Rod Temperton dead: Michael Jackson ‘Thriller’ songwriter, Heatwave member was 66

Thriller, Michael Jackson

Rod Temperton wrote the smash hit “Thriller,” performed by Michael Jackson.

British songwriter Rod Temperton is dead after “a brief aggressive battle with cancer,” Warner/Chappell chairman Jon Platt announced Wednesday. He was 66.

Temperton, best known for writing Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” and “Rock With You,” was a member of the disco-funk group Heatwave. His credits also included “Off the Wall,” “Give Me the Night,” “Love Is in Control (Finger on the Trigger),” “Yah Mo B There,” “Always & Forever” and “Boogie Nights.”

“Thriller,” performed by Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones, remains a staple of pop culture thanks in part to its epic 14-minute Halloween-themed music video. The accompanying album of the same name won a record eight Grammy Awards in 1984 and remains the best-selling album of all time.

“I woke up, and I just said this word,” Temperton told The Daily Telegraph of “Thriller.” “Something in my head just said, this is the title. You could visualize it on the top of the Billboard charts. You could see the merchandising for this one word, how it jumped off the page as ‘Thriller.'”

According to the BBC, Temperton died last week and has already been laid to rest in a private funeral. He was nicknamed “The Invisible Man” because of his low profile, despite collaborating with big names like Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Michael McDonald, Herbie Hancock and Donna Summer.