Off the Wall (album)
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{{Infobox Album <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject_Albums -->
| Name = Off the Wall
| Type = Album
| Artist = [[Michael Jackson]]
| Cover = Off_the_wall.jpg
| Released = [[August 10]] [[1979]]
| Recorded = [[December 4]], [[1978]] – [[June 3]], [[1979]], [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]]
| Genre = [[Disco]], [[funk]], [[Rhythm and blues|R&B]], [[Soul music|soul]]
| Length = 42:16 (original version)<br>60:17 (special edition)
| Label = [[Epic Records|Epic]]<br><small>EK-35745</small>
| Producer = [[Michael Jackson]],<br>[[Quincy Jones]]<ref>{{cite web | title=Album Credits for Off the Wall | work=Artists Direct | url=http://www.artistdirect.com/nad/store/artist/album/0,,1571037,00.html | accessmonthday=February 3 | accessyear=2006}}</ref>
| Reviews =
* [[Allmusic|All Music Guide]] {{rating-5|5}} [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=A7cu1z85ajyv6 link]
* ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]'' {{rating-5|5}} [http://www.q4music.com/nav?page=q4music.review.redirect&fixture_review=135007&resource=135007&fixture_artist=141283 link]
* [[Robert Christgau]] (A) [http://www.robertchristgau.com/get_artist.php?id=932&name=Michael+Jackson link]
* ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' (positive) [http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/259585/review/6067502/off_the_wall link]
| Last album = ''[[The Best of Michael Jackson]]''<br>(1975)
| This album = '''''Off the Wall'''''<br>(1979)
| Next album = ''[[One Day in Your Life (album)|One Day in Your Life]]''<br>(1981)
| Misc = {{Extra album cover 2
| Upper caption = Alternate cover
| Type = studio
| Cover = Off The Wall special.jpg
| Lower caption = Special edition cover.
}}
}}
'''''Off the Wall''''' is [[United States|American]] singer [[Michael Jackson]]'s fifth solo [[album]].
Released in August of 1979, the album is often hailed as his breakthrough effort and was a major success for the [[The Jackson 5|Jacksons]] frontman, despite critics who said Jackson's career had peaked after the early seventies when he was recording for [[Motown Records|Motown]]. This is his first album for [[Epic Records|Epic]].
==Album information==
Although the album never went beyond #3 on the [[Billboard 200]] album chart, it became his fourth best-selling album in America, with 7 million copies sold. For a while, ''Off the Wall'' was the best-selling album of Jackson's recording career, with sales of 20 million copies worldwide until the release of ''[[Thriller]]''.<ref name=LesChiffres>{{cite web |url=http://fanofmusic.free.fr/Site-MJpart-LesChiffres-OffTheWall.htm |title=Off the Wall | accessdate=2007-05-29 |format= |work=Fan of Music }}</ref>
In [[2008]], the ''Off the Wall'' album was inducted into the [[List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients J-P|Grammy Hall of Fame]].<ref>[http://www.grammy.com/PressReleases/443_466_Hall%20of%20Fame%20release%20FINAL.pdf 2008 Grammy Hall of Fame List]</ref>
[[Quincy Jones]], the musical director for Motown's film adaptation of ''[[The Wiz (film)|The Wiz]]'' (in which Jackson starred as the Scarecrow), served as the album's producer, with lyrics and music by Jackson, [[Heatwave (band)|Heatwave]]'s [[Rod Temperton]], [[Stevie Wonder]], and [[Paul McCartney]], among others.
==Reception and significance==
''Off the Wall'' was a big success. It reached #3 in the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' album charts, spending 48 consecutive weeks inside the top 20, and, according to ''Billboard'', it was the third best-selling album of [[1980 in music|1980]] in the United States and the best-selling R&B album of the year. Most importantly, the album made Jackson the first solo artist in history to achieve four [[Billboard Hot 100]] top 10 singles from one album. The songs "[[Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough]]" and "[[Rock with You]]" hit number-one while "[[Off the Wall (song)|Off the Wall]]" and "[[She's out of My Life]]" both reached the 10th spot.
It was similarly successful in Europe, reaching #5 in the UK. However despite its commercial success, Jackson felt the album should have made a much bigger impact. In particular, Jackson was angry that he had won a single [[Grammy Award]] at the [[Grammy Awards of 1980]]<ref>Jackson's account of his feelings at the time can be read in his [[1988]] autobiography, ''Moon Walk''.</ref> ([[Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance]] for "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"), losing the [[Grammy Award for Best Disco Recording]] to [[Gloria Gaynor|Gloria Gaynor's]] "I Will Survive". He became determined to exceed everybody's expectations with [[Thriller (album)|his next album]].
Nearly thirty years after its release, ''Off the Wall'' remains one of the defining moments in Jackson's music career and began his domination as one of pop music's leading artists. In [[2003]], the [[Television network|TV network]] [[VH1]] named ''Off the Wall'' the thirty-sixth greatest album of all time. ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked it #68 in their list of the [[500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]. Some critics consider Off the Wall as Michael Jackson's best album of all time.{{Fact|date=April 2008}}
==Re-release==
On [[October 16]], [[2001]], a special edition of the album was released. It contained some bonus material, including the original [[Demo (music)|demo]] of "Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" and "Workin' Day and Night", both recorded at home in 1978, plus interviews with Quincy Jones and Rod Temperton. The set also contains a new booklet featuring previously unseen photos, lyrics and additional info.
After the re-release, the catalogue sales picked up around the world. It re-entered modestly in the UK, U.S., and some other albums charts, and the ''[[Living with Michael Jackson]]'' [[interview]] in [[2003]] gave it another major boost, where it has been in and out of the [[UK Albums Chart]] ever since. A [[HMV]] sale in [[July 2004]] gave the album another huge boost with an impressive chart re-entry at #13 in the UK, the highest for 21 years. UK sales since the re-release are around 200,000, and it was the 189th best-selling album of 2003. U.S. sales since re-release are around 225,000, peaking at #7 in the Catalogue chart.
==Track listing==
===Original release===
#"[[Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough]]" (Jackson) – 6:05
#"[[Rock with You]]" ([[Rod Temperton]]) – 3:40
#"Workin' Day and Night" (Jackson) – 5:14
#"Get on the Floor" (Jackson, [[Louis Johnson (bassist)|Louis Johnson]]) – 4:39
#"[[Off the Wall (song)|Off the Wall]]" (Rod Temperton) – 4:06
#"[[Girlfriend (Michael Jackson song)|Girlfriend]]" ([[Paul McCartney]]) – 3:05
#"[[She's out of My Life]]" (Tom Bahler) – 3:38
#"I Can't Help It" ([[Susaye Greene]], [[Stevie Wonder|Wonder]]) – 4:39
#"It's the Falling in Love" ([[David Foster]], [[Carole Bayer Sager]]) – 3:48
#"Burn This Disco Out" ([[Rod Temperton]]) – 3:30
===Special edition (2001)===
#"Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"
#"Rock with You"
#"Workin' Day and Night"
#"Get on the Floor"
#"Off the Wall"
#"Girlfriend"
#"She's out of My Life"
#"I Can't Help It"
#"It's the Falling in Love"
#"Burn This Disco Out"
#''Interview with Quincy Jones #1''
#"Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" (intro)
#"Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough" (Original demo from 1978)
#''Interview with Quincy Jones #2''
#"Workin' Day and Night" (intro)
#"Workin' Day and Night" (Original demo from 1978)
#''Interview with Quincy Jones #3''
#''Interview with Rod Temperton''
#''Interview with Quincy Jones #4''
==Chart positions==
{| class="wikitable"
!Year
!Chart
!Position
|-
|1979
|Top Soul Albums
|1
|-
|1980
|[[Billboard (magazine)|''Billboard'']] Pop Albums
|3
|-
|1984
|[[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]]
|44
|-
|1980
|Australian [[ARIA Charts|ARIA]] Albums Chart
|1
|-
|}
==Singles==
*1979: "[[Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough]]"
*1979: "[[Rock with You]]"
*1980: "[[Off the Wall (song)|Off the Wall]]"
*1980: "[[She's out of My Life]]"
*1980: "[[Girlfriend (Michael Jackson song)|Girlfriend]]"
==Certifications==
{|class="wikitable"
!align="left"|Country
!align="center"|Certification
!align="right"|Sales
|-
|align="left"|Australia
|align="center"|4x Platinum<ref name="ARIA">[http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-albums-2001.htm ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2001 Albums<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
|align="right"|280,000
|-
|align="left"|Brazil
|align="center"|Gold
|align="right"|60,000
|-
|align="left"|Canada
|align="center"|Platinum
|align="right"|100,000
|-
|align="left"|France
|align="center"|2x Platinum
|align="right"|400,000
|-
|align="left"|Japan
|align="center"|2x Platinum
|align="right"|500,000
|-
|align="left"|UK
|align="center"|6x Platinum
|align="right"|2,000,000
|-
|align="left"|USA
|align="center"|7x Platinum
|align="right"|7,500,000
|}
==Credits==
==="Don't Stop 'til You Get Enough"===
*Written and composed by Michael Jackson
*Produced by [[Quincy Jones]]
*Co-produced by Michael Jackson
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson
*Bass: [[Louis Johnson]]
*Drums: John Robinson
*Electric piano: [[Greg Phillinganes]]
*Guitar: David Williams and Marlo Henderson
*Percussion: Michael Jackson, [[Randy Jackson]] and [[Paulinho Da Costa]]
*Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The [[Seawind Horns]]:
**Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey
**Tenor, alto saxophones and flute: Larry Williams
**Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft
**Trombone: William Reichenbach
**Trumpet: Gary Grant
*Rhythm arrangement by Greg Phillinganes and Michael Jackson
*Vocal and percussion arrangements by Michael Jackson
*String arrangement by Ben Wright
*Concert master: Gerald Vinci
*Additional background vocals by Jim Gilstrap, Augie Johnson, Mortonette Jenkins, Paulette McWilliams and Zedric Williams
==="Rock with You"===
*Written and composed by Rod Temperton
*Produced by Quincy Jones
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson
*Bass: Bobby Watson
*Drums: John Robinson
*Guitar: David Williams and Marlo Henderson
*Synthesizer: Greg Phillinganes and Michael Boddicker
*Electric piano: David "Hawk" Wolinski
*Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns:
**Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey
**Tenor, alto saxophones and flute: Larry Williams
**Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft
**Trombone: William Reichenbach
**Trumpet: Gary Grant
*Rhythm and vocal arrangements by Rod Temperton
*String arrangement by Ben Wright
*Concert master: Gerald Vinci
==="Workin' Day and Night"===
*Written and composed by Michael Jackson
*Produced by Quincy Jones
*Co-produced by Michael Jackson
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson
*Bass: Louis Johnson
*Drums: John Robinson
*Guitar: David Williams and [[Phil Upchurch]]
*Electric piano: Greg Phillinganes
*Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa, Michael Jackson and John Robinson
*Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns:
**Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey
**Tenor, alto saxophones and flute: Larry Williams
**Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft
**Trombone: William Reichenbach
**Trumpet: Gary Grant
*Rhythm arrangement by Greg Phillinganes and Michael Jackson
*Vocal and percussion arrangements by Michael Jackson
==="Get on the Floor"===
*Written and composed by Michael Jackson and Louis Johnson
*Produced by Quincy Jones
*Co-produced by Michael Jackson
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson
*Bass: Louis Johnson
*Drums: John Robinson
*Clavinet: Greg Phillinganes
*Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa
*Guitar: [[Wah Wah Watson]]
*Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns:
**Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey
**Tenor, alto saxophones and flute: Larry Williams
**Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft
**Trombone: William Reichenbach
**Trumpet: Gary Grant
*Rhythm arrangement by Louis Johnson and Quincy Jones
*String arrangement by Ben Wright
*Concert master: Gerald Vinci
*Vocal arrangement by Michael Jackson
*Additional background vocals by Jim Gilstrap, Augie Johnson, Mortonette Jenkins, Paulette McWilliams and Zedric Williams
==="Off the Wall"===
*Written and composed by [[Rod Temperton]]
*Produced by Quincy Jones
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson
*Bass: Louis Johnson
*Drums: John Robinson
*Guitar: David Williams and Marlo Henderson
*Electric piano and synthesizer: Greg Phillinganes
*Synthesizer programming: Michael Boddicker
*Synthesizer and synthesizer programming: [[George Duke]]
*Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa
*Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns:
**Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey
**Tenor, alto saxophones and flute: Larry Williams
**Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft
**Trombone: William Reichenbach
**Trumpet: Gary Grant
*Rhythm and vocal arrangements by Rod Temperton
==="Girlfriend"===
*Written and composed by [[Paul McCartney]]
*Produced by Quincy Jones
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson
*Bass: Louis Johnson
*Drums: John Robinson
*Electric piano: Greg Phillinganes
*Synthesizer: David Foster
*Synthesizer programming: George Duke
*Guitar: Wah Wah Watson and Marlo Henderson
*Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns:
**Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey
**Tenor, alto saxophones and flute: Larry Williams
**Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft
**Trombone: William Reichenbach
**Trumpet: Gary Grant
*Rhythm arrangement by Quincy Jones, Tom Bahler and Greg Phillinganes
*Vocal arrangement by Michael Jackson and Quincy Jones
==="She's out of My Life"===
*Written and composed by Tom Bahler
*Produced by Quincy Jones
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson
*Bass: Louis Johnson
*Guitar: [[Larry Carlton]]
*Electric piano: Greg Phillinganes
*String arrangement by [[Johnny Mandel]]
*Concert master: Gerald Vinci
==="I Can't Help It"===
*Written and composed by Stevie Wonder and Susaye Greene-Browne
*Produced by Quincy Jones
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson
*Bass: Louis Johnson
*Drums: John Robinson
*Electric piano and synthesizer: Greg Phillinganes
*Synthesizer programming: Michael Boddicker
*Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa
*Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns:
**Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey
**Tenor, alto saxophones and flute: Larry Williams
**Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft
**Trombone: William Reichenbach
**Trumpet: Gary Grant
*Rhythm arrangement by Greg Phillinganes and Stevie Wonder
*String arrangement by Johnny Mandel
*Concert master: Gerald Vinci
==="It's the Falling in Love"===
*Written and composed by [[Carole Bayer Sager]] and David Foster
*Produced by Quincy Jones
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson and [[Patti Austin]]
*Bass: Louis Johnson
*Drums: John Robinson
*Guitar: Wah Wah Watson and Marlo Henderson
*Electric piano: Greg Phillinganes
*Synthesizer: David Foster
*Synthesizer programming: [[Steve Porcaro]]
*Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns:
**Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey
**Tenor, alto saxophones and flute: Larry Williams
**Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft
**Trombone: William Reichenbach
**Trumpet: Gary Grant
*Rhythm arrangement by Quincy Jones and David Foster
*Vocal arrangement by Quincy Jones and Tom Bahler
==="Burn this Disco Out"===
*Written and composed by Rod Temperton
*Produced by Quincy Jones
*Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson
*Bass: Louis Johnson
*Drums: John Robinson
*Guitar: David Williams and Marlo Henderson
*Electric piano: Greg Phillinganes
*Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa
*Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns:
**Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey
**Tenor, alto saxophones and flute: Larry Williams
**Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft
**Trombone: William Reichenbach
**Trumpet: Gary Grant
*Rhythm and vocal arrangements by Rod Temperton
===Technical credits===
*Management: Weisner - DeMann Entertainment, Inc. and Joe Jackson
*Recorded and mixed by Bruce Swedien using the Acusonic Recording Process
*Rhythm tracks and vocals recorded at Allen Zentz Recording
*assisted by Steve Conger and Rick Ash
*Horns recorded at Westlake Audio
*assisted by Ed Cherney, Erik Zobler, Jim Fitzpatrick and Mitch Gibson
*Strings recorded at Cherokee Studios
*assisted by Frank "Cheech" D'Amico
*Mixed at Westlake Audio
*Mixed by Bruce Swedien
*Mastered at A&M Recording Studio, L.A.
*Mastered by Bernie Grundman
*Cover design by Mike Salisbury
*Cover photograph by Steve Harvey
===Special edition credits===
*Interview with Rod Temperton by Tom Vicker
*Interview with Quincy Jones by David Wild
*Pre-production research by Matt Forger and Al Quaglieri
*Voice-over announcer: Jason Dietz
*Special edition art direction: Nancy Donald/David Coleman
*Slipcase adaptation design: Andy Engle
*Special edition design: David Coleman and Monster X
*Special edition photography: Ebert Roberts and Steve Harvey
==References==
{{reflist}}
{{s-start}}
{{succession box
| before = ''[[The Wall]]'' by [[Pink Floyd]]
| title = Australian [[ARIA Charts|ARIA Albums Chart]] [[Number-one albums of 1980 (Australia)|number-one album]]
| years = [[March 31]] - [[April 13]] [[1980]]
| after = ''[[True Colours (Split Enz album)|True Colours]]'' by [[Split Enz]]
}}
{{end}}
{{Michael Jackson}}
[[Category:1979 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Quincy Jones]]
[[Category:Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients]]
[[Category:Michael Jackson albums]]
[[Category:Epic Records albums]]
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