NEWSPaul Anka Claims Michael Jackson Stole "This Is It"
Oct. 12 2009, Published 11:50 a.m. ET
Less than a day after Michael Jackson's single "This Is It" debuted online, it seems there's more legal trouble heading for his legacy: music legend Paula Anka is telling TMZ that the song is a copy of "I Never Heard," a song he recorded with MJ back in 1983.
Paul says they wrote the song, and recorded a demo in Paul's studio. He then took the tape to a studio in Hollywood to put the finishing touches on it for his album, Walk a Fine Line. That's when he claims MJ stole the tapes from the studio.
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When Paul realized the tapes were missing, he says he called the lawyers who repped both him and Michael — one of whom was Michael's co-executor for his estate, John Branca. Paul threatened to sue and the tapes were returned — but Paul says MJ made a copy before giving them back. Paul claims "This Is It" is Michael's voice track from their recording session.
The song ended up going to recording artist Safire, who released it in 1990. Check out TMZ to listen to clips of both songs.
