Rock With You

Album

Off the Wall

Label

Epic records

Genre

Funk

Composer(s)

Rodney Temperton

Entered Chart

Nov 3, 1979

Peak Date

Jan 19, 1980

Released

November 3, 1979

Recorded

December 1978 – June 1979

Catalog #

Epic 50797

B-Side

Working Day And Night

This was written by Rod Temperton, who was the keyboard player and primary songwriter in the group Heatwave. He wrote their 1977 hit "Boogie Nights," which got the attention of Michael Jackson's producer, Quincy Jones, who enlisted Temperton to write some songs for Jackson. The arrangement work out quite well: The first song he wrote for Jackson was "Rock With You." Temperton also wrote the "title track to the album" and later contributed the title song to Jackson's next album: "Thriller." This song is ostensibly about dancing, but the sexual subtext is clear. Jackson wants his girl to relax and let the music take over her body, but when they "share that beat of love," it's not likely to happen on the dance floor. The original title was "I Want To Eat You Up," but it was quickly changed to fit Jackson's image as a wholesome heartthrob. This was Michael Jackson's third #1 on the Billboard Hot 100; his first two were "Ben," and "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough." When "rock" is used as a verb in a song title, it typically means to play or enjoy rock music (Kiss: "Rock And Roll All Nite"). This song appropriated it as another way to describe dancing while implying something more ("boogie" and "groove" were often used in this context). Justin Timberlake used it the same way in his disco-tinged 2002 hit "Rock Your Body." Early in the hip-hop era, Run-D.M.C. declared the group "King of Rock," claiming their stake. They distanced themselves from Jackson with the line, "It's not Michael Jackson and this is not Thriller" and by stepping on his glove in the video. Especially when you watch the video, it dawns on you that this was a disco song... in 1979, when disco was supposed to be sleeping with the fishes (it wouldn't be right to say 'deader than disco'). In fact, it even has some soul overtones. Jackson was well-suited for the dance beats of disco, and was able to work in the genre when it was well past its prime. You'll also find the video in the collections Video Greatest Hits - HIStory, Number Ones and Michael Jackson's Vision. Bruce Gowers directed the music video, which was shot the same day as the clip for "She's Out of My Life." Gowers, who also directed Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody," remembered working with a tight budget to create the smoky promo, with Jackson glimmering in a sequined suit. He told Rolling Stone: "In those days they were done for peanuts. Absolute peanuts. I think about all we could afford was the laser. This one was probably about $3,000. If you look at it, there's nothing there but a laser and Michael Jackson. When we did this, this was the start of his solo career. He was very, very timid, very quiet, very unassuming. Really nice, he's an absolute professional, even in those days. It was filmed on a little stage in LA called the 800 Stage, a little stage that we got cheap because we were shooting quite a lot of music videos. There was minimal editing as well, because obviously in those days editing costs money. It was about $350 per machine per hour. If you were using two playbacks and one record, that was a lot of money Everything was rented, trust me: the cameras, the stage, the Duvetyne drop, the smoke." This song was part of the soundtrack for the video game Michael Jackson: The Experience. That was the 2010 game which hearkened back to his Moonwalker phase (you can see it right on the cover art), and hence to the 1989 arcade game Michael Jackson's Moonwalker. And hoo-boy, we just gave every old-skool MJ fan a nostalgia flush!

Girl, close your eyes
Let that rhythm get into you
Don't try to fight it
There ain't nothing that you can do
Relax your mind
Lay back and groove with mine

You gotta feel that heat
And we can ride the boogie
Share that beat of love

I wanna rock with you (all night)
Dance you into day (sunlight)
I wanna rock with you (all night)
We're gonna rock the night away (rock, right)

Out on the floor
There ain't nobody there but us
Girl, when you dance
There's a magic that must be love
Just take it slow
'Cause we got so far to go

When you feel that heat
And we're gonna ride the boogie
Share that beat of love

I wanna rock with you (all night)
Dance you into day (sunlight)
I wanna rock with you (all night)
We gon' rock the night away (rock, right)

And when the groove is dead and gone (yeah)
You know that love survives
So we can rock forever, on

I wanna rock with you
I wanna groove with you

Wanna rock (all night)
With you, girl (sunlight)
Rock with you, rock with you, yeah (all night)
Dance the night away (rock, right)

I wanna rock with you, yeah (all night)
Rock you into day (sunlight)
I wanna rock with you (all night)
Rock the night away (rock, right)

Feel the heat, feel the beat (all night)
(Woo)
Rock you into day (sunlight)
I wanna rock (all night)
Rock the night away (rock, right)