted the song.[22] Upon the release, Larry Flick from Billboard described it as a "surprisingly sparse, but instantly gratifying pop/rocker that reveals his grittiest and most affecting performance in years." He noted further that the guitar appearance by Slash and rap cameo by Bill Bottrell is "purely incidental".[23] Clark and DeVaney from Cashbox stated, "The unmistakeable voice and style are street-hip and slick, with a catchy melody and some untraditional acoustic guitar work. There is just a hint of both George Michael and Prince in the production."[24] David Browne from Entertainment Weekly praised the song, adding, "He still knows how to fashion a hook that will take up permanent residence in your brain (away from its video, Black or White is spare and effortless)."[25] Alan Jones from Music Week named it Pick of the Week, commenting, "A bit of patchwork quilt, and something of a disappointment on first hearing, but ultimately it reveals itself as a killer, adding up to far more than sum of its parts. This will go all the way."[26] A reviewer from People magazine stated that "the simple, spry rock riffs" that power the song is "surprisingly effective".[27] Rolling Stone's Alan Light in his Dangerous review, compared the song unfavourably to "Beat It": "Neither this slow-burn solo nor the Stones-derived riff on 'Black or White' offers the catharsis of Eddie Van Halen's blazing break on 'Beat It'".[28] The Pazz & Jop critics' poll ranked "Black or White" at number 19.[29] In 1992, Larry Flick commented on the remixes of the song, "Thanks to deft postproduction by David Cole and Robert Clivillés, the cut kicks a potent groove that nicely complements the original tune's kinetic pop/rock nature."[30]

Remixes

The Clivillés & Cole remixes for "Black or White", released as a promotional single in 1992, also charted on many European countries. In the UK, it reached number 14, and in Ireland, number 11. The promotional single also surprisingly peaked at number 18 in Australia.[31] Despite the favourable European response to this remix, it was never included on a Michael Jackson album or compilation, except on the third disc of the French & UK versions of Jackson's greatest hits album King of Pop.

Music video

The accompanying music video for "Black or White" was directed by John Landis, who previously directed the "Thriller" music video (1983). It was filmed from late September to early October 1991.[32] It was choreographed by Jackson and Vincent Paterson. It contains a Dolby Surround sound mix.

Along with Jackson, the video features Macaulay Culkin, Tess Harper, and George Wendt[33] pictured as a family unit in the opening scene, which the Los Angeles Times criticized as "almost exactly a replay" of the 1984 Twisted Sister video for "We're Not Gonna Take It".[34] The dance scene with the Native Americans shown in the video was filmed at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park in Agua Dulce, California.[32] The Native American dancers were organized by Jackson's schoolfriend Joanelle Romero, founder of the Red Nation International Film Festival, featuring her daughter Sage as child dancer.[35] The Native American dancers used their own traditional wardrobe and became the first Native Americans in a non-Native American music video.[36] The production enabled Romero to become an established producer.[36] The scene where Michael Jackson and a dancer appear on the freeway was filmed at 11779 Sheldon Street in Sun Valley, Los Angeles.[32][37] This morphing effect had previously been used only in films such as Willow and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The morphing visual effects were created by Pacific Data Images.[17]

 
A comparison between the two versions of Michael Jackson's "Black or White" music video: the original version and the computer-altered racist graffiti version (with the messages reading "Hitler Lives" with swastika, "Nigger Go Home", "No More Wetbacks" and "KKK Rules")[38]

The video premiered simultaneously in 27 countries, with an audience of 500 million viewers, the most ever for a music video.[39] It premiered on MTV, BET, VH1, and Fox (giving them their highest Nielsen ratings ever at the time)[40] as well as the BBC's Top of the Pops in the UK[41] on November 14, 1991.[39]

Synopsis

The video begins with a boy (Macaulay Culkin) dancing to rock music in his bedroom. His father (George Wendt) yells at him to stop. The boy retaliates by playing an electric guitar loudly enough to fire his father into space, to finally landing in Africa.[40]

Jackson performs "Black or White"[39] with dancers from different cultures, including African Zulu hunters, traditional Thai dancers, Plains Native Americans, a Sri Lankan Tamil Odissi dancer[42] and Hopak dancers. Jackson walks defiantly through visual collages of fire (declaring "I ain't scared of no sheets; I ain't scared of nobody"), referring to KKK torch ceremonies. Culkin and other children (including Michael's niece Brandi; Wade Robson; and Mark Pugh and David Shelton of Another Bad Creation) perform the rap sequence.[39] The group states, "I'm not gonna spend my life being a color." Jackson performs atop the Statue of Liberty, surrounded by other world landmarks.[43] At the end of the video, people of different ethnicities and nationalities dance and morph into one another.[43] A young Tyra Banks can be seen in this sequence.[44]

In the extended version of the music video, after the song, a black panther walks out of the studio into an urban street and transforms into Jackson, who dances furiously and destroys a glass beer bottle, a building window, and a parked car.[45] He tears off his shirt and screams with grand drama as the hotel neon sign falls. After his damage and rampage, he re-emerges as a panther. Finally, Bart Simpson from The Simpsons jams to the song while watching it on the TV. Homer yells at him to "Turn off that noise!" Bart replies, "Chill out, Homeboy." Then, Homer angrily turns the TV off. The static then cuts to a close-up of Jackson with the tagline "prejudice is ignorance".[45][46]

Controversy and censorship

Controversy was generated concerning the last four minutes of the original music video. A black panther walks out of the studio and then morphs into Jackson.[39] Then he walks outside to perform some of his most physically slick dance moves, in a similar way to "Billie Jean". This part contained sexually suggestive scenes when Jackson starts to grab his crotch,[40] and then zips his pants up. In the original version, Jackson is seen smashing windows,[40] destroying a car with his arm and a crowbar, destroying windows with a steering wheel and a trash can, and causing an inn (called the "Royal Arms Hotel") to explode.[39]

Jackson was sharply criticized for the final scene, especially by Entertainment Weekly which ran a featured article titled "Michael Jackson's Video Nightmare".[38] Jackson asked his fans for forgiveness, saying that the violent and suggestive behavior had been a dance-style interpretation of the animalistic instincts of a panther.[39] Jackson ordered the removal of the video's final scenes from subsequent broadcast. In 2001, Jackson re-issued the video with the final scenes restored in a digitally altered form: the glass windows smashed are now marred with racist and anti-Semitic graffiti displaying epithets like "Nigger" (styled as NI66eR 6O HOMe) and "Wetbacks", as well as a message reading "Hitler Lives" and a storefront door spray-painted with "KKK Rules", referring to the Ku Klux Klan. These alterations gave a new reasoning to Jackson's destruction of property.[38]

Track listings

Cultural impact

In 1991, "Weird Al" Yankovic recorded a parody of "Black or White" titled "Snack All Night", which was never released. Although Jackson was a long-time supporter of Yankovic's work and had approved past parodies, he told Yankovic that he was reluctant to approve a parody of "Black or White" because of the message of the song.[55] Yankovic believes that Jackson's rejection of the parody was ultimately for the best, because he was unsatisfied with the quality of the song and its scrapping left room on his next album for "Smells Like Nirvana", one of his biggest hits.[55] As with other rejected parodies, Yankovic has performed "Snack All Night" during his concerts.[56]

The music video, particularly the panther segment, have been referenced or parodied by television shows and artists, notably by Saturday Night Live and In Living Color. Comedian Chris Rock joked that he was angry because Jackson had smashed his car.[38] In 1991, English rock band Genesis parodied the "Black or White" video in the ending of their video for "I Can't Dance", in which member Phil Collins imitates Michael Jackson's "panther" fit in front of a stark white background.[57] In 2012, the television show Glee covered the song in the episode "Michael", it features primary voices from Kevin McHale, Lea Michele, Chris Colfer, Amber Riley and Naya Rivera, and backing vocals from the rest of the cast. Jenna Ushkowitz and Darren Criss are not featured in the song or the performance. This cover debuted and peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100, number 42 at Billboard Digital Songs, and number 69 at Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart at the week of February 18, 2012.[58]

Charts

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[116] 2× Platinum 140,000^
Canada (Music Canada)[117] Gold 50,000^
Denmark (IFPI Danmark)[118] Gold 45,000 
France (SNEP)[119] Silver 125,000*
Germany (BVMI)[120] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[121] Gold 35,000 
Japan (RIAJ)[122]
Full-length ringtone 		Gold 100,000*
New Zealand (RMNZ)[123] Platinum 10,000*
United Kingdom (BPI)[124]
physical 		Silver 200,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[125]
digital 		Gold 400,000 
United States (RIAA)[126] 3× Platinum 3,000,000 

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.
  Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Personnel

References

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January 19, 2023
black, white, other, uses, disambiguation, song, american, recording, artist, michael, jackson, released, epic, records, november, 1991, first, single, from, eighth, studio, album, dangerous, 1991, jackson, wrote, composed, produced, with, bill, bottrell, song. For other uses see Black or White disambiguation Black or White is a song by American recording artist Michael Jackson released by Epic Records on November 11 1991 as the first single from his eighth studio album Dangerous 1991 Jackson wrote composed and produced it with Bill Bottrell The song is a fusion of pop rock dance and hip hop 2 Epic Records described it as a rock n roll dance song about racial harmony Black or White Single by Michael Jacksonfrom the album DangerousReleasedNovember 11 1991Recorded1989 1990 1 StudioWestlake Los Angeles Record One Los Angeles Larrabee HollywoodGenrePop rockhip hopLength3 22LabelEpicSongwriter s Michael Jackson Bill BottrellProducer s Michael Jackson Bill BottrellMichael Jackson singles chronology Do the Bartman 1990 Black or White 1991 Remember the Time 1992 Music video Black or White Short version on YouTubeMusic video Black or White Long version on YouTubeAudio sample source source track filehelp Black or White reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 on December 7 1991 making it the fastest US chart topper since the Beatles Get Back It stayed there for a total of seven weeks Jackson became the first artist to have number one hits on the Billboard Hot 100 in the 1970s 1980s and 1990s with the song It is certified 3 Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America RIAA Around the world Black or White hit number one in 20 countries including the US the UK Canada Mexico Cuba Turkey Zimbabwe Australia New Zealand Belgium Denmark Finland France Ireland Israel Italy Norway Spain Sweden Switzerland and the Eurochart Hot 100 It was the best selling single worldwide of 1992 3 The music video for Black or White premiered on MTV BET VH1 and Fox which gave them their highest Nielsen ratings ever at the time as well as the BBC s Top of the Pops in the UK on November 14 1991 The video was directed by John Landis who previously directed Thriller It was co choreographed by Jackson and Vincent Paterson It premiered simultaneously in 27 countries with an audience of 500 million viewers the most ever for a music video Black or White was honored with the first Billboard No 1 World Single 3 The music video of the song appears on the video albums Dangerous The Short Films long version Video Greatest Hits HIStory long version without graffiti on VHS version but with graffiti on DVD version Number Ones short version and Michael Jackson s Vision long version without graffiti In 2003 Q magazine ranked Black or White at number 84 in their list of the 1001 Best Songs Ever 4 Contents 1 Songwriting and recording 2 Composition 3 Release 3 1 Promotion 3 2 Commercial reception 3 3 Critical reception 4 Remixes 5 Music video 5 1 Synopsis 5 2 Controversy and censorship 6 Track listings 7 Cultural impact 8 Charts 8 1 Weekly charts 8 2 Year end charts 8 3 Decade end charts 9 Certifications 10 Personnel 11 ReferencesSongwriting and recording Edit Black or White was written and recorded over 18 months starting in early 1989 Michael Jackson hired producer Bill Bottrell to help him craft a new sound one that would shift his style away from his earlier work with Quincy Jones Bottrell had already worked with Jackson on Victory 1984 and Bad 1987 the latter collaboration performed at Hayvenhurst Jackson s estate in Encino California Jackson invited Bottrell to join him producing and composing songs at Ocean Way Studios in Los Angeles in late 1988 but none of the material from several weeks of sessions there made it to the album In early 1989 the project was moved to Westlake Audio in West Hollywood and one of the first things Jackson did was to hum the main riff of Black or White to Bottrell who interpreted the tune on guitar using a Kramer American Series electric guitar plugged into a Mesa Boogie amplifier miked with a Beyerdynamic M 160 Jackson also suggested the song s rhythm with his voice and Bottrell programmed this rhythm into an E mu Systems drum machine Bottrell augmented the pattern with samples from an Emulator III His Atari computer ran a MIDI editing program by Hybrid Arts Bottrell and Brad Buxer used the program to tweak the percussion timings to give more of a swing feel Jackson recorded his main and backing vocals into a Neumann U47 microphone Bottrell said that throughout the next 18 months of changes to the song Jackson s initial scratch vocal was left in place and it appears on the final version 5 After two days of work the song had vocals drum sounds and electric guitar Bottrell added an acoustic guitar part using a Gibson LG 2 built in the 1940s a robust model with a big country sound reminiscent of Gene Vincent s classic rockabilly style Jackson became busy working on other projects and Black or White languished for a few months The song was picked up again when Bottrell s part of the album project moved to Record One in Sherman Oaks Bottrell and Jackson felt that the song had two big gaps in the middle and they determined to fill them Jackson wanted a heavy metal guitar to fill one of the gaps so he sang the part he wanted including chord arpeggiations to session player Tim Pierce who performed it on a Les Paul instrument plugged into a Marshall stack Michael Boddicker added the sound of a high speed guitar by using a Roland sequencer assisted by Kevin Gilbert Bottrell blended two different bass sounds primarily Bryan Loren playing a Moog keyboard bass augmented by Terry Jackson playing an electric bass guitar Terry Jackson was unrelated to Michael Jackson Terry was discovered by Thomas Dolby and played bass in 1988 on Aliens Ate My Buick co produced by Bottrell Bottrell replaced some of the E mu default rhythm samples with live drum samples taken from an Akai machine 5 For most of the recording process Michael Jackson left Bottrell alone to work on various ideas Bottrell wanted a section of rapping to fill the remaining gap and he suggested LL Cool J or Heavy D but these proposals did not work out Bottrell said he had been trying to get someone to write a rap verse for eight months when he was suddenly inspired to write it himself He recorded Loren performing the rap but Loren was not at ease in the role Bottrell recorded it himself several times editing one of these takes to use as a demonstration for Jackson Upon hearing the take Jackson wanted it for the final version Bottrell pleaded again that they should get a real rapper but Jackson insisted on Bottrell s take 5 The final polishing of the song involved Bottrell filling a keyboard with various sampled electric guitar notes and bringing his friend Jasun Martz to play it taking advantage of Martz s fresh ears and rock sensibility For the final mix Bottrell was frustrated by the Solid State Logic SSL mixer at Larrabee Sound Studios which sounded good on the heavy metal guitar but made the classic guitars seem too cold and clinical He ended up using the Neve mixer at Record One to mix the majority of the song and the SSL for the rap and heavy metal sections Original tracks were recorded on two Studer 24 track 2 inch analog tape machines and a compilation of these was laid down on a Mitsubishi ProDigi 32 track digital audio tape deck 5 Composition EditThe song has elements of dance hip hop and hard rock music such as Bill Bottrell s guitars and Jackson s vocal style This song is played in the key of E major and towards the end is modulated to F major and again to A major with Jackson s vocal spanning from E3 to E 6 Its tempo is measured at 115 BPM 2 6 7 8 9 10 11 The song s main riff played by Bill Bottrell is often incorrectly attributed to Guns N Roses guitarist Slash Slash s guitar playing is actually heard in the skit that precedes the album version of the song 12 13 and he did play the main riff during live performances of the song Release EditPromotion Edit Black or White was picked as the first single from the album Dangerous An alternate version was first heard by Sony executives on a plane trip to Neverland as the third track of the promotional CD acetate It began to be promoted on radio stations the first week of November 1991 in New York and Los Angeles 14 15 Black or White was officially released one week later on November 5 1991 15 Commercial reception Edit To prepare the audience for the special occasion of the televised premiere of the Black or White video Epic records released the song without the accompanying images to radio stations just two days in advance In a period of 24 hours Black or White described by the record company as a rock n roll dance song about racial harmony had been added to the playlists of 96 percent of 237 of the United States Top 40 radio stations 16 Black or White entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 35 17 A week later it shot up to number three and in its third week December 7 1991 it ascended to number one making it the fastest chart topper since the Beatles Get Back which also won the Hot 100 in just three weeks in 1969 and also his twelfth number one entry 17 18 It closed the year at number one and remained at the top of the singles chart into 1992 for a total of seven weeks making Michael Jackson the first artist to have number one popular hits in the 1970s 1980s and 1990s 18 In the UK the single became the first single by an American to go into the singles chart at number one since 1960 when It s Now or Never by Elvis Presley did in the same manner 17 Around the world Black or White hit number one in 20 countries including the US the UK Canada Mexico Cuba Turkey Zimbabwe Australia New Zealand Belgium Denmark Finland France Ireland Israel Italy Norway Spain Sweden Switzerland and the Eurochart Hot 100 number two in Germany and Austria and number three in the Netherlands 17 18 19 Previously Billie Jean and I Just Can t Stop Loving You had each been number one in 9 countries The single was certified platinum in the US selling over one million copies and became the second best selling single of the year 16 18 As of August 2018 the song further certified two time platinum for the digital sales 20 Critical reception Edit Reviews of the song were generally favorable In an retrospective review Chris Lacy from Albumism stated that it merges classic rock with soulful crooning in a call for racial unity 21 Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic highlighted the song 22 Upon the release Larry Flick from Billboard described it as a surprisingly sparse but instantly gratifying pop rocker that reveals his grittiest and most affecting performance in years He noted further that the guitar appearance by Slash and rap cameo by Bill Bottrell is purely incidental 23 Clark and DeVaney from Cashbox stated The unmistakeable voice and style are street hip and slick with a catchy melody and some untraditional acoustic guitar work There is just a hint of both George Michael and Prince in the production 24 David Browne from Entertainment Weekly praised the song adding He still knows how to fashion a hook that will take up permanent residence in your brain away from its video Black or White is spare and effortless 25 Alan Jones from Music Week named it Pick of the Week commenting A bit of patchwork quilt and something of a disappointment on first hearing but ultimately it reveals itself as a killer adding up to far more than sum of its parts This will go all the way 26 A reviewer from People magazine stated that the simple spry rock riffs that power the song is surprisingly effective 27 Rolling Stone s Alan Light in his Dangerous review compared the song unfavourably to Beat It Neither this slow burn solo nor the Stones derived riff on Black or White offers the catharsis of Eddie Van Halen s blazing break on Beat It 28 The Pazz amp Jop critics poll ranked Black or White at number 19 29 In 1992 Larry Flick commented on the remixes of the song Thanks to deft postproduction by David Cole and Robert Clivilles the cut kicks a potent groove that nicely complements the original tune s kinetic pop rock nature 30 Remixes EditThe Clivilles amp Cole remixes for Black or White released as a promotional single in 1992 also charted on many European countries In the UK it reached number 14 and in Ireland number 11 The promotional single also surprisingly peaked at number 18 in Australia 31 Despite the favourable European response to this remix it was never included on a Michael Jackson album or compilation except on the third disc of the French amp UK versions of Jackson s greatest hits album King of Pop Music video EditThe accompanying music video for Black or White was directed by John Landis who previously directed the Thriller music video 1983 It was filmed from late September to early October 1991 32 It was choreographed by Jackson and Vincent Paterson It contains a Dolby Surround sound mix Along with Jackson the video features Macaulay Culkin Tess Harper and George Wendt 33 pictured as a family unit in the opening scene which the Los Angeles Times criticized as almost exactly a replay of the 1984 Twisted Sister video for We re Not Gonna Take It 34 The dance scene with the Native Americans shown in the video was filmed at Vasquez Rocks Natural Area Park in Agua Dulce California 32 The Native American dancers were organized by Jackson s schoolfriend Joanelle Romero founder of the Red Nation International Film Festival featuring her daughter Sage as child dancer 35 The Native American dancers used their own traditional wardrobe and became the first Native Americans in a non Native American music video 36 The production enabled Romero to become an established producer 36 The scene where Michael Jackson and a dancer appear on the freeway was filmed at 11779 Sheldon Street in Sun Valley Los Angeles 32 37 This morphing effect had previously been used only in films such as Willow and Terminator 2 Judgment Day The morphing visual effects were created by Pacific Data Images 17 A comparison between the two versions of Michael Jackson s Black or White music video the original version and the computer altered racist graffiti version with the messages reading Hitler Lives with swastika Nigger Go Home No More Wetbacks and KKK Rules 38 The video premiered simultaneously in 27 countries with an audience of 500 million viewers the most ever for a music video 39 It premiered on MTV BET VH1 and Fox giving them their highest Nielsen ratings ever at the time 40 as well as the BBC s Top of the Pops in the UK 41 on November 14 1991 39 Synopsis Edit The video begins with a boy Macaulay Culkin dancing to rock music in his bedroom His father George Wendt yells at him to stop The boy retaliates by playing an electric guitar loudly enough to fire his father into space to finally landing in Africa 40 Jackson performs Black or White 39 with dancers from different cultures including African Zulu hunters traditional Thai dancers Plains Native Americans a Sri Lankan Tamil Odissi dancer 42 and Hopak dancers Jackson walks defiantly through visual collages of fire declaring I ain t scared of no sheets I ain t scared of nobody referring to KKK torch ceremonies Culkin and other children including Michael s niece Brandi Wade Robson and Mark Pugh and David Shelton of Another Bad Creation perform the rap sequence 39 The group states I m not gonna spend my life being a color Jackson performs atop the Statue of Liberty surrounded by other world landmarks 43 At the end of the video people of different ethnicities and nationalities dance and morph into one another 43 A young Tyra Banks can be seen in this sequence 44 In the extended version of the music video after the song a black panther walks out of the studio into an urban street and transforms into Jackson who dances furiously and destroys a glass beer bottle a building window and a parked car 45 He tears off his shirt and screams with grand drama as the hotel neon sign falls After his damage and rampage he re emerges as a panther Finally Bart Simpson from The Simpsons jams to the song while watching it on the TV Homer yells at him to Turn off that noise Bart replies Chill out Homeboy Then Homer angrily turns the TV off The static then cuts to a close up of Jackson with the tagline prejudice is ignorance 45 46 Controversy and censorship Edit Controversy was generated concerning the last four minutes of the original music video A black panther walks out of the studio and then morphs into Jackson 39 Then he walks outside to perform some of his most physically slick dance moves in a similar way to Billie Jean This part contained sexually suggestive scenes when Jackson starts to grab his crotch 40 and then zips his pants up In the original version Jackson is seen smashing windows 40 destroying a car with his arm and a crowbar destroying windows with a steering wheel and a trash can and causing an inn called the Royal Arms Hotel to explode 39 Jackson was sharply criticized for the final scene especially by Entertainment Weekly which ran a featured article titled Michael Jackson s Video Nightmare 38 Jackson asked his fans for forgiveness saying that the violent and suggestive behavior had been a dance style interpretation of the animalistic instincts of a panther 39 Jackson ordered the removal of the video s final scenes from subsequent broadcast In 2001 Jackson re issued the video with the final scenes restored in a digitally altered form the glass windows smashed are now marred with racist and anti Semitic graffiti displaying epithets like Nigger styled as NI66eR 6O HOMe and Wetbacks as well as a message reading Hitler Lives and a storefront door spray painted with KKK Rules referring to the Ku Klux Klan These alterations gave a new reasoning to Jackson s destruction of property 38 Track listings Edit7 inch UK 47 Side one Black or White Single Version 3 22Side two Black or White Instrumental 3 227 inch US 48 Side one Black or White Single Version 3 22Side two Black or White Instrumental 3 2212 inch UK 49 Side one Black or White 3 22 Bad 4 04Side two Black or White Instrumental 3 22 Thriller 5 5712 inch The Clivilles amp Cole Remixes UK 50 Side one Black or White The Clivilles amp Cole House Club Mix 7 36 Black or White The Clivilles amp Cole House Dub Mix 6 34Side two Black or White The Underground Club Mix 7 29 Black or White House With Guitar Radio Mix 3 53 Black or White Tribal Beats 3 38Limited Edition 12 inch US 51 Side one Black or White The Clivilles amp Cole House Club Mix 7 33 Black or White The Clivilles amp Cole House Dub Mix 6 27 Side two Black or White House with Guitar Radio Mix 3 53 Black or White Single Version 3 22 Black or White Instrumental 3 22 Black or White Tribal Beats 3 34CD UK 52 Black or White single version 3 22 Black or White instrumental 3 22 Smooth Criminal 4 16CD The Clivilles amp Cole Remixes UK 53 Black or White The Clivilles amp Cole House Club Mix 7 36 Black or White The Clivilles amp Cole House Dub Mix 6 34 Black or White The Underground Club Mix 7 29 Black or White House With Guitar Radio Mix 3 53 Black or White Tribal Beats 3 38CD US 54 Black or White Single Version 3 22 Black or White Instrumental 3 22Promo VHS UK PAL Black or White Domestic Version Music Video 11 00Visionary CD side Black or White Single Version 3 22 Black or White Clivilles amp Cole House Guitar Radio Mix 3 53DVD side Black or White Music Video 11 00 Black or White Single Version 3 22 Black or White Clivilles amp Cole House Guitar Radio Mix 3 53Cultural impact EditIn 1991 Weird Al Yankovic recorded a parody of Black or White titled Snack All Night which was never released Although Jackson was a long time supporter of Yankovic s work and had approved past parodies he told Yankovic that he was reluctant to approve a parody of Black or White because of the message of the song 55 Yankovic believes that Jackson s rejection of the parody was ultimately for the best because he was unsatisfied with the quality of the song and its scrapping left room on his next album for Smells Like Nirvana one of his biggest hits 55 As with other rejected parodies Yankovic has performed Snack All Night during his concerts 56 The music video particularly the panther segment have been referenced or parodied by television shows and artists notably by Saturday Night Live and In Living Color Comedian Chris Rock joked that he was angry because Jackson had smashed his car 38 In 1991 English rock band Genesis parodied the Black or White video in the ending of their video for I Can t Dance in which member Phil Collins imitates Michael Jackson s panther fit in front of a stark white background 57 In 2012 the television show Glee covered the song in the episode Michael it features primary voices from Kevin McHale Lea Michele Chris Colfer Amber Riley and Naya Rivera and backing vocals from the rest of the cast Jenna Ushkowitz and Darren Criss are not featured in the song or the performance This cover debuted and peaked at number 64 on the Billboard Hot 100 number 42 at Billboard Digital Songs and number 69 at Billboard Canadian Hot 100 chart at the week of February 18 2012 58 Charts EditWeekly charts Edit Chart 1991 92 PeakpositionAustralia ARIA 59 1Austria O3 Austria Top 40 60 1Belgium Ultratop 50 Flanders 61 1Canada Retail Singles The Record 62 1Canada Top Singles RPM 63 1Canada Adult Contemporary RPM 64 3Canada Contemporary Hit Radio The Record 62 1Canada Dance Urban RPM 65 1Cuba Cuban Singles Chart 19 1Denmark Tracklisten 19 1Europe European Hot 100 Singles 19 1Europe Dance Music amp Media 66 1Finland Suomen virallinen singlelista 67 1Finland Radio Suomen virallinen radiosoittolista 67 2France SNEP 68 1Germany Official German Charts 69 2Greece IFPI 70 1Ireland IRMA 71 1Israel IBA 19 1Italy Musica e dischi 72 1Mexico Mexican Airplay 19 1Netherlands Dutch Top 40 73 3Netherlands Single Top 100 74 2New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 75 1Norway VG lista 76 1Peru El Siglo de Torreon 77 5Portugal AFP 78 3Spain AFYVE 79 1Sweden Sverigetopplistan 80 1Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 81 1Turkey Turkish Singles Chart 82 1UK Singles OCC 83 1UK Dance Music Week 84 5Uruguay El Siglo de Torreon 85 4US Billboard Hot 100 86 1US Adult Contemporary Billboard 87 23US Dance Club Songs Billboard 88 2US Hot Dance Music Maxi Singles Sales Billboard 89 1US Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard 90 3Chart 2006 PeakpositionFrance SNEP 68 64Ireland IRMA 71 22Italy FIMI 91 7Netherlands Single Top 100 74 24Spain PROMUSICAE 92 2UK Singles OCC 93 18Chart 2009 PeakpositionAustralia ARIA 59 6Austria O3 Austria Top 40 60 17Canada Digital Song Sales Billboard 89 8Denmark Tracklisten 94 22Europe European Hot 100 95 25France SNEP 96 9Italy FIMI 91 7Netherlands Single Top 100 74 21New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 75 16Norway VG lista 76 18Spain PROMUSICAE 92 22Sweden Sverigetopplistan 80 11Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 97 7UK Singles OCC 93 25US Digital Song Sales Billboard 89 13Chart 2011 PeakpositionHungary MAHASZ 98 6Chart 2016 PeakpositionPoland Polish Airplay Top 100 99 64 Year end charts Edit Chart 1991 PositionAustralia ARIA 100 34Netherlands Dutch Top 40 101 89Netherlands Single Top 100 102 68New Zealand Recorded Music NZ 103 19UK Singles OCC 104 13Chart 1992 PositionAustralia ARIA 105 83Austria O3 Austria Top 40 106 23Belgium Ultratop Flanders 107 58Europe European Hot 100 Singles 108 8Germany Official German Charts 109 12Switzerland Schweizer Hitparade 110 14US Billboard Hot 100 111 14US Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard 112 62Decade end charts Edit Decade end chart performance for Black or White Chart 1990 1999 PositionBelgium Ultratop Flanders 113 77Canada Nielsen SoundScan 114 22US Billboard Hot 100 115 39Certifications EditRegion Certification Certified units salesAustralia ARIA 116 2 Platinum 140 000 Canada Music Canada 117 Gold 50 000 Denmark IFPI Danmark 118 Gold 45 000 France SNEP 119 Silver 125 000 Germany BVMI 120 Gold 250 000 Italy FIMI 121 Gold 35 000 Japan RIAJ 122 Full length ringtone Gold 100 000 New Zealand RMNZ 123 Platinum 10 000 United Kingdom BPI 124 physical Silver 200 000 United Kingdom BPI 125 digital Gold 400 000 United States RIAA 126 3 Platinum 3 000 000 Sales figures based on certification alone Shipments figures based on certification alone Sales streaming figures based on certification alone Personnel EditMichael Jackson vocals composition lyrics production Bill Bottrell rap vocals and lyrics 127 engineering mixing production electric and acoustic guitars drum programming keyboard programming Brad Buxer drum programming Bryan Loren Moog bass Terry Jackson electric bass guitar Brad Buxer keyboards Jasun Martz keyboards Tim Pierce heavy metal guitar Michael Boddicker Kevin Gilbert speed sequencer Teddy Riley 128 drum programming cowbell References Edit Vogel Joseph 2019 Man in the Music The Creative Life and Work of Michael Jackson Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group p 253 ISBN 9780525566571 a b Black or White gt Overview Allmusic Rovi Corporation Retrieved October 24 2009 a b Michael Jackson 1992 Lifetime Achievement Award archived from the original on November 18 2021 retrieved October 14 2019 Q 1001 best songs ever 2003 a b c d Buskin Richard August 2004 Classic Tracks Michael Jackson Black Or White Sound on Sound Retrieved April 19 2022 Black or White Michael Jackson Digital Sheet Music Digital Download MusicNotes com Alfred Publishing Co Inc April 2 2002 Retrieved November 4 2012 Sony Music 2001 Michael Jackson Dangerous Review Sony Music Entertainment Archived from the original on December 4 2005 Retrieved May 4 2009 Jeans 1993 Peligroso regreso Michael Jackson Un mito indescifrable in Spanish Revista Jeans p 7 En Black or white el resultado es una mezcla de hard rock dance y rap Halstead Craig Cadman Chris 2003 Michael Jackson the Solo Years Authors On Line Ltd p 40 ISBN 0 7552 0091 8 Retrieved May 24 2009 Andersen Christopher P 1994 Michael Jackson unauthorized Simon amp Schuster p 105 ISBN 0 671 89239 8 Retrieved May 29 2009 Erlewine Stephen Thomas Michael Jackson Thriller Review Allmusic Retrieved May 24 2009 Dekel Jonathan March 11 2010 Slash Calls Michael Jackson Guitar Riff Gay at Canadian Music Week Keynote Spinner Archived from the original on August 12 2011 Retrieved March 3 2011 SLASH TALKS RAY CHARLES amp MICHAEL JACKSON CMW 2010 INTERVIEW on YouTube Jackson Michael 2000 Dangerous booklet Epic records a b Campbell Lisa 1993 Michael Jackson The King of Pop Branden Books p 301 ISBN 0 8283 1957 X Retrieved May 23 2009 a b Michael Jackson Black or White Listen and discover music at Last fm Retrieved March 30 2014 a b c d e Halstead Craig Cadman Chris 2003 Michael Jackson the Solo Years Authors On Line Ltd p 99 ISBN 0 7552 0091 8 Retrieved May 23 2009 a b c d Campbell Lisa 1993 Michael Jackson The King of Pop Branden Books p 302 ISBN 0 8283 1957 X Retrieved May 23 2009 a b c d e f Adrian Grant 2009 Music Sales Group ed Michael Jackson The Visual Documentary ISBN 978 0857122124 Retrieved January 22 2017 Michael Jackson s Catalogue Garners Major New Gold amp Platinum Awards Recording Industry Association of America August 23 2018 Lacy Chris November 21 2016 Tribute Celebrating 25 Years of Michael Jackson s Dangerous Albumism Retrieved November 16 2020 1 Archived May 23 2013 at the Wayback Machine Flick Larry November 16 1991 Single Reviews PDF Billboard p 81 Retrieved February 13 2020 Clark Randy DeVaney Bryan November 16 1991 Music Reviews Singles PDF Cashbox p 5 Retrieved October 31 2020 Browne David November 29 1991 Dangerous Review Music Reviews and News EW com Retrieved March 30 2014 Jones Alan November 16 1991 Mainstream Singles Pick of the Week PDF Music Week p 24 Retrieved October 4 2020 Picks and Pans Review Dangerous People December 23 1991 Retrieved November 13 2020 Light Alan January 9 1992 Michael Jackson Dangerous Review Rolling Stone Archived from the original on November 22 2007 Retrieved May 22 2009 Pazz amp Jop 1991 Robert Christgau Retrieved January 14 2016 Flick Larry January 4 1992 Dance Trax MCA Music s Song amp Dance Firm Showcases Writers PDF Billboard p 19 Retrieved October 7 2020 Hung Medien Black or white The Clivilles amp Cole C amp C remixes in Australian Chart Retrieved July 10 2013 a b c Allard Francois Lecocq Richard October 4 2018 Michael Jackson All the Songs The Story Behind Every Track Octopus Books ISBN 9781788401234 Retrieved May 29 2020 Garcia Alex Michael Jackson Black or white mvdbase Retrieved June 2 2009 Willman Chris November 16 1991 Michael s Video Takes Beating 4 Minutes Cut Los Angeles Times Retrieved April 23 2022 Schilling Vincent June 27 2014 Remembering Michael Jackson and the Racial Mashup of Black or White Indian Country Today Retrieved July 3 2021 a b multiracial My Friend Michael Jackson November 1 2013 Retrieved July 3 2021 Commando filming locations IAMNOTASTALKER Retrieved April 5 2021 Surplus City Jeep Parts The Wild Life Commando Black or White a b c d Austen Jake 2005 TV a Go Go Rock on TV from American Bandstand to American Idol Chicago Review Press p 273 ISBN 9781569762417 a b c d e f g Phalen Tom November 16 1991 Jackson alters his new video The Seattle Times Retrieved July 12 2009 a b c d Pareles Jon November 16 1991 Review Rock New Video Opens the Jackson Blitz The New York Times Retrieved July 12 2009 Simpson Interviews by Dave February 4 2014 How we made Top of the Pops The Guardian ISSN 0261 3077 Retrieved September 20 2016 Sri Lankan dancer Yamuna Sangarasivam danced with Michael Jackson Sri Lanka Foundation Retrieved March 29 2020 a b Matters of Gravity Special Effects and Supermen in the 20th Century Duke University Press July 21 2003 ISBN 9780822384892 See what prepared Tyra Banks for her new role as DWTS host Entertainment Weekly a b Pareles Jon November 16 1991 Review Rock New Video Opens the Jackson Blitz The New York Times d amp 39 Jermaine I m Not Gonna Spend My Life Being a Colour The interaction of racism between Michael Jackson and the mass media through Michael Jackson s Black or White Epic 657598 7 Epic 34 74100 Epic 657598 6 Epic 657731 6 Epic 49 74099 Epic 657598 2 Epic 657731 2 Epic 34K 74100 a b Weingarten Christopher R October 11 2012 Weird Al Yankovic Looks Back At 20 Years Of Smells Like Nirvana SPIN SPIN Retrieved August 8 2016 Weird Al Yankovic Concert Set Lists Weirdal com Archived from the original on July 22 2011 Retrieved 2011 07 26 Video on YouTube dead link Gary Trust February 10 2012 Weekly Chart Notes Madonna Michael Jackson Godspell Billboard Retrieved February 13 2012 a b Michael Jackson Black Or White ARIA Top 50 Singles a b Michael Jackson Black Or White in German O3 Austria Top 40 Michael Jackson Black Or White in Dutch Ultratop 50 a b Lwin Nanda 2000 Top 40 Hits The Essential Chart Guide Music Data Canada p 142 ISBN 1 896594 13 1 Top RPM Singles Issue 2030 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved November 23 2019 Top RPM Adult Contemporary Issue 2037 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved November 23 2019 Top RPM Dance Urban Issue 2026 RPM Library and Archives Canada Retrieved November 23 2019 European Dance Radio PDF Music amp Media December 21 1991 p 41 Retrieved October 23 2021 a b Pennanen Timo 2021 Michael Jackson Sisaltaa hitin 2 laitos Levyt ja esittajat Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1 1 1960 30 6 2021 PDF Helsinki Kustannusosakeyhtio Otava p 113 Retrieved May 29 2022 a b Michael Jackson Black Or White in French Les classement single Black or White in Germany GfK Entertainment Charts Retrieved January 6 2019 Top 10 Sales in Europe PDF Music amp Media January 18 1992 Retrieved March 20 2018 a b Black or white in Irish Chart IRMA Archived from the original on January 5 2010 Retrieved July 11 2013 Only results when searching Black or white Top 10 Sales in Europe PDF Music amp Media Vol 8 no 48 November 30 2019 p 22 Retrieved November 23 2019 Nederlandse Top 40 Michael Jackson in Dutch Dutch Top 40 a b c Michael Jackson Black Or White in Dutch Single Top 100 a b Michael Jackson Black Or White Top 40 Singles a b Michael Jackson Black Or White VG lista Discos populares en Latinoamerica El Siglo de Torreon in Spanish December 20 1991 Retrieved August 10 2021 Top 10 Sales in Europe PDF Music amp Media February 1 1992 Retrieved March 20 2018 Salaverri Fernando September 2005 Solo exitos ano a ano 1959 2002 1st ed Spain Fundacion Autor SGAE ISBN 84 8048 639 2 a b Michael Jackson Black Or White Singles Top 100 Michael Jackson Black Or White Swiss Singles Chart Craig Halstead Chris Cadman 2003 Authors On Line Ltd ed Michael Jackson the Solo Years p 99 ISBN 978 0755200917 Michael Jackson Artist Chart History Official Charts Company Retrieved July 11 2013 Top 60 Dance Singles PDF Music Week January 18 1992 p 20 Retrieved September 28 2020 Discos mas populares en Mexico El Siglo de Torreon in Spanish 56 May 24 1992 Retrieved August 6 2021 Michael Jackson Chart History Hot 100 Billboard Retrieved May 28 2017 Michael Jackson Chart History Adult Contemporary Billboard Retrieved May 28 2017 Michael Jackson Chart History Dance Club Songs Billboard Retrieved May 28 2017 a b c Dangerous awards on AllMusic AllMusic Retrieved July 11 2013 Michael Jackson Chart History Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Billboard Retrieved May 28 2017 a b Michael Jackson Black Or White Top Digital Download a b Michael Jackson Black Or White Canciones Top 50 a b Michael Jackson Official Charts Company Retrieved July 11 2013 Michael Jackson Black Or White Tracklisten European Hot 100 Billboard July 25 2009 Retrieved November 2 2010 Download French Single Top 50 France lescharts Retrieved December 30 2009 Michael Jackson Black Or White Swiss Singles Chart Hungarian Singles Chart Archives MAHASZ Retrieved February 3 2011 Listy bestsellerow wyroznienia Zwiazek Producentow Audio Video Polish Airplay Top 100 Retrieved November 28 2016 ARIA End Of Year Singles 1991 Australian Recording Industry Association 1992 Retrieved January 26 2018 Top 100 Jaaroverzicht van 1991 Dutch Top 40 Retrieved March 27 2020 Jaaroverzichten Single 1991 dutchcharts nl Retrieved March 27 2020 Top Selling Singles of 1991 Retrieved April 29 2016 1991 Top 100 Singles Music Week London England Spotlight Publications January 11 1992 p 20 Ryan Gavin 2011 Australia s Music Charts 1988 2010 Mt Martha VIC Australia Moonlight Publishing Jahreshitparade Singles 1992 austriancharts at Retrieved March 27 2020 Jaaroverzichten 1992 Ultratop Retrieved March 27 2020 1992 Year End Sales Charts PDF Music amp Media Vol 9 no 51 52 December 19 1992 p 17 Retrieved February 11 2021 Top 100 Single Jahrescharts GfK Entertainment in German offiziellecharts de Retrieved December 5 2015 Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1992 hitparade ch Retrieved March 27 2020 Billboard Top 100 1992 Archived from the original on July 8 2009 Retrieved July 30 2010 Hot R amp B Hip Hop Songs Year End 1992 Billboard January 2 2013 Retrieved October 22 2020 ultratop be Ultratop Nineties500 www ultratop be Archived from the original on February 11 2018 Lwin Nanda Top 100 singles of the 1990s Jam Archived from the original on August 29 2000 Retrieved March 26 2022 Geoff Mayfield December 25 1999 1999 The Year in Music Totally 90s Diary of a Decade The listing of Top Pop Albums of the 90s amp Hot 100 Singles of the 90s Billboard Retrieved October 15 2010 Ryan Gavin 2011 Australia s Music Charts 1988 2010 PDF ed Mt Martha Victoria Australia Moonlight Publishing p 140 Canadian single certifications Michael Jackson Black or White Music Canada Retrieved December 30 2020 Danish single certifications Michael Jackson Black or White IFPI Danmark Retrieved December 30 2020 French single certifications Michael Jackson Black or White in French InfoDisc Retrieved November 9 2021 SelectMICHAEL JACKSONand clickOK Gold Platin Datenbank Michael Jackson Black or White in German Bundesverband Musikindustrie Retrieved December 30 2020 Italian single certifications Michael Jackson Black or White in Italian Federazione Industria Musicale Italiana Retrieved August 23 2021 Select 2021 in the Anno drop down menu Select Black or White in the Filtra field Select Singoli under Sezione Japanese ringtone certifications Michael Jackson Black or White in Japanese Recording Industry Association of Japan Retrieved December 30 2020 Select 2010年3月 on the drop down menu New Zealand single certifications Michael Jackson Black or White Recorded Music NZ British single certifications Michael Jackson Black or White British Phonographic Industry Retrieved December 30 2020 British single certifications Michael Jackson Black or White British Phonographic Industry Retrieved December 30 2020 American single certifications Michael Jackson Black or White Recording Industry Association of America Retrieved May 19 2022 Taete Jamie Lee Curtis May 5 2015 Meet the Mystery Man Who Rapped on Michael Jackson s Black or White Vice Retrieved December 8 2015 Riley Teddy September 22 2022 Teddy Riley on Producing Michael Jackson s Remember the Time YouTube Retrieved January 10 2022 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Black or White amp oldid 1134312970, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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