America Respond To Michael Jackson's "A Place With No Name"

Last week, TMZ unearthed an excerpt of an unreleased Michael Jackson song titled "A Place With No Name," which borrowed heavily from America's 1971 hit "A Horse With No Name." America members Dewey Bunnell and Gerry Beckley addressed the song in a statement this weekend, saying they were "honored" that Jackson opted to reinterpret their tune. "A Place With No Name" is the first of what's been rumored to be a vast vault of unreleased Jackson material that might be released after the singer's June 25th death.

"We're honored that Michael Jackson chose to record it and we're impressed with the quality of the track. We're also hoping it will be released soon so that music listeners around the world can hear the whole song and once again experience the incomparable brilliance of Michael Jackson," Bunnell and Beckley said in the statement. "Michael Jackson really did it justice and we truly hope his fans — and our fans — get to hear it in its entirety. It's really poignant."

TMZ quoted America's former manager Jim Morey — who also at one point served as Jackson's manager — as saying, "America was honored that Michael chose to do their song and they hope it becomes available for all Michael's fans to hear." As America noted in their statement, this isn't the first time a member of the Jackson family has used their music: Janet Jackson's 2001 hit "Someone to Call My Lover" sampled America's "Ventura Highway." Details surrounding "A Place With No Name" remain sketchy, as TMZ couldn't put a year to go with the recording. No plans have been made for the song's full version to be released, as only a 24-second clip exists thus far.

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Song Stories

“Smells Like Teen Spirit”

Nirvana | 1991

"Smells Like Teen Spirit," named after a brand of deodorant marketed to girls, was Kurt Cobain's attempt to "write the ultimate pop song," he said, using the soft-loud dynamic of his favorite band, the Pixies. Cobain "had that dichotomy of punk rage and alienation," the song’s producer, Butch Vig, told Rolling Stone, "but also this vulnerable pop sensibility. In 'Teen Spirit,' a lot of that vulnerability is in the tone of his voice." Sadly, by the time of Nirvana's last U.S. tour, in late '93, Cobain was tortured by the obligation to play "Teen Spirit" every night. "There are many other songs that I have written that are as good, if not better," he claimed.

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