Gregg Musgrove is probably one of the luckiest treasure hunters in the USA right now. In a storage room in the San Fernando Valley (Los Angeles area), the former highway patrolman found numerous cassettes and DAT tapes with unreleased Michael Jackson songs.
A dozen forgotten tracks
As “The Hollywood Reporter” reports, Musgrove found the recordings in a warehouse in Van Nuys, a district of the San Fernando Valley that is said to have once belonged to music producer and singer Bryan Loren. Loren was known, among other things, for the 1990 song “Do the Bartman,” which was featured in “The Simpsons.”
What Musgrove discovered: No fewer than twelve almost completely unknown tracks – which the “King of Pop” had worked on between 1989 and 1991, before his hit album DANGEROUS – were on the tapes. “I went to all the fan sites. There are rumors that some [der Songs] exist, some have leaked a little,” said the lucky finder. And further: “A few of them aren’t even born yet.”
“I listen to this stuff and it gives me goosebumps.”
Jackson and presumably Loren would be heard talking about their recording and creation process. “I listen to this stuff and I get goosebumps because no one has ever heard this stuff before,” Musgrove told The Hollywood Reporter. And: “To actually hear Michael Jackson talk and kind of joke back and forth, that was really, really cool.”
One of the never-released songs is reportedly called “Don’t Believe It,” a title that may refer to the abuse allegations Jackson faced in the early 1990s. On another tape he is said to be talking about a track called “Seven Digits,” which refers to the identification number on corpses in mortuaries. The most unusual song, “Truth on Youth,” includes a duet between Jackson and LL Cool J, where Jackson even raps himself. Cool J has confirmed in the past that the two have recorded music together.
Michael Jackson’s estate curbs joy
But before Michael Jackson fans gasp, there is some less good news: According to Musgrove, the estate of the musician, who died in 2009, is refusing to hand over its copyright to the cassettes and tapes for unknown reasons. The 56-year-old was allowed to keep it, but never publish it. The Jackson Estate explained to “The Hollywood Reporter” that the recordings that surfaced were not the master recordings. The actual originals are in its safes – and with them the ownership and exploitation rights. “It should be clear to everyone that ownership and exploitation rights to the recordings remain with MJJP Records and that nothing commercial or otherwise can be done with the DAT copies,” a representative continued.
Musgrove now plans to soon auction off the finds, which are estimated to be worth seven figures, at auction houses.