Michael Jackson Songwriter Rod Temperton Dead at 66

Legendary British songwriter Rod Temperton has died after a battle with cancer, Jon Platt, Chairman & CEO of Warner/Chappell has announced. Temperton was 66 years old. In a statement, Platt wrote, “His family is devastated and request total privacy at this, the saddest of sad times.”

Temperton got his start in music with the funk group Heatwave. They were best known for their Temperton-penned song “Boogie Nights,” which reached No. 2 in the United States and the UK. He played on two Heatwave albums before leaving the band to concentrate on songwriting.

Temperton wrote his most notable compositions for Michael Jackson. He is credited as the sole songwriter on “Thriller,” “Rock With You,” and “Off the Wall,” among many other tracks. He also wrote songs for Aretha Franklin, Donna Summer, Quincy Jones, Herbie Hancock, Rufus & Chaka Khan, Carpenters, and many others. He continued writing for his old band, Heatwave, too. At the 58th Academy Awards in 1986, Temperton was nominated for Best Original Score and Best Original Song (“Miss Celie’s Blues”) for his work on The Color Purple.

Many artists, including the Weeknd and Nile Rodgers, have paid their respects to Temperton since news of his death broke. 

Read “Heard But Not Seen: How Red Temperton Changed Pop,” and read about some of Temperton’s best work in Pitchfork’s “The Best 200 Songs of the 1970s” and “The Best 200 Songs of the 1980s.”

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