The former child star was loved by scores of fans but had few close friends. A sheltered boy was now a sheltered 21-year old, and the one feeling he knew well was loneliness. The point Jones makes about that “mature emotion” is significant. We recorded about-I don't know-8-11 takes, and every one at the end, he just cried, and I said 'hey - that's supposed to be, leave it on there.' And he cried at the end of every take, you know. And I held on to it and finally something said 'this is the right moment to give it to Michael'.Īnd when we recorded it with Michael, I know it was an experience he'd never even thought about to sing in a song, 'cause it's a very mature emotion. She's Out of My Life, I'd been carrying around for about three years-you can feel the pain in it, you know. Although he attempted to sing the final seconds with restraint, instead Jackson let it go, as Jones recounted in an interview for a 2001 Special Edition re-release of Off the Wall: When Jackson finally sat down and recorded “She’s Out of My Life”, he finished each take by crying while singing the final line. However, Jones eventually gave his best suggestion: himself. When Jackson asked Jones for recommendations on producers to take the helm of his first solo album under Epic Records, he shot off several names. Depending on whom you ask, The Wiz was either an awful box office failure that killed the Blaxploitation film genre, or a cult classic family favorite starring black cultural heroes like Diana Ross and Richard Pryor. Quincy Jones first met Michael Jackson on the set of the film The Wiz, the 1978 musical recreation of The Wizard of Oz with an entirely African-American cast. Michael was floundering he needed not only a new direction but also the guiding hand of an experienced producer. The split from Motown and signing with Epic was logical and ultimately world changing. More posed action figure than professional musician, Jackson was pimped by Motown to sell records with his electric smile and endearing dance moves. I don’t think I could come up with a more ludicrous plot idea if you gave me a notepad, one hour, and a bottle of whiskey.įor the cover photo of 1973’s Music and Me, Jackson was forced to pose with a guitar in his hands, even though he doesn’t play guitar on a single song from the record. For example, Ben’s Academy Award-nominated title track was for the movie of the same name, which told the story of a young boy and his pet rat (named Ben) that becomes the leader of a murderous rat colony terrorizing a small town. The albums sold very well, but they weren’t exactly challenging. For Motown, he released four solo albums: Got to Be There (1972), Ben (1972), Music and Me (1973), and Forever, Michael (1975). It’s only the true Michael Jackson obsessives who accept that he had solo output before Off the Wall. Less of a problem when the kids were younger and pushed by their manipulative father Joe, this lack of self-direction was more of an issue when it became clear that Michael’s talent was light-years ahead of his brothers’. Mining the Jackson boys for hits, Motown also refused Michael and his brothers to have any creative control or input into their music. Up until that album, Jackson’s previous solo work was with Motown Records-an institution, but an institution holding him back from greatness.Īt Motown, Jackson’s solo work and music with The Jackson 5 (later changed to The Jacksons) was associated with pure bubblegum pop. The album was significant not only for the reason that it fully launched his superstar solo career with smashes like “Rock with You” and “Don’t Stop ‘til You Get Enough”, but also in that was the beginning of his partnership with renowned producer Quincy Jones. “She’s Out of My Life” was the last of four top ten hit singles released off of Jackson’s game-changing 1980 album Off the Wall.
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