Tuesday, October 21, 2014.
Happy
birthday to Rod Temperton (main picture), who turns 67 years-old on
October 15, 2014. Born in England in 1947, Temperton would become one
of the architects of Black pop in the late 1970s and early 1980s,
remaining an obscurity for those who might be surprised that a White
British guy could help create some of the most soulful music from the
period. In celebration of Temperton’s birthday, here are seven songs
that define his sound.
“Boogie Nights” (1976)--Heatwave
In 1974, Temperton joined the group Heatwave, responding to an ad for a keyboard player. The group dropped it’s first album Too Hot to Handle in
1976, releasing two singles to little effect including “Ain’t No Have
Steppin’” (which caught the ears of early Hip-Hop DJs). But it was the
third single, the Temperton penned “Boogie Nights” that caught fire,
hitting #2 on the Pop Charts, just as the Disco explosion was popping
off. The song's opening jazz flourishes give early indication of
Temperton’s sophisticated take on R&B.
“Always and Forever” (1976)--Heatwave
At
a time when radio jocks were still allowed to be curious and creative,
often making their own playlists, no doubt a few of them perused
Heatwave’s debut and found a gem of a slow jam in “Always and Forever.”
Powered by the rich tenor of Johnny Wilder, Jr., “Always and Forever”
became a Quiet Storm classic and showed that the British cat knew a
little something about “Blue Lights in the Basement.”
“Rock with You” (1979)--Michael Jackson
Temperton left Heatwave in 1978, though he continued to write for them. He could be
forgiven, catching the attention of Quincy Jones, who was working on
the Michael Jackson's solo re-boot. Jackson’s subsequent Off the Wall
may be the most perfect pop record ever--though firmly grounded in a
glossy R&B production--and “Rock with You” may be the most perfect
of those tunes on the album.
“Give Me the Night” (1980)--George Benson
Jazz
guitarist George Benson was still tinkering and trying to sustain the
success of his pop breakout “Breezin’” (1976) and the surprise that was
his live remake of “On Broadway,” so he wisely turned to Quincy Jones to
produce Give Me the Night (1980). Had Off the Wall not been in the room, we’d talk more about this album; this was the
cross-over
sound that Benson craved, and of course with Quincy came Temperton,
whose work on the title track is joyous, though for my money, it’s “Love
X Love” that still gets the weekly “spins” on the iPod classic.
“The Dude” (1981)--Quincy Jones with James Ingram and Michael Jackson
With Off the Wall, Benson’s Give Me the Night, his own The Dude and then Thriller,
no producer can really claim the run that Quincy Jones had from
1979-1982--and Temperton is with him at every step. Co-written by
Temperton and Q’s god-daughter Patti Austin, “The Dude” represents Q’s
uncut persona.
“The Lady in My Life” (1982)--Michael Jackson
So…let’s just call “Lady in my Life” the Blackest song on Michael Jackson’s historic Thriller recording--and
what does it mean it was Temperton who was the sole writer? Temperton
get’s praise for the title track, though that may have to do more with
the visuals than the music, yet it remains odd that the only tracks not
released as singles, “Lady...” and Temperton’s “Baby Be Mine” were the
two with the most distinct R&B DNA.
“Mystery” (1986)--Anita Baker
“Mystery” first appeared on Manhattan Transfer’s Body and Soul (1983) and got spins on R&B radio, but it is Anita Baker’s version from her 1986 breakthrough Rapture that everyone remembers.