ANKA SAYS JACKSON'S “THIS IS IT” IS HIS

The N.Y. Times is reporting Michael Jackson’s just-released new single, “This Is It,” bears a striking resemblance to “I Never Heard,” a 1991 track by the R&B singer Safire, credited to Jackson and Paul Anka.

For a YouTube comparison of the two songs, go here.

Anka told the Times he had not been contacted about the use of the song, and has not been given proper writing credit on the track.

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

The song will play during the closing credits to the documentary film Michael Jackson’s This Is It, which is due out on Oct. 28.

Anka said that he and Jackson wrote and recorded the song in 1983 at his studio in Carmel, CA, and that it had been intended as a duet for his album Walk a Fine Line.

Shortly after it was recorded, Jackson took the tapes and Anka threatened to sue to get them back. He now has the original multi-track tapes in his possession, along with documentation that the copyright for the song was held by both men.

“It’s exactly the same song,” Anka said. “They just changed the title.”

“This Is It” was based on a tape that Jackson left behind with only his piano and vocal. John McClain, the longtime record industry exec who was named a co-executor on the superstar’s will with music business attorney John Branca, put a full arrangement around it, including backup vocals by Jackson’s brothers. Aside from a few major differences in the lyrics, the composition of the song is almost identical to that of “I Never Heard.”