Get on the Floor

And then the connection became even stranger.

According to Karen Ramone, known to her friends as Itchy, Phil Ramone eventually brought Karen Carpenter into the studio during Michael Jackson's 1979 solo sessions, where she watched him working on Get On The Floor.

Phil wanted Karen to hear the direction Jackson's new album was taking, partly because he was frustrated that she had initially resisted some of Temperton's material.

Think about where Karen Carpenter suddenly was.

Phil Ramone introduced Temperton to Quincy Jones, and before long, Rock With You and Off The Wall were being considered for Michael Jackson.

In nineteen seventy-nine, Jackson was attempting his own transition from famous group member to independent adult recording artist, which gave the entire situation an almost uncanny symmetry.

According to Itche, Phil took Karen to one of Michael’s studio sessions while Jackson was recording Get On The Floor, the song Michael had written with Louis Johnson.

Phil wanted Karen to hear what the album sounded like, and Itche remembered that he was still frustrated that Karen had not initially embraced Temperton’s material.