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"Working Day and Night"
Date range assessed by the facts that the song was recorded in the first recording sessions (“The main sessions began in early December of 1978 in two West Hollywood studios, Allen Zentz Recording… During the main sessions Michael and Greg Phillinganes also began laying down the foundations for the up-tempo songs they had worked on together at Michael’s home studio – ‘Don’t Stop ’Til You Get Enough’ and ‘Workin’ Day and Night’”) and the first recording session ended in January 1979 (“Michael was forced to leave the studio in January 1979 to begin rehearsing with his brothers for their forthcoming Destiny Tour, which was due to kick off in the German city of Bremen on January 22.”) (Mike Smallcombe, “Making Michael”)
Add studio acapella to audio document when it’s created: https://youtu.be/etE5MMw8rJo
Michael Jackson, writer/singer, Melody Maker interview (March 1, 1980)
“’Working Day And Night’ is very autobiographical in a lot of ways, though I did stretch the point to playing the part like I was married to this person and she’s got me moving. But it’s not work like slavery. I love it, or I couldn't have survived it this long.”
“Moonwalk” autobiography
The Brothers Johnson notwithstanding, Quincy hadn’t done much dance music before Off the Wall, so on “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough,” “Working Day and Night,” and “Get on the Floor” Greg and I worked together to build a thicker wall of sound in Quincy’s studio…
“Working Day and Night” was Paulinho [DaCosta]’s showcase, with my background vocals hurrying to keep up with his grab bag of toys. Greg set up a prepared electric piano with the timbre of a perfect acoustic one, to knock out any lingering echo. The lyrical theme was similar to “The Things I Do for You” from Destiny, but since this was a refinement of something I’d said earlier, I wanted to keep it simple and let the music put the song over the top.
John "JR" Robinson, drummer, Mike Smallcombe’s “Making Michael”
As with ‘Don’t Stop’, Michael again contributed to the percussion sounds, as did John Robinson. “When we did the percussion for ‘Workin’ Day and Night’, I used a really old wine bottle,” the drummer recalls. “The sun was shining through the studio and it was a great session. So there we were, using this old wine bottle, but the fucking thing shattered on me. Michael was there, and when he saw what happened, he just said in his voice, ‘Oh J.R.! Let me help!’ There he was, picking all this glass off my arms, bit by bit. Soon after, Bruce [Swedien] came marching in, and with his deep voice, he was like, ‘What the hell’s going on in there?!’ It was a funny moment.”
One unusual twist in the making of the album involved Michael asking JR to bring in some wine bottles they could use as percussion. "We'd discuss the size of the wine bottles. Not Napa Valley wine bottles, but kind of trashy big bottles", explains JR.
"One day I brought some stuff in and he and I went into a small recording room together. It was very surreal. It was late in the afternoon with the sun shining through the window. The song was 'Working Day and Night'. We both had our wine bottles and some striking tools. It was a small room and both of us were playing different rhythm patterns and it was smoking. About halfway through, my wine bottle shatters all over my left arm. We stop and Bruce and Quincy want to know what's going on and Michael goes, "Oh, JR!", and he starts picking the wine glass out of my arm. It was something that any friend would do, that's how I remember it."