From the precision dance steps to the classic songs to the tight harmonies, There are absolutely no words to describe the influence and impact of the most talented family in music history. They are without a doubt the ultimate blueprint for the boy bands and family groups that dominated the 80's, 90's and early 2000's. Their innovations in recording, dancing and even film has changed the game on so many levels. Growing up, my uncle made sure that I knew every lead and every harmony part of each brother and then assembled me and my cousins into the group for house parties. And of course, you can guess who was Michael (wink). Whenever they performed on TV, the whole family would gather in the living room and watch to see what kind of hot performance the brothers would put on. The Jacksons were a working-class family from Gary, Indiana. Katherine, being a Jehovah's Witness, raised the children as such, while their father, Joe, who started studying with the Witnesses, instead decided he would not join that faith. Their father, a steel mill employee who often performed in an R&B band called "The Falcons" with his brother Luther, was a strict disciplinarian. Many of the Jackson children recall being spanked or whipped by Joe for misbehaving. Let me say that like all parents, Joseph was not perfect in a lot of areas but the bottom line is that if it wasn't for him, The Jacksons would have never happened and because my family is from the south too, I understood that it's not easy raising 9 kids with different personalities on a Steel Mill salary so things had to be done a certain way.
The children found an outlet in doing jumping jacks, with elder brothers Jackie (born Sigmund Esco Jackson, 1951), Tito (born Toriano Adaryll Jackson, 1953), and Jermaine Lajuan (b. 1954) borrowing their father's guitar without his permission and playing along to the radio. Younger brothers Marlon David (b. 1957) and Michael Joseph (b. 1958) were allowed to watch as long as they did not tell. Joseph eventually discovered that the older three boys were playing his guitar when Tito broke one of the strings. Although he was furious at first and punished Tito, Joseph realized the boys had talent and began making plans to create a musical act for them. Katherine was outraged when Joseph took money he made and decided to invest his son's future by buying instruments when he should've brought new shoes for Jackie (lol).
In 1963, Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine began performing around the Gary area with neighborhood children Milford Hite (on drums) and Reynaud Jones (on keyboards), in a group called The Jackson Brothers. Joe Jackson served as the manager, at first only part-time, and then eventually quitting his job at the steel mill. Jermaine sang lead and played bass, and Tito played guitar.
In 1964, younger brothers Marlon and Michael joined the group. Already showing strong natural talent as a singer and dancer, Michael was asked by his older brother Jermaine to be the lead vocalist by mid-1967. Shirley Cartman, Tito's junior high orchestra teacher, noticed the group's talents and served as an early mentor to the group, by then they called themselves The Jackson Five a name given to them by a lady in their neighborhood.
During this period, the boys toured Indiana extensively, and after winning a major local talent show in 1966 with a rendition of The Temptations' "My Girl", led by Michael, they began playing professional gigs in Chicago, Illinois and across the mid-eastern U.S. Many of these gigs were in a string of black clubs and venues collectively known as the "chitlin' circuit", and the young kids sometimes had to open for strip teasers and other adult acts in order to earn money.
Shirley Cartman got the Jackson Five a record deal with Gordon Keith's local Steeltown label, and the group began making their first recordings in 1967. Their first single, "Big Boy", became a regional hit. During this period, Johnny Jackson (no relation) on drums and Ronnie Rancifer on keys replaced the other two members.
The Jackson Five had a number of admirers in their early days, including Sam & Dave, who helped the group secure a spot in the famous Amateur Night competition at the Apollo Theater in Harlem. The group won the August 13, 1967 competition during the Amateur Night showdown at the Apollo, impressing Motown Records artist Gladys Knight of The Pips. Knight recommended the group to Motown chief Berry Gordy, but Gordy, who already had teenager Stevie Wonder on his roster, was hesitant to take on another child act because of the child labor laws and other problems involved that he had went through with Stevie and his parents.
The Jackson Five's sound was influenced by many of the biggest stars of the 1960s, especially including family funk bands Sly & the Family Stone and The Isley Brothers, soul pioneer Marvin Gaye, Frankie Lymon & the Teenagers, and soul shouters like Wilson Pickett, Jackie Wilson, Stevie Wonder, Joe Tex and James Brown. At the time of their early success, soul and funk stars, especially coming from Motown Records, were among the most popular musicians; Motown had launched the careers of dozens of the decade's biggest stars, most notably Smokey Robinson & the Miracles, Stevie Wonder, Marvin Gaye, The Temptations, and Diana Ross & the Supremes.
From these sources, The Jackson Five developed many of their vocal arrangement styles and dance movements. The group's multi-split-lead vocal style was inspired by that of The Family Stone, while young Michael adapted Jackie Wilson and James Brown's impassioned singing and dancing styles into his own. Marlon was also a noted dance terror in his own right and Michael credits Marlon in his autobiography as the chief choreographer of a lot of the group's signature dance routines including the all-too-famous "Jackson Point" dance and is also a verrrry huge dance influence on the L*A*W. Let me also point out that though most of the leads went to Michael and Jermaine, all the brothers were definitely allowed to show off their vocal talents and if you are a die-hard Jackson 5 album fan like myself, you will hear many of the album cuts that features Jackie, Tito & Marlon making some strong vocal appearances like "Corner Of The Sky", "I'll Bet You", "How Funky Is Your Chicken" and my favorite "Mama Got a Brand New Thing" where you get to hear all of them take the lead !
By 1968, the Jackson 5 were a headlining act for the All Star Floor Show at Chicago's The Guys' and Gals' Cocktail Lounge and Restaurant. From July 12–27, 1968, the Jackson 5 opened for Motown group Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers at Chicago's Regal Theater. Taylor was also very impressed with the boys, and he decided to make the commitment to bring them to Detroit and Motown. Joseph and the Jackson Five stayed on the floor of Bobby Taylor's Detroit apartment the night of July 22, while Taylor and Motown executive Suzanne de Passe arranged for the Jackson Five to audition for the label.
On July 23, the Jackson Five had their Motown audition, for which they performed James Brown's then current hit "I Got the Feeling". Berry Gordy was not in attendance, but that now famous audition tape was sent to him in Los Angeles. Gordy's initial reluctance to sign the group disappeared when he finally saw the boys perform. Gordy decided to sign the Jackson Five to Motown, and hosted a party at his Detroit mansion on November 25, 1968 to introduce them to the Motown staff and stars.
Motown began negotiations to buy out the Jackson Five's Steeltown contract, completing the deal in March 1969. By the summer, Bobby Taylor began producing the group's first recordings at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. recording studio in Detroit. The early Taylor-produced Jackson Five records were all covers of both contemporary hits and Motown-standards, including Sly & the Family Stone's "Stand!" and their famous rendition of The Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", written by Smokey Robinson.
Gordy moved the Jackson Five and Joseph to California, and he and Suzanne de Passe began the process of grooming them as the label's next big act, while the rest of the family remained in Gary. While looking for a house in California, Joseph, Jermaine, Tito, and Jackie lived with Berry Gordy, while Michael and Marlon lived with Motown star Diana Ross.
In the meantime, Motown's marketing team began preparing press kits and other promotion material to begin the Jackson 5's entrance into the mainstream music industry. Motown publicity significantly altered the group's history, reducing Michael's age from eleven to eight to make him appear cuter, identifying unrelated band musicians Johnny Jackson and Ronnie Rancifer as cousins of the Jacksons, and crediting Diana Ross with discovering the group. According to their official Motown biography, referenced in several early interviews and liner notes, Diana Ross (and, in some versions of the story, Berry Gordy alongside her) was introduced to the Jackson 5 by Gary, Indiana's mayor, Richard G. Hatcher, at a benefit concert that the Jackson 5 were described as having played for the mayor in 1969. Impressed, Ross (and Gordy) had the act signed to Motown and Ross personally acted as their mentor.
The Jackson 5's first single, "I Want You Back", was written and produced by four Motown songwriters and producers — Berry Gordy, Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards, and Freddie Perren — who were collectively billed as The Corporation--. The song reached number one in January, 1970.
Most of the early Jackson 5 singles were written and produced by The Corporation, who crafted for the Jackson 5 a sound that mixed the traditional "Motown Sound" with teenage-honed lyrics that they termed "bubblegum soul". The Jackson 5 became an instant sensation, with "I Want You Back" and its 1970 follow-ups "ABC", "The Love You Save," and "I'll Be There" all going to 1 on both the Billboard Pop Singles chart and the Billboard Soul Singles (R&B) chart. Other early Top 5 hits included "Mama's Pearl" and "Never Can Say Goodbye."
"Jackson 5 mania" swept the nation, and within a year of their debut the Jackson 5 were among the biggest names in popular music. The group essentially replaced The Supremes as Motown's main marketing focus, and, capitalizing upon the youth-oriented appeal of the Jackson brothers, Motown licensed dozens of Jackson 5-related juvenile products, including the now famous J5 Heart logo which appears on Johnny Jacksons drum kit and many of the Jackson 5's album covers, stickers, sewable patches, posters, and coloring books. A new teen magazine aimed at African-American youth, Right On!, began publication in 1971, and focused heavily on the Jackson 5; at least one Jackson adorned the cover of every issue published between January 1972 and April 1974. Animation producers Rankin/Bass produced The Jackson Five, a Saturday morning cartoon that debuted on September 11, 1971 and ran for two seasons on ABC. The Jackson 5 starred in two of their own television specials, Goin' Back to Indiana (aired September 16, 1971) and The Jackson 5 Show (aired November 5, 1972).
In 1971, Motown began a spin-off solo career for Michael, whose first single, "Got to Be There," was a Top 5 hit. Michael also sang the title track for the 1972 motion picture Ben. His other successful solo singles included "Rockin' Robin" and "I Wanna Be Where You Are" (both 1972). Jermaine started a solo career of his own in 1972, and had a Top Ten hit with his Shep and the Limelites cover "Daddy's Home" Jackie also recorded a solo album, but his releases failed to chart. Despite fan rumors that all three Jacksons might leave the group as they released solo work, the solo careers of Michael, Jermaine, and Jackie co-existed alongside that of the group as a whole, allowing Motown to expand the success and sales of Jackson 5-related releases and although it was never commercially successful, Jackie's 1973 solo album is a verrry underrated piece of work with great songs showing his awesome range and falsetto like "Love Don't Wanna Leave" Jackie would definitely get his props later on as a co-writer of many of the Jackson's best songs.
The Jackson 5 was also notable for its significant popularity with adolescent girls during the early 1970s. Thousands of young girls fell in love with the Jackson brothers, especially Jermaine and Michael. Michael Jackson's biographer, J. Randy Taraborrelli, has said that the elder brothers engaged in sexual relations with several of their female fans at hotels shared between them while younger brothers Michael and Marlon watched in the same room. Michael himself, despite being the most popular member of the group, would remain shy about dating for most of his adolescence. Tito was the first Jackson brother to marry, marrying his high school girlfriend Dee Dee in June 1972.
Against the wishes of his father, Jermaine began a relationship with Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel. Jermaine and Hazel Gordy's relationship was highly publicized in magazines such as Right On!, Ebony, and Jet, and the two were married at a gala wedding ceremony held on December 15, 1973 at the Beverly Hills Hotel.
After 1972, the Jackson 5's releases were less successful, but they still did very well and most of their Motown albums contained some great filler tracks that was always exciting to hear. Later Top 20 hits, mostly written and produced by Hal Davis, included "Lookin' Through the Windows" (1972) and the disco-styled "Dancing Machine" (1974), which popularized the "Robot" dance routine and alongside the pop-lock craze of the mid-70's started by urban youth, Michael, Marlon & Jackie mechanical movements in the "Dancing Machine" routine became a predecessor for the breakdancing movement that would later dominate the dance scene in the late 70's and 1980's. Jackson 5 albums declined somewhat in critical acclaim and financial success during the latter part of their Motown tenure, although LPs such as Lookin' Through the Windows (1972) and G.I.T: Get It Together (1973) frequently included successful album tracks, including their version of "Hum Along and Dance", a popular number in their live act.
Critics, the Jackson 5, and Joseph Jackson agreed that the main reason for the group's declining success was Motown's refusal to update their image. Although they played their own instruments on stage and had begun writing and producing songs in their own home recording studio, the Jacksons were not allowed to play on their own records or record their own material. Feeling that the Jackson 5 could be more of a success without Motown, which was by this time declining in success and popularity, Joseph began shopping for a new record deal for his sons.
In 1975, Joseph negotiated a new recording contract with CBS Records, who offered a royalty rate of 20% per record, compared to Motown's standard 2.8%; and would allow the Jackson brothers to write and produce their own records and play their own instruments. After unsuccessfully attempting to talk the group into staying on the label, Motown sued for breach of contract. Although Motown eventually let the group go, the Jackson 5 were forced to change their name to The Jacksons, because Motown retained the "Jackson 5" trademark during the settlement of the lawsuit. The Jacksons also replaced Jermaine with the youngest Jackson brother, 14-year-old Randy, since Jermaine chose to stay with Motown and the Gordys. Randy had been an unofficial member of The Jackson 5 since 1972, playing congas onstage and dancing as part of their live act. Long story short, if this move wasn't made, "Thriller" and "Off The Wall" would've never been made. Although Jermaine wouldn't find strong success with Motown until 1980's "Let's Get Serious" written by Stevie Wonder , he released several excellent funk/soul/pop albums such as "Feel The Fire", "I Like Your Style", " Frontiers", "Jermaine (1980)" that showcased his velvet but strong vocal chops and more importantly, his tremendously underrated skills as a bass virtuoso on cuts like "You Need To Be Loved", "Get Up and Dance", "Happiness is", "The Pieces Fit" and the classic "Bass Odyssey". Bass pioneer Larry Graham of Sly & The Family Stone has said in several interviews that Jermaine Jackson and Keni Burke are two bass players he loved that emulated his style very well. In the footsteps of his father-in-law, Jermaine also played a strong A&R role by bringing a funk/soul/pop group from the midwest called Switch, who scored big with classics like "I Call Your Name" , "Best Beat in Town" and the most famous "There'll Never Be". The group was spearheaded by brothers Bobby and Tommy Debarge who brought in their younger siblings to the Motown at the start of the 1980's. As we all know, Debarge went on to become one of the baddest self-contained family groups of the 1980's with hit songs like "I Like it" , "Time will Reveal", "All This Love" and "Rhythm Of The Night"
After losing the Jacksons, Motown would not have another success of their caliber for the duration of Berry Gordy's ownership of the label. Gordy often said of the Jackson 5 that they were, coming after the label's most famous acts, "the last big stars to come rolling off the Motown assembly line."
In summer 1976, CBS television signed the Jackson family (including Michael, Marlon, Tito, Jackie, Randy, Rebbie, LaToya, and Janet) to appear in their own variety show, to compete with ABC's The Osmonds. The Jacksons debuted on June 16, 1976, and ran on CBS until its cancellation the following March. The show was the first variety show hosted by an African American family.
At first, part of CBS's Philadelphia International Records division, and later moving over to Epic Records, the Jacksons continued releasing popular singles such as "Enjoy Yourself", "Good Times" and "Show You The Way To Go" (1976), produced by Philadelphia International's Kenneth Gamble & Leon Huff. After two LPs produced by Gamble and Huff, the Jacksons wanted artistic control, and produced their next LP, 1978's Destiny, on their own. The album included the Jacksons' biggest post-Motown single, "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", which charted at number seven on the Billboard Hot 100 and at number three on the Billboard R&B Singles chart. "Shake Your Body", written by Michael and Randy, sold over two million copies, attaining double-platinum status. Destiny also went platinum, and peaked at number 11 on the Billboard 200 album chart and number three on the R&B album charts. In 1979, the Jacksons received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In 1978, Michael starred alongside Diana Ross in the Motown/Universal Pictures motion picture The Wiz, an adaptation of the Broadway musical based upon L. Frank Baum's The Wonderful Wizard of Oz. Quincy Jones was the producer of the film's songs, and he and Michael began work on Michael's first Epic solo album, Off the Wall, the next year. Off the Wall, released in 1979, sold 20 million copies worldwide and featured four Top 10 hit singles and two number-one singles, causing some speculation about whether Michael would leave the Jacksons.
Michael Jackson continued to perform with his brothers on the multi-platinum, Triumph in 1980, which featured the hits "Lovely One", "Walk Right Now", "Heartbreak Hotel", and the Randy and Jackie-penned classic "Can You Feel It". The video "Can You Feel it" is the first longform special effects video and still to this day is my favorite because this video which Michael had a lot to do with the concept, was a predecessor to the groundbreaking "Thriller" long form video that changed the music video art form forever. 1981 saw the release of the gold-selling and widely-influential The Jacksons Live!, using recordings from the "Triumph" tour. In 1988, Rolling Stone magazine described the Triumph tour as one of the best 25 tours from 1967 to 1987. The Triumph LP and tour were successful, but were outperformed by Michael's 1982 LP Thriller. Thriller went on to become the second most successful album ever in the United States (after the Eagles' Their Greatest Hits (1971-1975)), and to date stands as the world's best-selling album of all time.
The Motown 25 television special, broadcast on NBC on May 16, 1983, featured a reunion performance between Jermaine and the other brothers. Outside of one 1979 appearance on the TV show Midnight Special this was the original Jackson 5's first performance in nearly seven years. The Motown 25 Jackson 5 reunion was overshadowed, however, by Michael's landmark performance of "Billie Jean" on the same program, which introduced his trademark "moonwalk" dance which was taught to him by former Soul Train dancer/choreographer Jeffrey Daniels who is mostly known as a member of popular R&B/Pop group Shalamar. He would later work with Michael for videos off the "Bad" album in 1987.
The Jacksons released the heavily underrated, quickly released but 8x multi-platinum album Victory in 1984, featuring the hit singles "State of Shock", the Jackie Jackson penned "Torture" and the surprise R&B smash led by Marlon, "Body" and supported the album with the massively successful Victory World Tour. The Victory album and tour marked the official return of Jermaine to the group's lineup who was already enjoying mainstream success with his multi-platinum self-titled album that featured classics like "Dynamite", "Tell me I'm Not Dreaming" which is a smokin duet with Michael and the most memorable classic and video "Do what you Do". It's also the first Jackson album where everyone had their own song including Randy with "One More Chance" later covered by little sister Janet for a b-side to one of her hits and for the first time and last time, Tito had his own song where he sings lead called "We Can Change The World". In a interview for this tour, it was mentioned that the brothers recorded 20 to 30 songs for this album but narrowed it down to a measly eight. I pray to God that someone releases the deluxe edition of this album so I and other die hard Jackson fans can hear this.
Shortly after the Victory Tour, Michael left the Jacksons, as his solo career had led to the success of Thriller and its singles. His name recognition as a solo act had also grown, despite touring as part of a group. The other brothers eventually drifted apart to take on solo projects (although most of them appeared with Michael on the U.S. For Africa single "We Are the World" in 1985). The Jacksons sorta reunited for one last album, 2300 Jackson Street in 1989. While every Jackson sibling except for LaToya appeared on the title track, a 9 R&B hit single, most of the album featured Jermaine, Jackie, Tito, and Randy as the line up. Michael Jackson's fame as a solo act as well as the growing fame of the group's youngest sister, Janet Jackson, had overshadowed the group entirely. A CD compilation of hits from the CBS/Epic years, The Essential Jacksons, was released in 2004, as was a separate compilation assembled by Universal/Hip-O, The Jacksons Story.
It wasn't until after their induction in the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame that all six brothers would finally reunite after 20 years in 2001 on the T.V show celebrating Michael Jackson's 30th anniversary in music for an unforgettable performance that would be the talk of the whole show.
In recent news, it has been reported that a possible Jacksons reunion could happen next year after Jermaine said in the ITV/ITV2 talk show, Katie & Peter: Unleashed, that Michael agreed to partake on a possible reunion tour with his brothers stating "he was at the meetings, he will be involved." Though Michael nor his spokespeople have confirmed such meetings or even confirmation that he'll participate in the tour, Jermaine stated that Michael will do it because "he is a Jackson, he has to be". Jermaine said that Michael had agreed to do something with his brothers prior to his 2005 trial on child molestation charges and said the original quintet and baby brother Randy are also working on a new album.
Tito Jackson, like his father before him, organized his three sons into a musical group called 3T, who had a 2 UK hit, titled "Why?" and an American 1 R&B song "Anything" in August 1996, (which featured a guest appearance from Michael Jackson). Soon afterwards, Tito began a low-key career as a blues musician. Randy Jackson had a hit group known as Randy and the Gypsies in which they did quality work but were very underrated. They still managed to become what was considered to be the 2nd biggest concert draw within the framework of the (black) American concert scene during the mid 90's. A lot of these videos are posted on U-Tube. Now that we have lost the gloved one, we will never see that same package again or if at least not the same way. Michael was the special sauce in the Jacksons ingredient and he will be missed.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5-D_6ReWjM (THE EARLY YEARS)