Did you know that King of Pop Michael Jackson and The Simpsons collaborated on more than one project? On this occasion, we’ll talk about ‘Do the Bartman’ (1990), the single written especially for The Simpsons by Michael Jackson.
After being aired for the first time in December 1989, The Simpsons were so successful that a lot of merchandise spin-offs were produced at the instant, being one of these new materials the album called The Simpsons Sing the Blues (1990).
The album was a mix of old blue tracks and original songs where the voice actors would perform over. However, the collection would also include the participation of one of the most popular stars at the time: Michael Jackson. The singer composed (alongside Bryan Loren) the song for Bart Simpson, the central character of the show in the first seasons. Nancy Cartwright would sing as the voice of Bart.
Moreover, although Jackson provided the backup vocals on the track, he didn’t appear on the credits. In that sense, Matt Groening (creator of The Simpsons) would later reveal that Jackson had to collaborate in secret as he was under contract with his label.
Finally, ‘Do the Bartman’ resulted in a new jack swing track that reached the peak position on the Official Singles Chart. In addition, the song ended up being the fifth best-selling single of the year, and its music video received a nomination at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards.