Rod Temperton

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.

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. 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'.