On November 26, 1991, Michael Jackson released his 8th studio album, Dangerous!
Initially, the Dangerous album was conceived as a greatest hits compilation titled Decade, featuring a handful of new songs—and was to be released in 1989. However, the album's release date was pushed back several times. Ultimately, Michael decided he had enough material for a new album and changed the title to "Dangerous."
The heavily promoted Dangerous album was such a hot commodity in the music industry that just before it was released in stores, three robbers armed with a gun, forklift, and a truck—stole 30,000 copies of the album from a warehouse at Los Angeles International Airport.
Dangerous, produced by Michael Jackson and Teddy Riley, is considered the most successful New Jack Swing Album to date and has sold over 32 million albums worldwide! (Please note: this number is probably higher, Michael's sales for Dangerous haven't been updated since August 23rd, 2018.)
Check out this new, fantastic write up about the Dangerous album by albumnism: https://www.albumism.com/features/michael-jackson-dangerous-turns-30-anniversary-retrospective
Also, check out these never before sketches of the Dangerous album, posted today on Instagram via illustrator Mark Ryden, the artist behind the cover art for the Dangerous album: https://www.instagram.com/p/CWv5FGgv98S/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
On a personal note, I loved how MJ changed up his style with this album while remaining true to himself. The New Jack Swing vibe was—and is—everything! Michael gave us socially conscious jamz, sensual grooves, and heartfelt, personal pleas on this masterpiece of an album!
I will not tell you how many times the Dangerous album has been purchased on cassette, cd, and vinyl by me (it was many! Hehe)—not to mention the Special Edition CD releases. It's definitely one of my favorite MJ albums!
Now, if I could hear Michael's version of the song Joy, then my life would be complete! Btw, If you're not familiar with the song Joy, it was written by Michael and Teddy Riley, but Michael ended up not using it. Instead, Teddy Riley's group Blackstreet recorded and released the song. Also, there are versions of Joy floating around on YouTube that claim to be Michael, but it's not! It's Marcus Williams, an MJ sound alike. Michael recorded his version in 1991, and it remains unreleased.
So, be sure to show Dangerous some extra love today by streaming it and its music videos!
Listen, in this new era of music and technology, we must stream Michael's music and videos, whether we have digital or physical copies. Gosh, how I miss when music sales were based on actually going to the store and buying an album and/or single, but that's another topic for another day.
So, what's your favorite track from Michael's Dangerous album?
P.S. I can't choose, it's far too many! 💜🎶🌛
