I think we will see a lot of different songs today for Jim Adam’s Song Lyric Sunday. He has prompted us with Hold, Pause, Stop and Wait. I had fun looking and was able to find some that took me back to a time and place in my memory, as music always does. So my choice this week is Don’t Stop ‘til you Get Enough by Michael Jackson. I had never really studied the lyrics of this song as I was more captivated by the music and MJ’s dancing, so I was a little surprised to know that I should have been singing about “the force” 😳 Who knew?
The chorus contains one of the most misheard vocals ever. The line is: “Keep up with the force… don’t stop ’til you get enough.” Jackson may have been inspired by the 1977 movie Star Wars, which popularized the concept of “The Force.”
To this point, Michael Jackson had recorded four #1 hits with The Jackson 5, and one as a solo artist (“Ben,” a 1972 song about a pet rat). But this was the first chart-topper he wrote himself. Quincy Jones, who produced the album, encouraged Jackson to write his own songs, and the young singer quickly developed a talent for composition. Jackson wrote or co-wrote nine more #1 hits in his career, including “We Are The World.”
Jackson and Jones first worked together on music for the 1978 film The Wiz(Jackson played the Scarecrow); Off The Wall was the first album Jones produced for him.
Jackson wrote this for an extremely high vocal range. Since his voice could not carry this alone, he was overdubbed a few times to create a harmony and fill out the vocals.
The video was very advanced for its time. It showed Jackson dancing in front of various funky backgrounds, with three images of Michael on the screen for a while. Director Nick Saxton, who was a production assistant on George Lucas’s pre-Star Wars film THX-1138, was brought in to helm the clip.
According to Bruce Swedien, who was the engineer on the session, Jackson, his brother Randy and sister Janet tapped soda bottles with drumsticks to form some of the percussion at the beginning of this song. Swedien recorded this part using old ribbon microphones.
Janet told Ryan Seacrest: “He [Michael] had all these ideas and he needed someone to help him out. We were just kids, we were just babies, and so we’re up there playing all kinds of percussion to help him create that to give to Quincy so they could put the real thing down.”
This was the first Michael Jackson song where he made lots of screams and squeals throughout the vocals. He had tremendous success with the same technique on much of the Thriller album.
Musicians on this track include David Williams and Marlo Henderson on guitars, Louis Johnson on bass and John Robinson on drums. Greg Phillinganes, a keyboard player who worked on most of Jackson’s solo albums beginning with Off The Wall, made significant contributions to the track. He’s credited for “rhythm arrangement” along with Jackson, but Quincy Jones thinks he deserved a songwriting credit as well. “Greg Phillinganes wrote the C section,” Jones said in an interview with Vulture. “Michael should’ve given him 10 percent of the song. Wouldn’t do it.”
Chris Tucker sings Karaoke to this song in the movie Rush Hour 2. Tucker and Jackson were good friends, and after he saw the film, Jackson called to let Tucker know he was doing the dance incorrectly: he was kicking with the wrong leg.
Jackson won his first Grammy Award for this song, taking home the trophy for Best R&B Vocal Performance, Male. It was nominated that year for Best Disco Recording (the only year that category was offered) but lost to “I Will Survive.”
Off The Wall was the first album Jackson recorded for Epic Records. All of his previous solo work was with Motown.
Lyrics
You know, I was
I was wondering, you know
If you could keep on
Because the force
It's got a lot of power
And it make me feel like ah
It make me feel like... oooh!
Lovely is the feeling now
Fever, temperatures rising now
Power is the force, the vow
That makes it happen, it asks no questions why
So get closer
To my body now
Just love me
'Til you don't know how
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Touch me and I feel on fire
Ain't nothing like a love desire
I'm melting (I'm melting)
Like hot candle wax
Sensation (oh sensation)
Lovely where we're at
So let love take us through the hours
I won't be complaining
'Cause this is love power
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Heartbreak enemy despise
Eternal (oh, eternal)
Love shines in my eyes
So let love take us through the hours
I won't be complaining
'Cause your love is alright, alright
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Lovely is the feeling now
I won't be complaining
The force is love power
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Keep on with the force don't stop
Don't stop 'til you get enough
Writer/s: Michael Joe Jackson
Publisher: Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind
