HOUSTON • So beat it, just beat it, Michael Jackson's father tells producer Quincy Jones, echoing the chorus in the king of pop's 1982 hit.

Joe Jackson was incensed after Jones, who produced the superstar's Thriller album from which Beat It comes from, told Vulture magazine earlier this month that the singer had stolen a lot of songs from others.

"He was as Machiavellian as they come. Greedy, man. Greedy," Jones claimed.

But Joe Jackson waved away the accusation, telling entertainment portal Page Six that Jones was just "quite jealous" of his son "because he's never worked with someone with all of that talent".

Jones had alleged that Michael Jackson borrowed ideas from Donna Summer's 1982 song State Of Independence for Billie Jean, another hit single from Thriller.

But since Jones was the producer for both tracks and had oversight of the process, Joe Jackson countered sarcastically: "If anybody is wrong, it would be Quincy."

Another family member was less kind, saying that Jones' unwarranted accusations created an impression that the 84-year-old was facing "the first stages of dementia".

Another relative suspects bad blood between Jones and the singer, who died in 2009 of cardiac arrest following a drug overdose.

"It goes way back and, recently, he got money from Michael's estate," the relative noted, pointing out to Jones' recent US$9.4-million (S$12.3-million) court victory against the musician's estate over unpaid royalties for work done.

The relative also revealed that Michael Jackson was adamant that if any Grammy were to be given for Thriller, Jones did not deserve to co-share the credit.