Michael Jackson’s Off the Wall released

Off the Wall Michael Jackson

Released: August 10, 1979 Peak: 3 US, 116 RB, 5 UK, 4 CN, 12 AU, 8 DF Sales (in millions): 8.0 US, 1.97 UK, 20.0 world (includes US and UK), 32.73 EAS Genre: R&B/pop

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough (7/10/79, 1 BB, 1 CB, 2 GR, 1 HR, 5 RR, 1 RB, 3 UK, 3 CN, 1 AU, 6 DF) Rock with You (11/3/79, 1 BB, 1 CB, 1 GR, 1 HR, 2 RR, 21 AC, 1 RB, 7 UK, 3 CN, 4 AU, 8 DF) Working Day and Night Get on the Floor Off the Wall (11/24/79, 10 BB, 11 CB, 8 GR, 10 HR, 9 RR, 5 RB, 7 UK, 11 CN, 94 AU, 8 DF) Girlfriend (7/16/80, 41 UK) She’s Out of My Life (4/12/80, 10 BB, 14 CB, 7 GR, 7 HR, 10 RR, 4 AC, 43 RB, 3 UK, 15 CN, 17 AU, 11 DF) I Can’t Help It It’s the Falling in Love Burn This Disco Out Total Running Time: 42:28

Rating: 4.420 out of 5.00 (average of 29 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Out of the Shadow of the Jackson 5 "Jackson had recorded solo prior to the release of Off the Wall in 1979, but this was his breakthrough.” AM This was the album where “Michael Jackson went from the star of the Jackson 5 to a pop icon,” PM his “declaration of independence from Motown production mill that had begun to strangle him, as it had many other gifted performers before him.” JG “He wasn’t yet one of the biggest-selling solo artists of all time, still just a Motown singer trying to make it big without his family – and he did just that in 1979.” PM Certainly the album’s “roots hearken back to the Jacksons’ huge mid-‘70s hit ‘Dancing Machine,’ but this is an enormously fresh record, one that remains vibrant and giddily exciting years after its release.” AM This was “the album that established him as an artist of astonishing talent and a bright star in his own right. This was a visionary album,” AM This was “Michael, all grown up.” BL Pre-Thriller It wasn’t just that this album established MJ as a viable commercial entity beyond his work with his brothers. This offered “indisputable proof that MJ was plenty thrilling before Thriller.” EW’12 “Before Thriller took over the world, MJ was charting on the Hot 100, winning a Grammy and making the most complete album of his career. For all of the ways that his 1982 commercial explosion is rightfully remembered as a turning in pop music, Off the Wall is where a superstar was born.” PM “Without this record, Thriller likely doesn’t go on to be the best-selling album ever.” PM Disco Need Not Be Tacky With Off the Wall, Michael Jackson offered his argument “that disco need not be tacky.” BL It “found a way to break disco wide open into a new world where the beat was undeniable, but not the primary focus – it was part of a colorful tapestry of lush ballads and strings, smooth soul and pop, soft rock, and alluring funk.” AM “Transcendent singles "Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough and Rock with You provided the perfect union of pure pop genius and disco glitter.” EW’12 Quincy Jones This was first album pairing Michael Jackson with Quincy Jones, the producer who would also work on Thriller. The two first worked together on The Wiz, a musical version of The Wizard of Oz that starred Jackson alongside Diana Ross and Richard Pryor. On Off the Wall, Jackson and Jones construct “a dazzling array of disco beats, funk guitars, clean mainstream pop, and unashamed (and therefore affecting) schmaltz that is utterly thrilling in its utter joy.” AM “These immaculately produced, pre-Thriller tracks are now too familiar to shock” BL “but in 1979, they were revolutionary. Perfection, however, is timeless.” BL “This is highly professional, highly crafted music, and its details are evident, but the overall effect is nothing but pure pleasure. Jackson and Jones expanded this approach on the blockbuster Thriller, often with equally stunning results, but they never bettered it.” AM The Strength of the Songs “The record is full of phenomenally sensual, even sexual, performances.” JG “In terms of willful taboo violations, Jacksons is of course no Prince…but Jackson brought to Off the Wall vocal tricks that no pop singer, before or after, could have imagined.” JG “The most expressive vocal moments here are wordless – cries, shouts, exultations, sighs that speak volumes.” JG The songs “flaunt the showboating allure that proved why he was destined to be the greatest pop star of all time.” PM “It’s also due to the brilliant songwriting, an intoxicating blend of strong melodies, rhythmic hooks, and indelible construction.” AM Q magazine said the album “contained some of the best melodies in the history of pop.” TB The Songs Here are thoughts on the individual songs from the album. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” The album’s leadoff song and first single treads similar territory as the Jacksons had done with their top-ten hit “Shake Your Body Down to the Ground” the year before. This song, however, went a step further, establishing itself as a disco classic and “one of Jackson’s finest singles.” TB “Rock with You” As the second single from Off the Wall, Rock with You offered a hint that this might be an album with some clout. It followed “Don’t Stop” to the top of the pop and R&B charts – and Michael wasn’t done yet. “She’s Out of My Life” Jackson shows he is “equally skilled with overwrought ballads as She’s Out of My Life.” AM It “is a believable ballad about the breakup of a long-term relationship from a man who claims he has never had one.” JG This was the fourth single from the album, following the #1 hits “Don’t Stop” and “Rock with You” and the top-ten title cut. This made Off the Wall only the second album (the other being Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours) to produce four top-ten hits. “Working Day and Night” and “Get on the Floor” The album saw “Jackson’s emergence as a blindingly gifted vocalist…as driving dancefloor shakers as Working Day and Night and Get on the Floor, where his asides are as gripping as his delivery on the verses.” AM

Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for Michael Jackson AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine BL Blender (10/08). “100 Greatest American Albums” EW’12 Entertainment Weekly (9/27/2012). “Top 100 Albums” JG Jimmy Guterman (1992). The Best Rock ‘n’ Roll Records of All Time. Citadel Press Book: New York, NY. Pages 104-5. PM PasteMagazine.com (6/3/2024). “The 300 Greatest Albums of All Time” TB Thunder Bay (2005). Albums: The Stories Behind 50 Years of Great Recordings. Thunder Bay Press; San Diego, CA. Page 198. Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/21/2008; last updated 12/7/2024.