"Working Day and Night" is a song by American recording artist

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 ...

. It is the third track from his fifth studio album, '' Off the Wall'' (1979). The song was written and produced by Jackson. Despite not being released as a single, Jackson performed the song live for his first two solo tours. It is also featured on the video game '' Michael Jackson: The Experience''. The song has been sampled by several artists. It was remixed and released on the

remix A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

soundtrack A soundtrack is recorded music accompanying and synchronised to the images of a motion picture, drama, book, television program, radio program, or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack o ...

album, ''

Immortal Immortality is the ability to live forever, or eternal life. Immortal or Immortality may also refer to: Film * ''The Immortals'' (1995 film), an American crime film * ''Immortality'', an alternate title for the 1998 British film '' The Wisdom of ...

'', in 2011. In 2014, producer

Timbaland Timothy Zachery Mosley (born March 10, 1972), known professionally as Timbaland, is an American record producer, rapper, singer, songwriter, and record executive. He has received widespread acclaim for his innovative production work and distinc ...

sampled percussion and breaths from the song in the duet version of "

Love Never Felt So Good "Love Never Felt So Good" is a song by American singer and songwriter Michael Jackson, released posthumously on May 2, 2014. The song, reworked from a 1983 demo track originally composed by Jackson and Canadian singer-songwriter Paul Anka, was the ...

" (with

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

); the duet was released as a single from '' Xscape''.

Background

"Working Day and Night" was written by Michael Jackson and recorded for his

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

'' Off the Wall'' issued in August 1979. The song was not released as a single, but as the B-side for "

Rock with You "Rock with You" was written by Rod Temperton and produced by Quincy Jones. It was first offered to Karen Carpenter, while she was working on her first solo album, but she turned it down. It was released on November 3, 1979, by Epic Records as ...

" in the US, and B-side for " Off the Wall" in the UK. The song has a tempo of 128 beats per minute, making it one of Jackson's fastest songs.

Live performances

"Working Day and Night" was performed by both of

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 ...

' tours, and two of Michael Jackson's first two world concert series tours as a solo artist. The song was performed by The Jacksons'

Triumph Tour The Triumph Tour was a concert tour by The Jacksons, covering the United States and Canada from July 8 to September 26, 1981. The tour grossed a total of $5.5 million, setting a record breaking four sold out concerts in Inglewood, California, jus ...

in 1981 and Victory Tour in 1984. In Michael Jackson's solo tours, the song was performed live on the

Bad World Tour Bad was the first solo concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson, launched in support of his seventh studio album '' Bad'' (1987). Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts for over 4.4 million fans across ...

from 1987-1989, and the first two legs of

Dangerous World Tour The Dangerous World Tour was the second world concert tour by American singer Michael Jackson to promote his eighth studio album ''Dangerous.'' The tour was sponsored by Pepsi-Cola. All profits were donated to various charities including Jacks ...

in 1992. The song was rehearsed for third leg of Dangerous World Tour in 1993, but it was ultimately removed from the setlist. A live version, recorded at one of The Jacksons' 1981

Madison Square Garden Madison Square Garden, colloquially known as The Garden or by its initials MSG, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in New York City. It is located in Midtown Manhattan between Seventh and Eighth avenues from 31st to 33rd Street, above Pennsylva ...

concerts, was included on

live album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

The Jacksons Live! ''The Jacksons Live!'' (a.k.a. ''Live'') is a live album by The Jackson 5, The Jacksons. It was released on November 11, 1981 by Epic Records. The album was recorded during the band's North American concert tour in fall 1981, known as the Triumph ...

'', later edited and released as the album's second single in November 1981. In 2001, the original demo recording of the song was released as a bonus track on the expanded, special edition of ''Off the Wall''. The live performance video at Jackson's Dangerous World Tour in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

Romania Romania ( ; ro, România ) is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern, and Southeast Europe, Southeastern Europe. It borders Bulgaria to the south, Ukraine to the north, Hungary to the west, S ...

on October 1, 1992, was featured on the DVD in his

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

'' The Ultimate Collection'' in 2004, and a live concert DVD, '' Live in Bucharest: The Dangerous Tour'', in 2005. In 2012, a live audio and video version of the song performed during the

was released on the deluxe edition of ''

Bad 25 ''Bad 25'' is the 25th anniversary edition reissue of American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson's seventh studio album '' Bad'' (1987). This is the second album by Jackson re-released on its 25th anniversary, the first being ''Thriller 25'' (20 ...

'' and the concert DVD ''

Live at Wembley July 16, 1988 ''Live at Wembley July 16, 1988'' is a live concert DVD by American recording artist Michael Jackson released on September 18, 2012. It was included with the ''Bad 25'' reissue, as well as by itself. This is the third Jackson tour stop released on ...

''. The song was remixed and released on the

Cirque du Soleil Cirque du Soleil (, ; "Circus of the Sun" or "Sun Circus") is a Canadian entertainment company and the largest contemporary circus producer in the world. Located in the inner-city area of Saint-Michel, it was founded in Baie-Saint-Paul on 16 Ju ...

's '' Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour'', ''

'', in 2011. This song has also been used for the '' Michael Jackson: One'' production.

Personnel

* Written and composed by

* Produced by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

* Co-produced by

* Recorded and Mixed by

Bruce Swedien Bruce Swedien (; April 19, 1934 – November 16, 2020) was an American recording engineer, mixing engineer and record producer. He was widely known for his work with Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Paul McCartney and Barbra Streisand. Swedien fi ...

* Lead and background vocals: Michael Jackson * Bass guitar: Louis Johnson * Drums: John Robinson * Guitars: David Williams and

Phil Upchurch Philip Upchurch (born July 19, 1941) is an American jazz and blues guitarist and bassist. Career Upchurch started his career working with the Kool Gents, the Dells, and the Spaniels, before going on to work with Curtis Mayfield, Otis Rush, and ...

* Acoustic and electric pianos, synthesizer:

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 ...

* Percussion: Paulinho Da Costa, John Robinson and Michael Jackson * Horns arranged by

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'' ...

and performed by The

Seawind Horns Seawind may refer to: *Seawind Ocean Technology Seawind Ocean Technology B.V., a Netherlands based company, is a manufacturer (OEM) of integrated floating wind turbine and green hydrogen systems. Seawind is developing two-bladed floating wind tur ...

: ** Trumpet and flugelhorn: Jerry Hey ** Tenor, alto saxophones and flute:

Larry Williams Larry Williams (born Lawrence Eugene Williams, a.k.a. Lawrence Edward Williams; May 10, 1935 – January 7, 1980) was an American rhythm and blues and rock and roll singer, songwriter, producer, and pianist from New Orleans, Louisiana. Williams ...

** Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute: Kim Hutchcroft ** Trombone: William Reichenbach ** Trumpet: Gary Grant * Rhythm arrangements by Greg Phillinganes and Michael Jackson * Vocal and percussion arrangements by Michael Jackson

Official versions

* "Album Version" - 5:12 * "Original Demo from 1978" - 4:10 * "Immortal Version" - 3:36 * "Live at

" by

- 6:53 * "

" from the

, available in the deluxe edition of ''

'' - 5:55

Covers and samples

* In 1983,

George Duke George M. Duke (January 12, 1946 – August 5, 2013) was an American keyboardist, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer. He worked with numerous artists as arranger, music director, writer and co-writer, record producer and as a pr ...

sampled this song for the "Overture" of the album ''Guardian of the Light''. * In 1999,

Will Smith Willard Carroll Smith II (born September 25, 1968), also known by his stage name The Fresh Prince, is an American actor and rapper. He began his Will Smith filmography, acting career starring as Will Smith (The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air), a ...

sampled this song on his track "Can You Feel Me" for his album ''

Willennium ''Willennium'' is the second studio album by American rapper Will Smith. Recorded with a range of producers, including Poke & Tone and frequent collaborator DJ Jazzy Jeff, it was released on November 16, 1999, by Columbia Records. The album reache ...

''. * In 1989, Richie Rich sampled this song for his single "Salsa House", from the album ''I Can Make You Dance''. * In 2009, Michael's sister

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreog ...

sampled this song for her single " Make Me" from her greatest hits album '' Number Ones''. * In 2014,

sampled percussion and breaths from the song for the duet version of Jackson's posthumous song "

", which features American recording artist

for the record '' Xscape''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Workin' Day And Night 1979 songs Michael Jackson songs Songs written by Michael Jackson Song recordings produced by Michael Jackson Song recordings produced by Quincy Jones Disco songs