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Say Say Say#Kygo version

{{Short description|1983 single by Paul McCartney featuring Michael Jackson}}

{{Featured article}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2019}}

{{Use British English|date=December 2019}}

{{Infobox song

| name = Say Say Say

| cover = Say Say Say (album cover art).jpg

| border = yes

| alt = Against a blue background, "Say Say Say" is printed in pink and takes up the left and bottom of the image. To the right, there is an artwork depiction of two men holding each others' hands in the air.

| type = single

| artist = Paul McCartney featuring Michael Jackson

| album = Pipes of Peace

| B-side = Ode to a Koala Bear

| released = {{Start date|1983|10|03|df=y}}

| recorded = April–May 1981

| genre = * Post-disco{{cite web|first= Tom |last= Breihan |title= The Number Ones: Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson's "Say Say Say|website= Stereogum |date= 3 August 2020 |url= https://www.stereogum.com/2093466/the-number-ones-paul-mccartney-michael-jacksons-say-say-say/columns/the-number-ones/|quote= But it's a strong piece of breezy post-disco synth-funk, a worthy artifact of Jackson's peak moment.|accessdate= 28 July 2023}}

  • synth-funk
  • funk-pop{{Cite web|url=https://www.classicpopmag.com/2021/05/top-20-80s-collaborations/|title=Top 20 80s Collaborations|date=27 May 2021|website=Classic Pop}}
  • rock{{cite magazine|author= Rolling Stone Staff|date=17 September 2014|title=100 Best Singles of 1984: Pop's Greatest Year|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/100-best-singles-of-1984-pops-greatest-year-163322/|access-date=30 August 2023|magazine=Rolling Stone|quote=...their second duet, for Macca's 1983 Pipes of Peace, found common ground with an uptempo rock song.}}

| length = 3:55
5:40 (remix by John "Jellybean" Benitez)

| label = * Parlophone (UK)

| writer = * Paul McCartney

| producer = George Martin

| chronology = Paul McCartney

| prev_title = The Girl Is Mine

| prev_year = 1982

| next_title = Pipes of Peace

| next_year = 1983

| misc = {{Extra chronology

| artist = Michael Jackson

| type = single

| prev_title = P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

| prev_year = 1983

| title = Say Say Say

| year = 1983

| next_title = Thriller

| next_year = 1983

}}

{{External music video|header=Official audio|{{YouTube|hu7hmBJLpkk|"Say Say Say"}}}}

}}

"Say Say Say" is a song by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, released in October 1983 as the lead single from McCartney's 1983 album Pipes of Peace. Produced by George Martin, it 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 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 (his sixth number-one single there), Canada, 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. In 2013, Billboard magazine listed the song as the 41st biggest hit of all time on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.{{cite magazine|url= https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-singles |title= Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Singles |magazine= Billboard |access-date= 7 September 2016}} It has also been voted the ninth-best collaboration of all time in a Rolling Stone readers poll.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/pictures/readers-poll-best-collaborations-of-all-time-20110810|title=Readers Poll: Best Collaborations of All Time|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=10 August 2011|access-date=2018-03-04}}

The single was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in December 1983, representing sales of one million copies. The single was promoted with an influential music video directed by Bob Giraldi. The short film centres around two con artists called "Mac and Jack" (played by McCartney and Jackson).

Background, recording and composition

McCartney biographer Ray Coleman asserted that the majority of the song's lyrics were written by Jackson and given to McCartney the next day.Coleman, p. 129. Recording began at AIR Studios in London in May 1981. At the time, McCartney was recording Tug of War, his second solo album after the breakup of his group Wings.Halstead, p. 268.Andersen, p. 99.

Jackson stayed at the home of McCartney and his wife Linda during the recording sessions, and became friends with both.Taraborrelli, p. 333. While at the dining table one evening, Paul McCartney brought out a booklet that displayed all 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 ATV Music Publishing in 1985.

{{listen|pos=left|filename=Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson Say Say Say.ogg|title="Say Say Say"|description="Say Say Say" is a pop song played in the key of B{{music|flat}} minor. The track has been cited as a "pleading kind of love song".|format=Ogg}}

McCartney played several instruments on "Say Say Say", including percussion, synthesizer and guitar (though it is not mentioned in the credits for the track).{{cite web | url=https://www.the-paulmccartney-project.com/album/say-say-say/ | title=Say Say Say / Ode to a Koala Bear (Album) }} The harmonica was played by Chris Smith, the rhythm guitar was played by David Williams, Nathan Watts played bass and drums were played by Ricky Lawson. The song was engineered by former Beatles sound engineer, Geoff Emerick.Liner notes of Pipes of Peace by Paul McCartney. The production of "Say Say Say" was completed in February 1983, after it had been refined and overdubbed at Cherokee Studios in California.{{fact|date=January 2025}}

As keyboard player Bill Wolfer recalled in a 2014 interview, he and Jackson worked on a rough sketch of the song based on the original acoustic demo with McCartney, Jackson's intention being to present the latter his vision for the song. This soon evolved into a 24-track studio recording with a rhythm section, horns and harmonica laid down, which Michael presented to McCartney instead and this was kept in the final version.[https://tally777.tumblr.com/post/107002017334/michael-with-bill-wolfer-bill-wolfer-talks-about Transcript of Bill Wolfer interview with Invincible magazine, October 2014]

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."Jackson, p. 188.

According to Musicnotes.com by Alfred Music Publishing, "Say Say Say" was performed in common time, with a dance beat of 116 beats per minute.{{cite news |title=Say Say Say – Paul McCartney Digital Sheet Music (Digital Download)|work=MusicNotes.com|publisher=Alfred Publishing Co. Inc}} It is in the key of B-flat minor and sung in a vocal range from F3 to B{{music|flat}}4. 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".{{cite web|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=DwcPAAAAIBAJ&pg=7210,1553388&dq=say-say-say+jackson|title=McCartney, Jackson together again|work=Deseret News|date=18 November 1993|access-date=7 March 2009}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

Release and reception

Following the release of Thriller and most of its singles, "Say Say Say" was released on 3 October 1983 by Parlophone in the UK and Columbia Records in the US.Grant, p. 68.Harry, p. 171.Hill, p. 381. It remained atop Billboard{{'}}s 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. As of 2023, it remains McCartney's final number one single on the Hot 100, either in a group or solo. Also in the US, "Say Say Say" reached number two on the R&B chart (behind "Time Will Reveal" by DeBarge) and number three on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart.George, p. 39. Billboard also stated that the recording earned "top spot as Jackson's best-performing Hot 100 chart single" after leading the US charts for six weeks.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/957728/say-say-say-ranks-as-michael-jacksons-biggest-billboard-hit |title='Say Say Say' Ranks As Michael Jackson's Biggest Billboard Hit |date=17 June 2010 |magazine=Billboard |access-date=13 January 2021 |quote=}}

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.Barrow, p. 92.Heryanto, p. 92. "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.{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH |title=RIAA database |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |access-date=30 April 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070626050454/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH |archive-date=26 June 2007 }} (To search the database for "Say Say Say", type "Paul McCartney" or "Michael Jackson" into the Artist field and "Say Say Say" into the Title field.)

"Say Say Say" received mixed reviews from music critics. The lyrics were named the worst of 1983 by The Buffalo News's Anthony {{Not a typo|Violanti}},Violanti, Anthony (18 August 1996). "Schlock: An Unusually Confused and Nasal Dylan". The Buffalo News. Retrieved on 19 March 2009. 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"."Paul McCartney's New Album Is Just 'Embarrassing Fluff'". Lexington Herald-Leader. (15 January 1983). Retrieved on 19 March 2009. The 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'".Grein, Paul (3 January 1988). "Hits That Hurt In Some Cases, That Top 10 Smash Can Smash an Artist's Image". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved on 19 March 2009. 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".{{cite magazine|first=Whitney|last=Pastorek |url=https://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20037860_2,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515035459/http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,20037860_2,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=15 May 2007|title=This Week in '82|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=3 May 2007|access-date=19 March 2009}} Penn State's The Daily Collegian described the track as a good song, despite its ad nauseam broadcasts.{{cite web|first=Ron|last=Yeany|url=http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG/1983/11/09&EntityId=Ar01400|title=McCartney and Simon|work=The Daily Collegian|date=22 November 1990|access-date=2 March 2009}}

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".{{cite magazine|first=Parke|last=Puterbaugh|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/pipes-of-peace-99878/ |title=Pipes of Peace review|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=19 January 1984|access-date=7 March 2009}} Music critic Nelson George stated that "Say Say Say" would not have "deserved the airplay it received without McCartney and Jackson".{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZSQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22say+say+say%22&pg=PA50|title=Black '84|last=George|first=Nelson|date=22 December 1984|magazine=Billboard|volume=96|issue=51|issn=0006-2510|access-date=11 February 2010}} Salon.com later described the song as a "sappy duet" and said that McCartney had become a "wimpy old fart" to the music public.{{cite web|first=Gilbert |last=Garcia |url=http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/music/feature/2003/01/27/paul_yoko/index1.html |title=The ballad of Paul and Yoko |work=Salon.com |date=27 January 2003 |access-date=7 March 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090619035553/http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/music/feature/2003/01/27/paul_yoko/index1.html |archive-date=19 June 2009}} Billboard listed "Say Say Say" as Michael Jackson's all-time biggest Hot 100 single.{{cite magazine|title='Say Say Say' ranks as Michael Jackson's biggest Billboard hit|magazine=Billboard|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/957728/say-say-say-ranks-as-michael-jacksons-biggest-billboard-hit|access-date=12 April 2016}} In a 2007 article, a writer for 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".{{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rSYEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22say+say+say%22+jackson&pg=PA88|title=The 50 greatest duets of all time|last=Caramanica|first=Jon|date=February 2007|work=Vibe|access-date=11 February 2010}}{{Dead link|date=August 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} 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, plus McCartney's "Baby".{{cite magazine|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2BQEAAAAMBAJ&q=%22say+say+say%22+%22waiting+4+u%22&pg=PA15|title=Upfront|date=7 January 2006|magazine=Billboard |volume=118|issue=1 |issn=0006-2510|access-date=24 February 2010|publisher=Nielsen Business Media}}

= 2015 version =

On 6 October 2015, McCartney released a new version of the song in which the vocal roles of him and Jackson are reversed. It was remixed by Steve Orchard and Mark "Spike" Stent. On the new version, which is over three minutes longer than the original, the opening of the first verse is sung by Jackson instead of McCartney. Orchard said of the remix: "Paul remembered that there were two unused lead vocal performances by Michael and himself. We rearranged the vocal sequence and inverted the original performance so that Michael opened the first verse instead of Paul, to give the song a different take to the original version."{{cite web|url=https://www.yahoo.com/music/sir-paul-mccartney-switches-vocals-1272344086667318.html|title=Sir Paul McCartney Switches Vocals with Michael Jackson in Remixed Duet|date=6 October 2015 }} More specifically, Jackson sings the parts that McCartney had in the original, and vice versa, for much of the song.{{cite web|url=https://www.mjworld.net/news/2015/10/02/must-hear-new-say-say-say/|title=Must Hear: New 'Say Say Say' – Michael Jackson World Network|date=2 October 2015}} The track appears on the 2015 re-issue of Pipes of Peace.{{cite web|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/music/2015/10/08/song-week-paul-mccartney-and-michael-jackson-together-again/73581018/|title=Song of the week: Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson, together again|website=USA Today}} A radio edit of the new remix was released for streaming on 30 October 2015,{{cite web|url=https://play.spotify.com/album/2VANZtyaZ8Y5B2Z33xRXBZ?play=true|title=Say Say Say (Radio Edit / 2015 Remix)|date=16 October 2015}} while an instrumental version of it is available for download at {{Not a typo|paulmccartney.com}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.paulmccartney.com/downloads|title=Downloads}} The radio edit was also later included on the compilation Pure McCartney.

To coincide with the release of the recording, McCartney released a new music video on his Facebook page on 6 October 2015. Directed and choreographed by Ryan Heffington,{{cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/paul-mccartney-revives-michael-jackson-video-say-say-say-remix-380473|title=Paul McCartney Revives Michael Jackson in Video for 'Say Say Say' Remix|website=Newsweek|date=6 October 2015}} it featured a group of young dancers, filmed in black and white in Los Angeles neighbourhoods, with moves that are reminiscent of Michael Jackson's.{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6721855/paul-mccartney-say-say-say-remix-video-michael-jackson|title = Paul McCartney Debuts 'Say, Say, Say' Remix Video Featuring New Michael Jackson Vocals: Watch|magazine = Billboard}}{{cite web|url=https://www.paulmccartney.com/news-blogs/news/watch-the-new-say-say-say-2015-remix-video|title=Watch the new 'Say Say Say [2015 Remix]' video|date=6 October 2015}}

Personnel

"Say Say Say"

"Ode to a Koala Bear"

Music video

=Production, plot, and reception=

The music video (or "short film") for "Say Say Say" was filmed in October 1983 and was directed by Bob Giraldi, who had previously directed Michael Jackson's music video for "Beat It".{{cite book|last1=Allard|first1=François|last2=Lecocq|first2=Richard|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CbVgDwAAQBAJ&q=the+jacksons+wait+single+release+date+december+4%2C+1984&pg=PT389|title=Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track|date=2018-10-04|publisher=Octopus |isbn=9781788401234|access-date=2019-11-03}} Cameo appearances in the video are made by McCartney's then wife Linda, as well as Jackson's older sister La Toya.Grant, p. 270.{{cite web|url=https://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425543/19980420/beatles.jhtml|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010707163153/http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1425543/19980420/beatles.jhtml|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2001|title=Linda McCartney Dies Of Cancer|publisher=MTV|date=20 April 1998|access-date=8 March 2009}}

Rolling Stone quoted Bob Giraldi who recounted McCartney's nervousness about the project:{{cite web |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/michael-jacksons-20-greatest-videos-the-stories-behind-the-vision-21653/13-say-say-say-19833-225013/ |title=Michael Jackson's 20 Greatest Videos: The Stories Behind the Vision |date=24 June 2014 |work=New Statesman |access-date=13 January 2021 |quote=}}

"Paul was terribly insecure about appearing next to Michael, in terms of dance" ... "And who wouldn't, if you're going to go onstage and be choreographed next to Michael Jackson?" "In all my years of working in film and commercials, I've worked with some of the worst divas and superstars of all time," said Giraldi. "Paul and Michael were not that."

According to La Toya Jackson, during filming of the video, the McCartneys were staying at a property named Sycamore Valley Ranch, five miles from the town of Los Olivos, California, in the Santa Ynez Valley.McCartney: Songwriter {{ISBN|0-491-03325-7}} p. 131 Jackson visited them and expressed interest in someday buying the property. In 1988, he would do so, renaming it Neverland Ranch.{{cite book|author1=La Toya Jackson|author2=Jeffré Phillips|title=Starting Over|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=SeQfvRHvZfwC&pg=PA69|access-date=12 May 2016|date=29 May 2012|publisher=Simon and Schuster|isbn=978-1-4516-2059-7|page=69}} The saloon portion was filmed at the 1880 Union Hotel in Los Alamos.{{cite web|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/the-historic-saloons-of-central-california-23040632/|title=The Historic Saloons of Central California}}{{cite news |url=https://www.sfgate.com/centralcoast/article/california-town-led-michael-jackson-to-neverland-18142686.php |date=11 June 2023 |last=Pridgen |first=Andrew |newspaper=SFGATE |title=A trip to a Calif. town with Paul McCartney changed Michael Jackson's life forever}} McCartney flew in specifically for the filming.{{cite web|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/677046232.html?dids=677046232:677046232&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Mar+01%2C+1984&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=You&pqatl=google|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121209021204/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/latimes/access/677046232.html?dids=677046232:677046232&FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:AI&type=historic&date=Mar+01,+1984&author=&pub=Los+Angeles+Times&desc=You&pqatl=google|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 December 2012|title=You|last=Reba|first=Bonnie Churchill|date=1 March 1984|work=Los Angeles Times|format=Payment required to access full article.|access-date=19 March 2010}}Campbell, p. 69. The video cost $500,000 to produce.

In the short film, the duo play "Mac and Jack", a pair of medicine show con men 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. After this scene, McCartney and Jackson star as vaudeville performers who sing and dance at a bar.Curtis, p. 323. On stage, the duo appear in clown makeup at one point and quickly go through a number of costume changes.Lhamon, p. 219. Jackson flirts with a young woman portrayed by his real-life sister La Toya.{{cite web|first=Davina |last=Morris |url=https://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=14158 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130114030325/http://www.voice-online.co.uk/content.php?show=14158 |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 January 2013 |title=Happy birthday MJ |work=The Voice |date=24 August 2008 |access-date=8 March 2009 }} When law-enforcement officers appear at the back of the venue, Mac quickly starts a small fire onstage and Linda hollers "FIRE!", emptying the venue and allowing the group to escape via backstage (yet somehow finding time to change into tuxedos first). 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.

The video also features appearances by director Giraldi as a pool shark who is conned by McCartney, Sonny Barnes (whose cameo was wrongly attributed to Mr. T) as the carriage driver, and Art Carney as an audience member for the vaudeville show.{{cite AV media

| people = Paul McCartney

| title = The McCartney Years

| medium = DVD

| publisher = Rhino Entertainment

| date = 2007 }}

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".{{cite magazine|first=Guy|last=Garcia|url=https://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,952263,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080220093339/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,952263,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=20 February 2008|title=People: Nov. 14, 1983|magazine=Time|date=18 November 1983|access-date=8 March 2009}} The video introduced both dialogue and storyline, an element extended upon in Michael Jackson's Thriller.{{cite web|first=Ron|last=Sklar|url=http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG/1983/12/07&EntityId=Ar02201|title=Thriller video|work=The Daily Collegian|date=23 November 1990|access-date=8 March 2009|archive-date=21 March 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120321133448/http://digitalnewspapers.libraries.psu.edu/Default/Skins/BasicArch/Client.asp?Skin=BasicArch&&AppName=2&enter=true&BaseHref=DCG/1983/12/07&EntityId=Ar02201|url-status=dead}} 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".{{Cite news |last=Bishop |first=Pete |date=25 January 1985 |title=Group on TV Violence Looks at Music Videos and Is Not Amused |work=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1985/01/25/group-on-tv-violence-looks-at-music-videos-and-is-not-amused/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121006125803/https://articles.chicagotribune.com/1985-01-25/entertainment/8501050715_1_music-video-television-violence-atlanta-superstation |archive-date=6 October 2012}} 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.Campbell, p. 105.

The Manchester Evening News later described the "Say Say Say" video as an "anarchic caper" that "plays out like an Emir Kusturica feature".{{cite web|first=Stephen|last=Gilliver|url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/entertainment/music/s/1025047_dvd_review_paul_mccartney__the_mccartney_years_warner_|title=DVD review: Paul McCartney – The McCartney Years (Warner)|work=The Manchester Evening News|date=20 November 2007|access-date=8 March 2009}} PopMatters stated that the music videos of "Say Say Say" and "Goodnight Tonight" turned "a pair of otherwise forgettable songs into something worth watching".{{cite web|first=Terry|last=Lawson|url=https://www.popmatters.com/pm/article/old-rockers-go-on-a-dvd-roll|title=Old rockers go on a DVD roll|publisher=PopMatters|date=20 November 2007|access-date=8 March 2009}} 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."{{cite web|first=Steven|last=Greenlee|url=https://www.boston.com/ae/music/gallery/2008mtv_music_videos?pg=6|title=Back when MTV had videos|work=The Boston Globe|access-date=16 March 2009}} The "Say Say Say" video was later included on the DVDs The McCartney Years and Michael Jackson's Vision.Paul McCartney, The McCartney Years, DVD.

=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 Lights, 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 Great 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."

Track listing

  • ;UK 7" single
  1. "Say Say Say" (with Michael Jackson) – 3:55
  2. "Ode to a Koala Bear" – 3:45
  • ;US 12" single
  1. "Say Say Say" (John "Jellybean" Benitez Remix) (with Michael Jackson) – 5:40
  2. "Say Say Say" (John "Jellybean" Benitez Remix Instrumental) (with Michael Jackson) – 7:00
  3. "Ode to a Koala Bear" – 3:45
  • ;2015 transparent vinyl reissue
  1. "Say Say Say" (2015 Remix) (with Michael Jackson) – 7:00
  2. "Say Say Say" (John "Jellybean" Benitez Remix Instrumental) (with Michael Jackson) – 7:00
  • ;Digital streaming
  1. "Say Say Say" (2015 Remix / Radio Edit) (with Michael Jackson) – 3:41
  • ;Digital download – via paulmccartney.com
  1. "Say Say Say" (2015 Remix / Radio Edit Instrumental) (with Michael Jackson) – 3:41

Charts

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

=Weekly charts=

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"

|+Weekly chart performance for "Say Say Say"

! scope="col" | Chart (1983–1984)

! scope="col" | Peak
position

scope="row" | Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite book|title=Australian Chart Book 1970–1992|last=Kent|first=David|author-link=David Kent (historian)|publisher=Australian Chart Book, St Ives, N.S.W |year=1993|isbn=0-646-11917-6}}

| 4

scope="row" | Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40){{cite web|url=https://austriancharts.at/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney+%26+Michael+Jackson&titel=Say+Say+Say&cat=s|title=Austrian Singles Chart Archives|access-date=3 March 2009|work=austriancharts.at |publisher=Hung Medien}}

| 10

{{singlechart|Flanders|2|artist=Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson|song=Say Say Say|rowheader=true}}
scope="row"| Bolivia (UPI){{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M_lDAAAAIBAJ&dq=la+opinion+canciones+mas+populares&pg=PA11&article_id=4617,6005913|title=Las canciones más populares en América Latina|newspaper=La Opinión (Los Angeles)|language=es|access-date=1 October 2024|date=9 April 1984}}

| 1

scope="row" | Canada Top Singles (RPM){{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4426.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - December 17, 1983}}

| 1

scope="row" | Canada AC (RPM){{cite web|url=https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.4380.pdf| title=RPM Top 50 AC - December 3, 1983}}

| 2

scope="row" | Canada (The Record){{cite book|author=Nanda Lwin|author-link=Nanda Lwin|title=Top 40 Hits: The Essential Chart Guide|publisher=Music Data Canada|year=1999|isbn=1-896594-13-1}}

| 1

scope="row"|Chile (UPI){{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yDhEAAAAIBAJ&dq=la+opinion+canciones+mas+populares&pg=PA63&article_id=1604,3092197|title=Las canciones más populares en América Latina|newspaper=La Opinión (Los Angeles)|language=es|access-date=30 September 2024|date=20 January 1984}}

| 6

scope="row"|Finland (Suomen virallinen singlelista){{cite book |url=https://musiikkiarkisto.fi/oa/_tiedostot/julkaisut/sisaltaa-hitin.pdf#page=113|first=Timo |last=Pennanen |year=2021 |title=Sisältää hitin - 2. laitos Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021 |section=Michael Jackson|page=113|publisher=Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava |location=Helsinki|access-date=29 May 2022}}

| 1

scope="row"|Finland Jukebox (Suomen virallinen singlelista)

| 4

scope="row" | Germany (Official German Charts){{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-1007|title=Offizielle Deutsche Charts| publisher = www.offiziellecharts.de|access-date=27 April 2016}}

| 12

scope="row" | Ireland (IRMA){{cite web|url=http://www.irishcharts.ie/search/placement?page=14|title=The Irish Charts|publisher = www.irishcharts.ie|access-date=27 April 2016}}

| 3

scope="row"|Italy (Musica e dischi){{cite web|url=http://www.musicaedischi.it/classifiche_archivio.php|title=Classifiche|work=Musica e Dischi|language=it|access-date=29 May 2022}} Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Michael Jackson".

| 1

scope="row" | Netherlands (Single Top 100){{cite web|url=https://www.dutchcharts.nl/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney+%26+Michael+Jackson&titel=Say+Say+Say&cat=s|title=Dutch Charts| publisher = www.dutchcharts.nl |access-date=27 April 2016}}

| 8

scope="row" | New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ){{cite web|url=https://charts.nz/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney+%26+Michael+Jackson&titel=Say+Say+Say&cat=s |title=New Zealand Charts|publisher = charts.nz|access-date=27 April 2016}}

| 10

scope="row" | Norway (VG-lista) {{cite web|url=https://www.norwegiancharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney+%26+Michael+Jackson&titel=Say+Say+Say&cat=s |title=VG Lista|publisher = www.norwegiancharts.com |access-date=27 April 2016}}

| 1

scope="row"| Peru (UPI){{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VjhEAAAAIBAJ&dq=canciones+mas+populares+la+opinion&pg=PA9&article_id=1762,4958608|title=Las canciones más populares en América Latina|newspaper=La Opinión (Los Angeles)|language=es|access-date=30 September 2024|date=28 November 1983}}

| 1

scope="row" |South Africa (Springbok){{cite web|title=SA Charts 1965 – March 1989|url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/springbok_top_20_(J).html|access-date=5 September 2018}}

| 3

scope="row"| Spain (PROMUSICAE){{cite book |last=Salaverri|first=Fernando|title=Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002|edition=1st |date=September 2005|publisher=Fundación Autor-SGAE|location=Spain|isbn=84-8048-639-2}}

| style="text-align:center;"|1

scope="row" | Sweden (Sverigetopplistan) {{cite web|url=http://www.swedishcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Paul+McCartney+%26+Michael+Jackson&titel=Say+Say+Say&cat=s |title=Swedish Charts |publisher = www.swedishcharts.com |access-date=27 April 2016}}

| 1

scope="row" | Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade){{cite web|url=https://www.hitparade.ch/song/Paul-McCartney-&-Michael-Jackson/Say-Say-Say-1007 |title=Swiss Charts |publisher = www.hitparade.ch |access-date=27 April 2016}}

| 2

scope="row" | UK Singles (OCC)

| 2

{{singlechart|Billboardhot100|1|artist=Michael Jackson|rowheader=true|access-date=21 September 2021}}
scope="row" | US R&B Singles Chart

| 2

scope="row" | US Billboard Adult Contemporary{{cite book|first= Joel |last= Whitburn |author-link= Joel Whitburn |year= 1993 |title= Top Adult Contemporary: 1961–1993 |publisher= Record Research |page=118}}

|align="center"|3

scope="row"| US Cash Box{{cite book|last=Whitburn|first=Joel|title=Cash Box Pop Hits 1952-1996|publisher=Sheridan Books, Inc.|year=2014|isbn=978-0-89820-209-0}}

|align="center"|1

scope="row" | US Album Rock Tracks

| 24

scope="row" | US Radio & Records CHR/Pop Airplay Chart{{Cite web|url=https://wweb.uta.edu/faculty/gghunt/charts/mjackson.html|title = Michael Jackson}}

| 1

scope="row" |Venezuela (UPI){{cite news|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TzhEAAAAIBAJ&dq=canciones+mas+populares+la+opinion&pg=PA10&article_id=1473,3708531|title=Las canciones más populares en América Latina|newspaper=La Opinión (Los Angeles)|language=es|access-date=30 September 2024|date=21 November 1983}}

| 3

{{col-2}}

=Year-end charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"

|+1983 year-end chart performance for "Say Say Say"

! scope="col" | Chart (1983)

! scope="col" | Rank

scope="row" |Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web |url=https://i.imgur.com/860ttad.jpg |title=Kent Music Report – National Top 100 Singles for 1983 |publisher=Kent Music Report |via=Imgur.com |access-date=22 January 2023}}

| 57

scope="row" | UK Singles (Official Charts Company){{cite journal |title=Top 50 Singles of 1983 |periodical=Music Week |publisher=Spotlight Publications |location=London, England |page=25 |date=25 December 1983}}

| 22

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align: center;"

|+1984 year-end chart performance for "Say Say Say"

! scope="col" | Chart (1984)

! scope="col" | Rank

scope="row" |Australia (Kent Music Report){{cite web|url=https://i.imgur.com/MyookoA.jpg|title=Kent Music Report No 548 – 31 December 1984 > National Top 100 Singles for 1984|publisher=Kent Music Report|via=Imgur.com|access-date=23 January 2023}}

| 83

scope="row" |Canada Top Singles (RPM){{cite web |url= https://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.9638&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 |title= Top 100 Singles of 1984 – Volume 41, No. 17, January 05 1985 |work= RPM |publisher= Library and Archives Canada |access-date= 21 May 2018 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20160509051421/http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/rpm/028020-119.01-e.php?brws_s=1&file_num=nlc008388.9638&type=1&interval=24&PHPSESSID=mhe12pta2k83e08udtq66ot062 |archive-date= 2016-05-09 |url-status= dead }}

| 39

scope="row" |South Africa (Springbok){{cite web|title=Top 20 Hit Singles of 1984|url=http://www.rock.co.za/files/sahits_1984.html|access-date=26 December 2018}}

| 14

scope="row"|US Top Pop Singles (Billboard){{cite magazine |date=22 December 1984 |title=Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles |page=TA-19 |magazine=Billboard |volume=96 |issue=51 }}

| 3

=Decade-end charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+Decade-end chart performance for "Say Say Say"

!Chart (1980–1989)

!Position

scope="row"|US Billboard Top Songs of the 80s{{cite web |title=Billboard's Top Songs of the '80s |url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-billboards-top-songs-80s |publisher=MRC |access-date=24 August 2020}}

| style="text-align:center;"|8

=All-time charts=

class="wikitable plainrowheaders"

|+All-time chart performance for "Say Say Say"

!Chart (1958–2021)

!Position

scope="row"|US Billboard Hot 100{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/charts/greatest-hot-100-singles/|title=Greatest of All Time Hot 100 Songs|magazine=Billboard|access-date=23 February 2023}}

| style="text-align:center;"|50

{{col-end}}

Certifications

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Say Say Say"}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|relyear=1983|title=Say, Say, Say|artist=Paul Mccartney|region=Canada|award=Platinum|certyear=1984}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|relyear=1983|title=Say Say Say|artist=Paul McCARTNEY & Michael JACKSON|region=France|award=Gold|certyear=1983|source=infodisc}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|relyear=1983|title=Say, Say, Say|artist=PAUL McCARTNEY & MICHAEL JACKSON|region=United Kingdom|award=Silver|certyear=1983|id=5707-530-1}}

{{Certification Table Entry|type=single|title=Say Say Say|artist=Paul Mc Cartney & Michael Jackson|region=United States|award=Platinum|relyear=1983|certyear=1992}}

{{Certification Table Bottom}}

Kygo version

{{Infobox song

| name = Say Say Say

| cover =

| alt =

| type = single

| artist = Kygo, Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson

| album =

| released = {{Start date|df=yes|2023|03|31}}

| recorded =

| genre = Tropical house

| length = 2:55

| label = Sony

| writer = *Michael Jackson

  • Paul McCartney

| producer = *Kygo

  • George Martin

| chronology = Kygo

| prev_title = Woke Up in Love

| prev_year = 2022

| next_title = Whatever

| next_year = 2024

| misc = {{Extra chronology

| artist = Paul McCartney

| type = single

| prev_title = The Kiss of Venus

| prev_year = 2021

| title = Say Say Say

| year = 2023

| next_title = Let It Be

| next_year = 2023

}}

{{Extra chronology

| artist = Michael Jackson

| type = single

| prev_title = Diamonds Are Invincible

| prev_year = 2018

| title = Say Say Say

| year = 2023

| next_title =

| next_year =

}}

}}

On 31 March 2023, Norwegian DJ Kygo released a remake of the song.{{cite web | url=https://www.vg.no/rampelys/musikk/i/69Ver3/kygo-slipper-remiks-av-michael-jackson-paul-mccartney-klassiker | title=Kygo slipper remiks av Michael Jackson/Paul McCartney-klassiker | date=27 March 2023 }}

=Charts=

==Weekly charts==

class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Weekly chart performance for "Say Say Say" by Kygo

! scope="col"| Chart (2023)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

{{single chart|CIS|14|artist=Kygo feat. Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson|song=Say Say Say|rowheader=true|songid=171146|access-date=22 September 2023}}
{{single chart|Wallonia|33|artist=Kygo feat. Paul McCartney · Michael Jackson|song=Say Say S·A·Y|rowheader=true|access-date=2 July 2023}}
scope="row"| France (SNEP){{cite web|url=https://snepmusique.com/les-tops/le-top-de-la-semaine/top-albums/?semaine=26&annee=2023&categorie=Top%20Singles|title=Top Singles (Week 26, 2023)|publisher=Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique|language=French|access-date=3 July 2023}}

| 78

scope="row"| Hungary (Editors' Choice Top 40){{cite web |title=2023/22. heti Editors' Choice Top 40 slágerlista |url=https://slagerlistak.hu/editors-choice-radios-jatszasi-lista/2023/22 |publisher=MAHASZ|language=hu|access-date=4 January 2025}}

| 25

scope="row"| Japan Hot Overseas (Billboard Japan){{cite web|url=https://www.billboard-japan.com/charts/detail?a=d_and_a_overseas&year=2023&month=04&day=17|title=Billboard Japan Hot Overseas – Week of April 12, 2023|website=Billboard Japan|language=ja|access-date=12 April 2023}}

| 17

scope="row"| New Zealand Hot Singles (RMNZ){{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusiccharts.co.nz/archive/hot-singles/2023-04-07|title=NZ Hot Singles Chart|publisher=Recorded Music NZ|date=10 April 2023|access-date=8 April 2023}}

| 38

{{single chart|Norway|16|artist=Kygo feat. Paul McCartney · Michael Jackson|song=Say Say S·A·Y|rowheader=true|access-date=30 April 2023}}
{{single chart|Russia|9|date=2023-06-23|rowheader=true|access-date=30 June 2023}}
{{single chart|Sweden|41|artist=Kygo feat. Paul McCartney · Michael Jackson|song=Say Say S·A·Y|rowheader=true|access-date=30 April 2023}}
{{single chart|Ukraine|3|date=2023-10-27|rowheader=true|access-date=3 November 2023}}
{{single chart|Billboarddanceelectronic|16|artist=Kygo|rowheader=true|access-date=11 April 2023}}

==Monthly charts==

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Monthly chart performance for "Say Say Say" by Kygo

! scope="col"| Chart (2023)

! scope="col"| Peak
position

scope="row"| Russia Airplay (TopHit){{cite web|url=https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/russia/monthly/2023-06-01|title=Top Radio Hits Russia Monthly Chart June 2023|publisher=TopHit|access-date=7 July 2023|archive-date=8 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230708085148/https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/russia/monthly/2023-06-01|url-status=dead}}

| 12

scope="row"| Ukraine Airplay (TopHit){{cite web|url=https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/ukraine/monthly/2023-11-01|title=Top Radio Hits Ukraine Monthly Chart November 2023|publisher=TopHit|access-date=1 December 2023}}

| 4

==Year-end charts==

class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center"

|+ Year-end chart performance for "Say Say Say" by Kygo

! scope="col"| Chart (2023)

! scope="col"| Position

scope="row"| Russia Airplay (TopHit){{cite web|url=https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/russia/annual/2023-01-01|title=Top Radio Hits Russia Chart 2023|publisher=TopHit|access-date=31 December 2023|archive-date=2 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240102135619/https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/russia/annual/2023-01-01|url-status=dead}}

| 49

scope="row"| Ukraine Airplay (TopHit){{cite web|url=https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/ukraine/annual/2023-01-01|title=Top Radio Hits Ukraine Chart 2023|publisher=TopHit|access-date=1 January 2024|archive-date=1 January 2024|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240101000418/https://tophit.com/chart/top/radio/hits/ukraine/annual/2023-01-01|url-status=dead}}

| 80

=Certifications=

{{Certification Table Top|caption=Certifications for "Say Say Say" by Kygo}}

{{Certification Table Entry|region=France|artist=Kygo feat. Paul McCartney & Michael Jackson|title=Say Say Say|award=Gold|type=single|relyear=2023|certyear=2023|access-date=4 January 2024}}

{{Certification Table Bottom|streaming=true|nosales=true|noshipments=true}}

See also

References

{{Reflist|colwidth=30em}}

Bibliography

{{Refbegin}}

  • {{cite book|last=Andersen|first=Christopher P.|title=Michael Jackson: unauthorized|publisher=Simon & Schuster|year=1994|isbn=0-671-89239-8|url=https://archive.org/details/michaeljacksonun00ande}}
  • {{cite book|last=Barrow|first=Tony|title=Inside the Music Business|year=1994|publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-415-13660-1}}
  • {{cite book|last=Campbell|first=Lisa|title=Michael Jackson: The King of Pop|publisher=Branden|year=1993|isbn=0-8283-1957-X}}
  • {{cite book|last=Coleman|first=Ray|author-link=Ray Coleman|title=McCartney: Yesterday and Today|publisher=Dove Books|year=1996|isbn=0-7871-1038-8|url=https://archive.org/details/mccartneyyesterd00cole}}
  • {{cite book|last=Curtis|first=James M.|title=Rock Eras|year=1987|publisher=Popular Press|isbn=0-87972-369-6|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/rockerasinterpre00curt}}
  • {{cite book|last=Everett|first=Walter|title=The Beatles as musicians: Revolver through the Anthology|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1999|isbn=0-19-512941-5}}
  • George, Nelson (2004). Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection booklet. Sony BMG.
  • {{cite book|last=Grant|first=Adrian|title=Michael Jackson: The Visual Documentary|publisher=Omnibus Press|year=2009|isbn=978-1-84938-261-8}}
  • {{cite book|last=Halstead|first=Craig|title=Michael Jackson: For the Record|year=2007|publisher=Authors OnLine|isbn=978-0-7552-0267-6}}
  • {{cite book|last=Harry|first=Bill|year=2002|title=The Paul McCartney Encyclopedia|publisher=Virgin|isbn=0-7535-0716-1}}
  • {{cite book|last=Hill|first=Tim|title=The Beatles: unseen archives|publisher=Parragon|year=2000|isbn=0-7525-4080-7}}
  • {{cite book|last=Jackson|first=Michael|title=Moonwalk|publisher=Random House Inc|year=2009|isbn=978-0-307-71698-9}}
  • {{cite book|last=Jones|first=Jel|title=Michael Jackson, the King of Pop: The Big Picture: the Music! the Man! the Legend! the Interviews!|year=2005|publisher=Amber Books Publishing|isbn=0-9749779-0-X}}
  • {{cite book|last=Lhamon|first=W. H.|title=Raising Cain|year=1998|publisher=Harvard University Press|isbn=0-674-74711-9|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/raisingcainblack0000lham}}
  • {{cite book|last=Romanowski|first=Patricia|title=The New Rolling Stone encyclopedia of rock & roll|publisher=Fireside|year=1995|isbn=0-684-81044-1|url=https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonee00patr}}
  • {{cite book|last=Taraborrelli|first=J. Randy|author-link=J. Randy Taraborrelli|title=The Magic and the Madness|year=2004|publisher=Headline|isbn=0-330-42005-4}}

{{Refend}}

External links

  • {{YouTube|aLEhh_XpJ-0|"Say Say Say by Paul McCartney and Michael Jackson" music video}}

{{Paul McCartney singles}}

{{Michael Jackson songs}}

{{Kygo}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:1981 songs

Category:1983 singles

Category:2023 singles

Category:Michael Jackson songs

Category:Paul McCartney songs

Category:Kygo songs

Category:Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles

Category:Cashbox number-one singles

Category:European Hot 100 Singles number-one singles

Category:RPM Top Singles number-one singles

Category:Number-one singles in Norway

Category:Number-one singles in Italy

Category:Number-one singles in Spain

Category:Number-one singles in Sweden

Category:Male vocal duets

Category:Parlophone singles

Category:Song recordings produced by George Martin

Category:Songs written by Michael Jackson

Category:Songs written by Paul McCartney

Category:Music videos directed by Bob Giraldi

Category:Music published by MPL Music Publishing

Category:Columbia Records singles

Category:Sony Music singles

Category:Post-disco songs

Category:American funk songs

Category:British funk songs

Category:American rock songs

Category:British rock songs