One of the greatest writers of our generation, here are just a few of his..

[Edited 10/2/13 23:16pm]

yessssir, there are so many and I'm sure I forget a lot... anyway, those tracks immediately come to mind


Donna Summer - Love Is in Control




Manhattan Transfer - Spice of Life





Anita Baker - Mystery





Patti Austin - The Genie





Mica Paris - You Put A Move On My Heart






Klymaxx Man-Size Love






and a very special favorite of mine.... James Ingram - One More Rhythm

I have the Heatwave CDs at home on my waiting list. I love what he did for Michael and I'll take note of the songs he composed for other artists, which I didn't know. Did he write anything better than "Rock With You"? Now that would be amazing!

Javi said:

Did he write anything better than "Rock With You"?

If you ask me, then no Rock With You will always be my fave too, and maybe not just when it comes to Rod Temperton, but even within the whole Michael Jackson catalouge

PHENOMENAL talent.

If he was an American, I'd have to change my signature.

The guy is a figgin' musical genius!

The Lady in My Life. This is one of my favorites

I love Off The Wall

LOVE "Eyeballin' " by Heatwave! That bassline is off da CHAIN!

...

Rod Temperton Audio Interview

[img:$uid]http://www.soulwalking.co.uk/00Images%202009/RTemperton209.jpg[/img:$uid]

...

...

Rod Temperton, with Heatwave - Organ, Keys, and all compositions....

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...

[Edited 10/9/13 13:58pm]

I love this thread! Is there a modern-day Rod Temperton out there right now? By the way, I thought he wrote "I Can't Help It" from Off the Wall or was that Stevie Wonder?

SeventeenDayze said:

I love this thread! Is there a modern-day Rod Temperton out there right now? By the way, I thought he wrote "I Can't Help It" from Off the Wall or was that Stevie Wonder?

...

That was Stevie. But anyway, No, IMO, nobody's doing this kind of thing anymore...not really in R&B, anyway....People are still writing chart hits, but not with the same attention to the craft....

..

More Temperton Tunes...

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Heatwave - The Grooveline

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Herbie Hancock - Gettin' To The Good Part

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...

George Benson - Love X Love

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Heatwave - Star of The Story

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Heatwave - Aint No Half Steppin'

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[Edited 10/9/13 14:05pm]

It doesn't get any better than this!

*

*

Somethin' Special

Arranged By [Horns], Trumpet – Jerry HeyBacking Vocals – Jim Gilstrap, Tom BahlerBass – Louis JohnsonElectric Piano – Herbie HancockLead Vocals, Backing Vocals – Patti AustinProgrammed By [Synthesizer] – Ian UnderwoodProgrammed By [Synthesizer], Synthesizer [Mini-moog] – David "Hawk" WolinskiSaxophone, Flute – Ernie Watts, Kim HutchcroftSynthesizer – Greg PhillinganesTrombone – Bill Reichenbach (2)Trumpet – Chuck FindleyWritten-by, Arranged By [Rhythm, Synthesizer, Vocals] – Rod Temperton

paligap said:

SeventeenDayze said:

I love this thread! Is there a modern-day Rod Temperton out there right now? By the way, I thought he wrote "I Can't Help It" from Off the Wall or was that Stevie Wonder?

...

That was Stevie. But anyway, No, IMO, nobody's doing this kind of thing anymore...not really in R&B, anyway....People are still writing chart hits, but not with the same attention to the craft....

..

More Temperton Tunes...

...

Heatwave - The Grooveline

...

...

Herbie Hancock - Gettin' To The Good Part

...

...

George Benson - Love X Love

...

...

Heatwave - Star of The Story

...

...

Heatwave - Aint No Half Steppin'

...

...

[Edited 10/9/13 14:05pm]

Thanks for clearing that up about who wrote I Can't Help It. Just curious what you mean by how people don't pay attention to the craft of writing anymore. Do you mean that it's all focused on the hook now?

Rod was the man! I actually preferred The Manhattan Transfer's version of "Mystery" over Anita Baker's

SeventeenDayze said:

Thanks for clearing that up about who wrote I Can't Help It. Just curious what you mean by how people don't pay attention to the craft of writing anymore. Do you mean that it's all focused on the hook now?

...

Well from an R&B Perspective, today's radio stuff is more about beats --not as much attention to all the other aspects-- melody, arrangement, song structure....

...

paligap said:

SeventeenDayze said:

Thanks for clearing that up about who wrote I Can't Help It. Just curious what you mean by how people don't pay attention to the craft of writing anymore. Do you mean that it's all focused on the hook now?

...

Well from an R&B Perspective, today's radio stuff is more about beats --not as much attention to all the other aspects-- melody, arrangement, song structure....

...

Yeah I think you're right. There is a lot of emphasis on the beat but there's not much else going on in a song. I was just talking to someone today about that and she was complaining about how her kids love that Versace song that's hot right now...LOL

paligap said:

SeventeenDayze said:

Thanks for clearing that up about who wrote I Can't Help It. Just curious what you mean by how people don't pay attention to the craft of writing anymore. Do you mean that it's all focused on the hook now?

...

Well from an R&B Perspective, today's radio stuff is more about beats --not as much attention to all the other aspects-- melody, arrangement, song structure....

...

Exactly! You could say the same about pop too. Temperton's harmonies and melodies (chords-wise, not vocal) are really jazzy and flavorful, and certainly nothing you see even in r&b today.

Quincy Jones has also talked how Temperton always had the hear for the "counterpoint", whether it be melody or something else. And you can hear it in those songs.

It's all about the beat(s) and a sound. Add something repetitive, either a vocal hook or a rhyme. Rihanna is a perfect example of everything that's wrong about the music of today.

I pretty much love ALL his songs, they're all freakin' classics! And certainly couldn't pick a single favorite.

- "Getting To The Good Part", H.Hancock - awesome, very Steelydanesque

- "Baby Be Mine", MJ - one of my fave MJ tracks

- "Love X Love", George Benson - better than the title track in my opinion

[Edited 10/11/13 3:25am]

The consummate songwriter. He brought such an individuality of style to his lyrics and a structural excellence to the music.


What's the reason for his long absence from the music scene?

Identity said:

What's the reason for his long absence from the music scene?

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Good Question. The sad truth may be that this type of songwriting isn't in demand anymore. But apparently, he's always been reclusive:

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An excerpt from The Guardian (UK), in 2009:

...

"... in 1979, Temperton was recruited by Quincy Jones to write for Jackson, and he never looked back. He wrote three songs for Off the Wall and the title track of Thriller, the biggest selling album of all time. As if this wasn't enough, he penned hits for everyone from Donna Summer to Mariah Carey, Aretha Franklin to Anita Baker, Herbie Hancock to good ol' Quincy Jones, George Benson to LL Cool J. Remember Stomp! by Brothers Johnson, or Masterjam by Rufus? That was Temperton as well. Not bad for a self-taught muso whose first job was in a fish factory in Grimsby.

However, the reclusive, Grammy-winning genius has always shunned the spotlight, is rarely sighted in public and almost never speaks to the media. The few photographs that exist of him depict his appearance changing with an array of hairstyles and moustaches. He is rumoured to own properties around the world – France, Fiji, Kent, and an address on LA's exclusive Mulholland Drive – although not, perhaps, in Cleethorpes. North Lincolnshire Council have barely heard of the richest man ever to come from that town.

...

Temperton did break his silence in 2006 – contributing to a Radio 2 documentary – but only after four years of persuasion. It was fascinating stuff. As a child, Temperton claimed to have been nursed to sleep by the sound of a transistor radio playing Radio Luxembourg in his crib; he learned to drum when he was skiving school, playing along to the testcard on the telly. Switching to keyboards, he joined Heatwave through an ad in Melody Maker. He initially penned up to 300 songs for Jackson and came up with Thriller in the back of a taxi on the way to the studio. Intriguingly, the programme revealed that Temperton kept in touch with his school music teacher, who had visited his home and found him as "unassuming" as ever. And then he retreated to wherever a man goes, when he has filleted fish and worked on an album that sold 40m copies, saying, "I watch telly, catch up on the news, and maybe the phone will ring".

...

But someone must know where this enigmatic pop machine is, or what he's like. Have you seen Rod Temperton? Do you know someone who knew him? Were you at school with him or did you fillet fish together? Did you know his neighbours or shake it down on the dancefloor with this reclusive disco king? Have you seen him in Bel Air? Or shooting grizzly bear? Or have you ever been on holiday in Cleethorpes and glimpsed a mysterious stranger whistling Off the Wall?

If so, the world needs to know about it. Tell us your Temperton tales!"

...

[Edited 10/11/13 10:16am]

Javi said:

Did he write anything better than "Rock With You"?

Yeah, he did. "This Night We Fell" is so gorgeous, with its flawless vocal harmonies, handsomely wrapped by a keyboard melody.

We may be getting some new music from Rod shortly. Mica Paris has been tweeting and facebooking that her forthcoming album, written and produced by Mr. Temperton, is completed. No release date has been announced but she (joined by a special guest) will be showcasing the new tunes at London's Jazz Cafe on October 25th.

SamSamba said:

paligap said:

...

Well from an R&B Perspective, today's radio stuff is more about beats --not as much attention to all the other aspects-- melody, arrangement, song structure....

...

Exactly! You could say the same about pop too. Temperton's harmonies and melodies (chords-wise, not vocal) are really jazzy and flavorful, and certainly nothing you see even in r&b today.

Quincy Jones has also talked how Temperton always had the hear for the "counterpoint", whether it be melody or something else. And you can hear it in those songs.

It's all about the beat(s) and a sound. Add something repetitive, either a vocal hook or a rhyme. Rihanna is a perfect example of everything that's wrong about the music of today.

I pretty much love ALL his songs, they're all freakin' classics! And certainly couldn't pick a single favorite.

- "Getting To The Good Part", H.Hancock - awesome, very Steelydanesque

- "Baby Be Mine", MJ - one of my fave MJ tracks

- "Love X Love", George Benson - better than the title track in my opinion

[Edited 10/11/13 3:25am]

About your Rihanna comment---totally agree. When I see video of her "live performances" she always looks like she just learned how to perform the day before or something. There's something really odd about her "fame". I think that Pour it Up song is the most tone def drab I have ever heard in my life. Would we think Rihanna sucked if she had someone like Temperton writing for her instead I wonder?

TeeeeHaaaaHoooo said:

We may be getting some new music from Rod shortly. Mica Paris has been tweeting and facebooking that her forthcoming album, written and produced by Mr. Temperton, is completed. No release date has been announced but she (joined by a special guest) will be showcasing the new tunes at London's Jazz Cafe on October 25th.

...

Wow, great news!!!

I loved their last collaboration, Whisper a Prayer.....

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Bob James - "Sign of the Times" (1981)

Rufus & Chaka Khan - "Masterjam" (1979)

Herbie Hancock and Patrice Rushen - "Give it All Your Heart'' (1982)

Herbie Hancock - ''Motor Mouth'' (1982)










Herbie Hancock - "Lite Me Up" (1982)

Mica Paris - "Two in a Million" (1993)

[Edited 10/29/13 6:04am]

paligap said:

SeventeenDayze said:

I love this thread! Is there a modern-day Rod Temperton out there right now? By the way, I thought he wrote "I Can't Help It" from Off the Wall or was that Stevie Wonder?

...

That was Stevie. But anyway, No, IMO, nobody's doing this kind of thing anymore...not really in R&B, anyway....People are still writing chart hits, but not with the same attention to the craft....

..

More Temperton Tunes...

...

Heatwave - The Grooveline

...

I found this on a guitar forum. "Grooveline" is so much fun to play!

OK from what I remember from playing this way back, its in E and mostly the guitar will play the top 3 or perhaps 4
strings, keeping the wrist loose and funky.
The opening riff is 12th fret Emin7th with the pinky fretting the 15th fret 1st string G (letting off to 12th fret E on last measure of the 4)

Pack your grip
Takin' you on a trip
Ain't no seats
All we got's dancin' feet

7th fret Emin7 9th fret Fsharp min7

Leave you worries behind

and then kinda of an A sus to A on 9th fret (root on B string 10th fret) just playin the top three strings in a 'D ' type shape
move it down 2 frets exactly the same G to Gsus for the 'wont mind'

Asus A Gsus G

"Cause rain, shine Won't mind

then its Bmin7 7th fret with pinky fretting E string 10th (D) fret to 7th fret Emin 7 to 9th fret Fsharp min7


Bmin7 /Emin7/ Fsharp min7/ Emin7 intro riff

We're ridin' on the groove line tonight


RPT


MID 8 all Amin7 5th fret top 4 strings

Check out, the wheels are turnin'
You know we won't stop
We got this boiler burnin'
We're keepin' it hot


The play out is the Emin7 / Fsharp min7 / Asus / A / Gsus / G / Bmin7 / Emin7 / F sharp min7 RPT

http://www.tdpri.com/foru...twave.html

[img:$uid]http://i.imgur.com/lr7vUsi.jpg?1?8983[/img:$uid]

Mica Paris with Rod @ the London Jazz Cafe on October 25, 2013.

Identity said:

Mica Paris with Rod @ the London Jazz Cafe on October 25, 2013.

...

Kool Pic!! I'm looking forward to the album!

....

Identity said:

Javi said:

Did he write anything better than "Rock With You"?

Yeah, he did. "This Night We Fell" is so gorgeous, with its flawless vocal harmonies, handsomely wrapped by a keyboard melody.

In which album is this tune included? I own Too Hot To Handle and Central Heating and I don't remember this song being on them...