"When Michael [Jackson] had an audience with Pope Paul, he brought Seth Riggs his vocal coach along with him. While they were waiting to meet with his holiness in the outer chamber, a fly came into the room. It skillfully buzzed freely around them with a childlike freedom and Seth became so annoyed that he couldn’t take it anymore and killed it on the spot. With tears in his eyes Michael asked, “Why did you do that?!” Seth retorted, “It was just buzzing around here, getting on my nerves!” Michael answered him like a Zen master and said, “He was enjoying his freedom and living his life and you ended it!” From that day forward Seth understood and he took on a deeper appreciation for all life because of Michael’s compassion for a fly.

We were recording this song once called “Keep the Faith” and came to an impasse for 20 minutes. Michael said, “the song cannot be finished—we must think of something!” So my friend Andraé Crouch looked at me and said, “Howard, go to the piano and give us the pass that we need. Do something.” I went to the piano and came up with a three part harmony on the spot. Michael jumped three feet in the air and said, “I love it, I love it, I love it!” As always, he went around and hugged everyone to show them his love, and danced around the studio because we got the part.

My friend Andraé says, “Every song that has ever been written, has already been written. We just receive it.” So it was one of those magical moments in the studio. It’s not planned. Michael once said to me, “Whenever I dance on stage, I never count. I just dance. It just happens.” Can you imagine that? With the way that he moonwalks and everything, he never counts. He does it spontaneously, because if you can create in the moment, then you are a true artist. That’s why people love Michael Jackson—because he was so spontaneous. You will see this kind of spontaneity at my concert, I promise it!

Michael knew how important it was to motivate everyone on his team with love to get the best performance, because he knew that love is the most powerful force in the universe. We loved him and he loved all of us like a family and made each of us feel like we were the most important person in the world. Together with love, nothing is impossible."