Michael Jackson wrote many of his own songs, but he also worked closely with a small circle of powerhouse songwriters and producers across different eras of his career.

Core answer: who wrote Michael Jackson songs?

Across his solo career, songs were mainly written by:

  • Michael Jackson himself (especially from the late 1970s onward).
  • Rod Temperton (key writer on “Off the Wall” and “Thriller”).
  • Quincy Jones’s writing/producer camp (various co‑writers around the Off the Wall and Thriller sessions).
  • Teddy Riley and collaborators on Dangerous.
  • Rodney Jerkins (“Darkchild”) and team on Invincible.
  • Guest writers like R. Kelly (“You Are Not Alone”) and Babyface (co‑writes on Invincible).

In other words, Jackson was both a songwriter and a performer: he wrote or co‑wrote many of his biggest hits, but some famous songs were written entirely by others and then produced around his voice and ideas.

Mini sections

1. Big hits Jackson wrote or co‑wrote

From Off the Wall onward, Jackson increasingly took control of his material.

Notable examples often credited to him as sole or main writer include:

  • “Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough” (Off the Wall).
  • “Billie Jean” (Thriller).
  • “Beat It” (Thriller).
  • “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’” (Thriller).
  • “Bad,” “The Way You Make Me Feel,” “Smooth Criminal,” “Dirty Diana” (Bad era).
  • Many tracks on Dangerous where he is listed as primary or co‑writer (e.g., “Jam,” “Black or White,” “Remember the Time”).

Fans often point to auctioned notebooks and vocal demos (where he beatboxes all the parts) as evidence that he really composed structures, melodies and grooves, not just sang over pre‑made tracks.

2. Key collaborators: who else wrote the songs?

Different eras had different “signature” writers around him.

  • Rod Temperton
    • Wrote “Rock with You” and “Off the Wall” era material.
* Wrote “Thriller” and more songs for the _Thriller_ album.
  • Quincy Jones camp
    • As producer he pulled in various writers for Off the Wall , Thriller and Bad.
  • Teddy Riley and Bill Bottrell
    • Brought the new jack swing and edgy pop sound to Dangerous , co‑writing multiple tracks with Jackson.
  • Rodney Jerkins (Darkchild)
    • Co‑wrote and produced tracks like “You Rock My World” on Invincible , alongside Jackson and other writers.
  • R. Kelly, Babyface, Carole Bayer Sager, others
    • R. Kelly wrote “You Are Not Alone.”
* Babyface and Carole Bayer Sager co‑wrote “You Are My Life” with Jackson on _Invincible_.

3. Songs he recorded but didn’t write

Some well‑known songs associated with Jackson were written fully by others, especially earlier in his career and on ballads.

Examples:

  • Early Motown solo tracks like “Ben” and “Got to Be There,” written by Motown staff writers.
  • “You Are Not Alone” – written by R. Kelly, performed by Jackson.
  • Various covers such as “You’ve Got a Friend” (Carole King) and “You’ve Really Got a Hold on Me” (Smokey Robinson, Ronald White, Robert Rogers).

This mix of self‑written songs, co‑writes and outside compositions is typical for major pop artists of his era.

4. Forum and fan discussion angle

On fan forums and Reddit, discussions often push back against the myth that “Jackson didn’t write his songs,” pointing to:

  • Long lists of hits where he is credited as sole or main writer.
  • Stories of his composing method: singing every instrument part into a recorder, then having musicians reproduce it.

At the same time, fans also acknowledge the big role of collaborators like Temperton, Quincy Jones, Teddy Riley and Rodney Jerkins, arguing that the “Michael Jackson sound” is a blend of his songwriting, his voice, his ideas, and these producers’ arrangements.

Quick HTML table of examples

html

<table>
  <thead>
    <tr>
      <th>Song</th>
      <th>Era / Album</th>
      <th>Main credited writer(s)</th>
    </tr>
  </thead>
  <tbody>
    <tr>
      <td>Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough</td>
      <td>Off the Wall (1979)</td>
      <td>Michael Jackson [web:5][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Rock with You</td>
      <td>Off the Wall (1979)</td>
      <td>Rod Temperton [web:1][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Billie Jean</td>
      <td>Thriller (1982)</td>
      <td>Michael Jackson [web:1][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Thriller</td>
      <td>Thriller (1982)</td>
      <td>Rod Temperton [web:1][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Beat It</td>
      <td>Thriller (1982)</td>
      <td>Michael Jackson [web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Bad</td>
      <td>Bad (1987)</td>
      <td>Michael Jackson [web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>Black or White</td>
      <td>Dangerous (1991)</td>
      <td>Michael Jackson, Bill Bottrell [web:1][web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>You Are Not Alone</td>
      <td>HIStory (1995)</td>
      <td>R. Kelly [web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>You Rock My World</td>
      <td>Invincible (2001)</td>
      <td>Michael Jackson, Rodney Jerkins, others [web:7]</td>
    </tr>
    <tr>
      <td>You Are My Life</td>
      <td>Invincible (2001)</td>
      <td>Michael Jackson, Babyface, Carole Bayer Sager, John McClain [web:7]</td>
    </tr>
  </tbody>
</table>

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.