Rockin'
Robin
1972
Michael
Jackson
Fifty-eight or so years ago a dude named Leon Rene' AKA
Jimmie Thomas knocked out a fun, uber-high-energy little tune about a
very hyper, very talented robin entertaining the other birds in his neighborhood, then handed it off to another guy named Bobbie Day,
who'd make it his one and only hit single when he recorded it and snagged the
runner-up spot on the singles chart of the era (Remember that was
before The Billboard Hot 100)
It was well received, fun, and danceable...the kids of the Fifties gave it a solid '8' or so. Fourteen years later, in 1972, you'd still hear it pretty
regularly, and Motown's legendary head honcho Berry Gordy
heard it, nodded meaningfully, and said 'I know exactly which budding
solo artist that'd be perfect for!'. So he bought the rights, had it
tweaked a very tiny bit, and gave it to Michael Jackson
as his second single. MJ then preceded to match Bobbie Day's chart
performance when he snagged the Hot 100's runner-up spot, in the
process making his second solo effort the favorite version of this high energy
classic by far. Oh, and if you polled us crazy Seventies Kids on which Michael Jackson/Jackson Five song is our favorite today, this one would probably give 'I'll Be There' a run for the money.
'Rockin' Robin' debuted on the Billboard Hot 100 on
3-11-72 at #68, then cracked the Top 20 two weeks later, landing at
#14. It'd slip into the Top 10 (#9) the very next week, then snag the
runner-up spot on 4-22-1972, staying there for a pair of weeks before
heading down, and falling off of the charts on 6-3-72, for a 13 week
chart run...it'd also be one of the relatively few covers that MJ
did, as well as his most successful cover.
Michael Jackson's version of Rockin' Robin stayed pretty true to the original, hanging on to both the original lyrics and melody...including the tune's distinctive intro...with the addition, of course, of Michael Jackson's youthful vocals. MJ's vocals in combo with Rockin' Robin's already very distinctive intro produced what's
probably one of the most instantly recognizable hits of all time, so
recognizable, in fact, that I'd almost be willing to bet that
anyone who was a teen or 'Tween', back in 1972 will recognize it instantly from just the first three notes, and will probably join right in as soon as they hear it. MJ pretty much knocked it out of the park.
While The Jackson Five's success was built on Bubble Gum Rock, and while the lyrics to Rockin' Robin are a bit nonsensical, it is not a Bubblegum Pop song by any means... it's a dance tune. And it's definitely loads of fun to dance to...it has one of those, frenetic, high energy, happily busy beats that just drags you out to the dance floor, but be warned...ya gotta be in good shape to dance to it, cause it's sure as hell not a slow dance. It'll give you a work-out, and leave you smiling when you finish!
The song was absolute pure, unadulterated, fun to listen to and was one of Spring 1972's Feel Good songs...you know, the breed of tune that that just hearing the intro to would put a smile on your face. You absolutely would...and likely still will...head sway, foot tap, finger tap, and and dance-in-place to it...you just can't help it. We heard it all Spring and into the Summer of '72, and you can still hear it now, and not only on the Oldies Stations(Where you will hear it.). A couple of years back, on Dancing With The Stars Season 16's finale, the lovely and uber-talented Zendaya Coleman and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy burned up the dance floor to it on their 'Instand Jive'. ( Zenday shoulda won it...Just Sayin! )
It's been covered extensively, as well as used on several TV shows (And it's always the MJ version that you hear) and has been used a couple of times by contestants on shows such as American Idle...it's pretty much become part of the Music Landscape, maybe even more so that 'I'll Be There'.
I have a feeling that, many years hence, it'll not only still show up on Oldies Stations playlists, it'll show up on, say, Dancing With The Stars Season 80...but when it does so, it'll have to be performed by someone young enough to handle the moves!
So Enjoy! Rockin' Robin' By Michael Jackson.
A trio of bonus vids with this one gang...first up, a trio of icons all in one fell swoop...Dick Clark introducing a very young Michael Jackson, who performs his then brand new hit, Rockin' Robin on American Bandstand. Too bad the quality's so bad on this one, because it's a gem.
Bonus Numero Dos...As proof that Seventies Music will never ever die, Zedaya Coleman and Val tear up the dance floor to Rockin' Robin on the final dance of the Dancing With The Stars Season 16 Finale. They knocked it slam outa the park! Zendaya shoulda won it...just sayin'!
Bonus Numero Tres...The original, by Bobby Day...the video features some scenes, stills, and behind the scenes pics from yet another American Classic...American Graffiti...as well as some pics of some of the classic rides from the movie. As for the tune...MJ stayed pretty true to the original, but added his own flair to it, making it the favorite of the two versions by miles.
A couple of little factoids, notes and such!
While The Jackson Five's success was built on Bubble Gum Rock, and while the lyrics to Rockin' Robin are a bit nonsensical, it is not a Bubblegum Pop song by any means... it's a dance tune. And it's definitely loads of fun to dance to...it has one of those, frenetic, high energy, happily busy beats that just drags you out to the dance floor, but be warned...ya gotta be in good shape to dance to it, cause it's sure as hell not a slow dance. It'll give you a work-out, and leave you smiling when you finish!
The song was absolute pure, unadulterated, fun to listen to and was one of Spring 1972's Feel Good songs...you know, the breed of tune that that just hearing the intro to would put a smile on your face. You absolutely would...and likely still will...head sway, foot tap, finger tap, and and dance-in-place to it...you just can't help it. We heard it all Spring and into the Summer of '72, and you can still hear it now, and not only on the Oldies Stations(Where you will hear it.). A couple of years back, on Dancing With The Stars Season 16's finale, the lovely and uber-talented Zendaya Coleman and her partner Val Chmerkovskiy burned up the dance floor to it on their 'Instand Jive'. ( Zenday shoulda won it...Just Sayin! )
It's been covered extensively, as well as used on several TV shows (And it's always the MJ version that you hear) and has been used a couple of times by contestants on shows such as American Idle...it's pretty much become part of the Music Landscape, maybe even more so that 'I'll Be There'.
I have a feeling that, many years hence, it'll not only still show up on Oldies Stations playlists, it'll show up on, say, Dancing With The Stars Season 80...but when it does so, it'll have to be performed by someone young enough to handle the moves!
So Enjoy! Rockin' Robin' By Michael Jackson.
A trio of bonus vids with this one gang...first up, a trio of icons all in one fell swoop...Dick Clark introducing a very young Michael Jackson, who performs his then brand new hit, Rockin' Robin on American Bandstand. Too bad the quality's so bad on this one, because it's a gem.
Bonus Numero Dos...As proof that Seventies Music will never ever die, Zedaya Coleman and Val tear up the dance floor to Rockin' Robin on the final dance of the Dancing With The Stars Season 16 Finale. They knocked it slam outa the park! Zendaya shoulda won it...just sayin'!
Bonus Numero Tres...The original, by Bobby Day...the video features some scenes, stills, and behind the scenes pics from yet another American Classic...American Graffiti...as well as some pics of some of the classic rides from the movie. As for the tune...MJ stayed pretty true to the original, but added his own flair to it, making it the favorite of the two versions by miles.
A couple of little factoids, notes and such!
While I'm at it here, I'm going to give a shout-out to a crew who's often kind of overlooked on both Jackson Five and early Michael Jackson tunes. MJ's
vocals were spot-on, but it takes more than vocals to make a hit. Rockin' Robin was helped along...as were all of the
J-5's and MJ's Motown hits...by the uber-tight, absolutely on-point
instrumentals provided by Motown's house band. Just listen to the
drums...they have some seriously some seriously tight
percussion goin' on! If you really want to hear the house band roll, just take a listen to Rockin' Robin's instrumental bridge.
Interestingly enough, the House Band that provided the sound for Rockin' Robin (And indeed, all of Motown's L.A. recordings) was not the legendary Funk Brothers, who provided the instrumentals for a slew of legendary artists on the great majority of Motown's Detroit-recorded hits but were collections of different session musicians put together for each particular song.
<***>
While...as noted above...The Jackson Five were considered Ambassadors of Bubblegum Pop, none of Michael Jackson's first three solo hits were bubblegum...two of them were ballads, and the third...this one, sandwiched between them...was a dance tune.
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