"Gone Too Soon" is a ballad recorded and popularized by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson. It was written and composed by Larry Grossman and Buz Kohan.
Dionne Warwick first performed (but never recorded) the song in February 1983 on a TV special titled Here's Television Entertainment as a tribute to many performers, including Janis Joplin, Elvis Presley, John Belushi, Cass Elliot, John Lennon, Bobby Darin, Minnie Riperton, Sam Cooke, Harry Chapin, Buddy Holly, Otis Redding, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Croce, Bobby Van, and Karen Carpenter, who had died days earlier. Later on the same day, Jackson called Kohan explaining he had wept while watching the performance and that he felt he wanted to record it some day.
Jackson's version of "Gone Too Soon" was dedicated to the memory of Jackson's friend Ryan White, a teenager from Kokomo, Indiana who came to national attention, after being expelled from his school for having HIV/AIDS. This version was produced by Jackson and co-produced by Bruce Swedien for Jackson's eighth studio album, Dangerous (1991). The song was also mixed by Swedien, and featured instrumentation by artists such as David Paich, Steve Porcaro, Michael Boddicker, Abraham Laboriel and Paulinho da Costa.
The song was released on December 1, 1993, as the ninth and final single from the Dangerous album. Following its release—on World AIDS Day of 1993—"Gone Too Soon" became a moderate chart success in several countries: France, Germany, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Switzerland, the UK, and Zimbabwe. The song was released as a cassette single in the US. "Gone Too Soon" was not a significant critical success, as it received mixed reviews from music critics.
"Gone Too Soon" was promoted with a music video directed by Bill DiCicco, which showed footage of Jackson and White together, as well as scenes from the latter's funeral. In January 1993, a live performance by Jackson at Bill Clinton's inaugural celebration also served as a promotional platform, for both the song and AIDS-related funding. "Gone Too Soon" later received more exposure, following the deaths of both Diana, Princess of Wales, and Jackson himself.
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