Love Survives: *Happy Anniversary* 'Off the Wall' Michael's Jackson's fifth studio album

Some of my favorite songs come from Michael Jackson's "Off The Wall" Album, including the ones featured here "Rock With You", " She's Out Of My Life" and Don't Stop Till You get Enough". I certainly don't plan to stop and I can never get enough of Michael Jackson. You know the force it's got a lot of power. Enjoy !

Happy Birthday Off The Wall

Off The Wall Vinyl Album Cover 1979

Off the Wall, Michael's fifth studio album was released August 10, 1979 by Epic Records. Five singles were released from the album, three with music videos. Michael wrote three of the songs himself, including the Platinum-certified lead single, "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough"

The album was a commercial success and by 1981, Michael’s Off The Wall album had sold an incredible 5 million copies. Today it is seen as one of Michael Jackson’s most important records. He had become the first artist in history to generate four number one singles off an album. He had also sold more records than any artist at a time when the record industry was experiencing a major slump in sales.

Several critics observed that the album 'Off the Wall' was crafted from funk, disco, soft rock, jazz and pop ballads and Michael received positive reviews for his vocal performance on the record.

The album also caught the attention of Michael’s peers and Michael won his first Grammy award as a solo performer for “Best R & B Performance” for “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”. In the same month, Michael attended the American Music Awards and collected three more awards for the album: “Favourite Soul Album”, “Favourite Male Artist” and “Favourite Soul Single” for “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”. Michael also won four Billboard Awards for the album

The album had started a 9 year partnership with producer Quincy Jones and had displayed Michael’s amazing song writing and vocal skills. The best was yet to come, as Michael was soon back in the studio, creating the biggest selling album of all time.

On October 16, 2001, a special edition reissue of Off the Wall was released by Sony Records. Reviews by AllMusic and Blender have continued to praise Off the Wall for its appeal in the 21st century.

2001 Featurette of the Off The Wall Special Edition release.
(Opens in new window on Youtube.)

In 2003, the album was ranked number 68 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. The National Association of Recording Merchandisers listed it at number 80 of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time. In 2008, Off the Wall was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

To date Off The Wall is certified for 8× Multi-Platinum in the US and sold more than 20 million copies

"OFF THE WALL" Track List

Off the Wall

1. Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough
2. Rock With You
3. Workin' Day and Night
4. Get On The Floor
5.Off The Wall
6. Girlfriend
7. She's Out Of My Life
8. I Can't Help It
9. It's The Falling In Love
10. Burn This Disco Out

Singles released with short films

On July 28th 1979, Michael released the first single from the forthcoming album; “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”. The song was solely written by Michael and featured a spoken intro, a surprising falsetto voice and amazing percussion by Michael and his brother Randy. The song was released with a bright music video that featured Michael dancing in triplicate in the song’s bridge. It was his first “short film” and it was directed by Nick Saxon. The song went to number 1 in the US and Australia and was a top 10 hit in 6 countries
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In November 1979, the second single form the album, “Rock With You” was released. The music video, directed by Bruce Gowers, featured Michael in an all-sequinned suit and boots. The song quickly became a number one hit on the US charts. Apart from “Rock With You” becoming one of 1980’s first number one hits, the Off The Wall album sales shot up and quickly became the third best selling album of 1980.

The fourth single released from Off The Wall landed Michael in the record books. “She’s Out of My Life” was an emotional ballad, accompanied by a simple music video, again directed by Bruce Gowers. The song itself required several takes as Michael would break down with emotion at the end of the song. The emotion was eventually left in and the song reached number 10 on the US chart and became a top 20 hit in four countries.