Jackson Single Not New, and Was Co-Written by Paul Anka

Penned in 1983, artist Safire released it in '90
By Will McCahill,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 12, 2009 7:36 PM CDT
Jackson Single Not New, and Was Co-Written by Paul Anka
Singer and songwriter Paul Anka wrote the English lyrics for Frank Sinatra's "My Way," among other hits.   (AP Photos)

Michael Jackson’s underwhelming new single, This Is It, isn’t new, and isn’t all his. The King of Pop’s lawyers tell TMZ that singer-songwriter Paul Anka’s claim that he and Jackson co-wrote the song in 1983 is true; moreover, Latin artist Safire released the song, with the same words and melody but called I Never Heard, in 1990, CNN adds.

Late this afternoon, Anka relays to TMZ, the special administrators of Jackson's estate agreed to give him 50% of the proceeds from This Is It. "Now we know why the song was so good," one evidently told Anka. "It wasn't the type of Michael Jackson song that he could write." (More Michael Jackson stories.)

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