 " HIStory " was originally written and composed by Michael Jackson , James Harris III and Terry Lewis in 1995 . It was the thirteenth track on the studio album HIStory , but was not released as a single . The song sampled multiple musical compositions and historical audio quotes , all of which were dispersed throughout the track . Early in the track , one even included quotes from an interview with a young Michael Jackson from 1970 . Musical compositions sampled include " Beethoven Lives Upstairs " and " Pictures at an Exhibition " . In reissues of the album , the " Pictures at an Exhibition " piece was replaced by a similar improvised orchestra piece , but the original sample was used in Jackson 's live performances in the HIStory Tour . Audio quotes sampled were the " Charles Lindbergh Report " by Lowell Thomas , a report on Hank Aaron , " Robert Kennedy Eulogy " by Ted Kennedy , " Farewell to Baseball " by Lou Gehrig , " Greetings to the Children of England " by Princess Elizabeth and Princess Margaret , quotes from Muhammad Ali , Thomas Edison , and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr . ' s " I Have a Dream " . 
