Black or White

The harmony of 'Black or White' is deliberately straightforward, built on the classic I-IV-V rock framework in E major. This simplicity is a conscious choice — Bottrell and Jackson aimed for an accessible rock 'n' roll dance song, and the no-frills chord structure gives the track its universal, anthemic quality. The blues influence shows in the power chord voicings and the IV-V-IV turnaround, while the lack of minor chords reinforces the song's optimistic, unifying message.

Michael Jackson hummed the main guitar riff to producer Bill Bottrell in early 1989 at Westlake Audio in West Hollywood. Bottrell interpreted the melody on a Kramer American Series electric guitar through a Mesa Boogie amplifier. Jackson also vocalized the song's rhythm, which Bottrell programmed into an E-mu Systems drum machine and augmented with Emulator III samples. The song was written and refined over approximately 18 months.

Released in 1991 as the lead single from Dangerous, 'Black or White' fused hard rock guitar riffs with pop hooks and a rap breakdown to deliver a message of racial unity. It became the fastest song to reach #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 since the Beatles' 'Get Back' and was the best-selling single worldwide of 1992.