Music and Me

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Michael Jackson chronology
Music and Me

Studio album by Michael Jackson
Released	April 13, 1973
Recorded	1972-1973
Genre	Bubblegum pop/Soul
Label	Motown
Producer(s)	Hal Davis
Ben (1972)	Music and Me (1973)	Forever, Michael (1975)

Music and Me was the third solo release by pop singer Michael Jackson.

At this point, Jackson was one of the few artists who had success as a member of a popular singing group and as a soloist, especially considering he now had four Top 40 hit singles at the point of this release, which occurred in April of 1973. But at this point, Jackson, who turned fifteen in August, was growing frustrated with Motown's lack of direction concerning the material he was recording thus making the songs he recorded for "Music and Me" seem almost shallow even at his most soulful. Jackson was also experiencing vocal changes as he came in and out of soprano and was now, at least for this album, a high-pitched tenor.

This was commercially Jackson's lowest-selling record as a Motown artist and though Jackson was shown strumming on an acoustic guitar on the cover, he never played an instrument on the album nor did he get what he wanted to do - have his own songs on this particular project. The chart showing at #92 on the Pop Albums Chart proved to be a sign, at least by the label, that the public was growing tired of Jackson's image as a child singer as he matured into a teen idol during the year. And the leading single, "With a Child's Heart" (originally recorded by Stevie Wonder), was the only song released off it.