Written and composed by Michael Jackson, “Bad” was recorded in 1986 and released by Epic Records on September 7, 1987, as the second single from his album Bad. Jackson and Quincy Jones produced the track. Its subject was influenced by a story Jackson read about a young man who left a poor neighborhood to attend private school and was killed after returning home. The single received positive reviews and was noted for giving Jackson a tougher, edgier image. It topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and also reached number one on the Hot R&B Singles and Hot Dance Club Play charts.
For players, “Bad” is in A minor, common time, at about 114.1 BPM, with the recording pitched slightly above standard A440. Its main bass line draws on the A blues scale, while the harmonic movement has been compared to a revived “Hit the Road Jack” progression. The arrangement opens with a four-note brass figure that references James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” Martin Scorsese directed the influential 1987 short-film video, whose subway-station dance sequence incorporated choreography by Jackson, Jeffrey Daniel, and Gregg Burge.
