I Am Love (The Jackson 5 song)

Last updated
"I Am Love"
The Jackson 5 - I Am Love.jpg
Single by The Jackson 5
from the album Dancing Machine
ReleasedDecember 23, 1974
RecordedJune 1974
Hitsville West, Los Angeles
Genre Funk, disco, soul, rock, pop, Progressive rock
Length7:30
5:31 (Part I)
3:01 (Part II)
Label Motown
M 1286
Songwriter(s) D.Fenceton / J.Marcellino / M.Larson / R.Rancifer
Producer(s) Mel Larson & Jerry Marcellino
The Jackson 5 singles chronology
"Whatever You Got I Want"
(1974)
"I Am Love"
(1974)
"Forever Came Today"
(1975)

"I Am Love", from the album Dancing Machine , was the Jackson 5's last Top 20 hit (#15 in 1975) as the group later left Motown for CBS Records.

Released in late 1974 as a single, it was one of the group's album-oriented efforts as the song went beyond the usual playing time of a pop song, at around 7 minutes and 30 seconds. The song was part-soul ballad (led by Jermaine) and part-funk/rock dance anthem (led mostly by Michael).

On the single release, "Part 1" is an edited version of the entire album track, while "Part 2" is an edit of the faster-tempo second section. Record World said it was "clearly so powerful a production that many programmers will go with the unedited version (side one) over the tighter 'Part II' flip." [1] After the song's success, the group released their last Motown album, Moving Violation in May 1975, before leaving the label for Epic Records (a division of CBS Records) the following month.

It charted at #3 on the US Billboard R&B chart and #15 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, but was not a hit in the UK Singles Chart.

Notable performances of the song were on The Cher Show in 1975, a concert in Mexico in December of 1975, and on their TV variety series in 1977.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gloria Gaynor</span> American singer

Gloria Gaynor is an American singer, best known for the disco era hits "I Will Survive" (1978), "Let Me Know " (1979), "I Am What I Am" (1983), and her version of "Never Can Say Goodbye" (1974).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gladys Knight & the Pips</span> American R&B/soul vocal group

Gladys Knight & the Pips were an American R&B, soul, and funk family music group from Atlanta, Georgia, that remained active on the music charts and performing circuit for over three decades starting from the early 1950s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thelma Houston</span> American singer

Thelma Houston is an American singer. Beginning her recording career in the late 1960s, Houston scored a number-one hit record in 1977 with her recording of "Don't Leave Me This Way", which won the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jimmy Ruffin</span> American singer (1936–2014)

Jimmy Lee Ruffin was an American soul singer, and the older brother of David Ruffin the lead singer of the Temptations. He had several hit records between the 1960s and 1980s, the most successful being the Top 10 hits "What Becomes of the Brokenhearted" and "Hold On ".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Get Ready (The Temptations song)</span> Song by The Temptations

"Get Ready" is a Motown song written by Smokey Robinson, which resulted in two hit records for the label: a U.S. No. 29 version by The Temptations in 1966, and a U.S. No. 4 version by Rare Earth in 1970. It is significant for being the last song Robinson wrote and produced for the Temptations, due to a deal Berry Gordy made with Norman Whitfield, that if "Get Ready" did not meet with the expected degree of success, then Whitfield's song, "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", would get the next release, which resulted in Whitfield more or less replacing Robinson as the group's producer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ain't No Mountain High Enough</span> 1966 song by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell

"Ain't No Mountain High Enough" is a song written by Nickolas Ashford & Valerie Simpson in 1966 for the Tamla label, a division of Motown. The composition was first successful as a 1967 hit single recorded by Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, and became a hit again in 1970 when recorded by former Supremes frontwoman Diana Ross. The song became Ross's first solo number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Hangover</span> 1976 single by Diana Ross

"Love Hangover" is a song by the Motown singer Diana Ross, recorded in 1975 and released as a single on March 16, 1976. It rose to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 and Hot-Selling Soul Singles. It also hit number one on the Record World disco charts.

"(I Know) I'm Losing You" is a 1966 hit single recorded by the Temptations for the Gordy (Motown) label, written by Cornelius Grant, Eddie Holland and Norman Whitfield, and produced by Norman Whitfield.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Never Can Say Goodbye</span> 1971 song by Clifton Davis, first recorded by the Jackson 5

"Never Can Say Goodbye" is a song written by Clifton Davis and originally recorded by the Jackson 5. The song was originally written and intended for the Supremes; however, Motown decided it would be better for the Jackson 5. It was the first single released from the group's 1971 album Maybe Tomorrow, and was one of the group's most successful records. It has been covered numerous times, most notably in 1974 by Gloria Gaynor and in 1987 by British pop group the Communards.

<i>Farewell My Summer Love</i> 1984 compilation album by Michael Jackson

Farewell My Summer Love is a compilation album of archived Michael Jackson songs recorded from January to October 1973. The album was released with updated musical production by Motown Records in the United States on May 8, 1984.

<i>Dancing Machine</i> (album) 1974 studio album by the Jackson 5

Dancing Machine is the ninth studio album released by the Motown quintet the Jackson 5, on September 5, 1974. The album's title track was a No. 2 pop hit and a No. 1 R&B hit in the United States. The group released two additional singles from the album: the funky "Whatever You Got, I Want" and the group's last US Top 20 hit for Motown, "I Am Love".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">All I Do Is Think of You</span> 1975 single by The Jackson 5

"All I Do Is Think of You" is a song released by the Jackson 5 on the Motown label in 1975. It was initially released as the B-side to the group's single "Forever Came Today" before being released as an A-side single months later. The song is the final charted single by the group before they left Motown for Epic Records in 1976.

<i>Anthology</i> (The Jackson 5 album) 1976 greatest hits album by the Jackson 5

Anthology was originally released as a triple-album greatest hits set by legendary Motown family unit, The Jackson 5, in 1976. It was the group's second greatest hits compilation, after Greatest Hits (1971). It was at this point that most of the Jackson brothers had left the Motown label to join CBS Records. Motown president Berry Gordy once said that the Jackson 5 were "the last superstars to come off the Motown assembly line"; after the group left the label, Motown would not have another act to equal its success until Boyz II Men in the 1990s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heat Wave (1963 song)</span> 1963 single by Martha and the Vandellas

"Heat Wave" is a 1963 song written by the Holland–Dozier–Holland songwriting team. It was first made popular by the Motown vocal group Martha and the Vandellas. Released as a 45 rpm single on July 9, 1963, on the Motown subsidiary Gordy label, it hit number one on the Billboard Hot R&B chart—where it stayed for four weeks—and peaking at number 4 on the Billboard Hot 100.

John William Bristol was an American musician, most famous as a songwriter and record producer for the Motown label in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He was a native of Morganton, North Carolina, about which he wrote an eponymous song. His composition "Love Me for a Reason" saw global success when covered by The Osmonds including a number 1 in the UK charts in 1974. His most famous solo recording was "Hang On in There Baby" recorded in 1974, which reached the Top Ten in the United States and number 3 in the United Kingdom. Both singles were in the UK top 5 simultaneously.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">I Wanna Be Where You Are</span> 1972 single by Michael Jackson

"I Wanna Be Where You Are" is a song written by Arthur "T-Boy" Ross and Leon Ware for Michael Jackson, who took the song to number 7 in Cash Box and number 16 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop chart. It also reached number 2 on the Billboard R&B singles chart in 1972.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Love Machine (The Miracles song)</span> 1975 single by The Miracles

"Love Machine" is a 1975 single recorded by Motown group the Miracles, taken from their album City of Angels. The song was a number-one hit on the Billboard Hot 100, and the biggest-selling hit single of the Miracles' career. This single was one of two Billboard Hot 100 top-20 hits recorded by The Miracles with Billy Griffin as lead vocalist; the other is 1973's "Do It Baby". Griffin had replaced Miracles founder Smokey Robinson as lead singer in 1972. The song features a growling vocal by Miracle Bobby Rogers, with group baritone Ronnie White repeating "yeah, baby" throughout the song.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Forever Came Today</span> 1968 single by the Supremes

"Forever Came Today" is a 1968 song written and produced by the Motown collective of Holland–Dozier–Holland, and was first made into a hit as a single for Diana Ross & the Supremes in early 1968. A disco version of the song was released as a single seven years later by Motown group the Jackson 5.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Happy (Michael Jackson song)</span> 1973 single by Michael Jackson

"Happy" is a song written by Michel Legrand and Smokey Robinson and first recorded by Bobby Darin. The song was first released as a single by Bobby Darin on November 23, 1972, peaking #67 on the Billboard Hot 100, it was his last single to hit the chart. The song was included on his posthumous Motown LP Darin: 1936–1973.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ollie E. Brown</span> American drummer

Ollie E. Brown is an American drummer, percussionist, record producer, and high-school basketball coach. A prolific session musician, Brown has performed on over a hundred albums in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. Brown was also half of the American dance-pop duo Ollie & Jerry, which had a Top 10 hit with "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us" in 1984.

References

  1. "Hits of the Week" (PDF). Record World. January 18, 1975. p. 1. Retrieved 2023-03-11.