Biography
Rod Temperton gained widespread recognition as the composer of Michael Jackson's title track for Thriller, establishing himself as a leading composer, arranger, producer, and keyboardist among elite R&B creators from the late 1970s through most of the 1980s. Born in Cleethorpes, England, the musician's early career accelerated after Heatwave enlisted him to shape their 1976 debut album Too Hot to Handle. That release included the disco staple "Boogie Nights," which reached number two on both the U.K. and U.S. pop charts, alongside the ballad "Always and Forever," a Top Ten U.K. and Top 20 U.S. single that later became a wedding standard.
Temperton remained active with Heatwave into the early 1980s while forging a close partnership with Quincy Jones on acclaimed projects for Michael Jackson, Rufus & Chaka Khan, the Brothers Johnson, Patti Austin, George Benson, and additional artists. On Jackson's breakthrough solo album Off the Wall, Temperton wrote and arranged three tracks, among them the title song and "Rock with You." Three years afterward he supplied an identical number of songs for the massive commercial success Thriller, one of which was the Top Five title track. He contributed to numerous Jones solo efforts, notably The Dude, The Color Purple, Back on the Block, and Q's Jook Joint, yet his output diminished sharply toward the close of the 1980s, prompting the nickname "the Invisible Man." Temperton succumbed to cancer in 2016.
Temperton remained active with Heatwave into the early 1980s while forging a close partnership with Quincy Jones on acclaimed projects for Michael Jackson, Rufus & Chaka Khan, the Brothers Johnson, Patti Austin, George Benson, and additional artists. On Jackson's breakthrough solo album Off the Wall, Temperton wrote and arranged three tracks, among them the title song and "Rock with You." Three years afterward he supplied an identical number of songs for the massive commercial success Thriller, one of which was the Top Five title track. He contributed to numerous Jones solo efforts, notably The Dude, The Color Purple, Back on the Block, and Q's Jook Joint, yet his output diminished sharply toward the close of the 1980s, prompting the nickname "the Invisible Man." Temperton succumbed to cancer in 2016.