" .
When the Jacksons breached their Motown contract and leaped to Epic in 1976, Michael dutifully followed, but it's probably then that he began thinking outside the well-oiled singing unit. A move from the family camp in Encino to New York to rehearse for 1978's film version of The Wiz gave him an even stronger sense of independence. And on the set he met jazz arranger and producer Quincy Jones. .
In a flash Jones was Jackson's father figure. When the singer decided to turn a handful of his own songs into his first real solo album, he went to Jones for advice. "Quincy does jazz, he does movie scores, rock 'n' roll, funk, pop - he's all colors," said Jackson. "And that's the kind of people I like to work with." .
1979's Off the Wall was something new and unexpected. Baby days were finished. Here Michael sings in a commanding falsetto on the album's first No. 1, "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," then goes marshmallow soft on the second, "Rock With You." Jones observed, "He behaves like an adolescent and, at the same time, like a wise old philosopher." For his part, the producer drilled the musicians like a Motown revue, with horns riveting down sheets of synths over microchip-precise rhythm. It was the future, and sold 10 million copies. .
Heatwave's Rod Temperton was hired to write some songs, and provided Jackson with the soon-to-be-smash "Thriller." But Jackson's own songwriting was uncanny. His ear for a pop melody was sharp as hardened hit-makers (and pals) like Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. His lyrical concerns, however, showed a startling ambition and instability. On "Don't Stop Till You Get Enough," he's "melting like hot candle wax." "Working Day and Night" is a 21-year-old already bitching of show biz's demands. .
On Thriller's "Beat It," he advised his followers to turn the other cheek while moving to a groove that made "My Sharona" funky, and fled from sexual threats of a girl named "Billie Jean.