"Off the Wall" is the third single

Single (music)

In music, a single or record single is a type of release, typically a recording of fewer tracks than an LP or a CD. This can be released for sale to the public in a variety of different formats. In most cases, the single is a song that is released separately from an album, but it can still appear...

 released from singer Michael Jackson

Michael Jackson

Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...

's album

Album

An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...

 Off the Wall

Off the Wall (album)

Off the Wall is the fifth studio album by the American recording artist Michael Jackson, released August 10, 1979 on Epic Records, after Jackson's critically well received film performance in The Wiz. While working on that project, Jackson and Quincy Jones had become friends, and Jones agreed to...

.

Released on February 2, 1980, the Rod Temperton

Rod Temperton

Rodney Lynn "Rod" Temperton is an English songwriter, record producer and musician most famous for writing a number of songs performed by Michael Jackson, including the title track of Jackson's Thriller, the biggest-selling album of all time.-Biography:As Temperton remembers music was in his bones...

-composed number became Jackson's third top 10 single from Off the Wall, which eventually spawned four top 10 singles; Jackson was the first person to accomplish this. The song is about getting over troubles: "leave that nine-to-five upon the shelf / and just enjoy yourself". The song peaked at number ten on the Pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 Singles Chart and at number five on the Billboard

Billboard (magazine)

Billboard is a weekly American magazine devoted to the music industry, and is one of the oldest trade magazines in the world. It maintains several internationally recognized music charts that track the most popular songs and albums in various categories on a weekly basis...

Soul Singles Chart.

Michael Jackson performed the song on the Jacksons' Destiny Tour

Destiny Tour

The Destiny Tour was a concert tour by The Jacksons that began a world tour to promote the Destiny album on January 22, 1979 with their opening concert in Bremen. Countries that were visited included Britain, Holland, France, and Kenya. During the spring of 1979 The Jacksons performed some concerts...

's second leg, as well as the Triumph Tour

Triumph Tour

The Triumph Tour was a concert tour by The Jacksons, covering the United States from July 9 to September 26, 1981. The tour grossed a total of $5.5 million, setting a record breaking 4 sold out concerts in Los Angeles, California.-History:...

, Victory Tour. He performed the song on his solo tours such as Bad World Tour

Bad World Tour

The Bad World Tour was the first solo concert tour by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson that visited Japan, Australia, the United States and Europe. Sponsored by Pepsi and spanning 16 months, the tour included 123 concerts to 4.4 million fans across 15 countries...

 and HIStory World Tour

HIStory World Tour

The HIStory World Tour was the third and final worldwide solo concert tour by American megasuperstar Michael Jackson, covering Europe, Africa, Asia, Oceania and North America. The tour included a total of 82 concerts and was attended by approximately 4.5 million fans, beating his previous Bad Tour...

 but only a part of the Off the Wall

Off the Wall (album)

Off the Wall is the fifth studio album by the American recording artist Michael Jackson, released August 10, 1979 on Epic Records, after Jackson's critically well received film performance in The Wiz. While working on that project, Jackson and Quincy Jones had become friends, and Jones agreed to...

medley on certain concerts.

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey

Mariah Carey is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. She made her recording debut with the release of her eponymous studio album in 1990, under the guidance of Columbia Records executive Tommy Mottola, whom she later married in 1993...

 sampled "Off the Wall" on her song "I'm That Chick", which is included in her 2008 album E=MC².

Track listing

Official versions

1. Album Version – 4:05
2. Remix – 4:01
3. 7" Remix – 3:47
4. Edit – 3:46 – Featured on the Essential Collection is an early fade of the album version.
5. Junior Vasquez Mix – 5:13 – Featured on the Stranger in Moscow
   Stranger in Moscow
   "Stranger in Moscow" is the fifth and final single from Michael Jackson's album HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I. The song was released worldwide in November 1996 but was not released in the United States until August 1997...
   
   single.

US and Japanese singles feature the remix running 3:47, while the UK and the rest of the world got the other remix running 4:01.

Charts

Chart (1980)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	7
US Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...	10
US Hot R&B Singles Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...	5
Chart (2009)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...	73
U.S. Billboard Hot Digital Songs Hot Digital Songs The Hot Digital Songs chart ranks the best-selling digital singles in the United States, according to Billboard.Beginning in February 2005, digital sales have been incorporated into many of Billboards music single charts. It was decided to do so mainly because of the dramatic rise in popularity of...	51

Personnel

• Written and composed by Rod Temperton
• Produced by Quincy Jones
• Michael Jackson: Lead and background vocals
• Louis Johnson: Bass
• John Robinson: Drums
• David Williams, Marlo Henderson: Guitars
• Greg Phillinganes: Electric piano, synthesizer
• Michael Boddicker: Synthesizer programming
• George Duke: Synthesizer, synthesizer programming
• Paulinho Da Costa
  Paulinho Da Costa
  Paulinho da Costa is a Brazilian percussionist born in Rio de Janeiro, considered one of the most recorded musicians of modern times. Playing over two hundred percussion instruments, he has participated in thousands of recording sessions, Grammy Award-winning albums, hit songs, soundtracks, radio...
  
  : Percussion
• Horns arranged by Jerry Hey and performed by The Seawind Horns:
  • Jerry Hey: Trumpet and flugelhorn
  • Larry Williams: Tenor, alto saxophones and flute
  • Kim Hutchcroft: Baritone, tenor saxophones and flute
  • William Reichenbach: Trombone
  • Gary Grant: Trumpet
• Rhythm and vocal arrangements by Rod Temperton