Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Studio album by | ||||
Released | December 12, 1969 [1] | |||
Recorded | May–August 1969 | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 37:51 | |||
Label | Motown | |||
Producer | ||||
The Jackson 5 chronology | ||||
| ||||
Alternative cover | ||||
Singles from Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 | ||||
|
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
Rolling Stone | [3] |
Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 is the debut studio album from by the American soul family band The Jackson 5. It was released on December 12,1969 by Motown. [1] The Jackson 5's lead singer,a preadolescent Michael Jackson and his four older brothers Jackie,Tito,Jermaine,and Marlon,became pop successes within months of this album's release. Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5's only single,"I Want You Back",became a number-one hit on the US Billboard Hot 100 within weeks of the album's release. The album reached number 5 on the US Pop Albums chart,and spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the US R&B/Black Albums charts. To date,the Jackson 5's debut album has sold estimated 5 million copies worldwide. [4]
The album title suggested that Motown star Diana Ross had discovered the group,as do the Ross-penned liner notes on the back cover. Ross' supposed discovery of the Jackson 5 was in fact part of Motown's marketing and promotions plan for the Jackson 5. In actuality,it had been Motown producer Bobby Taylor who had discovered them. [5] Joe Jackson,the father and manager of the Jackson 5,thanked the "lovely Gladys Knight,(who) extended a helping hand to our family,by calling Motown executives and talking their ear off to take time out of their schedule and meet with us. She believed in us before others. Always grateful to her." [6] Knight also said she brought the Jackson 5 to Motown's attention. [7] Regardless,Ross embraced her assigned role and helped promote the group,especially grooming young Michael Jackson as a star. [8]
Motown CEO Berry Gordy brought the group to Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. studio in Detroit,Michigan,and assigned them to work with Bobby Taylor as their producer. Taylor,who had personally brought the Jacksons to Motown,began having Michael,Jermaine,Jackie,Tito and Marlon record cover versions of current and past soul compositions,including many in the Motown catalog. Over two dozen of these recordings were done,including covers of songs by the Temptations ("(I Know) I'm Losing You","Born to Love You"),Marvin Gaye ("Chained"),Stevie Wonder ("My Cherie Amour"),the Miracles ("Who's Lovin' You"),and the Four Tops ("Standing in the Shadows of Love"). Among the non-Motown covers done were versions of Sly &the Family Stone's "Stand!",the Delfonics' "Can You Remember",and "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" from the Walt Disney film Song of the South . The Jackson 5 also re-recorded "You've Changed",a song they first recorded in 1967 which was released on the B side of their first local hit single Big Boy for the Steeltown label before joining the Motown roster. [ citation needed ]
All of the songs Taylor recorded with the Jackson 5 during these summer 1969 sessions held close to the group's traditional R&B/soul sound,a sound somewhat less pop-aware than Motown's signature "Motown Sound". Of these recordings,the most famous became the cover of "Who's Lovin' You",with Michael Jackson re-delivering Smokey Robinson's often-covered plea for the return of a long-gone lover. The Jackson 5's version of the song supplanted the Miracles' original as the definitive recording of the song,and many of the future covers of the song (for example,En Vogue's cover at the beginning of their 1990 single "Hold On"),are based upon this version. [ citation needed ]
The Jackson 5 recorded a number of songs with Bobby Taylor during these summer 1969 sessions that remained in the Motown vault for several years,including covers of Ray Charles' "A Fool for You",the Four Tops' "Reach Out,I'll Be There",the Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing",and a version of Bobby Taylor's own "Oh,I've Been Blessed". These recordings would turn up on various Jackson 5 compilations,and virtually all of them were included on the boxed set Soulsation! . [ citation needed ]
In August 1969,Berry Gordy decided to take a more direct role in the Jackson 5's career. He had the Jacksons and their father,Joseph,move from Detroit to Los Angeles,California,where Gordy had a satellite studio (the Motown operation would move to Los Angeles by 1972). Taylor followed the group,and continued to work on the cover songs.
During this period,Gordy came across "I Want to Be Free",a composition written by West Coast-based Motown producers Freddie Perren,Alphonzo Mizell,and Deke Richards for Gladys Knight. At first,Gordy wanted the three producers to instead record the song with Diana Ross,but soon decided to give the song "the Frankie Lymon treatment" [9] and record it with the Jackson 5. Richards,Mizell,and Perren began re-working the song,and Gordy and Taylor also became involved in the revision process. The result was "I Want You Back",which became the Jackson 5's first Motown single,and the first of four Jackson 5 songs that went to number-one on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 1970.
"I Want You Back" became the blueprint for future Jackson 5 recordings:there was now less of an emphasis on traditional soul,and more prominent elements of doo-wop and bubblegum pop music. In fact,Motown's publicity department dubbed the Jackson 5's sound "bubblegum soul".
Gordy,Richards,Mizell,and Perren also contributed the album track "Nobody" to Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5;left out was Taylor,although he later performed uncredited production work on the second Jackson 5 album, ABC and its singles. All of the songs produced and written by Gordy,Richards,Mizell and Perren were billed under the name "the Corporation," a group that Gordy formed to handle future Jackson 5 recordings to avoid a repeat of the issues that arose when former Motown songwriters/producers Holland–Dozier–Holland were known by name and became as famous as the artists for whom they produced.
All songs produced by Bobby Taylor except for "Nobody" and "I Want You Back",produced by the Corporation.
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Singers | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah" (recorded May 1969) | Ray Gilbert, Allie Wrubel | Michael Jackson, Tito Jackson | 3:18 |
2. | "Nobody" (recorded August 1969) | The Corporation | Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson | 2:54 |
3. | "I Want You Back" (recorded August 1969) | The Corporation | Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Marlon Jackson | 3:04 |
4. | "Can You Remember" (recorded July 10 & 15, 1969) | Thom Bell, William Hart | Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson | 3:10 |
5. | "Standing in the Shadows of Love" (recorded June 1969) | Holland–Dozier–Holland | Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Tito Jackson | 4:06 |
6. | "You've Changed" (recorded July 19 & 29, 1969) | Jesse Reese | Michael Jackson | 3:16 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Singers | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
7. | "My Cherie Amour" (recorded July 1969) | Stevie Wonder, Sylvia Moy, Hank Cosby | Jermaine Jackson | 3:44 |
8. | "Who's Lovin' You" (recorded July 19, 24 & 29, 1969) | Smokey Robinson | Michael Jackson | 4:06 |
9. | "Chained" (recorded August 1969) | Frank Wilson | Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson | 2:54 |
10. | "(I Know) I'm Losing You" (recorded July 1969) | Cornelius Grant, Norman Whitfield, Eddie Holland | Jermaine Jackson | 2:16 |
11. | "Stand!" (recorded May 17, 1969) | Sylvester Stewart | Michael Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Jermaine Jackson | 2:30 |
12. | "Born to Love You" (recorded June 1969) | Ivy Jo Hunter, William "Mickey" Stevenson | Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson | 2:38 |
The songs on the album were recorded during May–August 1969.
Other tracks taken from its sessions include:
In 2001, Motown remastered all Jackson 5 albums in a "Two Classic Albums/One CD" series, as they had previously done in the late 1980s. Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 was paired up with ABC . One bonus track was included in a cover of Bobby Taylor's "Oh, I've Been Bless'd", a song also released on the rare 1979 outtakes album Boogie .
Technical
Chart (1969) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (Kent Music Report) [11] | 17 |
Canadian Albums ( RPM ) [12] | 10 |
UK Albums (OCC) [13] | 16 |
US Billboard 200 [14] | 5 |
Chart (1970) | Position |
---|---|
US Billboard Pop Albums [15] | 40 |
US Billboard Top Soul Albums [16] | 7 |
Diana Ross is an American singer and actress. Known as the "Queen of Motown Records", she was the lead singer of the vocal group the Supremes, who became Motown's most successful act during the 1960s and one of the world's best-selling girl groups of all time. They remain the best-charting female group in history, with a total of 12 number-one pop singles on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, including "Where Did Our Love Go", "Baby Love", "Come See About Me", "Stop! In the Name of Love", "You Keep Me Hangin' On", and "Love Child".
Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers were a Canadian soul band from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The group recorded for the Gordy Records division of Motown Records in 1968, where they had a top 30 hit single, "Does Your Mama Know About Me". As a producer and solo artist, Bobby Taylor contributed to several other soul recordings, both inside and outside of Motown. Taylor is most notable for discovering and mentoring The Jackson 5. Tommy Chong was a member of Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers before he became famous as a comedian.
The Corporation was a group of songwriters and record producers assembled in 1969 by Motown label head Berry Gordy to create hit records for the label's new act, The Jackson 5.
Frederick James Perren was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor. He co-wrote and co-produced songs including "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, and "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches & Herb.
"Who's Lovin' You" is a Motown soul song, written in 1960 by William "Smokey" Robinson. The song has been recorded by many different artists including The Miracles, who recorded the 1960 original version, The Temptations, The Supremes, Terence Trent D'arby, Brenda and The Tabulations, John Farnham, Human Nature, En Vogue, Michael Bublé and Giorgia Todrani and Jessica Mauboy. The most famous version is attributed to The Jackson 5. Shaheen Jafargholi, then twelve years old, performed the song at Michael Jackson's public memorial service in July 2009.
"I Want You Back" is the first national single by the Jackson 5. It was released by Motown in October 1969, and became the first number-one hit for the band on January 31, 1970. It was performed on the band's first television appearances, on October 18, 1969, on The Hollywood Palace and on their milestone performance on December 14, 1969, on The Ed Sullivan Show. "I Want You Back" has sold over 6 million copies worldwide.
"The Love You Save" is a song recorded by the Jackson 5 for Motown Records. It was released as a single on May 13, 1970, and held the number-one spot on the soul singles chart in the US for six weeks and the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for two weeks, from June 27 to July 4, 1970 and sold over 2 million copies in the United States. In the UK top 40 chart, it peaked at number 7 in August 1970. The song is the third of the four-in-a-row Jackson 5 number-ones released. Billboard ranked the record as the No. 16 song of 1970, one place behind the Jackson 5's "ABC".
"Sugar Daddy" is a hit single by the Motown quintet The Jackson 5 from their first greatest hits album, released in late 1971.
Lookin' Through the Windows is the sixth studio album by the Jackson 5, released on the Motown label in May 1972. It has sold 3.5 million copies worldwide
Skywriter is the seventh studio album by The Jackson 5, released by Motown on March 29, 1973. Skywriter has sold a estimated 2.8 million copies worldwide since its release.
Diana & Marvin is a duets album by American soul musicians Diana Ross and Marvin Gaye, released October 26, 1973 on Motown. Recording sessions for the album took place between 1971 and 1973 at Motown Recording Studios in Hollywood, California. Gaye and Ross were widely recognized at the time as two of the top pop music performers.
"Give Love on Christmas Day" is a Christmas song first recorded by Motown Records' family quintet the Jackson 5. Written by the label's songwriting-producing team, The Corporation, the song was recorded for the Jackson brothers' 1970 seasonal album, entitled Jackson 5 Christmas Album. The song was well received critically upon release of the album. The festive track went on to be covered by groups such as The Temptations, Yolanda Adams, Ledisi, New Edition, BlackGirl, and solo artists such as Coko, and Johnny Gill.
Leon Ware was an American songwriter, producer, composer, and singer. Besides a solo career as a performer, Ware was best known for producing hits for other artists including Michael Jackson, Quincy Jones, Maxwell, Minnie Riperton and Marvin Gaye, co-producing the latter's album I Want You.
The Mizell Brothers were an American record producing team in the 1970s, consisting of Larry Mizell and Alphonso "Fonce" Mizell. They worked together on a string of jazz fusion, crossover jazz, soul, R&B and disco records.
David T. Walker is an American soul/R&B, and jazz guitarist. In addition to numerous session musician duties since the early 1970s, Walker has issued fifteen albums in his own name.
"Imagination" is a song by Canadian recording artist Tamia, released as the first single from her self-titled debut album (1998). It was written and produced by Jermaine Dupri and his protégé Manuel Seal and features additional vocals by the former. "Imagination" is a mid-tempo R&B song that contains an interpolation from The Jackson 5's 1969 song "I Want You Back", written and produced by Motown's The Corporation team consisting of Berry Gordy, Alphonzo Mizell, Freddie Perren, and Deke Richards.
Renaissance is a 1973 album by R&B group The Miracles on Motown Records' Tamla label. It was the first album by the group not to feature original lead singer Smokey Robinson on lead vocals, instead featuring him as executive producer. Robinson was replaced by lead singer Billy Griffin.
The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael. They were managed by their father Joe Jackson. The group were among the first African American performers to attain a crossover following.
"All I Want" is a song by American R&B group 702 recorded for the group's debut album No Doubt (1996). The song was released as the third single for the album and as a promotional single for the soundtrack to the 1997 film Good Burger on July 8, 1997.
The Michael Jackson Mix is a compilation album by American singer and recording artist Michael Jackson, released in 1987. Available as a double LP, double cassette and double CD, the album contains 40 songs from Jackson's Motown career – solo and with The Jackson 5 – edited together in four separate megamixes: "Love Mix 1" and "Love Mix 2" on the first LP, cassette and CD, and "Dance Mix 1" and "Dance Mix 2" on the second LP, cassette and CD.