State of Shock (song)
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"State of Shock" is a 1984 single by
the Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
, featuring frontman
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
. It was written by Jackson and guitarist
Randy Hansen Randy Hansen (born December 8, 1954) is an American guitarist best known for his "Rock Tribute Act" honoring Jimi Hendrix.Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...
, and was later slated for the '' Thriller'' album in 1982; however, due to differing time schedules, Jackson ended up recording it with his brothers and Jagger instead. An instrumental clip of the song appeared on Michael's posthumous album ''
Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...
'' in 2011.


Song information

"State of Shock" was the biggest hit from
the Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...
' ''
Victory The term victory (from Latin ''victoria'') originally applied to warfare, and denotes success achieved in personal Duel, combat, after military operations in general or, by extension, in any competition. Success in a military campaign constitu ...
'' album in 1984, reaching number 3 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and number 14 on the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
. The song was originally recorded with
Freddie Mercury Freddie Mercury (born Farrokh Bulsara; 5 September 1946 – 24 November 1991) was a British singer and songwriter, who achieved worldwide fame as the lead vocalist of the rock band Queen. Regarded as one of the greatest singers in the ...
, as
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
and Mercury had been working on several tracks at that time (1981–1983), e.g. the unreleased title track "Victory" for the eponymous album and "There Must Be More to Life Than This" from Mercury's '' Mr. Bad Guy'' (1985). The final version featured lead vocals by Jackson and
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
. In his 1994 book '' Michael Jackson: Unauthorized'', author
Christopher Andersen Christopher Peter Andersen (born May 26, 1949) is an American journalist and the author of 35 books, including many bestsellers. Life A graduate of the University of California at Berkeley, Andersen joined the staff of ''Time'' magazine as a co ...
described "State of Shock" as a
hard rock Hard rock or heavy rock is a loosely defined subgenre of rock music typified by aggressive vocals and distorted electric guitars. Hard rock began in the mid-1960s with the garage, psychedelic and blues rock movements. Some of the earliest hard ...
song and added that Jagger respected Jackson's work and "eyed the phenomenal success of ''Thriller'' with envy." Further, he stated that Arthur Collins, then president of Rolling Stones Records, said that Jagger had become "obsessed" with Jackson and "wanted to know every detail about Jackson's life, his contract with Columbia, how the ''Thriller'' singles were selling...". "State of Shock" was the last top ten hit for the Jacksons, as well as their last single to be certified
gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...
. The song was later revived by Jagger when he performed it with
Tina Turner Tina Turner (born Anna Mae Bullock; November 26, 1939) is an American-born Swiss retired singer and actress. Widely referred to as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Rock 'n' Roll", she rose to prominence as the lead singer o ...
during their 1985 performance at
Live Aid Live Aid was a multi-venue benefit concert held on Saturday 13 July 1985, as well as a music-based fundraising initiative. The original event was organised by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure to raise further funds for relief of the 1983–1985 fami ...
. In 2002, a demo of Mercury and Jackson singing "State of Shock" was leaked online. In 2014,
William Orbit William Mark Wainwright (born 15 December 1956),"William Orbit." ''Contemporary Musicians''. Vol. 30. Farmington Hills, MI: Gale, 2000. Retrieved via ''Biography in Context'' database, 7 May 2017. Available onlinvia ''Encyclopedia.com'' known ...
remixed the Mercury/Jackson version for release on ''
Queen Forever ''Queen Forever'' is a compilation album by the British rock band Queen (band), Queen. Released on 10 November 2014, it features tracks the band had "forgotten about" with vocals from original lead singer Freddie Mercury. Queen's bassist John De ...
'', but the song was not included. Although having been given a songwriting credit for the song, guitarist
Randy Hansen Randy Hansen (born December 8, 1954) is an American guitarist best known for his "Rock Tribute Act" honoring Jimi Hendrix.Eddie Trunk Edward Scott Trunk (born August 8, 1964) is an American music historian, radio personality, talk show host, and author, best known as the host of several hard rock- and heavy metal-themed radio and television shows. Biography Trunk was born on ...
that he did not recall having any participation at all in the song and felt that he deserved no credit. An extended dance mix (5:41) of the song is available as a digitally remastered release.


Personnel

Credits adapted from ''Victory'' LP liner notes. * Music written, composed and arranged by
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
* Lyrics by Michael Jackson and
Randy Hansen Randy Hansen (born December 8, 1954) is an American guitarist best known for his "Rock Tribute Act" honoring Jimi Hendrix.Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Places Germany * Linn (Gangkofen), a part ...
programming *
Mick Jagger Sir Michael Philip Jagger (born 26 July 1943) is an English singer and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the lead vocalist and one of the founder members of the rock band the Rolling Stones. His ongoing songwriting partnershi ...
– lead vocals *
Jackie Jackson Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951) is an American singer best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jackson is the second child of the Jackson family, a ...
– backing vocals *
Marlon Jackson Marlon David Jackson (born March 12, 1957) is an American entertainer, singer and dancer best known as a member of the Jackson 5. He is the sixth child of the Jackson family. Marlon now runs Study Peace Foundation to promote peace and unity wor ...
– backing vocals * Johnny Ray Nelson – backing vocals * David Williams – guitar, bass guitar * Paulinho Da Costa – percussion *
Bruce Swedien Bruce Swedien (; April 19, 1934 – November 16, 2020) was an American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer. He was widely known for his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand. Swedien fi ...
– engineer * Brent Averil – original 16 track engineer * Matt Forger – assistant engineer, technical director * Ollie Cotton – assistant engineer * Nelson Hayes – project coordinator * Shari Dub – project coordinator


Parodies

"Weird Al" Yankovic Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic ( ; born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, musician, songwriter, record producer, actor and author. He is best known for creating comedy songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specifi ...
used the song multiple times. It was featured in the "Hooked on Polkas" medley on his 1985 album ''
Dare to Be Stupid ''Dare to Be Stupid'' is the third studio album by "Weird Al" Yankovic, released on June 18, 1985. The album was one of many Yankovic records produced by former McCoys guitarist Rick Derringer. Recorded between August 1984 and March 1985, the ...
'' and was also performed by industry veteran Harvey Leeds that year in the mockumentary ''
The Compleat Al ''The Compleat Al'' is a mockumentary about the life of "Weird Al" Yankovic, from his birth in 1959, to 1985. It was partially written by Yankovic and directed by Jay Levey. An abbreviated version premiered on August 7, 1985 on the Showtime netwo ...
''. The style was later used for the song "UHF" from the 1989 film of the same name.


Charts


Weekly charts


Year-end charts


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:State Of Shock 1984 singles The Jackson 5 songs Mick Jagger songs Male vocal duets Songs written by Michael Jackson Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson American hard rock songs 1984 songs Epic Records singles