(The Hit Hammer is where I'm reviewing each #1 song on the Billboard Hot 100. Starting from when the chart started in 1958 and eventually working my way to the present. To see my inspiration and more information about this blog, please CLICK HERE)
The Jackson 5 - "I Want You Back"
Hit Number 1: January 31, 1970
Stay at Number 1: 1 Week
It's not very often that pop music history gives us an act of God. We get our fair share of notable artists, some of which are very good, but there are only a select few of artists who are responsible for shaping the music industry to drastic measures. To this point, I have only covered one of these moments in the Hit Hammer. That would be in 1964, when the Beatles crossed the Atlantic into America, and hijacked the charts starting with "I Want to Hold Your Hand", which stayed at #1 for 7 weeks. When the Jackson 5 hit #1 with "I Want You Back", it was the start of one of, if not the most successful career in pop music in the form of Michael Jackson. There are some differences between Michael Jackson and the Beatles of course. When the Beatles hit #1 with "I Want to Hold Your Hand", people knew that this was a band that was going to forever change music. Some might even say 1964 is when they peaked. "I Want You Back", on the other hand, was not the peak of Jackson's career. People were only seeing the beginning of him, and they likely had no idea the kinds of things that were in store with his career.
Jackson was the first lead artist to hit #1 on the Hot 100, who was younger than the Hot 100 itself. (The #1 song when Jackson was born was "Little Star" by the Elegants) Jackson was the youngest of the five brothers who formed the Jackson 5, and he always performed the lead vocals. A common misconception is that Diana Ross was the one who discovered the group, but that was actually all set up by Motown founder Berry Gordy as a way to help ease Ross into her solo career. Instead, Gladys Knight was the one responsible for discovering them. Knight sent a demo tape of the group to Gordy in 1967, but he initially rejected them. Some time down the line, they did sign a deal with Motown, but still weren't impressing Gordy enough, so he sent them to Hollywood. The Jacksons started performing at a Los Angeles club, and Michael became known as an "eight-year-old sensation", even though he was actually 11 years old. In New York, the Jacksons performed at the Miss Black America Pageant, where they finally started to gain some serious interest from Gordy. Gordy hired a special team of songwriters, who called themselves the Corporation, to write songs specifically for the Jacksons. "I Want You Back" was the first of those songs, and it sparked a moment of "Jackson mania" that lasted all throughout 1970.
The song is all wrapped up in a big bubble gummy blanket, which disguises the true meaning of the song. "I Want You Back" is, lyrically, not a very happy song. The narrator regrets his decision to dump his girlfriend, who he desperately wants back, hence the title of the song. However, this is one of those cases where you don't care about what the hell the lyrics are saying. The magic of "I Want You Back" is all in the performance. There's a clean groove of a bassline, gleaming strings, and some twangy guitar struts that swell up into an intense bubble gum storm that blows your hair back. Jackson belts his 11 year old heart out, doing things that no other 11-year-olds should be able to do. This wasn't some kid who the public fell in love with that everyone quit caring about once he grew up. (A la Donny Osmond) This was a kid who had God given talents, and he used them to the fullest. The story of Michael Jackson ended up being tragic, but that's a story for a different time. He led a career full of incredible hits, and we'll see him in this blog many many times. It all started with "I Want You Back".
GRADE: 10/10
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