Michael Jackson first started to work on the song in 1992 originally called “Heal L.A.”. He was working with Brad Buxer after the riots that followed the Rodney King trial verdict.
The song was re-visited for the HIStory album and throughout 1996 and 1997 but it was put back in the vault as Michael worked on his new project “Invincible”.
In 1999, Michael met Nelson Mandela and the song was back in the front line with an inspired title: “What More Can I Give”.
After he completed the first version of the song, Michael intended to premiere it at his “MJ & Friends” concerts in Munich and then Seoul in 1999 but he decided not to.
The song was later planned to be released as a charity single to aid the Kosovar Refugees during the Kosovo War but it failed again to be released or included in the 2001 Invincible album.
In 2001, Michael held two concerts on September 7 and September 10, in celebration of his 30th year as a solo entertainer. Held in New York City, the shows featured performances by Usher, Whitney Houston, Liza Minnelli, Gloria Estefan, and others.
Just hours after the second concert, the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City, the Pentagon, and Pennsylvania, led to the loss of 2,993 lives.
After 9/11, Michael rewrote ‘What More Can I Give’, and said: “I’m not one to sit back and say, ‘Oh, I feel bad for what happened to them.
“I want the whole world to sing ‘What More Can I Give’, to bring us together as a world, because a song is a mantra, something you repeat over and over. And we need peace, we need giving, we need love, we need unity.”
‘What More Can I Give’ was recorded in 2001 by several artists, mainly pop stars:
- 3LW
- Aaron Carter
- Anastacia
- Beyoncé
- Billy Gilman
- Boyz II Men
- Brian McKnight
- Bryton James
- Carlos Santana
- Celine Dion
- Gloria Estefan
- Hanson
- Jon Secada
- Justin Timberlake
- Luther Vandross
- Mariah Carey
- Michael Jackson
- Mya
- NSYNC
- Reba McEntire
- Ricky Martin
- Shakira
- Thalia
- Tom Petty
- Usher
- Ziggy Marley
It was held in Los Angeles, California, and other destinations reachable by Michael Jackson’s private plane and mobile production unit.
A Spanish version of the song was also recorded, titled ‘Todo Para Ti’. It featured several of the musicians on the English version, as well as Latin stars.
‘What More Can I Give’ was performed live at the 9/11 benefit concert United We Stand: What More Can I Give.
The concert was held at the Robert F Kennedy Memorial Stadium in Washington, DC on October 21, 2001.
It was an eight-hour concert featuring most of the artists performing to a sell-out audience of 54,000 people.
Michael Jackson also performed ‘Man in the Mirror’, before he and other singers such as Rod Stewart, Al Green, James Brown, Sean Combs, and Pink closed the show with ‘What More Can I Give’.
‘What More Can I Give’ was planned for release as a charity single to help survivors and families of victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks.
Michael Jackson said that he hoped to raise around $50 million for those affected and that it would be released as a physical single as soon as possible.
However, the song failed to get an official release (only a digital version was released back then). Several different allegations were reported as to who was to blame for this.
One year after the recording of ‘What More Can I Give’, the song was played for the first time on the radio.
WKTU-FM, a radio station in New York, debuted the song without permission and played it many times.
WKTU-FM’s Program Director Frankie Blue said: “This song is a gift to the world. Michael and everyone donated their time for it, and it deserves to be heard. The song is called ‘What More Can I Give’, and I can give the world a song they can cling onto and hopefully make them think about what they can give.”
It is unknown how the station had a copy of the song. Before this, at least 200 promo copies of the song were sent to the musicians who took part in the recording, and to their representatives.
It was finally made available for a short period as a digital download on October 27, 2003. The websites whatmorecanigive.com and musicforgiving.com sold the song at a price of $2 per download, with a portion of the proceeds going towards children’s charities.
The music video finally premiered at the 2003 Radio Music Awards.
As of September 2021, the song is not officially available on any download or streaming service.
It’s a beautiful song, and it seems unbelievable that it has never been released again or made available on any compilation.
Such an awesome tribute. I wonder WHY CAN’T THE ESTATE GET THIS RELEASED AS A RECORD, OR WHTEVER AND DONATE THE PROCEEDS?