Name: 麥可傑克森如何打造他的首支單飛冠軍曲！ (How Michael Jackson Crafted His First Solo Hit)
Uploaded: 2026-02-13T17:15:01.000Z
Duration: 7 min 42 s

1979 was an inflection point for both popular music and for who in the next decade would become pop music's biggest star.

1979 年對流行音樂以及接下來十年將成為流行音樂界最閃耀巨星的他，都是一個 inflection point。

關係子句

It's hard to think back on that period now to a time before Michael Jackson became Michael Jackson, a world famous megastar whose work is so ubiquitous it's less like music and more like the air we breathe.

現在回想起來，很難想像在 Michael Jackson 成為 Michael Jackson 之前，那個世界級的 megastar，他的作品是如此 ubiquitous，感覺不像音樂，更像是我們呼吸的空氣。

但 1979 年，這一切都還沒發生。

It was before Thriller and Beat it and Billie Jean and Smooth Criminal.

那時還沒有 Thriller、Beat it、Billie Jean 和 Smooth Criminal。

It was four years before the world first saw Jackson do the moonwalk on Motown 25.

那時距離世界第一次在 Motown 25 看到 Jackson 展現 moonwalk，還有四年。

And critically for him at the time, it was 10 years after I Want yout Back and the hits of the Jackson 5.

而對當時的他來說，最關鍵的是，距離 I Want yout Back 和 Jackson 5 的熱門歌曲發行，已經十年了。

In the intervening years, as Michael entered adolescence and outgrew the cute little boy that the world wanted him to be forever, he released four solo albums that tried to bridge the gap from his Motown roots to whatever was supposed to come next.

在這中間的幾年，隨著 Michael 進入青春期，長大了，不再是大家期望他永遠是那個可愛小男孩的樣子，他發行了四張個人專輯，試圖在他 Motown 的根基和接下來要走的路之間搭起橋樑。

The last of those, forever Michael failed to crack the top half of the Billboard 200.

其中最後一張，forever Michael，甚至沒能擠進 Billboard 200 的前段。

In the late 70s, Jackson's pop domination was far from a foregone conclusion.

在 70 年代後期，Jackson 的流行樂壇的統治地位，離定論還差得遠呢。

But behind the scenes, he was paying attention to the changing trends in music.

不過在幕後，他其實有在關注音樂界不斷變化的趨勢。

And in the mid to late 70s, there was one trend that was growing faster than any other.

而在七零年代中期到後期，有一個趨勢正以比其他任何趨勢都快的速度成長。

In 1977, the disco subculture was juiced by an unlikely hit film, Saturday Night Fever.

1977 年，一個出乎意料的熱門電影《Saturday Night Fever》為 disco 次文化注入了活力。

Of course, disco had been around for almost 10 years by then, growing out of soul and funk music and out of black, Latino and LGBT cultures.

當然，到那時候 disco 已經存在了將近十年，從靈魂樂和放克音樂，以及黑人、拉丁裔和 LGBT 文化中發展出來。

Though you wouldn't know it watching John Travolta dance to the Bee Gees for an all white crowd.

儘管從約翰·特拉伏塔為全白人觀眾跳舞的畫面來看，你可能不會知道這一點。

But a year later, Jackson and his brothers had a disco hit with Shake youe Body down to the Ground.

但一年後，Jackson 和他的兄弟們以〈Shake youe Body down to the Ground〉這首 disco 歌曲獲得成功。

And at that point the stage was set for what would become Michael's re arrival as a show stopping solo artist.

而那時，就為後來 Michael 以一位令人驚豔的個人歌手重新登場鋪好了路。

In August 79, Jackson released Off the Wall, the first of three partnerships with producer Quincy Jones.

1979 年 8 月，Jackson 發行了《Off the Wall》，這是他與製作人 Quincy Jones 三度合作的第一張專輯。

The first single off that album was Don't Stop Til you Get Enough, a song that Jackson wrote himself and co produced and his first number one in seven years.

這張專輯的第一首單曲是〈Don't Stop Til you Get Enough〉，這首歌是 Jackson 自己寫的，也是他七年來的首支冠軍單曲，他也有參與製作。

The song was a worldwide smash, one that still has legs 40 years later.

這首歌在全球大受歡迎，即使到了 40 年後，依然魅力不減。

I think it's been played at every wedding I've ever been to.

我覺得我參加過的每一場婚禮都有播這首歌。

For Jackson, it was the crossover hit that helped him turn a corner in his career.

對 Jackson 來說，這是一首跨界熱門歌曲，幫助他事業轉型。

It was number one on the soul charts, but more important, it was a pop hit.

這首歌在靈魂樂排行榜上名列第一，但更重要的是，它是一首流行歌曲。

It was inspired by disco and funk, but it was more than that.

它的靈感來自 disco 和 funk，但它不只如此。

When we listen to the song now, it doesn't carry the historical baggage of disco.

當我們現在聽這首歌時，它沒有 disco 的歷史包袱。

就像音樂教授 Anne Danielson 說的。

In the popular imagination, Don't Stop is pure dance music.

在大眾的想像中，Don't Stop 是一首純粹的舞曲。

There are reasons for this beyond Jackson's undeniable charisma as a performer.

除了 Jackson 無可否認的表演者魅力之外，這首歌還有其他原因。

But if you look closer at the musical DNA of Don't Stop, you can see why the song has such appeal.

但如果你仔細看看 Don't Stop 的音樂基因，你就能明白這首歌為何如此受歡迎。

Grounded by bass drum and bass guitar and richly layered with snare drums, shakers, guitar, and

以鼓和貝斯吉他為基礎，並豐富地疊加了小鼓、響器、吉他，

Jackson banging on a glass soda bottle, this is the part of the song that makes you want to dance.

還有 Jackson 敲打玻璃汽水瓶的聲音，這就是這首歌讓你忍不住想跳舞的部分。

As Danielson notes, the rhythm is taking a lot of its cues from funk music, which emphasize the first beat in every measure of four, something that was made famous by James Brown.

正如 Danielson 指出，節奏很大程度上借鑒了 funk 音樂，這種音樂強調每四拍中的第一拍，這也是 James Brown 讓它聞名於世的特色。

This emphasis is one thing that makes the song more danceable.

這種強調是讓這首歌更具舞動感的其中一個原因。

Another is syncopation, or something that disturbs the regular flow of the beat.

另一個原因是切分音，也就是會打斷節拍規律流動的聲音。

Syncopation creates tension in music that you want to resolve with your body.

切分音會在音樂中製造一種張力，讓你想要用身體去回應。

In the case of funk, that syncopation can be very complex and very noticeable.

在 funk 音樂裡，這種切分音可以非常複雜且非常明顯。

But in Don't Stop Till youl Get Enough, Jackson minimizes the distance between the beat and its syncopated sound, which comes only a handful of milliseconds before.

但在 Don't Stop Till youl Get Enough 這首歌裡，Jackson 縮短了節拍和其切分音之間的距離，切分音只會提前幾毫秒出現。

節奏還是有 funk 的感覺，但是。

But it registers subconsciously, resulting in a cleaner feeling sound, something that attracts a mainstream pop audience.

但它會在潛意識裡被感知，產生一種更乾淨的聽感，吸引主流流行樂迷。

A cleaner sound is also a feature of disco, and

乾淨的聲音也是 disco 的特色之一，

Don't Stop's rhythm is incorporating those elements as well.

而 Don't Stop Till youl Get Enough 這首歌也融入了這些元素。

The shaker, for example, is sounding consistently every 16th note, and

像是 shaker，它會以每 16 分音符的規律出現，

the main pulse, though emphasizing the first beat in every measure, is designed to combine the bass guitar and the bass drum to create the same sound every time, as opposed to funk or rock, where you can mostly hear the difference between instruments.

而主要的節奏，雖然強調每小節的第一拍，但設計上是將貝斯吉他與底鼓結合，每次都產生相同的聲音，不像 funk 或 rock，你通常能聽出樂器間的差異。

On top of this undercurrent of rhythm, which is balancing the features of funk and disco, Jackson spreads a tapestry of sounds that fill in the gaps between beats and help to smooth everything out.

在這股平衡了 funk 和 disco 特色的節奏暗流之上，Jackson 鋪陳了一層豐富的聲音織錦，填補了節拍之間的空隙，讓一切聽起來更流暢。

Strings and horns and electric piano, again reaching for that clean surface that defines the pop sensibility.

弦樂、銅管和電鋼琴，再次追求那定義流行樂感的乾淨表面。

The icing on the cake is the harmony and Jackson's falsetto.

畫龍點睛之筆是和聲以及 Jackson 的假聲。

As Ethan Hein points out over at his blog, the song only has two chords, A and B, which alternate back and forth to create a trance like modal groove, something more associated with Eastern music than Western.

正如 Ethan Hein 在他的部落格上指出的，這首歌只有兩個和絃，A 和 B，它們來回交替，創造出一種類似東方音樂而非西方音樂的、迷幻的調式律動。

And above this, Jackson sings a melody marked by the first two notes in the first two syllables in every line.

而在這之上，Jackson 唱出的旋律，特色是每句開頭的兩個音節裡都有前兩個音。

These notes are D sharp and A, and the interval between them is what's called a tritone.

這兩個音是 D# 和 A，它們之間的音程就是所謂的增四度。

As Hynes says, the relationship between these notes is somewhat off kilter, and your mind notices that, and

正如 Hynes 所說，這兩個音的關係有點不協調，你的大腦會注意到這一點，

that infuses the song with an urgency that it wouldn't otherwise have.

這也讓這首歌充滿了一種原本不會有的緊迫感。

As I said before, Jackson's charisma here is unmistakable.

就像我之前說的，Jackson 在這裡無可否認的魅力。

This is where the world was introduced to the grunts and ticks that would become a signature of his style.

這就是世界首次認識到那些會成為他標誌性風格的哼聲和節奏。

Don't Stop is effectively the birthday of a new artist, one who would take over the world in the decade to come, and

Don't Stop 基本上是一位新藝術家的誕生，他將在接下來的十年稱霸世界，

this song goes a long way to explaining how and why that happened.

而這首歌很大程度上解釋了這是如何以及為何發生的。

You can see Jackson and Jones taking the syncopation of funk, the pulse of disco, the vibe of Easter music, even the structure of a rock song.

你可以看到 Jackson 和 Jones 融合了 funk 的切分音、disco 的脈動、東方音樂的氛圍，甚至還有搖滾歌曲的結構。

With its verse, chorus, verse, chorus pattern, complete with a euphoric bridge by Greg Billingame.

它的結構是主歌、副歌、主歌、副歌，再加上 Greg Billingame 令人陶醉的橋段。

Jackson recalibrates all these elements toward the end of pure pop music and electrifies them with the power of his voice.

Jackson 將所有這些元素重新調整，聚焦於純粹的流行音樂，並用他嗓音的力量為它們注入活力。

The song is greater than the sum of its parts.

這首歌的精彩程度遠超其各部分總和。

No don't stop till you get enough and you haven't had enough no way, no way hey everybody, thank you so much for watching.

別停下來，直到你滿足，你永遠不會滿足，絕對不會，嘿大家，非常感謝收看。

So I turned 30 on Saturday, which is just unbelievable to me.

所以我在星期六滿了 30 歲，這對我來說簡直難以置信。

So this is the official first video of my 30s.

所以這是我的 30 歲官方第一支影片。

And it was a great one to work on for the past few weeks just because I got to jam out to off the wall for my birthday.

而且過去幾週能製作這支影片真的很棒，因為我在生日時能盡情聽著 off the wall。

This episode was brought to you by Squarespace.

本集節目由 Squarespace 贊助播出。

If you want to make a website and you want it to be a really easy process, Squarespace has some beautiful award winning designer templates to choose from that makes the process super simple.

如果你想架設網站，而且希望過程非常簡單，Squarespace 有許多美麗、獲獎的設計師模板可供選擇，讓整個過程變得超簡單。

It's got 24 hour customer service, no upgrades, nothing to install, no patches ever.

它提供 24 小時客服，無需升級，無需安裝，也永遠不需要更新。

And picking your domain name is really, really easy too.

而且挑選網域名稱也非常非常容易。

You can start your free trial@squarespace.com and if you use the offer code Nerdwriter, you can get 10% off your first purchase.

你可以到 squarespace.com 開始免費試用，如果你使用優惠代碼 Nerdwriter，首次購買可享 10% 折扣。