RIP Rod Temperton

October 5, 2016

Tragically, this week we have lost another timeless musical legend. Lincolnshire born, musician-songwriter-producerman Rod Temperton, responsible for what only can only be described as a mammoth discography of tracks, written for a far-reaching line of superstars such as; Michael Jackson, Heatwave, Michael McDonald, Patti Austen, Herbie Hancock, George Benson, Rufus, The Brothers Johnson, Donna Summer, Mica Paris, Aretha Franklin, Karen Carpenter, Stephanie Mills and Jeffrey Osborne and so many more.His fateful partnership with Quincy Jones catapulted his compositions onto every home sound system in the world and enabled him the space to pen Thriller (in the back of a taxi on the way to the studio) – the title track to the biggest selling album of all time. Outrageously he hadn’t yet made the Songwriters Hall Of Fame although had been continuously nominated.Scratches head.Without this man there would be no ‘Rock With You’, ‘Boogie Nights’ or ‘Give Me The Night’ and there would certainly not be any such theatre production as ‘Stomp!’. We admired his talent, humility and privacy.Rest in soulful peace, we will remember you always and forever.

Songwriting credits [Wiki]

Heatwave: “Boogie Nights,” “Always and Forever,” and “Ain’t No Half Steppin’,” from Too Hot to Handle, 1976; “The Groove Line” and “The Star of a Story” (covered by George Benson on Give Me the Night, 1980), from Central Heating, 1977; “Razzle Dazzle” and “Eyeballin’,” from Hot Property, 1979; “Gangsters of the Groove” and “Jitterbuggin’,” from Candles, 1980; “Lettin’ It Loose,” from Current, 1982; and more
Michael Jackson: “Rock with You”, “Off the Wall,” and “Burn This Disco Out,” from Off the Wall, 1979; “Baby Be Mine,” “Thriller,” and “The Lady in My Life,” from Thriller, 1982; “Someone in the Dark,” from the E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial audiobook/soundtrack album, 1982; and “Hot Street,” an outtake from Thriller
Rufus: “Masterjam” and “Live in Me,” from Masterjam, 1979
The Brothers Johnson: “Stomp!,” “Light Up the Night,” “You Make Me Wanna Wiggle,” “Treasure,” “All About the Heaven,” “Closer to the One That You Love,” and “Celebrations,” from Light Up the Night, 1980
George Benson: “Love x Love,” “Turn Out the Lamplight,” and “Give Me the Night”, from Give Me the Night, 1980; “Family Reunion,” from Songs and Stories, 2009
Patti Austin: “Do You Love Me?,” “Love Me to Death,” “The Genie,” and “Baby, Come to Me” (with James Ingram), from Every Home Should Have One, 1981
Bob James: “Sign of the Times,” “The Steamin’ Feelin’,” and “Hypnotique,” from Sign of the Times, 1981
Herbie Hancock: “Lite Me Up!,” “The Bomb,” “Gettin’ to the Good Part,” “The Fun Tracks,” “Motor Mouth,” and “Give It All Your Heart,” from Lite Me Up, 1982
Donna Summer: “Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger),” “Livin’ in America,” and “Love Is Just a Breath Away,” from Donna Summer, 1982
The Manhattan Transfer: “The Spice of Life” and “Mystery” (covered by Anita Baker on Rapture), from Bodies and Souls, 1983
Mica Paris: “You Put a Move on My Heart,” “Love Keeps Coming Back,” “We Were Made for Love,” and “Two in a Million,” from Whisper a Prayer, 1993
Siedah Garrett: “Grooverre of Midnight” (originally a demo for Michael Jackson’s Bad), “Baby’s Got It Bad” (a rewrite of “Got the Hots,” an outtake from Thriller credited to Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones on the Japanese edition of the album’s 25th-anniversary reissue), and “Nobody Does Me,” from Kiss of Life, 1988
Quincy Jones: “The Dude,” “Razzamatazz,” “Somethin’ Special,” and “Turn On the Action,” from The Dude, 1981; “The Secret Garden (Sweet Seduction Suite)” and “Back on the Block,” from Back on the Block, 1989; “Slow Jams,” from Q’s Jook Joint, 1995, which also features covers of “Rock with You,” “Stomp!,” and “You Put a Move on My Heart”
James Ingram: “One More Rhythm”
James Ingram and Michael McDonald: “Yah Mo B There”
Michael McDonald: “Sweet Freedom”
Klymaxx: “Man Size Love”
Jeffrey Osborne: “We Belong to Love” (also produced by Temperton)
Aretha Franklin: “Livin’ in the Streets”
Javaroo: “Change It Up”
Second Image: “Lights Out”
Stephanie Mills: “Time of Your Life,” “Hold On to Midnight”
Karen Carpenter: “Lovelines,” “If We Try”, from Lovelines, 1989, and Karen Carpenter, 1996
Wayne Hernandez: “Dancin’ on the Edge,” “Let Me Call You Angel,” “Fazed Out”
Tori White: “Make It Home”
Lââm: “Fais de Moi Ce Que Tu Veux ,” “Love’s in the House Tonight”
Mýa: “Man in My Life” (cover of Michael Jackson’s “The Lady in My Life”)
LL Cool J featuring Boyz II Men: “Hey Lover” (listed as cowriter due to sample of Michael Jackson’s “The Lady in My Life”)
Angie Stone: “Lovers’ Ghetto” (listed as cowriter due to interpolation of “The Lady in My Life”)
C+C Music Factory: “Share That Beat of Love” (listed as cowriter due to interpolation of “Rock with You”)
Mariah Carey: “I’m That Chick” (listed as cowriter due to sample of Jackson’s “Off the Wall”)