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Rod Temperton dies

Snow White luvs Peter Pan said:
Not sure if Rod is in the picture, it's difficult to distinguish but here it is Michael celebrating the last day of recording Thriller outside taco bell. As for Rod, may he rest in peace.
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I cannot figure out what is that long thing Michael is holding in his hand?
I see Rod is smoking and holding carton Marlboroghs.
 
^ Are we sure that's at the end of Thriller & not Off The Wall?

MJ's hair looks too long for Thriller but matches the OTW cover before he got it cut for DSTYGE video.
 
^this is apparently what Michael's hair looks like when it's all wild and they've been staying up all night. Before he combs it and puts stuff in it to settle it down. :)
It's so cute!!!
 
barbee0715 said:
^this is apparently what Michael's hair looks like when it's all wild and they've been staying up all night. Before he combs it and puts stuff in it to settle it down. :)
It's so cute!!!
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Ha ha! Excellent :)
 
Yep, some Mexican restaurants use guajillo chilies as decoration but it's mainly used to make sauces and giving color to soups and stews. I must say taco bell is not Mexican food, it's a blasphemy.

Guajillo chilies
Guajillo-Chiles.png
 
Snow White luvs Peter Pan said:
Not sure if Rod is in the picture, it's difficult to distinguish but here it is Michael celebrating the last day of recording Thriller outside taco bell. As for Rod, may he rest in peace.
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That's an awesome time capsule picture right there. Do you know what the date was when they finished Thriller?
 
^ It's not Mexican food but it sure can hit the spot sometimes lol! just sayin' It's Gringo version of Mexican food...

Ohh got the perfect name for it.. . Mexican + American = 'Merican'
 
It's not real Mexican food but Michael and I share the craving for Taco Bell. While looking for this pix, I ran across an hilarious story where he went to Solvang city council to ask why they didn't have one.
 
Quincy Jones ?@QuincyDJones 5h5 hours ago
THAT'S the power of music...smelly(MJ) and worms(Rod), you'll be with us always.
 
Very sad news. RIP rod temperton.

I'm sure he was at Quincy Jones BBC proms only in late August. I even remember seeing him in a clip in the top tier audience.
 
I'm sad he was never involved in any of these Estate projects. It would be nice to have him record his experiences, more recently anyway.

As was said, he was an integral part of Michael's career. And he's responsible for Thriller - one of the world's most popular songs.

However, this is a time to remember the man, his genius and think of his family and loved ones. For that songwriting ability, I cannot give more respect.

'And when the groove is dead and gone,
You know that love survives,
So we can rock, forever.'

RIP Rod.
 
Whitty Hutton said:
That's an awesome time capsule picture right there. Do you know what the date was when they finished Thriller?
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There's an instagram user called jackson.rare who bought many pictures on auction posting never before seen pictures from the pre or early Jackson 5 years to 1987 before Michael moved to Neverland but this person didn't mention a date, just what I said in my post.
 
What a loss...
Rod was a great songwriter and wrote some of the best songs in the last 40 years !
RIP, Rod Temperton. Gone but not forgotten.


Envoyé de mon iPhone en utilisant Tapatalk
 
I think Baby Be Mine is a song that gets overlooked a lot. That song deserves more love
 
My favorite songs Rod composed for Michael are the ones in Off The Wall, I love all of them. The songs written by Michael and Human Nature by Toto on Thriller are stronger tracks, IMO. Thriller is indeed an iconic song but I like it more because of the ahort film and Vincen Price's rap. Actually, it ranked higher on the charts once the short was premiered on MTV, if I recall correctly.
 
Brad Sundberg


I read the words on my screen, but I didn't want them to be true. "Rod Temperton dies at age 66".

Just a simple headline to a news story about a man who's name most people don't recognize, but they all know his music. I knew I wanted to write about Rod, but I have pushed my computer aside for two days, not knowing where to start, what stories to tell. Then I started flipping through an old photo album. It was like visiting with an old friend.

I'm pretty sure I first met Rod during the production of "The Color Purple" in 1985. I was a new hire at Westlake Studios as a runner. It's hard to describe those days, and I don't remember the exact chronology, but Michael was working on Captain EO, and Bruce, Quincy and Rod were working on Purple. But almost at the same time they started working on the soundtrack for the movie Running Scared. It was back-to-back sessions, and I was exposed to pure genius day after day.

Rod had this dry, British humor that draws you in right away. By the time I met him in the mid-80's he was already remarkably successful in the industry, yet he treated me (and virtually everyone I saw him interact with) with humility, humor and grace. He made everyone in the room feel at ease.

Over the course of those early months I quietly watched Rod and the team bring an amazing song called Sweet Freedom to life. Rod carefully painted this musical work of art with a thunderous bass line, perfectly-placed horns and an infectious melody. It was one of the first "hit" songs I had ever seen go through the studio birth. I was hooked.

You already know much of Rod's discography, but in addition to Sweet Freedom there are a few songs stand out for me.

Grooveline, Rock With You, Baby Come To Me, Miss Celie's Blues, You Put A Move On My Heart, and of course Lady In My Life.

Truth be told, Rod was my very first "client" outside of the studio. He asked me to build him a small theater in his Bel Air home. Rod loved movies and he wanted a sound system that could play loud. Like really, really loud. So I built him a small theater and our friendship was solidified.

Over the course of the next several years I was worked with Rod on albums for Michael Jackson (Bad), Siedah Garrett (Kiss Of Life), Quincy Jones (Color Purple, Back On The Block and Jook Joint) and Barbra Streisand (Till I Loved You). Working with an amazing team like Rod, Bruce and Quincy is a mixed blessing because you start to think EVERYONE makes records like that - then reality hits when you work on "other" sessions that are miles from the dream team.

But outside of the projects he commissioned me to build matching recording studios in each of ihs four homes in Bel Air, Cannes (France), London and Kent (UK). This is the side of Rod I want to tell you about.

I had done some work in his Bel Air studio and he asked me if I could build him a sister studio in Cannes, so he could start a song in one location and travel with it to another. I had never been to Europe, so I jumped at the chance.

After some friendly negotiating he agreed to bring my entire family along for the project - in fact I will go out on a limb and say he welcomed them along. He was so excited that we wanted to travel with our girls that he arranged (and joined us for) an amazing dinner on the 4th of July on the beach of the Mediterranean Sea.

The funny thing about our dinner photo is that Rod took it, so he's not in it! He loved digital photography, which was very new, and he owned every camera as soon as they were released. He would spend hours noodling with photoshop and edits.
Rod loved fine food, but he wasn't pompous. He loved a good story or joke, but he wasn't vulgar. He loved travel and skiing and fine clothing and music, but he was remarkably approachable. He could tell stories for hours, but he wasn't a big shot.

The last studio I built for Rod was in Kent, England. We stayed in the guest house of he and Kathy's estate for about a week. Deb and the girls explored the area in a rental car (stay to the left!), and I constructed the studio with solder and sweat, day by day. At night Rod and Kathy might take us out for dinner, but one very memorable evening Kathy fired up the outdoor pizza oven and we had a huge feast of pizza and salad in the garden. It was nothing short of magical. I think it was that evening that Rod pulled out his Segway and taught us all to ride it. I think he had as much fun teaching us as the girls did learning it. That was Rod.

I never saw Rod drive a car. He owned several, but he didn't drive. He preferred to go the studio in a taxi, or - as anyone who has worked with Rod will tell you - simply bum a ride home with one of the musicians or engineers. I don't mean once in a while, I mean every day. I drove Rod home countless times, as did much of the staff at Westlake. I once asked him why he doesn't drive, and he explained that when he was a young musician in England he would drive the band's old van to every single gig, all over the countryside. Once he achieved a level of fiscal comfort, he vowed he was done driving. And he was.
Driving Rod anywhere was always a labor of love, because he had this amazing knack of seeming to be interested in everything. Seriously. He would ask about my family, where I grew up, what I thought of a certain politician or musician or movie, and he would listen. He would ask questions, and he had strong opinions, but he wasn't looking for a debate . He was a master in the art of conversation.

He was also painfully funny. I think sessions might have lasted 15% longer as a result of Rod's humor, but the end result was also 50% better because he brought such joy to the room.
I remember during the production of "Back On The Block" Rod discovered something called "Carolina Honey Ribs" from a restaurant called Tony Roma's in LA. Each afternoon I would suggest we start thinking about dinner (the best part of any session), and Rod would often light up and say, "Let's get some Carolina Honey's!" And so we did.

One day I was at Rod's house and the bell rang, and in walked Jamie Guthrie, Pink Floyd's engineer and producer. (Keep in mind I am a huge Floyd fan). We sat and had coffee (Rod ONLY drank instant coffee because he preferred the flavor!), and I was again humbled at the amazing amount of talent these two men brought to the table. Legends.

I have read descriptions of Rod being this "invisible man" behind so much incredible music. I guess I never thought of him that way because he was so approachable and kind. And generous.

During the time I was working with Rod he told me about a small condo he owned in Lugano, Switzerland. "Nothing fancy", he explained, just a little getaway that he rarely used. Without missing a beat he said, "Anytime you want to use it, just let me know."

Towards the end of the next project I (nervously) asked if he was serious about us using it. "Of course!" he said, and he had Kathy give us instructions on the how to get there, operation of the heat, etc. And we were off.

I won't write a travel-log about Lugano (which is beautiful), rather my point is we must have used that condo at least three times. In fact we actually bought bunk beds at the local Ikea so there would be enough beds for my girls! Rod thought that was crazy and loved that I had done it.

That was Rod. Genuine and giving, funny and loving. An absolute one-of-a-kind, remarkably talented man. A true gentleman in every sense of the word.

I was spoiled. I got to spend days, months and years working with musical giants like Michael, Quincy, Bruce and Rod. I don't take one moment of it for granted, and I am forever thankful.
My heart is broken for Kathy and his family and friends. I pray for them as they try to figure life out without Rod. And I raise a toast to such a brilliant man and such a sweet friend to many, including me.

Rest in peace dear friend, and thank you.

Brad

[url]www.inthestudiowithm j.com[/URL]
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^^Another wonderful story. Really glad he mentioned 'Miss Celies Blues', the best scene in The Color Purple IMO.

 
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^ bit confused on the Bad reference. What did Rod do for that album?
 
Tony R said:
^ bit confused on the Bad reference. What did Rod do for that album?
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I remember reading somewhere (But this may not be true) that he wrote a song for BAD, but it never made the album. I can't remember the name of the song, but if it's out there somewhere I'd love to hear it. That is if Michael did record it
 
analogue said:
I remember reading somewhere (But this may not be true) that he wrote a song for BAD, but it never made the album. I can't remember the name of the song, but if it's out there somewhere I'd love to hear it. That is if Michael did record it
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Groove of Midnight?

 
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