In light of what would have been Michael Jackson's 58th birthday (on August 29th), here is a list, in no particular order of some of his best more obscure, lesser known or unreleased singles.

Featuring one of the smoothest and most tranquil bass intros in all of R&B, I am actually astounded that the first 7 seconds of this have not been sampled to death. This gem from the Off The Wall album is a solid, chill song anyone could kick back to.





Ok, I will fully admit, this is a cheat because its actually a song by the Jackson brothers recorded but uhhh, whatever! Its just too good not to include! This is one of those rare songs I'd heard as a child but then completely forgot about and never really heard again. That is until after his death after my local radio station began playing a weekend marathon. Instantly stuck in my head. Forever.





Call me a sucker but I just can't resist a great ballad that starts off with angelic sounding bells, then dips into the beat. The charm of this song is the conviction in which Michael sings about not leaving his baby alone. Swoon!

This one starts off sound like a spaghetti Western movie, til the beat drops in. But accompanied by Carlos Santana's sexy guitar riffs, an easy hook and some background strings, Whatever Happens is one of the best tracks off of the Invincible album.


Whatever happens...don't let go of my hand.

Seems like every top 100 artist needs to have a 'believe in yourself' type song and this is definitely the one from MJ. Maybe its a bit corny and simple but its still a solid message with a catchy and hummable hook. Worth mentioning is the choir that comes in around the end and ends on one satisfying, single note.






Ok, so kinda dated right now with all its heavy '80s synth and drum beats but its also a funky duet with The Stevie Wonder. Does anything else even matter after that?



Probably more popular than the other "obscure" songs, as any MJ listener is probably familiar but this is a quintessential '80s, R&B song, complete with call-outs to all the pretty young things (which I'm sure everyone knows includes vocals by big sis LaToya).


Before there was The Boy Is Mine, there was The Girl Is Mine, one of the best duos from a time when Sir Paul McCartney and MJ were still friends (ya know before Michael bought The Beatles' catalog, thus squashing their friendship into the dirt). Yeah its a bit juvenile but MJ fans typically find it cute and singable. Plus it brought us this classic line:




THIS SONG RIGHT HERE!!!! Hearing this song as a 10 year old girl in Baltimore in the '80s and hearing Michael croon about the lady in his life was the defining moment when I realized I wanted to marry him! Hearing MJ sing with such emotion about growing old together was enough for me in my young mind. The first first few bars of this track let you know immediately what kinda mood you're getting and it the sexiest song he produced. It hits all the right notes at the end when he gets into the soulful ad libs. So I'm just 'gon go ahead and proclaim this one of the BEST R&B love ballads of the 1980's. *mic drop*