Songwriter/producer/musician Rod Temperton died last week at the age of 66 after falling ill with Cancer. Temperton wrote some of the biggest R&B songs of the ’70s and ’80’s but he is most famous for his work with Michael Jackson. The British native wrote “Rock With You,” “Off The Wall,” “Thriller” and “The Lady In My Life” for Jackson’s Off The Wall and Thriller albums. He also penned songs for so many others including Patti Austin, Heatwave, The Brothers Johnson, Mica Paris, George Benson, Donna Summer, Rufus, Jeffrey Osborne, Siedah Garret and more. Quincy Jones reached out to Temperton and asked him to work on Jackson’s biggest solo albums with him. Temperton won a Grammy for “Birdland” from Jones’s Back On The Block album and was nominated for two Oscars because of their work on The Color Purple soundtrack.  Temperton was called “The Invisible Man” because he kept a low profile throughout his entire career. Listen to an interview with Temperton and some of his songs below. A few years ago the BBC 2 did a documentary on Rod Temperton you can listen to here.
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