New Michael Jackson Single a Very Old Song, Not his Own

In what would have to be described as a marketing gaffe by the Jackson family and the Michael Jackson estate, This Is It has been revealed to be a song that was not entirely Michael's. In fact, Paul Anka was a co-writer and originally produced the song. He ended up with the song and eventually had it recorded by a Puerto Rican singer.

Anka immediately came forward after the song was released and demanded compensation and credit for the song. The Jackson estate, apparently aware of the conflict, immediately awarded Paul Anka 50% of the take from the sales of the song, which will likely be substantial.

Anka has defended the Jackson family, explaining that he believes that their intentions were honorable and that the mistake was an honest one. Obviously, that's the case. The likely scenario is that no one knew of Anka's involvement or the origins of the song until it was released. Now that the information has come to light, the Jackson family had no reason to attempt to fight Anka's claims.

"They did the right thing," Anka said. "I don't think that anybody tried to do the wrong thing. It was an honest mistake." It will be interesting to see how this revelation affects sales of the song and the two-disc album that it's part of. Will it become more attractive as a collector's item because of the controversy? Or will it's attraction fade because the song is not a Michael Jackson original?