Off the Wall
Off the Wall is the fifth studio album by the American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, and the first produced by Quincy Jones, whom he met while working on the 1978 film The Wiz. Several critics observed that Off the Wall was crafted from disco, pop, funk, R&B, soft rock and Broadway ballads. Its lyrical themes include escapism, liberation, loneliness, hedonism and romance. The album features songwriting contributions from Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Rod Temperton, Tom Bahler, and David Foster, alongside three tracks penned by Jackson himself.
For other uses, see Off the Wall (disambiguation).
Between 1972 and 1975, Jackson released a total of four solo studio albums with Motown as part of The Jackson 5 franchise: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music & Me (1973) and Forever, Michael (1975). Before recording his next album, which came to be Off the Wall, Jackson desired to create a record not sounding like a Jacksons record, but rather showcasing creative freedom and individualism. Off the Wall peaked at number three on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and number one on the Top Black Albums chart, staying at number one on the latter for 16 weeks, and was an enormous critical success. Five singles were released from the album. Jackson wrote three songs, including the Billboard Hot 100 number-one single "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", his first solo number-one single in the United States since "Ben" seven years prior. The second single, "Rock with You", also topped the chart. With following singles "Off the Wall" and "She's Out of My Life" also reaching the US top 10, Jackson became the first solo artist to have four singles from the same album reach the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100.
Off the Wall was a significant departure from Jackson's previous work for Motown and was hailed as a major breakthrough for him. In retrospect, writers have hailed it a landmark release of the disco era and, along with his next album Thriller (1982), among the greatest albums in history. Off the Wall has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the best-selling albums of all time. On February 2, 2021, it was certified 9× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the US. At the 1980 Grammy Awards, it was nominated for two Grammy Awards, with Jackson winning Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male for "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough". In 2008, Off the Wall was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.
Music and vocals
Music critics Stephen Thomas Erlewine and Stephen Holden of AllMusic observed that Off the Wall was crafted from funk, disco-pop, soul, soft rock, and pop ballads.[21][22] Prominent examples include the ballad "She's Out of My Life", the funk tune "Workin' Day and Night", and the disco song "Get on the Floor".[22] "I Can't Help It" is a jazz piece.[20] Quincy Jones in his autobiography compares Jackson to other jazz singers, noting that Jackson "has some of the same qualities as the great jazz singers I'd worked with: Ella, Sinatra, Sassy, Aretha, Ray Charles, Dinah. Each of them had that purity, that strong signature sound and that open wound that pushed them to greatness." "She's Out of My Life" is a melodic pop ballad.[19] The end of the former song showed an "emotional" Jackson crying as the track concluded.[20] Of the song, rhythm and blues writer Nelson George proclaimed, "[It] became a Jackson signature similar to the way "My Way" served Frank Sinatra. The vulnerability, verging on fragility that would become embedded in Michael's persona found, perhaps, its richest expression in this wistful ballad".[7] "Rock with You" is a romantic, mid-tempo song.[19] The album's songs have a tempo ranging from 66 beats per minute on "She's Out of My Life", to 128 on "Workin' Day and Night".[23]
With the arrival of Off the Wall in the late 1970s, Jackson's abilities as a vocalist were well regarded; AllMusic writer Stephen Thomas Erlewine described him as a "blindingly gifted vocalist".[22] At the time, Rolling Stone compared his vocals to the "breathless, dreamy stutter" of Stevie Wonder. Their analysis was also that "Jackson's feathery-timbered tenor is extraordinarily beautiful. It slides smoothly into a startling falsetto that's used very daringly".[24] Writer, journalist and biographer J. Randy Taraborrelli expressed the opinion that Jackson sings with "sexy falsetto" vocals in "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough".[19] Taraborrelli also stated, "Fans and industry peers alike were left with their mouths agape when Off the Wall was issued to the public. Fans proclaimed that they hadn't heard him sing with such joy and abandon since the early Jackson 5 days".[20]
Release and commercial reception
Off the Wall was released on August 10, 1979. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Top LPs & Tapes chart and number one on the Billboard R&B Albums chart, staying at number one on the latter chart for 16 weeks.[25] An enormous commercial success, it was the third-best-selling album of 1980 in the United States, as well as the United Kingdom.[26] "Off the Wall" sold three million copies in the United States before the end of 1979, while the Jacksons were still on tour.[25] Off the Wall is certified 9× Platinum in the US and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide.[27][28][29] It has also gained Platinum certifications in eleven other countries. The album's success led to the start of a nine-year partnership between Jackson and Jones; their next collaboration would be Thriller (1982), which is the best-selling album of all time.[30]
On October 16, 2001, a special edition reissue of Off the Wall was released by Sony Records.[22] It was re-released again on February 26, 2016. The material found strong praise from critics more than 20 years after the original release. On January 7, 2016, Sony Music and The Estate of Michael Jackson announced that Off the Wall would be reissued and packaged with a new documentary directed by Spike Lee titled Michael Jackson's Journey from Motown to Off the Wall. The reissue and documentary were both released on February 26, 2016.[31]
Singles
"Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" was released on July 10, 1979, under Epic Records which was Jackson's first solo single not released under Motown Records.[32] The song topped the Billboard Hot 100 on October 10, making it Jackson's first solo number one single since "Ben", seven years prior.[33][32][34]
"Rock with You" also reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100, becoming Jackson's third number-one single of his career and it also reached the top spot on R&B charts. It spent four consecutive weeks at number one starting January 19, 1980, and was the fourth-biggest single of 1980.[35]
In February the album's title track was released as a single, and went to number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and became a top 10 hit in four countries.[36] "She's Out of My Life" was released after that, also reaching number 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in June.[37] The song was also one of Jackson's slowest songs, with a tempo of 66 beats per minute.[38] Off the Wall became the first album by a solo artist to generate four US top 10 hits.[39]
Notes
Bibliography