"Walk Right Now" is a 1981 song written, produced and performed by

the Jacksons The Jackson 5 (sometimes stylized as the Jackson 5ive, also known as the Jacksons) are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was founded in 1964 in Gary, Indiana, and for most o ...

and issued as the fourth and final single from the group's popular album, ''

Triumph The Roman triumph (Latin triumphus) was a celebration for a victorious military commander in ancient Rome. For later imitations, in life or in art, see Trionfo. Numerous later uses of the term, up to the present, are derived directly or indirectl ...

''. The song was written by

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 ...

Jackie Jackson Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951) is an American singer best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997. Jackson is the second child of the Jackson family, a ...

, and

Randy Jackson Randall Darius Jackson (born June 23, 1956) is an American record executive and television presenter, perhaps best known as a judge on ''American Idol'' from 2002 to 2013. Jackson began his career in the 1980s as a session musician playing bas ...

and is a song in which a man is fed up with his lover's excuses about how they can resolve their relationship despite the woman's acts of infidelity towards him, therefore delivering the message, "walk right now/I'm not playing" in a chant-like phrase. When released, the song performed only modestly on US pop radio, peaking at a number seventy-three, but the song became a hit in the UK, where it peaked at number seven on the

UK singles chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

. The song was performed live, during the Jackson's Triumph Tour in 1981, but only for the first few shows, meaning a performance of the song is very hard to track down.

Personnel

*Written and composed by Michael Jackson, Jackie Jackson and Randy Jackson *Produced by the Jacksons *Arranged by Michael Jackson *Lead vocals: Michael Jackson *Background vocals: The Jacksons *Instrumentation: **Piano:

Greg Phillinganes Gregory Arthur Phillinganes (born May 12, 1956) is an American keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and musical director based in Los Angeles, California. A prolific session musician, Phillinganes has contributed the role of keyboards to numerous alb ...

**Synthesizers: Greg Phillinganes, Webster Lewis, Michael Boddicker **Guitars:

Tito Jackson Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (born October 15, 1953) is an American musician. He is an original member of the Jackson 5 (later known as The Jacksons), who rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with the Motown label, and later had continued ...

, David Williams **Bass: Nathan Watts **Drums: Ollie E. Brown **Vibes: Gary Coleman **Percussion: Paulinho da Costa **Horns:

Jerry Hey Jerry Hey (born 1950) is an American trumpeter, flugelhornist, horn arranger, string arranger, orchestrator and session musician who has played on hundreds of commercial recordings, including Michael Jackson's '' Thriller'', ''Rock with You'', ...

, Kim Hutchcroft, Bill Reichenbach, Larry Hall **Flute: Gary Herbig

Charts

References

{{Authority control Songs about parting Songs about infidelity 1981 singles American disco songs The Jackson 5 songs Songs written by Michael Jackson Songs written by Jackie Jackson 1980 songs Songs written by Randy Jackson (The Jacksons) Epic Records singles