Bad is Michael Jackson's seventh studio album, released on August 31, 1987 on Epic Records and produced by Quincy Jones, their third and final collaboration. Recorded at Westlake Recording Studios in Los Angeles, the album generated five consecutive number-one singles on the Billboard Hot 100 — "I Just Can't Stop Loving You," "Bad," "The Way You Make Me Feel," "Man in the Mirror," and "Dirty Diana" — a record unmatched at the time. The album's presence in the AllSolos catalog reflects its instrumental depth: Steve Stevens contributes a hard rock guitar solo on "Dirty Diana," Jimmy Smith plays organ on "Bad," Stevie Wonder adds keyboard on "Just Good Friends," and saxophonist Larry Williams solos on several tracks. Jackson wrote nine of the album's eleven songs, a significant increase in songwriting from Thriller, where Jones and Rod Temperton had contributed more of the material. The title track's music video, directed by Martin Scorsese, featured an eighteen-minute short film set in a New York subway station. Bad sold over 35 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums in history, though it inevitably drew comparisons to its predecessor's unprecedented commercial success. The album expanded Jackson's sonic palette into harder-edged funk and rock territory while maintaining the pop craftsmanship of his earlier work.
