In an interview composed with Brad Buxer back in May, Brad Buxer confirms that the majority of the music composed for Sonic the Hedgehog 3 was actually done by him and not Michael Jackson.
Buxer confirms that Michael Jackson had signed on to compose music for the soundtrack, but the actual writing duties fell to Buxer as he was Jackson’s main songwriting collaborator at the time. Buxer confirms he wrote 41 audio cues for Sonic 3 and Jackson only had input on one of them. He does not specify which song Jackson had input on and he does not specify which of the 41 audio cues ended up in the final game. We know for a fact that Ice Cap Zone was written by Brad Buxer because the melodies line-up with Buxer’s own song Hard Times that he recorded with the band The Jetzons.
Buxer also confirms that writing for the song Stranger in Moscow also came from the same sessions that produced the 41 audio cues for Sonic 3. Stranger in Moscow is often compared to the Sonic 3 credits theme as the songs share a similar chord progression. As this song was written separately from the Sonic 3 audio cues, it is more likely a coincidence that the songs sound similar.
5 other composers are credited for Sonic 3’s music: Bobby Brooks, Darryl Ross, Geoff Grace, Doug Grigsby III and C. Cirocco Jones. This means it is highly unlikely that all of Buxer’s 41 audio cues were used in the final game. You can watch an isolated segment of Brad Buxer’s May 2022 interview with Abbey Road Institute Paris below:
[Credit: Art/Research YouTube]
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