P.Y.T. (Pretty Young Thing)

Album

A Taste of Honey

Label

Epic records

Genre

Funk

Composer(s)

Keith Harris;Michael Jackson;Will Adams

Entered Chart

Oct 8, 1983

Peak Date

Nov 26, 1983

Released

September 19, 1983

Recorded

1982 Studio Westlake (Los Angeles, California)[1]

Catalog #

Epic 34-04165

B-Side

Working Day And Night (The Jacksons)

Jackson is filled with desire on this track, offering up his lovin' to this pretty young thing. His image wasn't that of a ladies' man, but a few of his hits find him spitting game, including "The Way You Make Me Feel," a #1 hit from his next album. Jackson penned the original demo version of "P.Y.T." with keyboardist Greg Phillinganes, who worked as a session musician on several of Jackson's albums. Thriller producer Quincy Jones passed on the song but liked the title. With James Ingram, he fashioned a totally new song with the same name for the album. The song was released on September 19, 1983, as the penultimate single from Thriller. It charted at #10 on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming the sixth Top 10 hit from the album. Jackson kept it in the family for the song's backing singers. The two females singing "na na na" back to Michael towards the end of the song were two of his sisters, Janet and La Toya, in the guise of the P.Y.T.s. Bobby Brown popularized the word Tenderoni on his 1988 hit "Roni," but it had been in the R&B argot since Eddie Kendricks released "Sweet Tenderoni" in 1976, which is probably where James Ingram and Quincy Jones got the line: Tenderoni you've got to be Spark my nature sugar fly with me The song has been sampled on several occasions, most notably by Kanye West on his hit single "Good Life." Fittingly, the first time the full song was performed by West was during the Recording Academy's Leadership Award Ceremony for Quincy Jones on July 28, 2007. Ludacris made reference to this song when he rapped about Jones on Quincy's 2010 song "Soul Bossa Nostra": "He keep a flock of PYT's with him, and they all exotic, erotic, come in groups of threes with 'em."

You know, you
You make me feel so good inside
I've always wanted a girl just like you
Such a P-Y-T
Pretty young thing, ooh

Where did you come from lady?
And ooh won't you take me there
Right away won't you baby
Tendoroni you've got to be
Spark my nature
Sugar fly with me
Don't you know now
Is the perfect time
We can make it right
Hit the city lights
Then tonight ease the lovin' pain
Let me take you to the max

I want to love you (P-Y-T)
Pretty young thing
You need some lovin' (T-L-C)
Tender lovin' care
And I'll take you there, girl, oohooh
I want to love you (P-Y-T)
Pretty young thing
You need some lovin' (T-L-C)
Tender lovin' care
And I'll take you there

(Anywhere you want to go) yes I will, ooh

Nothin' can stop this burnin'
Desire to be with you
Gotta get to you baby
Won't you come, it's emergency
Cool my fire yearnin'
Honey, come set me free
Don't you know now is the perfect time
We can dim the lights
Just to make it right
In the night
Hit the lovin' spot
I'll give you all that I've got

I want to love you (P-Y-T)
Pretty young thing
You need some lovin' (T-L-C)
Tender lovin' care
And I'll take you there, yes I will, yes I will
I want to love you (P-Y-T)
Pretty young thing
You need some lovin' (T-L-C)
Tender lovin' care
And I'll take you there, yes I will

Pretty young things, repeat after me
Sayin'
Na na na
Na na na na
Na na na na
Na na na na
Sayin' na na na
Na na na na na
Na na na na na
I'll take you there

I want to love you (P-Y-T)
Pretty young thing
You need some lovin' (T-L-C)
Tender lovin' care
And I'll take you there, take you there, take you there
I want to love you (P-Y-T)
Pretty young thing
You need some lovin' (T-L-C)
Tender lovin' care
And I'll take you there, take you there

Oooh oooh, oooh
(P-Y-T) ah baby
(T-L-C) ah baby
Ah darling
You know, I'm thinking
You look really nice tonight
(P-Y-T) You know what I could, you know just
(T-L-C) You're such a P-Y-T to me
Pretty young thing
Ah baby, ah baby, ah darling
(P-Y-T) ah baby
(T-L-C)