Everything about I Want You Back totally explained
"
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."
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.
The single was a notable first in many respects: it was the first Jackson 5 single to be released on Motown, 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, 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., 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.
Credits
Cover versions
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)." 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.
Further Information
Get more info on 'I Want You Back'.
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