Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Siedah Garrett Talks About The 'Man In The Mirror'

 
 SIEDAH GARRETT

This year marks the 25th anniversary of the release of Michael Jackson’s Bad album.

To commemorate the occasion the Bad album (Epic), which was released Aug. 31, 1987, is being re-released and will hit the stores on Tues., Sept. 18. In addition, noted filmmaker Spike Lee has directed a new documentary about the making of the album, with behind the scenes footage. 


One person prominently seen in that footage is the Grammy winning and Oscar nominated songwriter and vocalist Siedah Garrett whose song, Man In The Mirror, helped make the Bad album a huge success.

Other songs on the album included: “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Bad,” “Dirty Diana,” Another Part of Me,” Smooth Criminal,” “Leave Me Alone,” “Liberian Girl” and “Speed Demon.”

Five of the singles hit number one in the United States, while a sixth charted within the top-ten, and a seventh charted within the top-twenty on the Hot 100

 SIEDAH GARRETT & MICHAEL JACKSON

I caught up with Siedah to talk about Michael Jackson, “Man in the Mirror” and their friendship.

Q: Michael Jackson was a colleague and a personal friend. What was it like working with Michael Jackson?

SG: It was surreal. You’re in the room with the biggest pop star in the world and he’s busy making you feel that he has as much to learn from you and you did from him. He was just very gracious and generous. He was a very gracious and generous spirit. He was very giving of his time and of his energy. When he was into it, he was really into it.

Q: What is the biggest lesson you think you learned from Michael?

SG: I learned so much. He taught me so much about his perfectionism and his longing to make everything he does better and better. He wanted to make himself and those around him the best they could ever be. And those who had the privilege to be around him were, uh, felt very privileged to be in his space because of all that you had to glean from everything he did.

Q: You had a bird’s eye view.

SG:  I watched everything he did every night on stage. He was amazing every night and his fans would never know the difference. But, let me tell you, there were some nights when we on stage would be watching him like those in the audience. And, we on stage, had to just give it up. We had to clap. We were like, damn. There were some nights he was just off the charts. He was just ridiculous. Just watching that and watching was he does every night..it was an experience I’ll never, ever, ever forget. It has enriched my life to this day. I can’t not think of him everyday. There is music in my life everyday. And, whether I want to think of him or not…..I can be sitting in my car and somebody pulls up next to me with the windows down and his song is on the radio.  He’s everywhere. He’s pervasive in my life. And, I will never ever stop thinking about him because he’s everywhere.

Q: Where were you when you got the news that Michael Jackson had passed?

SG: I was in my kitchen making lunch for myself and I got a call from my friend. At the time there was an ambulance being called and no one knew anything. We didn’t know what was happening. My friend’s wife called, so he had to get off the phone. By the time he called back, I had turned on the radio and started watching the television. By the time he called back, I was a mess.  I was in complete tears. I was a mess.

Q: He was truly a treasure.

SG: He was a gift, yes!  It’s funny you said that because in my new song, that was released recently, it’s called Keep On Lovin’ You. It’s my tribute to Michael and my answer to I Just Can’t Stop Loving You. There is a line in the song that goes, ‘You were a treasure, still you were treated so unkind, it used to blow my mind.’ I deeply feel that way about him. He was a treasure. He was a world treasure, not our treasure, not a national treasure, he was a treasure for the world. He will be sorely missed.

Q:  So can we download the song off of ITunes?

SG:  You can download it off my website – www.siedah.com.


KEEP ON LOVIN’ YOU
By; Siedah Garrett and Dapo Torimiro
KNOW I WAS NERVOUS
IF YOU WERE FEELING NERVOUS, TOO
I DIDN’T HAVE A CLUE

BUT YOU WERE THE REAL THING
AND I FOUND IT SO REFRESHING YOU
TURNED OUT TO BE SO COOL

I REMEMBER LIKE YESTERDAY
EVERYTHING YOU SHOWED ME
AND ALL THE THINGS YOU USED TO SAY
I LOVED YOU THEN,
AND I LOVE YOU STILL

GUESS I ALWAYS HAVE
AND ALWAYS WILL

FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE
EVERYTHING ELSE MAY CHANGE
BUT, NO MATTER WHAT I DO
I’M GONNA KEEP ON LOVIN’ YOU
FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE



KNOW I WAS NERVOUS
IF YOU WERE FEELING NERVOUS, TOO
I DIDN’T HAVE A CLUE

BUT YOU WERE THE REAL THING
AND I FOUND IT SO REFRESHING YOU
TURNED OUT TO BE SO COOL

I REMEMBER LIKE YESTERDAY
EVERYTHING YOU SHOWED ME
AND ALL THE THINGS YOU USED TO SAY
I LOVED YOU THEN,
AND I LOVE YOU STILL
GUESS I ALWAYS HAVE
AND ALWAYS WILL

FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE
EVERYTHING ELSE MAY CHANGE
BUT, NO MATTER WHAT I DO
I’M GONNA KEEP ON LOVIN’ YOU
FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE
I’LL SMILE WHEN I HEAR YOUR NAME
AND NO MATTER WHAT I DO
I’M GONNA KEEP ON LOVIN’ YOU
FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE

YOU WERE A TREASURE
STILL YOU WERE TREATED SO UNKIND
IT USED TO BLOW MY MIND
SOMETIMES I FEEL YOU
WHEN I HEAR YOUR BLESSING IN A RHYME
YOUR SPIRIT’S STILL ALIVE

I REMEMBER LIKE YESTERDAY
EVERYTHING YOU SHOWED ME

AND ALL THE THINGS YOU USED TO SAY
I LOVED YOU THEN,
AND I LOVE YOU STILL
I GUESS I ALWAYS HAVE
AND ALWAYS WILL

FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE
EVERYTHING ELSE MAY CHANGE
BUT, NO MATTER WHAT I DO
 I’M GONNA KEEP ON LOVIN’ YOU

FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE
I’LL SMILE WHEN I HEAR YOUR NAME

AND NO MATTER WHAT I DO
I’M GONNA KEEP ON LOVIN’ YOU
FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE

YOU’LL ALWAYS BE RIGHT HERE
‘CAUSE THE MAGIC IN YOUR MUSIC
LIVES IN ME, YEAH 
FOREVER ALIVE IN MY MIND
PLAYIN’ LIKE THE SOUNDTRACK
FROM ANOTHER LIFE AND TIME

© 2012 Siedah Garrett and Dapo Torimiro, All Rights Reserved

Q: Seidah, I understand you were a new songwriter signed to Quincy Jones when he announced that he needed one more song to complete Michael Jackson’s Bad album. I understand you have a rather funny story about how you found the words “Man in the Mirror” on a notebook that you had written sometime earlier.

SG: Yes, yes, it’s a good story. Anyway, I found those words on a notebook. My writing partner was playing something on the piano when a got a call. I couldn’t believe he took the call during our creative session, but he did. I started looking through a notebook I had. Sometime earlier I was with another friend of mine who happened to say the words “Man in the Mirror.” I wrote the words down because I thought they were interesting. Fast forward, I pick up the notebook while my friend is playing the piano and I see the words man in the mirror. I knew right then that I had something. I started writing it immediately. I had it written in about an hour. It was on a Friday when I finished the song, but I couldn’t wait to give it to Quincy on Monday, so I called him and asked if I could come over. He said, “no,” he was having a meeting. I asked him again. Again he said, “no.”  I said, Quincy, please, can I just bring it by. He said OK. I went over to his house with the cassette. Yes, it was a cassette. He answered the door and I saw 12 suits. They were looking at me like – ‘this better be important.’  I went home. I was cooking dinner when two or three hours later, Quincy called and told me it was the best song he had heard in 10 years.  I was so excited.

Q: So, what happened next?
SG: It was incredible. I was called and asked to come in. I went in and Quincy was talking on the phone. Every once and a while I would hear this other voice. Well, it turned out to be Michael. He was telling Quincy and me the changes he wanted to the song. Then I was asked to come to the studio one day, but they wouldn’t tell me why. I got there and was told that I was singing with Michael. What? I was going to sing with my idol. I was standing next to Michael Jackson. I was going to sing “I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” with Michael Jackson. He told me he liked my voice.

Q: So, talk about the Spike Lee project.

SG: He is one of my favorite directors. I appreciate his work. He wanted to document the making of the Bad album and to celebrate its anniversary. He has all this behind the scenes stuff that is fabulous. It’s really good. He really got into the making of the Bad album. People will get to see some good stuff. Spike did a really good job. I think people will like it.



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