Moma's Pearl by The Jackson Five

Mama's Pearl

1971

The Jackson Five

Berry Gordy handed J-5 songwriting duty back over to 'The Corporation' for their fifth hit...and they took on the task knowing that following up on a mega-hit like 'I'll Be There' was gonna pretty much redefine
'uber-tough job'.

Soooo, what they did first is return to the high-energy, frenetic, bubblegum-pop sound that drove 'The Jackson Five's first three hits, and then wrote what arguably just might be the raciest set of lyrics ever sung by an eleven or so year old lead singer. Really guys...I'm not kidding, I mean the first line of the song's:

'You send cold chills up and down my spine...'

At which point the song talks about the girl stopping at kissing because of her momma's wishes while the singer wants to go...well...further. This, BTW, was after the song's producer, Deke Richards, changed both the title and the lyrics to preserve Michael Jackson's 'youthful and innocent image'. Kinda makes ya wonder just what the lyrics were before they were changed. It's actually a bit amazing that parents bought the single for the throngs of Middle School/Jr High aged girls who clamored for it given those lyrics, but buy it they did, and the young ladies among us Seventies Kids liked it enough to keep it in the runner-up spot on The Hot-100 for two weeks. WGH, in Hampton Roads, played it multiple times daily, kids head-bopped to it, and...well, believe it or not, as time passed by it kinda became The Jackson Five's 'forgotten Hit', if there indeed is such a thing.

Oh, Mama's Pearl's not totally forgotten by any means...but compared to the quartet of Top-Spot-Snagging power-tunes that preceded it, the uber-popular  runner-up-spot snagging hit 'Never Can Say Goodbye' following it, and with Michael's career taking off soon afterward, it kind of became the 'Middle Child' of J-5 Hits, IMHO. Despite it's pretty, distinctive instrumental intro, catchy rhythm and beat, and not at all shabby chart performance (And the fact that it was essentially a Michael Jackson song with the rest of the J-5 singing back-up) Momma's Pearl is possibly the least well remembered of the Jackson Five's early hits, but that takes nothing at all away from it. Like all of their hits, it was a tight, energetic, fun-to-listen-to little tune that dared you not to move something when you heard it, and when it was released, it very deservedly sold like blueberry pancakes.

Mama's Pearl was released on January 7^th, 1971 and debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on January 30^th, at #47. It cracked the Top 10, at # 10 three weeks in, and peaked at #2 on it's fifth week. Mama's Pearl hung onto the Runner-Up spot for two weeks, and stayed in the Top 10 for five of it's ten weeks on the chart, finally falling off the chart on April 3^rd, '71. Oh...while it was at it, Momma's Pearl also snagged the runner-up spot on the Billboard R&B charts .

Befitting it's status as a sort-of forgotten J-5 hit, Mama's Pearl is also probably among the least-heard J-5 tunes today...it seems you almost never hear it on the Oldies stations, this despite the fact that it went to #2 on the Hot 100 and helped launch a career that was more of a legend. But if you listen long enough...and to enough stations...you'll still catch it once in awhile.

So Enjoy! Mama's Pearl by The Jackson Five.