"Bad" is the title track of Michael Jackson's 1987 album, produced by Quincy Jones, featuring brief but distinctive solos from organist Jimmy Smith and keyboardist Greg Phillinganes. Set in A minor at 115 BPM with a driving rock-funk feel, the song was the second single from an album that would yield five consecutive number-one hits. Smith's organ solo, though short, brings an unexpected jazz-blues flavor to the hard-edged pop-funk arrangement. Phillinganes, a longtime member of Jackson's touring and studio band, follows with a synthesizer passage that maintains the song's aggressive energy. The song was originally conceived as a duet with Prince, though that collaboration never materialized. Jackson wrote the song and it was accompanied by an iconic Martin Scorsese-directed music video filmed in a New York City subway station. The Bad album, which followed the unprecedented success of Thriller, sold over 35 million copies worldwide and cemented Jackson's status as the dominant pop artist of the 1980s. The instrumental solos, while brief, demonstrate the caliber of session musicians Jackson and Jones employed, bringing genuine musical sophistication to a pop production. The song's staccato synthesizer bass line and aggressive drum programming defined the sonic template for late-1980s pop.
