Wexler booked Tom Scott to perform the saxophone part, but Michael was not satisfied with his performance. Michael would hum the part to him repeatedly, asking for adjustments. Napier-Bell recalled: "After two hours, he was still there while everyone in the studio shuddered with embarrassment."

Though Napier-Bell and Wexler could not hear what was missing from Scott's performance, Wexler trusted Michael's intuition and felt it would be risky to release the song. He speculated that the