Lend an Ear, Frosty the Snowman

Most single releases of "Mama's Pearl" had "Darling Dear" as the B-side. But a few of them opted for something different.

Spain and Argentina both used "Goin' Back to Indiana," a strong cut from the Third Album that was issued as an A-side in many other European and South American countries.



Japan offered an interesting alternative with "Oh, How Happy," another great LP cut from the Third Album. This is in keeping with most other Jackson 5 B-sides that featured Jermaine's lead vocals on a slower tempo song.


The most unusual choice came from Turkey:


When you don't understand the lyrics, I guess it doesn't much matter what the song's about.

Pearls from Afar

Mama's Pearl was widely distributed around the world. Here are some of the 45s I've collected over the years.

• The Unadorned Pearls

Neither of the two 45s I have from South America have picture sleeves, but you know how I love those Latin American pressings. Here's one from Argentina:


And a promo copy from Chile:


The Netherlands issued the single in their typical boring printed sleeve.


India also issued the single in a printed sleeve. Not terribly interesting as a visual, but releases from India are rare.


And, like the U.S., the U.K. only rarely issued J5 singles in picture sleeves. Unfortunately, "Mama's Pearl" was not one of them.

• Third Album Redux

Some releases used art from the Third Album photo shoot. Here are picture sleeves from Germany, Norway, Japan, and Portugal respectively.





Italy didn't use a photo from the Third Album session but they at least got the era right.

• Retro sleeves

France, Sweden, Turkey, and Spain reached way back into their photo archives to design their sleeves.



All my favorite picture sleeves come from Spain. This is one of them. I love they way they have placed the song titles on the outstretched hands of Marlon, Michael and Jermaine:

And look at the song title Michael and Jermaine are holding. More on that tomorrow.

Around the World with "I Want You Back"

Over the years, I've collected copies of "I Want You Back" from all over the world, many of which were issued with picture sleeves. Most countries used the same two early pictures of the Jackson 5 for their picture sleeve. The most common photo was used by Denmark:


And Germany:


And Israel:


And the Netherlands:

And Sweden:


Spain used the same photo, too, but they also added the baby pictures of each of the five brothers. This is my all-time favorite sleeve:


France used another common photo from 1969:


And Turkey gave the same photo their own artistic spin, making it one of the oddest picture sleeves out there:



Italy used a variation on the Jackson 5's first LP sleeve:


As did Japan:


And Yugoslavia:


Portugal and Norway both used the same outtake from the Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5 photo shoot.




South Africa issued the record without a picture sleeve, but considering that it came out during Apartheid, it's amazing that the record was issued at all.

2-4-6-8: Part 3

I think the Philippines may have issued the entire Christmas Album as a series of 45s, but so far as I know, the only LP songs from ABC they issued were "2-4-6-8" backed with "La La Means I Love You."


It's one of my all-time favorite 45s, just because it was such a great 45 release. Judging from the scratches on the disc I have, Nancy in the Philippines agreed.

In Japan, "One More Chance," the B-side of "I'll Be There" was issued as a single, as Motown JET-2005. It, too, had been an LP cut on the ABC album. It was issued with a simply wonderful picture sleeve.


And the lyrics sheet on the back of the picture sleeve are the source of the infamous "Sir Leventhol" reference.

In spite of the fact that the picture sleeve lists "La La Means I Love You" as the B-side (always the bridesmaid...), the B-side is actually "Never Had a Dream Come True," a nice Stevie Wonder cover on which Michael and Jermaine traded the lead vocals back and forth. Here's the beautiful red Motown JET label to prove it.

There are so many strong cuts on ABC that any number of them could have been issued as a 45. Both "2-4-6-8" and "One More Chance" are among my all-time favorite J5 songs. What a talented group, working with some of Motown's most gifted producers.

Most Wanted: Dancing Machine LP from Spain

Every collector has a Most Wanted list, and the Spanish release of the Dancing Machine LP is at the top of mine. It comes up on eBay occasionally, and I always get outbid. I snagged these lovely photos the last time I saw it there, just to prove to myself that it really exists.


The only thing that makes it special is that it has a rare gatefold sleeve, with this photo from early 1970 inside. The photo was taken during the Ebony cover shoot, and they all look like they are completely tuckered out and ready for a nap.


Sure the photo was a bit dated for the "Dancing Machine" era, but I love the simple elegance of the way this looks. Someday I hope to hold one in my hands.

¡Hagámoslo Junto!

Elsewhere I have talked about my passion for Latin American pressings of Jackson 5 singles, and my goal of acquiring at least one single from every country in Central and South America, and Mexico.

Even though they don't have picture sleeves, I love the labels showing interesting subsidiaries such as Ebrau and Tapecar (Brazil), Banglad (Chile), and Odeon (Peru), and song titles in Spanish, such as “Quiero que Regreses” (“I Want You Back” from Chile) and “Estaré Allí” ("I’ll Be There" from Peru). I even like it when I get a 45 that some kid in South America had written their name on (Vandu from Brazil, I've got your copy of "Ben.")

I also like to collect singles for songs that were only issued as as foreign pressings in the 7" format, and Latin American countries had their fair share of these. My favorites are "El Tamborilero (Little Drummer Boy)" which was released as a single backed with "Rudolph, el Reno de Nariz Roja" from Venezuela in 1970, and a 1977 pressing from Argentina of "Música del Alegre Tragamonedas (Joyful Jukebox Music)," which was backed with "We're Going to Change Our Style."

The most common Latin American pressings come from Venezuela, Brazil, Chile, and Argentina. I have yet to see one from Uruguay or Paraguay, Guatemala or Honduras. So I got a special thrill last week when I got a copy of "Get it Together (Hagámoslo Junto)" in the mail from El Salvador. It is the first Jackson 5 single I have collected from anywhere in Central America, although I do have a few early Jacksons 45s from Costa Rica -- but that's not quite the same.


The condition, as you can see, is terrible. You can barely read the label, it's so banged up, and there are multiple scratches on both sides. But I don't care. I am just so thrilled to have a Jackson 5 single from Central America that condition doesn't matter that much to me. In fact, I kind of like knowing that some kid in El Salvador was playing the hell out of both "Get It Together" and "Touch" at the same time I was playing these songs, over and over, in the United States.

I still have a long way to go toward my goal of acquiring one 45 from each county, but at least I can now cross El Salvador off my list.

Argentina
Belize
Bolivia
Brazil
Chile
Colombia
Costa Rica
Ecuador
El Salvador
French Guiana
Guatemala
Guyana
Honduras
Nicaragua
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Suriname
Uruguay
Venezuela

Hoy llego el disco ecuatoriano

Foreign pressings of Jackson 5 45s are especially prized by collectors, and I'm no exception. Understandably, most collectors especially like the 45s that have picture sleeves, and I've certainly collected my share of those. But as a collector my favorite 45s are those from Latin America, even though most of them never had picture sleeves. I love the Spanish translations of the song titles, which often vary from country country. Here we see "Forever Came Today" as "Hoy llego la eternidad" which contrasts with the translation on the pressing from Spain, "Hoy empezo el futuro."

Latin American pressings from countries other than Argentina and Brazil are fairly rare. The label shown above is the only Ecuadorian pressing I have ever come across. It's a sentimental favorite of mine because I lived in Quito in 1973, and don't recall ever hearing the Jackson 5 on the radio or seeing any Jackson 5 records while I was there (other than the ones I had brought with me). But this 45 is proof that the Jackson 5 did indeed reach fans in Ecuador. I hope to continue to find more. And maybe one day I'll even find the elusive Bolivian pressing.