Back In The Day: MJ & SM

Most people that have heard Brooklyn-born Stephanie Mills sing respect the fact that she is a professional soul singer. Her resume demands as much. Let's peek, shall we? She got started in show business at the tender age of nine when she appeared in her first play. At age 11, she was a six-time winner on Amatuer Night at the Apollo Theater. After signing with Motown Records and her music not making a splash, she signed up to star on Broadway as Dorothy in The Wiz, making the song "Home" her personal anthem for the ages. That stint on the Great White Way proved to jumpstart her recording career, as Mills scored major hits with 1979's "What Cha Gonna Do With My Lovin'" and 1980's "Sweet Sensation," reaching as high as #3 on the Billboard R&B charts with the latter. However, it wasn't until 1986 when she recorded "I've Learned to Respect the Power of Love" that the diminutive diva with the powerhouse pipes finally scored her first #1 on the Billboard charts. It was the second single from her self-titled album, and while it's true that the talented team of Angela Winbush and Rene Moore (better known as Rene & Angela) wrote the song, Stephanie straight owned it! I dare you not to have respect for love's power after listening to Stephanie grab the bridge of the song with her bare hands and wrestle it to submission. It's turned into her signature song at concerts, and if you haven't heard it live, please do. Quickly. That experience will most likely leave you wanting more while also deepening your respect for the professional soul singer that is Ms. Mills.






On August 10th, Michael released the album Off The Wall. It was his fifth overall solo album, but his first ever for Epic records. The album was recorded between December 4 1978 and July 7, 1979. Michael contributed three songs to Off The Wall: “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough”, “Working Day and Night” and “Get on the Floor” (co-written with Louis Johnson). Michael and Quincy sought top writers and musicians for the album, with Rod Temperton who contributed three tracks: “Rock With You”, “Off The Wall” and “Burn This Disco Out”, Paul McCartney contributed the playful “Girlfriend”, Tom Bahler gave the emotional “She’s Out of My Life” and Stevie Wonder and Susaye Greene offered the quirky “I Can’t Help It”. There was one duet between Michael and Patti Austin called “It’s the Falling in Love”, which was written by Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster.

The album was hailed as a major breakthrough for Michael, and received amazing reviews. The album went to number 3 in the US chart and number 1 on the US soul chart and stayed on the top 20 for a massive 48 weeks.
On August 29th, 1979, Michael Jackson turned 21. His management contract with his father’s company, Joseph Jackson Productions, lapsed and was not renewed. Michael wanted to take full control of his music and business affairs and he hired his own accountants, lawyers and management. Weisner and DeMann were signed on as Michael’s personal management.

In the spring of 1980, Michael released the title track of the album, “Off The Wall”. The single went to number 5 in the US charts and became a top ten hit in four countries.
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 20hit in four countries. Michael Jackson became the first artist in history to generate four top ten hits from an album.
The fifth and last single released was “Girlfriend”. It was only released in the UK and stayed in the top 50 there for five weeks.