For years there has been talk amongst fans of Michael Jackson and the Bee Gees of several unreleased collaborations between these two giants of pop. I can even remember an interview back in the late 90s where the Gibbs were talking about recording an entire album with Michael with Babyface producing. While the album never eventuated, the first of the rumoured Gibb / Jackson songs has surfaced and rather than being a dodgy bootleg leak, this has the full backing of both Barry Gibb and the Jackson family.

The song in question is a ballad called All In Your Name and here it finally is! Enjoy:

As to the dept of the friendship between these two giants of popular music, Michael was known to seek refuge at Barry’s home in Miami throughout the 80s and 90s and even into the 21st century. He became so close with Barry and his wife Linda that he became godfather to Barry’s son, also named Michael. Barry told me when we met in London in July 2009 (shortly after Michael’s death) that Michael would often check into hotels in Miami but spend the whole time staying at Barry’s house with the media and fans none the wiser. Barry said there was a musical synergy between the two of them and that Michael always cited Love You Inside Out as not just his favourite Bee Gees song, but as the sound he was trying to emulate.

Needless to say, MJ had pretty good taste. Love You Inside Out is unique in popular music in that it was a US #1 hit (1979), sold more than two million copies in the States alone, but gets largely overlooked due to the vastness of the Gibb catalogue. There are plenty of hit songs that fall by the way-side, but few that sold like Love You Inside Out and even fewer by a major act like the Bee Gees. Featuring some of the highest falsetto Barry ever put to vinyl, it is also arguably the funkiest Gibb song and has been sampled by the likes of Jay-Z and Snoop Dogg.

Whether it’s the first time you’ve heard it, or the first time you’ve heard it in a while, here’s Love You Inside Out. And as a couple of extra bonuses, check MJ doing a bit of a Bee Gees impersonation, followed by the MJ/Bee Gees/Diana Ross collaboration from the mid-80s, Eaten Alive.