On this day in 1987, the music video for Michael Jackson’s single ‘Bad’ was first shown on television.
…I’m Giving You
On Count Of Three
To Show Your Stuff
Or Let It Be . . .
I’m Telling You
Just Watch Your Mouth
I Know Your Game
What You’re About
The song was written, composed, and co-produced by Jackson, and produced by Quincy Jones. Jackson stated that the song was influenced by a real life story he’d read about. Musically, the song is a pop song with a dance groove tempo with R&B and funk musical styles. Lyrically, the song is about proving one’s toughness, with Jackson asking “who’s bad?” in a repeating lyric in the song.
… A music video for “Bad” was directed by Martin Scorsese … In the video, Jackson and a group of background dancers are shown doing dance routines throughout a subway station. The music videos choreographer stated that the plot and video of the background was strongly influenced by the “Cool” scene in West Side Story. The music video received one nomination at the Video Music Awards in 1988.