It's one of those rumours / hoaxes / conspiracy theories that's done the rounds for years and years, but now, a new investigation may have finally shed some light on one of the great questions of the age - did Michael Jackson work on the soundtrack for Sonic The Hedgehog 3?
The rumour has persisted for years, with diehard Sonic fans - Blues, as they're known among themselves - listening and analysing both Michael Jackson's music and the in-game music from Sonic The Hedgehog 3. The story's taken on a life of its own, with countless theories trying to counter and explain what exactly happen.
In 1993, Jackson appeared at Sega of America's facility in California and toured the facility. It's understood that Sega asked Michael Jackson if he'd like to work on the soundtrack for the upcoming Sonic game. This, however, is where the story gets murky. A few months after Michael Jackson met with Sega, the singer was accused of child molestation and cancelled his tour and began to withdraw from public life.
During this time, major brands and companies whom Jackson worked with - Pepsi, for example - began to drop him from their endorsement deals. Jackson's public persona was in tatters and Sega, according to the investigation, ran for cover. His involvement in Sonic 3's soundtrack was denied flatly by Sega.
However, the team of musicians who worked on the soundtrack have now come forward and admitted that, yes, Jackson did work on the soundtrack and that his music made it into the final project. Speaking in a recent interview, Brad Buxer - Michael Jackson's musical director and credited on the game's end-scroll - says that Jackson's input made it into the finished game. "I was working with Michael on the 'Dangerous' album and he told me he was going to be doing the Sonic the Hedgehog soundtrack for Sonic 3. He asked me if I would help him with it."
When the game was finished, Michael Jackson specifically requested that his name be taken off the credited list as he felt the 16-bit console made his music sound bad. Moreover, Sega wanted to keep Jackson's involvement under wraps in the wake of the ongoing child molestation scandal. Another composer was brought in who, according to investigations, didn't do all that much to change the soundtrack that Jackson and his team of musicians created.
As Brad Buxer himself claims, the song cues from Stranger In Moscow is identical to the end credits of Sonic The Hedgehog 3. "These cues are all over the Internet... People have accurately matched the songs to the cues."
Via HuffPo
