Anka Given Credit for Jackson Song; New York Times, 10/13/09

Ben Sisario, New York Times; Anka Given Credit for Jackson Song:

"When Michael Jackson’s new single, “This Is It,” was released on Sunday night, many listeners were surprised by its resemblance to “I Never Heard,” a 1991 track by the R&B singer Safire, which gave songwriting credit to Mr. Jackson and Paul Anka.

But no one was more surprised than Mr. Anka, who said in an interview on early in the day on Monday that he had not been contacted about the use of the song and that he was not given proper writing credit for the single, which now credits only Mr. Jackson as a writer.

“They have a major, major problem on their hands,” he said. “They will be sued if they don’t correct it."

For Mr. Anka, the song has a long and painful history. He said in an interview that he and Mr. Jackson wrote and recorded it in 1983 in Mr. Anka’s studio in Carmel, Calif., and that it was intended as a duet for Mr. Anka’s album “Walk a Fine Line.” But shortly after it was recorded, Mr. Jackson took the tapes, Mr. Anka said. He threatened to sue to get them back, he said, and now has the original multitrack tapes in his possession, along with documentation that the copyright for the song was held by both."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/13/arts/music/13anka.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=anka&st=cse