Rod Temperton

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Lore & Background

Temperton's songwriting process was defined by extreme discipline and vivid imagination. When composing for Thriller, he returned to his hotel room and wrote two or three hundred titles before waking up the next morning with a single word that felt right: 'Thriller'. He visualized it immediately at the top of the Billboard charts, seeing how the merchandising would look as it jumped off the page. This ability to conceptualize a hit was honed during his time in Heatwave, where he wrote 'Always and Forever' on a Wurlitzer piano next to a pile of pungent washing in a cramped flat with trams running outside. Despite these humble surroundings, he absorbed himself in the music to create million-sellers that broke the band in both the UK and US.

In Their Own Story

In 1974, Temperton answered an advert in Melody Maker placed by Johnnie Wilder Jr., becoming a member of Heatwave. He played Wilder his original compositions while the group was still doing many cover tunes. His material for the 1976 album Too Hot to Handle included 'Boogie Nights' and 'Always and Forever', both of which became million-sellers in the US. By 1982, after moving from Germany to Beverly Hills, Temperton wrote three songs for Michael Jackson's Thriller. He specifically crafted the spoken-word section for Vincent Price on the title track. Quincy Jones had recruited him after engineer Bruce Swedien praised Temperton as 'the most disciplined pop music composer' he ever met, noting that every musical detail was written down or accounted for in Rod's mind before entering the studio.

Reader's Guide

Rod Temperton operated with a unique method: he never stopped until he felt confident the music could stand on its own. His collaboration with Michael Jackson began when Quincy Jones asked Bruce Swedien to check out Heatwave's album, leading to Temperton writing three songs for Off the Wall in 1979. He returned in 1982 to write three more for Thriller, including the title track and 'Baby, Come to Me' (though the latter was actually for Patti Austin and James Ingram; the source lists 'Baby, Come to Me' under other successes). His approach blended complex arrangements with catchy hooks. For Jackson's 1982 album, he wrote the music for 'Someone in the Dark', produced by Quincy Jones for E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. Temperton also co-wrote 'Keep Tomorrow for Me' and the score for Running Scared in 1986, demonstrating his versatility across film and pop.

Did You Know?

• Temperton wrote the spoken-word section for Vincent Price on the song 'Thriller'.
• He composed the song 'Always and Forever' while sitting next to a pile of pungent washing in a small flat.
• Temperton was nicknamed 'The Invisible Man' because he shunned the celebrity lifestyle after leaving Heatwave.
• He wrote three songs for Michael Jackson's 1982 album Thriller, including the title track.
• Temperton won a Grammy Award in 1991 for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for 'Birdland'.