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The Jacksons (previously named The Jackson 5) is an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana. It was founded by Joe Jackson and included Michael, Tito, Jackie, Marlon, and Jermaine Jackson in 1964 with Randy and Taryll Jackson joining later down the line.

History[]

The Jackson 5[]

The Jackson 5 were formed in 1964. Joe found Tito playing with his guitar after a string broke once and was impressed enough to buy him his own guitar. Tito, Jermaine, Jackie, Michael (age 5) and their friends Reynaud Jones and Milford Hite formed their own group in 1965. Marlon joined on tambourine in August 1965. The group named themselves "The Jackson Five Singing Group".

In 1966, the group won their first talent show at the Theodore Roosevelt High School in Gary. During the early years of their career, the Jackson 5 performed at other talent showcases at several Gary schools and halls and theaters. Later that year, Gladys Knight sent a tape of the group's demo to Motown Records, hoping to get them to sign, but their tape was rejected and sent back.

In November of 1967, Joe managed to sign the Jackson 5 to Steeltown Records, owned by a record producer, Gordon Keith. Thanks to him, the siblings got to record their first single, "Big Boy".

In July 1968, the boys opened for Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers. After being blown away by Michael's performance, Taylor sent the boys to Detroit where he set up a recorded Motown audition, which took place at Motown's official headquarters on Detroit's Woodward Avenue on July 23, 1968. Motown's CEO, Berry Gordy, who had initially rejected their tape, refusing to sign any more "kid acts" after Stevie Wonder, changed his mind once he viewed Taylor's tape. On July 26, Gordy returned to Detroit where he had Joe Jackson and the boys sign their seven-year long Motown contract.

Jacksons 5 Members

The Jackson 5 performing at the Ed Sullivan Show (May 10, 1970)

The Jackson 5 had a successful career, starting in 1969, with the release of Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, which brought one of the biggest hits in history, "I Want You Back". Their later releases also brought to life "ABC", "The Love You Save" or "I'll Be There".

Despite the band's success however, the decline already began in 1972, as their records started failing the charts by then. A year later, The Corporation, who produced the group's songs up until then, split up. The group started to follow the disco hype at the time, crafting "Dancing Machine" and "Get It Together". However, even these releases didn't fix the group's status on the charts. Joseph was getting tired of Motown's uneasiness to continue producing hits for the brothers by 1973.

By 1975, all of the band members didn't want to make any more music for Motown due to the lack of creative control they had. At the press conference at the Rainbow Grill in Manhattan, New York City, the Jackson 5 announced their departure from Motown. Around that time, Joe started negotiating with another company, Epic Records, a record label owned by Sony Music. He signed with them in June 1975. Absent from the deal however, was Jermaine, who decided to stay with Motown following his marriage to Hazel Gordy. In the group, he was now replaced with their youngest brother, Randy Jackson. The Jackson 5's contract with Motown lasted 'til March 1976, even though the group already announced their departure from the label a year before. Motown tried to sue them for breach of contract but allowed them to record for Epic as long as they change their name, as the Jackson 5 is owned by Motown. Thus, the Jacksons were born.

The Jacksons[]

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The Jacksons (1979)

With the newly signed contract, the group finally asserted control of their songwriting, production, and image. On November 5, 1976 the Jacksons released their debut self-titled album under Epic Records. Since then, they continued to have a number of hits such as "Enjoy Yourself", "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", "Show You the Way to Go", and "Blame It on the Boogie". Their success continued into the 1980's with hits such as "Can You Feel It", "This Place Hotel", "Lovely One", and "State of Shock".

In 1984, the Jacksons toured for the Victory Tour. Many attended it for the sole reason of seeing Michael, as this was his prime time after he just released the Thriller album, songs from which he performed to at the concerts. This turned out to be their last big tour with Michael leaving the band after the December 9, 1984 show in Los Angeles.

Their 1989 album 2300 Jackson Street was recorded without Michael and Marlon, although they did appear on the title track, as did a lot of other Jackson family members. After a brief tour for the newest album, the group went on a hiatus. However, the group never put together a new record ever again and it was the last release from the brothers.

Marlon quit the music business for the time being and Randy made his own group "Randy & the Gypsys", although disbanded in 1991 and Randy never came back to the industry. Jackie and Tito have been putting out some releases including singles and collaborations over the years but never got to release full albums.

Jermaine and Michael gained the most success with their solo careers. Jermaine went on to release 7 albums, while also putting out his hit singles "Dynamite" and "When the Rain Begins to Fall",which to this day is played on the radio. Michael gained the biggest amount of success and went on to become one of the biggest artists of all time, releasing 10 studio albums and singles like "Billie Jean", "Beat It", "Thriller", "Smooth Criminal" and more.

Reunion[]

Plans for reuniting started as far back as mid-1990s. On June 16, 1995 Michael and Jermaine signed a contract for a new album from the group, titled Humanity.[1] In a 1999 interview with Liberty Radio, Michael stated he was still working on the album with his brothers. Unfortunately, the project never saw the light of day.[2]

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The Jacksons at 30th Anniversary Celebration (2001)

The Jacksons finally reunited during Michael's 30th Anniversary Celebration. The group performed to some of their biggest hits; "Can You Feel It", "ABC", "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There", "I Want You Back", "Dancing Machine" and "Shake Your Body".

In 2008, the Jacksons started to yet again plan out their reunion tour. Jermaine briefly discussed it on BBC 6, stating the group "owes that to the fans and to the public." Additionally, the brother confirmed him and his siblings were in the studio at some point, in order to create new songs, although very likely without the King of Pop.[3]

A year later, the brothers came together again to finish the King of Pop's previously unreleased 1980 song, "This Is It", after Michael's unfortunate passing in June 2009. Afterwards, the group reunited for good, performing various shows for their Unity Tour, starting in 2012 and finishing in 2013. Currently, the band does concerts once in a while, now consisting of Jackie, Tito, Marlon and Tito's son, Taryll Jackson.

Discography[]

The Jackson 5[]

  1. Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 (1969)
  2. ABC (1970)
  3. Third Album (1970)
  4. Jackson 5 Christmas Album (1970)
  5. Maybe Tomorrow (1971)
  6. Lookin' Through the Windows (1972)
  7. Skywriter (1973)
  8. G.I.T.: Get It Together (1973)
  9. Dancing Machine (1974)
  10. Moving Violation (1975)

The Jacksons[]

  1. The Jacksons (1976)
  2. Goin' Places (1977)
  3. Destiny (1978)
  4. Triumph (1980)
  5. The Jacksons Live! (1980)
  6. Victory (1984)
  7. 2300 Jackson Street (1989)

Tours[]

The Jackson 5[]

  1. The Jackson 5 First National Tour (1970)
  2. The Jackson 5 Second National Tour (1971)
  3. The Jackson 5 US Tour (1972)
  4. The Jackson 5 European Tour (1972)
  5. The Jackson 5 World Tour (1973-1975)
  6. The Jackson 5 Final Tour (1976)

The Jacksons[]

  1. The Jacksons Tour (1977)
  2. Goin' Places Tour (1978)
  3. Destiny World Tour (1979-1980)
  4. Triumph Tour (1981)
  5. Victory Tour (1984)
  6. Unity Tour (2012-2013)

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • During a 2014 concert in Las Vegas, a Michael Jackson impersonator, Carlo Riley got to meet with the band backstage. During the show, the Jacksons pointed at him in the crowd, as he was dancing and taking photos with other fans.[4]
  • An animated show based on the group, titled Jackson 5ive was produced, running on ABC from 1971 until 1972. However, none of the actual members voiced their respective characters.

References[]

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