Music writer Mark Sinker described "HIStory" as less a song than an extended sound montage of "overlapping sound-clips: national anthems, martial music, selected radio announcements at totemic moments, the speeches of the great, Edison testing the first phonograph, Neil Armstrong about to moonwalk, a chorus that's a rewrite of 'Blowin' in the Wind'. As [an] artist's signature, a clip of a child's voice: 'Whatever I sing, that's what I really mean. I don't sing it if I don't mean it'."[3]Billboard writer Morgan Eros included the song in a list of those which sample King, Jr. He described the HIStory album as "something of a head-scratcher, in which a troubled celebrity responds to his legal problems by constructing a pyramid to himself." In this regard, he deemed the title track, with its samples of King, Malcolm X, Edison, Armstrong and Ali, to "[play] like an attempt to seal Jackson in the pantheon of 20th century greats, as the ground was crumbling beneath his feet."[9] In a separate list of songs that sample King's "I Have a Dream" speech, MTV News deemed "HIStory" to be a "magisterial pop tune, which opens with a royal horn flourish and features bits of speeches about Hank Aaron, Robert Kennedy and snippets of Muhammad Ali and Malcolm X."[2]
In 1997, Jackson issued the remix album Blood on the Dance Floor: HIStory in the Mix. Remixes were done by Tony Moran, Mark Picchiotti, and The Ummah, although only one of Tony Moran's remixes, titled "HIStory (Tony Moran's HIStory Lesson)" was included on the album. This and the rest of the remixes were included on various commercial and promotional releases of the double A-side release "HIStory/Ghosts", the second single from the album.[10] In his British chart column for Dotmusic, James Masterton wrote that, following the success of Jackson's previous single "Blood on the Dance Floor", the release of the "HIStory" remix "further halts Jacko's early-decade slide into self-cliche and instead presents him as the master of the late 90s pop record."[11]Billboard reviewer Larry Flick wrote: "By rebuilding the song into a hands-in-the-air disco anthem, Tony Moran provides the remix that will appeal to many listeners."[4]
"HIStory/Ghosts" did generally well in music charts worldwide, having charted within the top-ten and top-twenty in multiple countries. In the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden "HIStory/Ghosts" spent seventeen to eighteen weeks on the charts. In Australia "HIStory/Ghosts" peaked at forty-three before falling off the chart.[12][13] The single did not appear on any United States Billboard charts.[14]
Masterton said of the "HIStory/Ghosts" single reaching number five in the UK Singles Chart, giving Jackson his eighth consecutive Top 5 hit: "When you consider that the normal marketing strategy of endlessly mining albums for singles normally results in ever low chart placings this is nothing short of incredible."[11]
Note: The Mark Picchiotti remixes were alternatively titled "HIStory" (Mark!'s Phly Vocal) and "HIStory" (Mark!'s Future Dub) on certain releases, notably a few widely distributed promo records in the United Kingdom.
^ abSinker, Mark (2009). ""What about death again": The dolorous passion of the son of the pop". In Fisher, Mark (ed.). The Resistible Demise of Michael Jackson. Winchester, United Kingdom: Zero Books. p. 185. ISBN978-1-84694-348-5.
^ abFlick, Larry (April 12, 1997). "Singles". Billboard. Vol. 109, no. 15. p. 66. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
^Jackson, Michael. HIStory booklet. Sony BMG. p 39
^ abMasterton, James (July 13, 1997). "Week Ending July 19th 1997". Chart Watch UK. Dotmusic. Archived from the original on April 4, 2023. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
Lewis, Jel (2005). Michael Jackson, the King of Pop: The Big Picture : the Music! the Man! the Legend! the Interviews!. Amber Books Publishing. ISBN0-9749779-0-X.
