| E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Soundtrack album by | ||||
| Released | November 15, 1982[1] | |||
| Recorded | 1982 | |||
| Genre | Soundtrack | |||
| Length | 39:31 | |||
| Label | MCA | |||
| Producer | Quincy Jones | |||
| John Williams chronology | ||||
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| Michael Jackson chronology | ||||
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E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is anaudiobook andsoundtrack companion album forthe 1982 film directed bySteven Spielberg. Composed byJohn Williams, the album was narrated by recording artistMichael Jackson, produced byQuincy Jones and distributed byMCA Records. The audiobook was produced by John Williams and Michael Jackson working withRod Temperton,Freddy DeMann, andBruce Swedien.
TheE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial audiobook was released by MCA on November 15, 1982 – the same month as Michael Jackson's acclaimed sixth studio albumThriller despite conditions given byEpic Records, Jackson's record label, that it should not be released until afterThriller. As a result, Epic took legal action against MCA which forced the album's withdrawal. During its curtailed release,E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial reached number 37 on theBillboard 200 and number 82 on theUK Albums Chart. It was well-received critically and won Jackson aGrammy Award forBest Recording for Children.
TheE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial album package contains a storybook, which allows listeners to read along with Jackson as he narrates the tale ofE.T. and the alien's visit to planet Earth. The book contains a photograph of E.T. placing his hands on Jackson's shoulders, while one of the extraterrestrial's fingers glows. This picture is included in the album package as a 22 inches (56 cm) × 22 inches (56 cm) full-color poster.[2][3][4] The 20-page storybook include stills from the movie and the lyrics to the song "Someone in the Dark" (written byAlan andMarilyn Bergman), which Jackson sings on the audiobook. The recording, on a12-inch vinyl LP, features original music byJohn Williams, integrated sound effects from the movie, as well as the voice of E.T. in the background.[4][5]
Prior to the recording of theE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial album, Jackson released four solo studio albums withMotown Records between 1972 and 1975 (Got to Be There,Ben,Music & Me andForever, Michael), and several with his brothers as part ofThe Jackson 5/Jacksons between 1969 and 1981. In 1975, he and his brothers (exceptJermaine) moved toEpic Records and in 1979, Michael released his fifth solo album,Off the Wall, to critical and commercial success.[6][7][8][9]
In June 1982 theSteven Spielberg-directedscience fiction feature filmE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was released to cinemas.[10] Created by Spielberg'sAmblin Entertainment and distributed byUniversal Pictures (then a subsidiary ofMCA Inc.),[11] it starredHenry Thomas,Dee Wallace,Robert MacNaughton,Drew Barrymore andPeter Coyote. The film tells the story ofElliott, a boy who befriends a good-natured extraterrestrial he calls E.T., who is stranded on Earth. Upon its release, the film became ablockbuster and surpassedStar Wars to becomethe highest-grossing film released to that point.[12] Critics lauded it as a timeless story of friendship,[13] and theAmerican Film Institute ranks it as the third greatest science fiction film ever produced in the United States.[14]
Jackson began work on the audiobookE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial in June 1982 – about two months after he began recording his sixth studio albumThriller. Quincy Jones served as the producer for both projects, in addition to working as the narrative writer for the audiobook.[15][16] During the recording of the narration, Jackson became so upset when E.T. died in the story that he wept. Jones and Spielberg both felt that trying to record the part again would not change the pop star's emotional reaction and decided to leave Jackson's crying in the finished recording. Jackson biographer Lisa D. Campbell wrote that Jones had learned this during the recording of "She's Out of My Life" (from theOff the Wall album), where the singer also broke down in tears.[17]
Several of the contributors to theE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial storybook album had worked with Jackson in the past.Rod Temperton, who had written several songs featured onOff the Wall andThriller, wrote the music for "Someone in the Dark".Freddy DeMann and Ron Weisner, former managers of The Jacksons, served as the production coordinators for the album.Bruce Swedien engineeredE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, a task he had performed onOff the Wall andThriller and would go on to perform for the next albums of Jackson. Dick Zimmerman photographed Jackson for theThriller album cover, before again capturing the singer for the accompanying poster to theE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial album.[17][18]
Once the recording and engineering aspects of production had been completed,MCA Records (the distributor of the album) pressed more than a million copies of the audiobook. In 1982 a journalist forBillboard wrote that it was one of the "most ambitious" projects MCA Records had taken on to date.[19]
Jackson commented the following:
"He's in a strange place and wants to be accepted – which is a situation that I have found myself in many times when travelling from city to city all over the world. He's most comfortable with children, and I have a great love for kids. He gives love and wants love in return, which is me. And he has that super power which lets him lift off and fly whenever he wants to get away from things on Earth, and I can identify with that. He and I are alike in many ways."[5]
Epic Records allowed Jackson to record the album on two conditions:
MCA Records breached both conditions, releasing the storybook in November 1982 and giving7-inch promo copies of "Someone in the Dark" to radio stations. After Epic lodged a $2 million lawsuit, MCA Records was forced to withdraw the album and prohibited from releasing "Someone in the Dark" as a single.[2][17][20][21] Epic executives had felt that MCA was misleading members of the public into believing the then-recently released single "The Girl Is Mine" was featured on the storybook album. The plaintiffs further requested that MCA Records be banned from working with Jackson in the future and that any other media owned by MCA featuring the singer be prohibited from release.[19]
As a result of the legal restrictions that prohibited the public release of "Someone in the Dark" as a single, the promo copies which were made have since become one of the singer's rarest and most sought-after records; some have been sold for over $1,600.[22][23] By the time the court order was issued against MCA, more than 450,000 copies were already sold in the United States.[24] According toJohn Branca in theThriller 40 documentary, Michael was upset at thenWalter Yetnikoff, President of Epic Records and Yetnikoff questioned what should he do to make the situation better. Michael Jackson owned all of his masters as a result of the lawsuit starting fromOff the Wall until the future releases that followed. The song's opening version was later included as a bonus track on the 2001 special edition ofThriller, as well as the box setMichael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection.[25][26][27]
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial reached number 82 on theUK Albums Chart,[28] which was considered high for a storybook album.[29] The audiobook won Jackson aGrammy Award in1984[n 1] forBest Recording for Children.[31][32][33] Upon collecting the award and taking home a record eight Grammys from an unprecedented twelve nominations, the singer said that of all the awards he had received that night, he was "most proud of this one".[34][35][36]
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial was also well-received critically. Charles L. Sanders ofEbony magazine described it as an "extraordinary album".[37] Mark Bego of theToledo Blade asserted that the song "Someone in the Dark" was "one of the most beautiful ballads" Jackson had ever recorded.[2] He further commented that the amalgamation of Jones's production, dialogue from the film, Jackson's "effective and emotional" reading of the narrative and the audiobook's "grand soaring orchestration" made theE.T. the Extra-Terrestrial album "[elicit] as many tears as the movie does".[2] A writer forBillboard described the audiobook as being "lavishly packaged, lovingly produced" and worth its high asking price.[38] A journalist for theLexington Herald-Leader concluded that it was a "delightful" storybook album.[39]
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Someone in the Dark" (Opening Version) (recorded June 1982) | Alan Bergman,Marilyn Bergman,Rod Temperton | 4:54 |
| 2. | "Landing" | John Williams | 3:24 |
| 3. | "Alone" | Williams | 3:50 |
| 4. | "Discovery" | Williams | 2:13 |
| 5. | "School" | Williams | 2:26 |
| Total length: | 16:47 | ||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Home" | Williams | 2:17 |
| 2. | "Intrusion" | Williams | 3:39 |
| 3. | "E.T. Phone Home" | Williams | 3:01 |
| 4. | "Chase" | Williams | 3:18 |
| 5. | "Good-Bye" | Williams | 4:45 |
| 6. | "Someone in the Dark" (Closing Version) (recorded June 1982) | A. Bergman, M. Bergman, Temperton | 2:54 |
| Total length: | 19:54 | ||
| Charts (1982–1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[40] | 23 |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[41] | 30 |
| Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[42] | 36 |
| UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[28] | 82 |
| USBillboard Top LPs & Tape[43] | 37 |
| USCashbox Top Albums[44] | 35 |
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