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Rod Temperton

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He may not score highly in the indie/folk/prog/electro stakes but no question that Rod Temperton is worthy of a passing note upon his passing. From Cleethorpes (fantastic – I have a vision of him explaining to Michael Jackson how everyone confuses Grimsby and Cleethorpes) he was keyboards and the songwriter behind Heatwave’s ‘massive hits’ Boogie Nights, Always and Forever and The Groove Line. This caught the attention of Quincy Jones, who asked him if he fancied writing some songs for a Motown ex-boy band member’s first solo lp…
Off The Wall – Off The Wall, Rock With You, Burn this Disco Out
Thriller – Thriller and 2 other songs
Quincy Jones – The Dude, Razzamatazz, Back on the Block
George Benson – Love x Love, Give Me The Night
Donna Summer – Love Is In Control
Brothers Johnson – Stomp
Michael Macdonald – Sweet Freedom
Michael Macdonald and James Ingram – Yah Mo B There

Not a bad greatest hits album. I’m guessing – as Thriller still sells 100,000 copies a year – he was never short of a bob or two again. I’m quite partial to a bit of pop funk disco from the Brothers….

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Comments

  1. I was sad to hear of his passing yesterday.
    That’s an impressive list of song writing credits and I personally love the stuff he wrote.
    Another one passing away far too early. 66 I believe.

  2. He knew how to write a good tune, full of hooks, and construct a shiny commercial record out of it. I’ve been a fan of his work for a long time. I posted on here before that the first Heatwave album is a masterpiece of sorts; not a second wasted on it, all the songs are great, and the performance is first rate – it’s effectively a showreel that got him all the other work. He bought a jazzy, shimmering feel to pop music with proper tunes.

  3. I put this playlist together for myself this morning. No Sweet Freedom, as it’s not on Spotify.
    Rod had a run, from ’77 to ’82, when he easily the most successful songwriter on the planet. I loved Heatwave, hence why they feature heavily.

  5. While the Dirty Diana Hitmaker only blew up when he became one half of the MJ/Quincy Jones team (and started recording Rod’s songs), it’s not quite right to say Off The Wall was his first solo album or that he was an ex-boyband member, as he rejoined his bruvs for another Jacksons album straight after OTW.
    Stomp! is one of my absolute favourite singles – big ups for posting it..

  6. @sewer-robot you’re right of course I was aiming for some comic effect there not strictly in accordance with the facts. Have refined my imagined Temperton/Jakko studio dialogue:

    ‘Michael you must know Cleethorpes – down the road from Grimsby…Grimsby?… You must have eaten Ross frozen fishcake.Where do you think they come from? Eh? Come on man, its easy, just on the opposite side of the Humber from Hull….Hull? You are taking the piss now.

  7. Thirty-seven years after its release in August 1979, Off The Wall remains my absolute favourite ‘getting-ready-with-your-girlfriend-to-go-out-on-a-Friday-night’ album; she looked and smelled fantastic, you were full of thrills and energy, both of you were bouncing round the bedroom to the breathless, breathtaking opener ‘Don’t Stop Til You Get Enough’. And then you slid into Temperton’s sweet, sinuous ‘Rock With You’, and you were away.

    On the album cover, Michael Jackson never looked better or happier or sharper; we wanted him in our crowd, we wanted him to come out and have fun with us. Emotionally, the album took you everyplace but the overall mood was Happy Happy Happy!

    You had money in your pocket, the weekend was going to last forever, and by the time Temperton’s closer had worked its magic you were absolutely ready to burn that disco down.

    RIP Mr Temperton, and thankyou very very much.

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=hOt-fu2Fkz4

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