Rodney Lynn Temperton (9 October 1949 – 25 September 2016) was an English songwriter, producer and musician. Temperton was the keyboardist and main songwriter for the 1970s

pop music Pop music is a genre of popular music that originated in its modern form during the mid-1950s in the United States and the United Kingdom. The terms ''popular music'' and ''pop music'' are often used interchangeably, although the former describe ...

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

and

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band Heatwave, writing songs including "Star of a Story", " Always and Forever", "

Boogie Nights ''Boogie Nights'' is a 1997 American period comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Thomas Anderson. It is set in Los Angeles's San Fernando Valley and focuses on a young nightclub dishwasher who becomes a popular star of pornographic fil ...

", and "

The Groove Line "The Groove Line" is a 1978 single by the Dayton, Ohio/European funk-disco group Heatwave. It was written by Rod Temperton. It was included on Heatwave's second album, ''Central Heating''. History The song charted at number 12 in the UK Singles Ch ...

". After he was recruited by record producer Quincy Jones, he wrote several successful singles for

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, including "

Thriller Thriller may refer to: * Thriller (genre), a broad genre of literature, film and television ** Thriller film, a film genre under the general thriller genre Comics * ''Thriller'' (DC Comics), a comic book series published 1983–84 by DC Comics i ...

", "

Off the Wall ''Off the Wall'' is the fifth studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released on August 10, 1979, by Epic Records. It was Jackson's first album released through Epic Records, the label he recorded under until his death in 2009, and t ...

", and " Rock with You". He also wrote songs for George Benson, including " Give Me the Night" and "

Love X Love "Love X Love" is a song written by Heatwave (band), Heatwave's keyboard player Rod Temperton and recorded by American guitarist and singer George Benson. Featured on Benson's ''Give Me the Night (album), Give Me the Night'' album, it was also re ...

", along with

Patti Austin Patti Austin (born August 10, 1950) is an American R&B, pop, and jazz singer and songwriter. Music career Austin was born in Harlem, New York, to Gordon Austin, a jazz trombonist. She was raised in Bay Shore, New York on Long Island. Quincy ...

and James Ingram's United States number-one single " Baby, Come to Me", among many others. Temperton wrote the soundtrack for the 1986 film '' Running Scared''. In 1990 he won a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for '' Birdland''.

Biography

Early years

Rodney Lynn Temperton was born in

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of 38,372 in 2020. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, then develo ...

Lincolnshire Lincolnshire (abbreviated Lincs.) is a county in the East Midlands of England, with a long coastline on the North Sea to the east. It borders Norfolk to the south-east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south-west, Leicestershire ...

, on 9 October 1949. Interviewed for the

BBC Radio 2 BBC Radio 2 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It is the most popular station in the United Kingdom with over 15 million weekly listeners. Since launching in 1967, the station broadcasts a wide range of content. ...

documentary ''The Invisible Man: the Rod Temperton Story'', Temperton said that he was a musician from an early age: "My father wasn't the kind of person who would read you a story before you went off to sleep. He used to put a transistor radio in the crib, right on the pillow, and I'd go to sleep listening to Radio Luxembourg, and I think that had an influence.""The Invisible Man: the Rod Temperton story", narrated by Paul Gambaccini,

, '' BBC Radio'' –

British Broadcasting Corporation #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

. Temperton attended De Aston Grammar School, Market Rasen, Lincolnshire, and he formed a group for the school's music competitions. He was a drummer at this time. "I'd get in the living room with my

snare drum The snare (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often used ...

and my

cymbal A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs soun ...

and play along to the BBC test card, which was all kinds of music they'd be playing continuously." On leaving school, he started working as a fish filleter for Ross Frozen Foods in

Grimsby Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town and the administrative centre of North East Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire, England. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes directly to the south-east forming a conurbation. Grimsby is north-east of Linco ...

, Lincolnshire.

Heatwave

Temperton soon became a full-time musician as a keyboard player, and played in several dance bands. This took him to

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany, a city **Worms (electoral district) *Worms, Nebraska, U.S. *Worms im Veltlintal, the German name for Bormio, Italy Arts and entertainme ...

in Germany. In 1974, he answered an advert in ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' for a keyboardist, placed by

Johnnie Wilder Jr. Johnnie James Wilder Jr. (July 3, 1949 – May 17, 2006) was the co-founder and co-lead singing, vocalist of the Rhythm and blues, R&B/funk group Heatwave (band), Heatwave, who were popular during the late 1970s with hits such as "Boogie Nights (so ...

, and as a result, became a member of the

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' (G ...

, and

band: Heatwave, which Wilder was putting together at the time. "He was the first British guy that I had ever met personally. He spoke kind of funny but he had a good sense of humour and he was a very friendly guy. After meeting him and then seeing him play I kind of determined he was a good enough player and entertainer and I just knew he would fit in the group", said Wilder. Temperton played Wilder tunes he had been composing: "I was very interested because we were doing a lot of cover tunes – we weren't doing a lot of original material – I was really interested." The songs provided material for 1976's '' Too Hot to Handle'' including "

", which broke the band in the United Kingdom and the United States, and the ballad " Always and Forever"; both tracks were million-sellers in the USA. Despite the slick American sound, Temperton's working surroundings were still far from glamorous. Alan Kirk, a

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

musician with

Jimmy James and the Vagabonds Michael "Jimmy" James (born 13 September 1940) is a British-Jamaican soul singer, known for songs like "Come to Me Softly", "Now Is the Time" and "I'll Go Where Your Music Takes Me". Based in Britain, he has performed as the lead singer of Ji ...

, who toured with Heatwave in the mid 1970s, remembered: "The ''Always and Forever'' track was written on a Wurlitzer piano at the side of a pile of pungent washing – sorry to disappoint all the romantics". And producer

Barry Blue Barry Blue (born Barry Ian Green, 4 December 1950) is an English singer, producer, and songwriter. As an artist, he is best known for his hit songs "Dancin' (on a Saturday Night)" and "Do You Wanna Dance" (both 1973). Blue has also been a pro ...

recalled: "He had a very small flat, so everything had to be done within one room and he had piles of washing, and had the T.V. on top of the organ. It was a nightmare ../nowiki> he had trams running outside ../nowiki> but he made it, he just absorbed himself in the music and Rod seemed to come up with these amazing songs." In 1977, Heatwave followed up the success of its first album with its second, ''

Central Heating A central heating system provides warmth to a number of spaces within a building from one main source of heat. It is a component of heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (short: HVAC) systems, which can both cool and warm interior spaces. ...

'', with Barry Blue again producing, and Temperton behind the majority of the songs. It included "

", another international hit single. In 1978, Temperton decided to concentrate on writing, and left Heatwave, though he continued to write for the band.

Songs written for Michael Jackson

Rod Temperton's work attracted the attention of Quincy Jones, and he asked his engineer Bruce Swedien to check out the Heatwave album. "Holy cow! I simply loved Rod's musical feeling – everything about it – Rod's arrangements, his tunes, his songs – was exceedingly hip", recalled Swedien, also calling Temperton: "the most disciplined pop music composer I've ever met. When he comes to the studio, every musical detail is written down or accounted for in Rod's mind. He never stops until he feels confident that the music we're working on is able to stand on its own." In 1979, Temperton was recruited by Quincy Jones to write for what became

's first solo album in four years, and his first full-fledged solo release for

Epic Records Epic Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Corporation of America Sony Corporation of America (SONAM, also known as SCA), is the American arm of the Japanese conglomerate Sony Group ...

, titled ''

''. Temperton wrote three songs for the album, including " Rock with You", which became the second US number 1 single from the album. In the early 1980s, Temperton left Germany and moved to

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California. A notable and historic suburb of Greater Los Angeles, it is in a wealthy area immediately southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Bev ...

, California. In 1982, Temperton wrote three songs, including the title track, for Jackson's next LP, ''

'', which became the biggest-selling album of all time in the United States, selling 32 million copies. Temperton also wrote the spoken word section of the song for the actor

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

. On coming up with the title "

", Temperton once said:

Other songwriting successes

Temperton wrote successfully for other musicians, his hits including disco classic " Stomp!" for The Brothers Johnson; George Benson's " Give Me the Night"; " Baby, Come to Me" for

and James Ingram; "

Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger) "Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger)" is a Grammy-nominated single from Donna Summer's self-titled 1982 album. The single was her 12th top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart. Background Summer's 1980 '' The Wanderer'' album — her ina ...

" for

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

; and "

Yah Mo B There "Yah Mo B There" is a contemporary R&B song, recorded as a duet by American singers James Ingram and Michael McDonald. It was written by Ingram, McDonald, Rod Temperton and producer Quincy Jones. The song originally appeared on Ingram's 1983 al ...

" for James Ingram and Michael McDonald. He also wrote for

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he help ...

The Manhattan Transfer The Manhattan Transfer is a Grammy award–winning vocal group founded in 1969 that has explored a cappella, vocalese, swing, standards, Brazilian jazz, rhythm and blues, and pop music. There have been two editions of the Manhattan Transfer, ...

, Mica Paris, Rufus and Chaka Khan, and many others.

Film work

In 1982, Temperton wrote the music to ''Someone in the Dark'', recorded by

, and produced by Quincy Jones, for the movie ''

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial ''E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial'' (or simply ''E.T.'') is a 1982 American science fiction film produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison. It tells the story of Elliott, a boy who befriends an extraterrestrial, d ...

'', with lyrics by

Alan and Marilyn Bergman Alan Bergman (born September 11, 1925) and Marilyn Keith Bergman (November 10, 1928 – January 8, 2022) were an American songwriting duo. Married from 1958 until Marilyn's death, together they wrote music and lyrics for numerous celebrated telev ...

. In 1986, Temperton was nominated for the

Academy Award for Best Original Song The Academy Award for Best Original Song is one of the awards given annually to people working in the motion picture industry by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is presented to the ''songwriters'' who have composed th ...

for " Miss Celie's Blues (Sister)", which he wrote with Quincy Jones and

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recordi ...

for ''

The Color Purple ''The Color Purple'' is a 1982 epistolary novel by American author Alice Walker which won the 1983 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction and the National Book Award for Fiction.

'' film of 1985. (Richie won the award for "

Say You, Say Me "Say You, Say Me" is a song written and recorded by American singer and songwriter Lionel Richie for the film ''White Nights''. The single hit number one in the US and on the R&B singles chart in December 1985. It became Richie's ninth number-on ...

", from '' White Nights''.) He was also nominated for Best Original Score, along with the 11 other composers, including Jones, who worked on ''The Color Purple's'' soundtrack. Later in 1986, the buddy-cop action-comedy '' Running Scared'' was released, featuring five new songs written by Temperton, including " Sweet Freedom", performed by Michael McDonald; and " Man Size Love", performed by Klymaxx. Temperton also composed the film's score.

Personal life and death

After leaving Heatwave to concentrate on his songwriting, Rod Temperton shunned the celebrity lifestyle, and remained a very private man. Due to his low profile, Temperton was nicknamed 'The Invisible Man'. He died on 25 September 2016 after "a brief aggressive battle with cancer", as quoted by Jon Platt of Warner/Chappell music publishing. His death would be announced a week later on 5 October 2016, with his private funeral having already taken place. Gilles Peterson, a BBC radio presenter, paid tribute to Temperton on

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

: "Apart from

Lennon and McCartney John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...

no one from the UK has written more gold plated songs than Sir Rod Temperton... a huge loss. RIP". Temperton is survived by his wife Kathy. They had homes in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, the south of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

, and

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

in southeast England.

Songwriting credits

Production credits

*The '' Running Scared'' soundtrack album, 1986 (with Dick Rudolph and Bruce Swedien) *"We Belong to Love" by Jeffrey Osborne, from ''

Emotional Emotions are mental states brought on by neurophysiological changes, variously associated with thoughts, feelings, behavioral responses, and a degree of pleasure or displeasure. There is currently no scientific consensus on a definition. E ...

'', 1986 *'' Kiss of Life'' by

Siedah Garrett Deborah Christine "Siedah" Garrett (born June 24, 1960) is an American singer and songwriter who has written songs and performed backing vocals for many recording artists in the music industry, such as Michael Jackson, the Pointer Sisters, Brand N ...

, 1988 (with Dick Rudolph) *'' Back on the Block'' by Quincy Jones, 1989 (associate producer) *"Givin' In to Love" by

, from ''Carry On'', 1991 *"You Put a Move on My Heart", "We Were Made for Love", "Two in a Million", and "Love Keeps Coming Back" by Mica Paris, from '' Whisper a Prayer'', 1993 *"We Are the Future", from ''We Are the Future: You Are the Answer'', 2004 (with Sunny Levine)

Arranging

*''Back on the Block'', with Andrae Crouch, Quincy Jones,

Quincy Jones III Quincy Delight Jones III (born 23 December 1968), better known as QDIII, QD3 and Snoopy, is an English-born Swedish-American music producer and film producer. Family Jones was born in Wimbledon, London, the son of Swedish model Ulla Andersson ...

, and Bill Summers; ''Wee B. Dooinit'', with

, Jones, Mark Kibble, and Ian Prince; ''Birdland'' (winner of the 1991 Grammy Award for Best Instrumental Arrangement), with Jerry Hey, Jones, and Prince; ''Tomorrow (A Better You, Better Me)'', with Hey and Jones; ''The Secret Garden'', with Garrett, Hey, and Jones, from '' Back on the Block'', 1989 *''You Put a Move on My Heart'', with John Clayton; ''Rock with You'', with Jones, Jones III, and Greg Phillinganes; ''Stomp'', with Hey and Jones; ''Heaven's Girl'', with Hey, Jones, and

R. Kelly Robert Sylvester Kelly (born January 8, 1967) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and sex offender convicted of racketeering and multiple sex offenses. During his recording career, Kelly sold over 75 million records worldwid ...

; and ''Slow Jams'', with Clayton, Hey, and Phillinganes, from ''

Q's Jook Joint ''Q's Jook Joint'' is an album by Quincy Jones, released in 1995 by Qwest Records. The album reached No. 1 on the ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' jazz albums chart on December 30, 1995. ''Q's Jook Joint'' won the Grammy Award for Grammy Award ...

'', 1995 *''Lovelines'' and ''My Body Keeps Changing My Mind'', from solo album by Karen Carpenter recorded in 1979-1980, released in 1996.

References

External links

* * *
Six Million Steps – Rod Temperton Special radio show from March 2008Six Million Steps – Rod Temperton Special REMIXED radio show from October 2016Irreverent website info"The Yorkshire Post" article (2006)
*https://web.Archive.org/web/20161011152450/https://www.Death-Notices.co.uk/obituaries-celebrities-death/128/Rod-Temperton-Songwriting-Giant-Behind-Thriller-And-Off-The-Wall-Dies {{DEFAULTSORT:Temperton, Rod 1949 births 2016 deaths English pop pianists English pop singers English songwriters English record producers English rhythm and blues musicians British disco musicians English soul musicians People from Cleethorpes Grammy Award winners English keyboardists English funk musicians Heatwave (band) members English expatriates in the United States Deaths from cancer in England English expatriates in Germany People educated at De Aston School Musicians from Lincolnshire