I Want You Back The Jackson 5

I Want You Back

1969

The Jackson Five

Sometimes legends are kicked off by truly inconsequential events. This guy named Michael Jackson, for example...his career started because his older brother broke a guitar string. No, seriously...

Back in 1964 a kid named Tito Jackson, who lived in Gary, Indiana with his dad and a quartet of brothers, found his dad's guitar and began doodling around with it. In the process of creating a sweet chord or two, he heard the 'Twang!!!' of a guitar string letting go, as did his dad. His dad...a fellow named Joe Jackson...took the guitar, muttered threats of punishment as he replaced the broken string, then gave in to young Tito's begging to let him play it. I have a feeling that Tito used the words 'Play it', rather than 'Play with it'. Joe handed the little guy the guitar, probably expecting at best cat-fight-like screes and such and at worst another string repair job, and was both surprised and impressed when his son actually made the guitar pretty much sing. Impressed enough, in fact, to get him his own guitar.

Tito and two of his brothers...Jermaine and Jackie...formed a trio at the urging of their dad, to be joined a bit later by a couple of childhood friends, brother Marlon, and, on the tambourine, the youngest of the five, a little guy named Michael.

The group morphed and practiced, finding it's sound, the two childhood friends dropped out leaving the five brothers, and the resulting group played local events and talent shows like Gary, Indiana's Tiny Tot's Jamboree. It was at this event, in 1965, that a suggestion was made to name the group The Jackson Five Singing Group, which was later shortened to simply 'The Jackson Five'. 

They were so-named in '65, then won a local talent show in '67 (At Gary's Theodore Roosevelt High School), where they knocked several Motown hits out of the park...particularly Michael, who's vocals pretty much won 'em the contest when he sang lead on their cover of James Brown's 'I Got You (I Feel Good)'. They scored several more talent show wins over the next year or so, then Joe Jackson decided to take the show on the road...specifically the very well respected 'Chitlin' Circuit', where they played several equally well respected music venues, such as a little Harlem joint known as The Apollo, as well as Chicago's Regal. They scored talent wins at both, BTW, as well as impressing a lady of some musical talent named Gladys Knight well enough for her to convince Joe Jackson to cut a demo tape and let her send it to Motown Records. Motown received it. perused it, chins were likely rubbed meaningfully, aaaaand they...rejected it.

'Say what???' You ask.

Yep, on their first try with Motown, The Jackson 5 was soundly rejected. In late 1967 Joe did get them a record deal with Steeltown Records, where they released a pair of not overly memorable singles, and he kept them on the Chitlin' Circuit, where they continued to impress...and impress people in high places at that.

In July '68 they opened for Bobby Taylor and the Vancouvers for a week long run of shows at The Regal, and during this same week, Taylor set up another audition for The Jackson 5 with Motown, this one live, in the flesh, and held at Motown's headquarters in Detroit on July 23^rd, 1968. The audition was taped, and the tape was sent to label founder and CEO Berry Gordy, in L.A., where he took a listen, was duly impressed this time, and immediately sent word to sign 'em.

The Jackson 5 were about to make themselves some music history while kicking off one of the most legendary music careers of the modern era. Not at all bad for a group of kids whose lead singer was still a couple of years away from puberty.

They recorded at Motown's Hitsville Studio, on Grand Ave in Detroit initially, then headed for L.A., where they'd open for Diana Ross and The Supremes for a few weeks.  While they hung out with that very lovely and talented group of ladies, Berry Gordy was putting together a team of songwriters who'd become known as The Corporation...Composer/songwriters Freddie Perren, Deke Richards, and Alphonso Mizell. Berry Gordy made himself the forth member of the group, and they began...well, song-writing. The first song they knocked out was a little tune called 'I Want You Back'.

The song had a simple and common concept...a guy regretting leaving his girl, and trying to win her back, and interestingly it wasn't originally written for The J-5, nor was it originally named 'I Want You Back. It was originally named 'I Wanna Be Free' and was first offered to Gladys Knight and The Pips, then when they turned it down, it was offered to Diana Ross. Depending on which source you believe...and I've read both...either Ross suggested that Berry Gordy give it to the newly signed Jackson Five, or Berry Gordy himself decided that, with a little tweaking, it'd be a perfect match for the group.

The Corporation tweaked the lyrics a bit to make it more of a love song, changed the title, gave it a bit more of a 'Pop' vibe, and gave it to The Brothers Jackson to give it what would be their signature sound. It kicks off with a peppy piano/guitar intro that slides into a high energy melody that dares you not to move something (You will)paired with equally spirited vocals courtesy of then-11 year old Michael Jackson, backed up by his brothers. It would very very quickly become obvious who was the star in the group.

'I Want You Back' debuted at on The Billboard Hot 100 at #90 on Nov. 15, 1969 and spent the holidays climbing the charts, cracking the Top 20 (#19) on December 13^th, and the Top 10 (#7) two days after Christmas. It snagged the #1 spot on the last day of January, 1970, hanging on to #1 for a single week before dropping to #2 for a pair of weeks, #4 for a single week, and dropping off the charts entirely on March 21^st, for a nineteen week chart run...nine of them in the Top 10. It would also be the first of four back to back #1 hits for The Jackson 5 and make Michael Jackson the youngest performer ever to sing lead on a #1 hit. While it was doing all of that, it also made it clear that Motown could definitely hold it's own in the very profitable 'Pop' genre. 

'I Want You Back' was...and is...one of those songs that's plain long fun to listen to...a musical character trait that was common to all of the J-5's songs, as well as Michael Jackson's early hits from the same era. And speaking of Michael Jackson and the Jackson 5, lets be honest here. The majority of The J-5's hits were, basically, Michael Jackson songs with his brothers as back-up singers. He sang lead on, and petty much dominated, nearly all of them...at 11 years old the kid had immense stores of talent that were barely being tapped .

This one was all over Top-40 radio during the winter of '70, and it was just the beginning...but we didn't know that yet. What Us 70s kids knew was, we really liked the sound. Heck, we took 'em to # 1 not once but four times...back to back.

Like all of Michael Jackson's (And the J-5's) hits, it had immense staying power, and not only hung around the charts for over three months, it's still around...you'll hear it on Oldies stations every once in awhile today (Another trait common to all four of the J-5's first hits).

So, when you're listening to some oldies, and hear that high-energy intro, and hear an eleven year old Michael Jackson's ' Uh-Huh-Huh-uhhhh...Let Me Tell Ya Now' kicking off this classic take a second to reflect on the song that started a legend. And while you're at it, just try to not head-bop to it!

So Enjoy! 'I Want You Back' by the Jackson 5


Bonus Number One, and it's a true, true classic...Diana Ross introduces The Jackson Five at The Hollywood Palace, on their very first-ever-televised live performance of their very first hit. If you don't smile a bit at the intro, you have a heart of concrete...Michael was a little salesman even back then, and a little flirt as well...note the give and take with Diana Ross. She truly adored her young label-mates. 
 Note that for a moment or so at the beginning, Michel's lip movements are way out of sync with the audio..that's not the video...Motown wanted them to lip-sync to the single as released, and it took Michael a bit to get in sync with the recording. Still...he had talent overload even back then. How many just-turned-eleven year old kids are the lead singers of a band poised on the brink of super-stardom?

And Seventies Music of all genres just lives on...I love it when today's kids embrace our music! There's a show in Germany, called The Voice Kids, open to kids from 6-14, that's pretty much in the very same vein as The Voice we're so familiar with.

In 2013, a little lady named Fabienne pretty much blew the judges/coaches away when in the blind audition when she sang 'I Want You Back'...she knocked it slam out of the park, she did!  Did I mention that she was only 10 or so when she performed this? And that she doesn't speak English, so she had to learn the lyrics phonetically? (You can hear her accent at several places , which just makes it more adorable) .