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"State of Shock"
Single by the Jacksons featuring Mick Jagger
from the album Victory
B-side	"Your Ways"
Released	June 18, 1984 (1984-06-18)
Recorded	November 1981 – May 1983
Studio	Westlake Audio (Los Angeles) A & R Recording (New York)
Genre	Hard rock disco-rock
Length	4:30 4:05 (7-inch)
Label	Epic CBS
Songwriter(s)	Michael Jackson Randy Hansen
Producer(s)	Michael Jackson
The Jacksons singles chronology
"Walk Right Now" (1981) "State of Shock" (1984) "Torture" (1984)
Mick Jagger singles chronology
"Memo from Turner" (1970) "State of Shock" (1984) "Just Another Night" (1985)

"State of Shock" is a 1984 single by the Jacksons and Mick Jagger. It was written by Michael Jackson and Randy Hansen. The song was originally sung by Michael Jackson as a duet with Freddie Mercury, 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.

Background

"State of Shock" features lead vocals by Michael Jackson and Mick Jagger. It was The Jacksons' highest charting song from their Victory album, released in 1984; the song peaked at number 3 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. The song was originally recorded with Freddie Mercury, as Michael Jackson and Mercury had been working on several songs at that time in 1981 including the unreleased title track "Victory" and "There Must Be More to Life Than This" from Mercury's Mr. Bad Guy album (1985). The final version featured lead vocals by Jackson and Mick Jagger.

In his 1994 book Michael Jackson: Unauthorized, author Christopher Andersen described "State of Shock" as a hard rock 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 Epic, 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. Jagger performed the song with Tina Turner for their 1985 performance at Live Aid.

In 2002, a demo of Mercury and Jackson singing "State of Shock" was leaked online. In 2014, William Orbit remixed the Mercury/Jackson version for release on Queen Forever, but the song was not included.

Guitarist Randy Hansen is often mentioned as co-writer of the song, but the credit refers to a different Randy Hansen. In a leaked interview for his autobiography Moonwalk, Michael Jackson told the lyrics were co-written by a 12 year old kid with the same name. Guitarist Randy Hansen received royalties for the song erroneously, as he explained in a 2021 interview with Eddie Trunk.

An extended dance mix (5:41) of the song is available as a digitally remastered release. An instrumental clip of the song appeared on Jackson's posthumous album Immortal in 2011.

Personnel

Credits adapted from Victory LP liner notes.

• Music written, composed and arranged by Michael Jackson
• Lyrics by Michael Jackson and Randy Hansen
• Produced by Michael Jackson
• Michael Jackson – lead vocals, background vocals, handclaps, Linn LM-1 programming
• Mick Jagger – lead vocals
• Jackie Jackson – backing vocals
• Marlon Jackson – backing vocals
• Johnny Ray Nelson – backing vocals
• David Williams – guitar, bass guitar
• Paulinho Da Costa – percussion
• Bruce Swedien – 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

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"Weird Al" Yankovic used the song several times. It was featured in the "Hooked on Polkas" medley on his 1985 album Dare to Be Stupid and was also performed by industry veteran Harvey Leeds that year in the mockumentary The Compleat Al. The style was later used for the song "UHF" from the 1989 film of the same name.

Insane Clown Posse featured a rendition of the song on their 2012 EP of covers Smothered, Covered, And Chunked!, released as a bonus disc alongside their album The Mighty Death Pop!.

Charts

Certifications

References

1. Lecocq, Richard; Allard, François (2018). "Bad". Michael Jackson All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London, England: Cassell. ISBN 9781788400572.
2. Lecocq, Richard; Allard, François (2018). "Bad". Michael Jackson All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London, England: Cassell. ISBN 9781788400572.
3. Harrington, Jim (2015). "The Jacksons featuring Mick Jagger - "State of Shock". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die. New York: Universe. p. 553.
4. McAlpine, Fraser. . BBC America. Retrieved 2019-11-24.
5. ^ Andersen, Christopher P. (1994). Michael Jackson: unauthorized. Simon & Schuster. p. 155. ISBN 0-671-89239-8. Retrieved April 24, 2010. The most memorable cut on the Victory album — and its only top five single — was "State of Shock," Michael's hard rock duet with Mick Jagger. "Mick became obsessed with Michael Jackson," said Arthur Collins, then president of Rolling Stones Records.
6. Rees, Dafydd; Crampton, Luke (1991). Rock movers & shakers, Volume 1991, Part 2. ABC-CLIO. p. 261. ISBN 0-87436-661-5. Retrieved April 24, 2010. Jackson duets with Freddy Mercury on the album's lead-off single State Of Shock (US No. 3 and UK No. 14).
7. "State of shock, #michaeljackson on #mickjagger #shorts". YouTube. 20 March 2024.
8. Did Randy Hansen write "STATE OF SHOCK" by Michael Jackson?, 7 May 2021, archived from the original on 2021-12-13, retrieved 2021-12-05
9. Victory (LP liner notes). The Jacksons. Epic Records. 1984. QE 38946.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, N.S.W.: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
11. "Jacksons – State Of Shock" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
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13. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved May 29, 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Michael Jackson".
14. "Nederlandse Top 40 – Mick Jagger" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
15. "Jacksons – State Of Shock" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
16. "Jacksons – State Of Shock". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
17. "Jacksons – State Of Shock". VG-lista. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
18. "Las canciones más escuchadas en Latinoamérica". La Opinión (Los Angeles) (in Spanish). August 13, 1984. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
19. "Jacksons – State Of Shock". Singles Top 100. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
20. "Jacksons – State Of Shock". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
21. "Jacksons with Mick Jagger: Artist Chart History". Official Charts Company. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
22. "The Jacksons Chart History (Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
23. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Top R&B/Hip-Hop Singles: 1942-2004. Record Research. p. 287.
24. Whitburn, Joel (2004). Hot Dance/Disco: 1974-2003. Record Research. p. 132.
25. "Jaaroverzichten 1984" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
26. "Top RPM Singles: Issue 9638." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
27. "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1984" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
28. "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1984" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved May 29, 2022.
29. "Talent Almanac 1985: Top Pop Singles". Billboard. Vol. 96, no. 51. December 22, 1984. p. TA-19.
30. "Canadian single certifications – Jacksons – State of Shock". Music Canada. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
31. "American single certifications – The Jacksons – State of Shock". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved August 2, 2023.

• 1984 songs
• 1984 singles
• The Jackson 5 songs
• Mick Jagger songs
• Freddie Mercury songs
• Male vocal duets
• Songs written by Michael Jackson
• Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson
• Epic Records singles
• American hard rock songs