The emergence of Michael Jackson as an adult solo superstar began at the age of 21 with the release of his breakthrough fifth album, 1979’s Off the Wall. This album began the working relationship between Jackson and producer Quincy Jones—a duo that would go on to produce a few hits after this project. Following his fourth solo album, 1975’s Forever, Michael—his last with Motown Records before The Jacksons moved to Epic Records—Michael was still trying to reach the next level of musical superstar status and Off the Wall was the first step in that direction. After starring as the Scarecrow in The Wiz, which was released in October 1978, Jackson connected with Jones and they began working on the album in December. After working in Los Angeles at Westlake Audio, Allen Zentz Recording, and Cherokee Studios, the recording sessions for the album were completed in June 1979. Released on August 10, 1979, Off the Wall was a mix of disco, R&B, funk, pop, and ballads with lyrical contributions from hitmakers Stevie Wonder, Paul McCartney, Rod Temperton, and David Foster, while Michael himself wrote three songs. “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” was released as the first single one month before the album, and the funky dance song reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100. The follow-up, the mid-tempo dance song “Rock With You,” was released in November and also hit the #1 spot on the pop chart. “Off the Wall” and “She’s Out of My Life” were also released as singles and reached the Top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100, making Jackson the first solo artist to have four Top 10 singles on one album. Off the Wall has sold over 20 million albums worldwide and has been certified 9x platinum in the US. The album was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2008, Rolling Stone ranked the album #36 on their list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, it was listed amongst the Greatest of All Time Billboard 200 Albums, and it was listed at #80 on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s Definitive 200 Albums of All Time. Blender, Consequence of Sound and Entertainment Weekly all ranked Off the Wall as one of the 100 greatest albums of all time among other “best of” lists. In 2001, a special edition was released featuring demo versions of “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough” and “Workin' Day and Night.” Although Off the Wall would sell millions of albums and receive several awards and accolades, Jackson felt the album wasn’t fully appreciated, giving him inspiration to make his next album a thriller.