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"Loving You"

Date range confirmed in Mike Smallcombe’s “Making Michael” (“In early 1985… Michael continued working on his demos.”). “Loving You” was recorded “at Red Wing Studio” (“Xscape” album liner notes), one of the studios he recorded at before “his home studio at Hayvenhurst was in the process of being refurbished”, which “was complete in mid-1985” (Mike Smallcombe, “Making Michael”). Since he “continued work on the track at Hayvenhurst” (“Xscape” album liner notes), it can be surmised that it was recorded in early 1985.

“Xscape” album liner notes

A breezy, mid-tempo groove, “Loving You” was written and produced by Jackson and originally recorded at Red Wing Studio in the San Fernando Valley during the early Bad sessions. “Sometimes he got a song idea, and he just wanted to test it out before going to Westlake,” recalls Jackson’s longtime recording engineer, Matt Forger. “He’d sneak away to these smaller studios and it would just be a place where he could work and experiment and add different layers.” After his home studio was renovated, Jackson continued work on the track at Hayvenhurst. With its charming Motown-like vibe and effortless vocal, the song takes the listener back to an earlier era, offering another gem from one of the most prolific periods in Jackson’s career.