Actors - Off the Wall

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	Actors - Off the Wall

:For the radio show, see Off the Wall (radio). Off the Wall was American pop and R&B singer Michael Jackson's breakthrough 1979 solo album. The album was a major success for the Jacksons frontman, despite critics who said Jackson's career was doomed after leaving Motown in 1975.

Quincy Jones, the musical director for Motown's film adaptation of The Wiz
(in which Jackson starred as the Scarecrow), served as the album's producer, with lyrics and music by Jackson, Heatwave's Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder, and Paul McCartney, among others.

More than twenty-five 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 TV network VH1 named Off the Wall the thirty-sixth greatest album of all time. Jackson's next album, Thriller
, was even more successful.

Track listing

#"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" (Jackson) - 6:05 #"Rock with You" (Rod Temperton) - 3:40 #"Working Day and Night" (Jackson) - 5:14 #"Get on the Floor" (Jackson, Luis Johnson) - 4:39 #"Off the Wall" (Rod Temperton) - 4:06 #"Girlfriend" (McCartney) - 3:05 #"She's Out Of My Life" (Tom Bahler) - 3:38 #"I Can't Help It" (Susaye Greene-Bowne, Wonder) - 6:06 #"It's the Falling in Love" (David Foster, Carole Bayer Sager) - 3:48 #"Burn This Disco Out" (Rod Temperton) - 5:24

Outtakes

"Goin' To Rio"
"Thank You For Life"
"What A Lonely Way To Go"
"Sunset Driver" (later appeared on Michael Jackson: The Ultimate Collection
)

Chart trajectory

Special Edition

In November 2001, Epic re-released the four major Michael Jackson albums in special packages. "Off The Wall - Special Edition" contained some bonus material, including the original 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, USA, 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 album chart ever since. A HMV sale in July 04 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 will be around 200,000 and it was the 189th best selling album of 2003. USA sales since re-release are around 225,000 peaking at #7 in the Catalogue chart.

Charting singles

Album positions:

1979 "Off the Wall" — Top Soul Albums No. 1
1980 "Off the Wall" — Top Pop Albums No. 3
1984 "Off the Wall" — Top 200 Albums No. 44

Singles positions:

1979 "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough/Rock with You" Club Play Singles No. 2
1979 "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" Pop Singles No. 1
1979 "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" Soul Singles No. 1
1980 "Off the Wall" Pop Singles No. 10
1980 "Off the Wall" Soul Singles No. 5
1980 "Rock with You" Pop Singles No. 1
1980 "Rock with You" Soul Singles No. 1
1980 "She's out of My Life" Pop Singles No. 10
1980 "She's out of My Life" Soul Singles No. 43
1980 "She's out of My Life" Adult Contemporary No. 4

Personnel

Rick Ash — assistant engineer
Patti Austin — vocals
Michael Boddrick — synthesizer
Larry Carlton — guitar
Steve Conger — assistant engineer
Ed Cherney — assistant engineer
Paulinho Da Costa — percussion
Frank "Cheech" Damico — assistant engineer
George Duke — keyboards
David Foster — synthesizer
Mitch Gibson — assistant engineer
Jim Gilstrap — vocals, backing vocals
Gary Grant — trumpet
Bernie Grundman — mastering
Steve Harvey — photography
Richard Heath — percussion
Marlo Henderson — guitar
Jerry Hey — trumpet, arranger, flugelhorn, horn arrangements
Kim Hutchcroft — flute, horn, sax (baritone), sax (tenor)
Michael Jackson
— main performer
Randy Jackson — percussion
Mortonette Jenkins — vocals, backing vocals
Augie Johnson — vocals, backing vocals
Louis Johnson — bass, rhythm arrangements
Quincy Jones
— producer, vocal arrangement, rhythm arrangements
Johnny Mandel — strings
Paulette McWilliams — vocals, backing vocals
Greg Phillinganes — synthesizer, piano, keyboards, clavinet, rhythm arrangements
Steve Porcaro — synthesizer
Bill Reichenbach Jr. — trombone
William Reichenbach — trombone
John "J.R." Robinson — drums
Michael Salisbury — design
Seawind Horns — ensemble
Bruce Swedien — engineer, mixing
Rod Temperton — vocal arrangement, rhythm arrangements
Phil Upchurch — guitar
Gerald Vinci — concert master
Wah Wah Watson — guitar
Bobby Watson — bass
David Williams — guitar
Larry Williams — wind
Zedric Williams — vocals, backing vocals
David Wolinski "Hawk" — piano, keyboards
Benjamin Wright — arranger, string arrangements
Erik Zobler — assistant engineer

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