I Want You Back
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| “I Want You Back” | |||||
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| Single by The Jackson 5 from the album Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 |
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| B-side | "Who's Lovin' You" | ||||
| Released | October 7, 1969 (U.S.) | ||||
| Format | Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM) | ||||
| Recorded | Hitsville West, Los Angeles; September 1969 | ||||
| Genre | Soul | ||||
| Length | 3:01 | ||||
| Label | Motown M 1157 |
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| Writer(s) | The Corporation | ||||
| Producer | The Corporation | ||||
| The Jackson 5 singles chronology | |||||
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"I Want You Back" is a 1969 number-one single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. The song, backed with a cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You," was the only single from the first Jackson 5 album, Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. It held the number-one position on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for the week of January 24-31, 1970.
"I Want You Back" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and ranks number 120 on Rolling Stone Magazine's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2006, Pitchfork Media named it the second best song of the 1960s, adding that the chorus contains "possibly the best chord progression in pop music history."[1]
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[edit] Production notes
Originally considered for Gladys Knight & the Pips and later for Diana Ross, as "I Wanna Be Free," "I Want You Back" explores the theme of a lover who decides that he was too hasty in dropping his partner. An unusual aspect about "I Want You Back" was that its main lead vocal was performed by a preteen, Michael Jackson.[citation needed]
The single was a notable first in many respects: it was the first Jackson 5 single to be released on Motown[citation needed], the first of four Jackson 5 number-ones released in a row (the others are "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There"), and the first song written and produced by The Corporation, a team comprising Motown chief Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, and Deke Richards.
"I Want You Back" was also the first Jackson 5 song recorded in Los Angeles, California; the quintet had previously been recording Bobby Taylor-produced covers, including "Who's Lovin' You", the b-side to "I Want You Back", at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit, Michigan.
Although Gladys Knight and Bobby Taylor of the Vancouvers had been the ones to bring the Jackson brothers to Motown[citation needed], Motown credited Ross with discovering them, not only to help promote the Jackson 5, but also to help ease Ross' transition into a solo career.[citation needed], a career began soon after the Jackson 5 became a success.
The Jackson 5 performed "I Want You Back," along with Sly & the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song," The Delfonics' "Can You Remember," and James Brown's "There Was a Time" during their first television appearance on The Hollywood Palace in an episode hosted by Diana Ross & the Supremes.
[edit] Credits
- Lead vocals by Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Jackie Jackson
- Background vocals by Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jackie Jackson and Marlon Jackson
- Written, produced and arranged by The Corporation
- Keyboards by Freddie Perren
- Guitar by David T. Walker, Louis Shelton and Don Peake
- Bass guitar by Wilton Felder
- Drums by Gene Pello
| Preceded by "Raindrops Keep Fallin' on My Head" by B.J. Thomas |
Billboard Hot 100 number one single January 24, 1970 |
Succeeded by "Venus" by The Shocking Blue |
| Preceded by "Someday We'll Be Together" by Diana Ross & the Supremes |
Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number one single January 10, 1970–January 31, 1970 |
Succeeded by "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin) / Everybody is a Star" by Sly & the Family Stone |
[edit] Cover versions
David Ruffin recorded a version with The Funk Brothers at Hitsville in Detroit with the familar Motown sound. It was to be included on his unreleased LP "David."
A "live" version by Graham Parker and The Rumour garnered mild success in 1979; its title is sometimes shown as "I Want You Back (Alive)."[citation needed] Canadian female trio West End Girls covered the song as a single in 1991. In 1998, British girl band Cleopatra released their cover version of the song. Cleopatra went straight into the UK top 10 at #4, giving them their third top five hit. An acoustic cover version appeared on a Jonah Matranga EP.
Singer-songwriter KT Tunstall often performs a cover version of the song live at her concerts. A progressive bluegrass version of "I Want You Back", featuring mandolin and guitar, was performed by United States acoustic trio Nickel Creek on their "Farewell (For Now) Tour" in 2007.
The song has been repeatedly sampled, with notable uses by Kris Kross ("Jump", 1992), Tamia ("Imagination, 1998), Jay-Z ("Izzo (H.O.V.A.)", 2001), and Lil Romeo ("My Baby", 2001). The song was interpolated by BLACKstreet and Mya featuring Mase and Blinky Blink for the remix of "Take Me There" from the Rugrats Movie soundtrack.
The single was re-issued in the UK in 1988 as a remix by Pete Waterman's PWL label. They remixed the song to include a snippet of "ABC". The remix reached #8 in the UK.[citation needed]
[edit] References
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This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (May 2008) |
[edit] External links
- Overview of "I Want You Back" Complete picture sleeved records from all over the world, from jackson5abc.com
- Michael Jackson 'I Want You Back' Collection, from Jacksonstreet.nl
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