Much has been said about the incredible abilities Michael Jackson had as a singer and a dancer but much less as said about his skills as a songwriter. In fact I think few people think of him as a songwriter. But the fact is he wrote many of his most well known hit songs himself.

Top Twenty Hits (US or UK) That Michael Jackson Wrote:

Off the Wall (1979)

Only 1 of the 10 Off the Wall tracks was written by Jackson but that one song became Jackson’s first #1 hit in the US as an adult.

“Don’t Stop ’til You Get Enough” #1 in the US & #3 in the UK.

Thriller (1982)

Four of Thriller’s nine songs were written by Jackson and they were all hits.

“The Girl Is Mine” #2 in the US & #8 in the UK.
“Billy Jean” #1 in the US & UK.
“Beat It” #1 in the US & #3 in the UK.
“Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” #5 in the US & #8 in the UK.

We Are The World (1985)

“We Are The World” #1 in the US & UK. (co-written with Lionel Richie.)

Bad (1987)

Eight of the 10 songs on Bad were written by Jackson and seven of those eight songs were hits. “Leave Me Alone” was only on the CD version of the album (making it 9 of 11.) “Man in the Mirror” & “Just Good Friends” are the only songs on the album Jackson did not write.

“I Just Can’t Stop Loving You” #1 in the US & UK.
“Bad” #1 in the US & #3 in the UK.
“The Way You Make Me Feel” #1 in the US & #3 in the UK.
“Dirty Diana” #1 in the US & #4 in the UK.
“Another Part of Me” #11 in the US & #15 in the UK.
“Smooth Criminal” #7 in the US & #8 in the UK.
“Leave Me Alone” #2 in the UK.
“Liberian Girl” #13 in the UK.

Dangerous (1991)

Many of the songs on Dangerous include shared songwriting credits, in particular with Teddy Riley. Jackson has a songwriting credit on 12 of the 14 songs on the album. “Why You Wanna Trip On Me” & “Gone Too Soon” are the only exceptions.

“Black or White” #1 in the US & UK.
“Remember the Time” #3 in the US & UK.
“In the Closet” #6 in the US & #8 in the UK.
“Jam” #26 in the US & #13 in the UK.
“Who Is It” #14 in the US & #10 in the UK.
“Heal the World” #27 in the US & #2 in the UK.
“Give In to Me” #2 in the UK.
“Will You Be There” #7 in the US & #9 in the UK.

HIStory (1995)

Jackson wrote 12 of the 15 new songs. Two of the songs he didn’t write were covers (”Smile” & “Come Together”) and the other one was the hit “You Are Not Alone” which was written by R. Kelly.

“Scream”/”Childhood” #5 in the US & #3 in the UK.
“Earth Song” #1 in the UK.
“They Don’t Care About Us” #30 in the US & #4 in the UK.
“Stranger in Moscow” #91 in the US & #4 in the UK.

Blood on the Dance Floor (1997)

This album included only five new songs (the other eight tracks were remixes of songs from the HIStory album.) Jackson has a songwriting credit on all five of the new songs (and seven out of eight of the remixes.)

“Blood on the Dance Floor” #41 in the US & #1 in the UK.
“HIStory”/”Ghosts” #5 in the UK.

Invincible (2001)

Jackson has a songwriting credit on 14 of the 16 songs. The exceptions are “Cry” which was written by R. Kelly & “Butterflies” which was written by Marsha Ambrosius of Floetry.

“You Rock My World” #10 in the US & #2 in the UK.

Michael Jackson

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