About Rod Temperton
Rodney Lynn Temperton (9 October 1949 – 25 September 2016) was an English musician, songwriter, and record producer. Temperton was the keyboardist and principal songwriter for the 1970s funk band Heatwave, writing songs including "Star of a Story", "Always and Forever", "Boogie Nights", and "The Groove Line". After he was recruited by record producer Quincy Jones, Temperton wrote several hit songs for Jones' protégé Michael Jackson, including: "Thriller", "Off the Wall", and "Rock with You". He also wrote songs for George Benson, including "Give Me the Night" and "Love X Love", along with Patti Austin and James Ingram's US number-one single "Baby, Come to Me", among others. Temperton wrote the soundtrack for the 1986 film Running Scared. In 1991 he won a Grammy Award for Best Arrangement, Instrumental or A Cappella for Birdland. After he was recruited by record producer Quincy Jones, Temperton wrote three hit songs for Jones' protégé Michael Jackson: "Thriller", "Off the Wall", and "Rock with You". In 1982, he wrote three songs, including the title track, for Jackson's next LP Thriller, which became the biggest-selling album of all time in the US, selling 32 million copies.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.