Performance extended beyond the audio recordings. His choreography and long-form music videos made screen presentation an important part of how audiences encountered his songs, rather than simply an accompaniment to them.

The Recording Academy documents a solo career that included Off the Wall and Thriller, as well as the 1985 USA for Africa project We Are the World. His estate’s website maintains the music catalogue and links the authorised video channel for those recordings.

Off the Wall was Jackson's fifth solo album, not his solo debut. Released in August 1979, it began the sequence of albums he made with producer Quincy Jones that continued through Thriller and Bad. They had worked together on the film The Wiz before this recording partnership.

The credits also distinguish singer, writer and producer. Jackson wrote Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough and co-produced several tracks; contributors to the songwriting included Rod Temperton, Stevie Wonder and Paul McCartney. Rock with You and the title track are Temperton compositions, showing the collaborative construction behind the finished performances.

The official catalogue separates original albums from packages such as Thriller 40. Released in 2022, that anniversary collection places the original nine-track album alongside a second disc of demos and rarities, including Starlight and The Toy. The later release date describes the package, not when the original album was recorded.

Likewise, the 2016 Off the Wall edition retains the original ten-song album alongside documentary material. Checking the edition and track list helps distinguish a remaster, a demo, a documentary and a genuinely different recording.