When in Detroit, You Better Shop Around

On my way home from Tampa today, I had just enough of a layover to stop at the Motown Music Review shop. Nestled between a Brookstone and a DTW in the middle of Terminal A, you can hear the classic Motown blasting from a moving sidewalk away.

I always make a stop there when I pass through Detroit, hoping they'll have some piece of newly minted J5 memorabilia. They never have had anything more than a few Jackson 5 and Michael Jackson compilation discs but, this time, I was hoping they might have added some J5 items since they had been featured in a special exhibit at the Motown Museum earlier this year.

No such luck. There was nothing for the J5 fan, not even the most current cds that have come out from Universal Motown in the past 18 months. In fact, unless you are a Diana Ross fan, there's not much at all beyond some generic stuff with the word Motown emblazoned on it. I'll admit it, though -- I couldn't resist the coasters that look like tiny vinyl LPs, reproductions of Diana Ross and the Supremes' Live at London's Talk of the Town. When I set my iced tea glass down on one of them, I'll just pretend the label reads Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5.

Jackie's Not So Bored

It may be old news by now, but apparently while J5Collector was on vacation, Jackie launched his own website -- finally -- at JackieJackson5.com

The site looks good, although his discography needs some work. So far as I know, "Love Don't Want to Leave" was never released anywhere as a single, and the scan they show above it is my own crummy black and white scan of the 45 "Thanks to You," released on the Brazilian label Tapecar. (Jackie, if you need research help, call me.)

On the more recent single front, Jackie has released a brand new song "We Know What's Going On" -- but only in Canada, Mexico, Australia, Europe, UK, and Japan. Sorry, U.S. fans. Guess it's payback time for not having that single release in 1973.

CORRECTION: Jackie's single saw an American release the week before. Glad to know he doesn't hold a grudge after all.

Jackie's Bored

As promised, here is a scan of the centerfold poster from the January 1975 issue of Rock and Soul Songs. I've seen many other shots from this photo session, but not this particular pose. It probably would have been the best shot of the bunch if Jackie had kept his mouth shut.

Song of the Week: All I Do Is Think of You

by Corey Sheppard

On May 15, 1975 Motown Records released the latest Jackson 5 album entitled Moving Violation. The album went to Number 6 on the R&B album charts and Number 36 on the pop album charts. Not too bad for the brothers Jackson, who had been experiencing declining sales since 1972. The A-side of the single pulled from the LP was receiving some airplay in the new discos and dance floors around the world, but it was the B-side (a ballad written by Eddie Holland Jr. and Michael Lovesmith) that was getting the most attention from fans…. then and now.

“All Is Do Is Think of You” was released as the B-side of the boy’s disco Supremes cover “Forever Came Today” in June 10, 1975. This was actually the first time in three years that the Jackson 5 released a traditional ballad on either the A-side or B-side of their single. This record stood out from the rest of the album because it is the only true ballad that was presented on Moving Violation.

“All Is Do Is Think of You is clearly inspired by the sweet 70’s soul ballads by such artists as the Stylistics, Blue Magic and the Chi-Lites. Ballads were in at this time, and Motown clearly took notice of this. The Jackson 5 was originally accustomed to recording at least three ballads for each album they released for Motown in the beginning years. But starting in 1972, Motown went for a more bubblegum pop sound for the J5. This continued until around 1974 when songs like “If I Don’t Love You This Way” and “It All Begins and Ends with Love” starting appearing on the later Jackson 5 albums. Finally, the J5 had started recording songs that were more their forté.

Michael’s delivery on the song is excellent. Moving Violation is the only Jackson album recorded with Motown where you get a true sense of Michael’s adult vocal style. Atlhough he iss still a year or two from his singing voice being completely developed, his voice is in rare form on this track. His ad-libs at the end are terrific. This song was probably recorded right around the same time as “(You Were Made) Especially for Me” because Michael uses the same ad-lib line for both songs (“Day and Night/That’s all I do).” Listen for some early synthesizer keyboard playing on the verses as well.

The only minor issue I have with this song is the lyrics. There are two changes I would make to the lyrics if it were my song. First, I wish that the opening lyric of “All Is Do Is Think of You” (“I can’t wait to get to school each day“) hadn’t been used because I think that it puts too much emphasis on the fact that Michael was still a teenager. The boys weren’t young kids anymore, and I feel it was not necessary for that lyric to be put it to match the boys “main audience.”


But there is one part of this song makes me cringe every time. I’m sure you can guess what my answer will be!...... It’s Jermaine’s little spoken section on the bridge. “Girl, you’re so doggone fine.” Jermaine, that's so doggone awful! (although I’m sure it was the producer’s idea, not Jermaine’s). It doesn’t fit the seriousness of the track prior to it and makes the song sound slightly corny! Instead of focusing on Jermaine’s outdated rap, why not turn up the harmonies that the brothers are doing in the background.


The Jackson 5 performed this song a couple times on television shortly after Jermaine’s departure. It was Motown’s decision to have the boys continue to perform as the Jackson 5 and promote Moving Violation while they were in negotiations to leave the company. When the group appeared on Soul Train in 1975, they carefully lip-synched the tune with no brother covering Jermaine’s ad-libs.

But my favorite performance of “All Is Do Is Think of You” is when the boys (minus Jermaine, plus Randy) performed the song live on The Mike Douglas Show that same year. This live performance is incredible. Watching this performance is the prime example to me how much Michael and the brothers truly forgot about all of their problems while on stage. In the beginning the brothers (especially Michael) seemed a little uninspired and perhaps sad from Jermaine’s departure (note: his very lackluster spoken intro) but as every second of the record goes by they all forget about all the issues and troubles of their real life and give one heck of a performance.

With Michael‘s lead vocals, and Marlon, and Jackie’s excellent harmony background throughout the performance, it has remained one of my favorite TV appearances. I love Michael’s expression at the end of the extended chorus, and the ending should have been captured on the record as well. To be honest, I prefer this live version over the regular album version, mainly because I prefer the vocals and instrumentation on this performance over the studio recording and the significance of this performance means a lot to me.

The main melody is so extremely catchy and gorgeous that it is no wonder that this song has stood the test of time. It was first covered by group Troop in 1989 and they actually took the song to Number 1 on the R&B singles chart. Sixteen years later, Bad Boy Records’ youngest boy group B5 covered the song, as well, introducing it to a whole new generation. While these covers have maintained their popularity, I am very happy that the J5’s version is still accepted as the primary version of All I Do Is Think of You.”

“All I Do Is Think of You” is a beautiful, beautiful ballad that was never given a proper chance. I really feel that if the song received proper promotion from Motown, and A-side status on single, I feel it could’ve become a major R&B hit. But, in the end, it has become a classic, and classics never fade away. Once again, great songs never die, despite how long it took for the song to be heard.

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Corey Sheppard, 20, has been a Jackson 5 fan since 1993. His favorite hobbies are listening to music, playing racquetball at the YMCA, and hanging out with friends. Corey’s life passion is centered on music. His latest project is an all-new production company shared with Robert White Jr. entitled "Ask About It Productions."

When Michael Danced with David Bowie

One of my recent eBay purchases was the January 1975 issue of Rock 'n' Soul Songs, which I bought for the J5 centerfold (hey, you've got to get your mid '70s J5 photos from wherever you can!)

The centerfold is great -- watch this space for a scan in the near future -- but even better is a little half-page article about a party Tito and Dee Dee hosted for Al Green.


Among the star-studded guest list was glam-rocker David Bowie, who by the mid 1970s was enjoying some crossover success on the R&B charts. At first I thought this article was just another mildly interesting account of yet another party I would have liked to have attended but wasn't invited to, until I got to the last paragraph.


Michael and Al Green teaching David Bowie how to do the robot??? How I wish we had video footage of it! I guess we'll have to settle for Bowie's appearance later that year on Soul Train where he performed his hit, "Fame." It looks like he wants so much to break into the robot -- he definitely has the stiff dance moves for it -- but just can't bring himself to do it in front of the Soul Train Gang. But with their audible enthusiasm and encouragement, you'll see him, near the end of the performance at about 2:54, do one of the classic robot moves that Michael had perfected for "Dancing Machine" two years earlier.

Back Soon

Hi, guys, sorry for the long unexplained absence. Nothing wrong here -- I've just been really, really busy between work and home with no time for fun. But I'm seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, and will be back soon with a real post. Looks like there is a lot to catch up on. Thanks for keeping the J5 spirit alive!

Scoop brings bad news

R.I.P Weldon Arthur McDougal III

You were a great friend, wise, funny and most of all you were a great mentor. I'll cherish all the conversations we had and the stories you shared with me. Thank you for playing such an important role not only in the career of The Jackson 5, but so many other artists. You truly were a gift!

My prayers go out to the family and friends of Mr. McDougal.

-Scoop

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.

Happy Birthday, I Want You Back!

Forty-one years ago today, kids across America awoke to the opening piano glissando of a brand new song that had just been released by a hot new group called The Jackson 5. We were hooked from the get-go, and many of us ran out to buy the 45 as soon as school was out.


We played the song, and its fabulous flip side, over and over again. At that time, most of us didn't even know what the Jackson 5 looked like. They wouldn't make their first big TV appearance until a few weeks later. But, for us, the music alone was enough. It's hard to imagine in this YouTube era of instant gratification, but back then, all we had was a shiny black disk and the sounds it made when we placed it on a turntable. We would listen again and again, then flip the record and listen some more, and then flip back and listen again. We listened alone and with friends, at home and at parties. We'd wait for those opening strains to show up on our favorite radio stations, finding comfort in the fact that other people were hearing it, too.

Whenever you come across used copies of "I Want You Back," you'll find that most of them are scratched up and battered, showing clear signs of how often it was set down on the turntable, how many times it was flipped from the A-side to B-side and back again, and how many times someone picked up the needle at the end to place it back at the beginning of the song to start it all over again.

Over the past forty-one years, I have probably listened to "I Want You Back" a few thousand times, and every time I hear that opening piano glissando, it's like hearing it for the first time.

Song of the Week: Reach In

by Corey Sheppard

When most people think of the major evolution of the Jackson 5, they automatically think of 1973’s “Get It Together.” And while that was a heck of a change for the boys, I think some of the first signs of maturity of the Jackson 5 sound were first heard in 1970. In my opinion, Third Album was one of the Jackson 5’s most ambitious recordings because it went from one musical extreme to the other. You have plenty of love ballads, a couple of funk classics, and then, of course, you've got your bubble-gum numbers. But there are about three alternative, inspirational numbers that have sparked a lot of conversation around J5 boards as to the actual meaning of the song. This song is one of them.

A lot of people have questioned for years the true meaning of "Reach In." Since it is one of the only Jackson 5 songs that showed some slight influence from gospel music, my interpretation of the lyric is that they are talking about empowering your belief in God and religion. Another way of looking at it is they may be referring to researching your family history, or maybe even learning about your ethnic background. I’m not completely sure of the exact meaning of the song. This is a question that I would love to ask the songwriter, Mrs. Beatrice Verdi. The trend of inspiration records had started about a year before with records like "What’s Going On" by Marvin Gaye, and "Stand" by Sly and the Family Stone. I like to consider "Reach In" by the Jackson 5 a record in that same vein.


As for the music, right from the very beginning, you know you are in for a unique musical journey. Next time you listen to the beginning of "Reach In" I want you to listen in on the many instruments being played on the intro. First you have the piano belting out the main melody line, and then you have two guitar lines completely isolated from each other on the stereo channels. Then once the bass comes in the tracks gets extremely smelly (thanks Mike!). The p-funk groove to this track is not unlike George Clinton and the Parliament sound (which the J5 captured on the previous album with their version of "I’ll Bet You." Also present later in the mix is the interesting synthesizer that was used later on in "We’ve Got Blue Skies" (although it is way lower in the mix than the slightly annoying sound on "We’ve Got Blue Skies").

I love listening to this song through headphones. It is perfectly mixed by the production team The Corporation. Everything can be heard properly, and that’s saying a lot especially since there are a lot of instruments being used in this track (that being said, I do think the strings could be a bit louder). Also, there isn’t as much "air" in this recording as some of the early Jackson 5 numbers and that just makes the production ten times cleaner. The drums throughout the track are amazing. I like the use of the suspended cymbal right before the final chorus begins. It is a pretty powerful effect.

One of the ways this song is distinctly different from other J5 songs is that Jermaine sings the verses and bridge, and Michael backs him up on the chorus. I really like this arrangement, though Motown tended to keep Michael solely on the verses and Jermaine backing him up occasionally. This new vocal arrangement was also used on "Oh How Happy." Also call-and-response was used in the verses with Jermaine singing each time after the background vocals.

You truly have to love the final choruses of this record. It continually builds up until the fadeout. I love Jermaine’s final yelps of "Reach In" at the very, very end of the record. You can tell he was totally into the record, would love to hear an extended cut of this one day. I’m sure the funkiness didn’t just stop there. When I listen to "Reach In" I’m completely am wrapped on in the groove, and I can’t lie, I truly start feeling sad when the record starts to fade out. The recording could’ve gone on for over five minutes, for all I care. When you got a funky groove, you got to wear that bad boy out!


"Reach In" is truly one powerful record. The very first time I heard the song, it completely blew me away. And even to this day, I still get goose bumps listening to this song. The Jackson 5 had never done a record like that before, and would not do a record in the same vein ever again. It is truly an original masterpiece for the group and its groove is truly a one of a kind.

Next Week’s Song Hint: To think of how to say/you’re fine in every way.

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Corey Sheppard, 20, has been a Jackson 5 fan since 1993. His favorite hobbies are listening to music, playing racquetball at the YMCA, and hanging out with friends. Corey’s life passion is centered on music. His latest project is an all-new production company shared with Robert White Jr. entitled "Ask About It Productions."

The Philly Set May 2, 1970

As promised...Scoop comes with the news. Thanks HW! Here's the set list from the J5's first Motown headlining show :


1. Stand!

2. Hum A Song (From Your Heart)

3. My Cherie Amour

4. Feelin’ Alright

5. I Want You Back

6. Yesterday

7. Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah

8. There Was A Time

9. It’s Your Thing

10. Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin

11. ABC


Ok, boys and girls, which track is obviously missing? Just a clue below...










Adam Worthy (Scoop Newsworthy) has been a Jackson 5 fan since 1981. He first saw the Jacksons on TV at age four during their summer variety show and he has been a collector since 1991. He loves to listen to music, dissect music, make music, and spend time with his wife and children.

Song of the Week: Give Me Half a Chance

by Corey Sheppard

"Give Me Half a Chance" was a beautiful ballad that truly didn’t get its chance to shine until 1986. And, boy, does it shine bright with most J5 fans.

"Give Me Half a Chance" was written by songwriter/actor Clifton Davis. Although he didn’t write too many songs for the Jackson 5, the songs he did compose for the group were always standouts. I truly loved his selections for the boys because he chose not to write “bubble-gum soul” tracks for the group, instead he mostly wrote mature love songs that would have been a challenge for any other teen group; but not the Jackson 5. Davis, who started his career as a songwriter ended up becoming an actor (he is mostly famous because of his role on the 80’s sitcom Amen.


"Give Me Half a Chance" was never released as a single or an album track throughout the Jackson 5’s stay with Motown. Instead, it was released over twenty five years later on Looking Back to Yesterday in 1986. It is absolutely absurd to me that this track was not released on either Third Album or Maybe Tomorrow. To me, the song has hit potential written all over, or it’s at least album placement material.

Maybe the reason Motown didn’t release the track was that they possibly felt the boys were doing too many ballads at this time. Just look at the difference between Third Album and Maybe Tomorrow and you’ll find it’s like comparing night and day. Third Album was more a ballad album, while Maybe Tomorrow was straight up bubble-gum pop mixed with a few soul ballads.

Since this track wasn’t released on an album, Jackson 5 fans had to use their imaginations as to when the song was recorded. It wasn’t until 2009 when Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection that we get a hint of when the track was cut. According to the booklet, "Give Me Half a Chance" was recorded between the years 1969-1970. It was apparently mixed, in 1971, and was considered a Got to Be There outtake (despite the brothers singing background vocals behind Michael.)

I would say this song was definitely not recorded in 1969, since neither Bobby Taylor nor the Corporation produced it. My opinion is that the song was recorded in 1970 or possibly 1971. The major hints to me are the instrumentation, and Michael’s high-pitched, slowly maturing lead. Also since Clifton Davis produced the record, I would speculate that this record and “Never Can Say Goodbye” were recorded around the same time. And since I’ve always suspected that “Never Can Say Goodbye” was recorded a little earlier than the rest of the sessions, it leads me back to my opinion that this song was recorded sometime late 1970.

Now on to the actual record! I love the persistent, urgent, back beat of the song. It keeps the track from becoming too mushy in my opinion. I would say this was one of the first Jackson records to use a harpsichord as the keyboard arrangement. Motown became literally obsessed with this instrument beginning in 1971 until about 1972. Also this track uses bells as well, which were also used in “Never Can Say Goodbye.” Michael sings this song as if his life depends on it. He never disappointed his fans when it came to a vocal delivery of a song, especially ballads.


In the end, "Give Me Half a Chance" remains a standout for me and for many others. I’m actually kind of happy this song isn’t very well-known in the music community, because once people think they have heard most of what the Jackson 5 has to offer, "Give Me Half a Chance" comes and takes them by surprise. I’m am thankful that it was finally released by Motown, so that we are can cherish this song in our collection. We truly can never get enough ballads from the Jackson 5. So to the Jackson 5: your chance finally came!

Next week’s song hint: Don’t take the easy way out/Believe there is a maker.

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Corey Sheppard, 20, has been a Jackson 5 fan since 1993. His favorite hobbies are listening to music, playing racquetball at the YMCA, and hanging out with friends. Corey’s life passion is centered on music. His latest project is an all-new production company shared with Robert White Jr. entitled "Ask About It Productions."

J5 Fanfiction?

I always thought that fanfiction -- at least outside the Star Trek fandom -- was a relatively recent phenomenon. But back in their January 1974 issue, Right On! not only published a work of fan fiction, they encouraged it with introduction on a new column called "Creation Station."

In this bit of creative writing, a fan named Gerrie (coincidentally the name of the author), attends a Jackson 5 concert, and has a premonition that a "speaker or something" falls from the ceiling, landing on Randy's hands and damaging them forever. Gerrie, of course, is able to save Randy's livelihood -- and possibly his life -- by getting the attention of "Ronnie or Johnnie, whoever is on the drums" (Gerrie wasn't terribly precise), who is able to jump in and push Randy out of harm's way. Oh, you just have to read it for yourself.



Gerrie may be a prototype of Mary Sue. Or she may be a variant of another character with a similar-sounding name -- Stephen King's Carrie. After all, speakers don't usually just fall from the ceiling onto people's hands all on their own.

Scoop To The Forum w/ Harry Weinger

Harry Weinger has been in the music business for more than 30 years, and for the past decade and more he’s been the VP of A&R at Universal Music Enterprises, the catalog division of Universal Music. A two-time Grammy® winner, HW most recently produced, among many other classic compilations, the two-CD Jackson 5 set Live At The Forum. He sat down with J5 Collector to give us the scoop of the production of this amazing release.
Additionally, Harry is also a guest speaker at the Michael Jackson symposium at Columbia College, “Genius Without Borders,” sharing the stage with Ed Eckstine, Siedah Garrett, Greg Phillinganes and Ricky Lawson, on a panel covering MJ’s entire career. Read about it here: http://www.colum.edu/cbmr/What_We_Do/Conferences/michael-jackson.php




How did the Forum project come about?
Once I began work as the catalog guy for Motown I had, as a research and listening source, a box of DAT tapes from my predecessors. Among the tapes was a treasure trove of music that had been pored over for the J5 Soulsation! box set, and within those were concert recordings from the Los Angeles Forum and the San Diego Arena. They were fascinating, but – what to do? A few years went by and a friend, a real J5 fanatic, strongly suggested I go back and listen again, especially since the 40th anniversary of the Jackson 5 was coming up [in fall 2009]. I was listening to a lot of the unreleased studio tracks at the time and, in fact, the original plan for the I Want You Back: Unreleased Masters collection was for it to contain a disc of live stuff. After a few more listens, though, it was clear that the entire Forum shows should be a separate release.

Can you take us fans through the process once the tapes are located? What goes on next?
It’s not a given that every tape is perfectly marked with song titles and dates and venues. What we do is look up in a database every reel that looks “live” – meaning, an unusual sequence of titles that doesn’t match an actual LP but has familiar names. Sometimes the database does display a venue name and at least a year, but to be sure we order every physical multi-track reel and if we’re lucky end up with reels that are indeed live, with venue names, dates and other markings that were not entered into the computer database. This allows us to see, among other things, how many shows were recorded and if two tape decks were used in order to pick up the remainder of a song being sung; otherwise we would be stuck with an incomplete song. We then build an inventory of material to decide what the record will be. The tapes were transferred to digital format and I was able to make rough mixes and piece the puzzle together. During the Forum project we found that in the San Diego show the J5 followed the exact set as the LA show from the night before – except that they did “Ain’t No Sunshine” during the San Diego show, and that in general the crowd was much quieter and not as frenzied. “Sunshine” was not performed during Michael’s solo set, it was elsewhere in the San Diego show, but as you’ve heard it was so great that it had to be included on the live release. Rather than make “Sunshine” a bonus track, separate from the Forum live album, I edited it into Michael’s solo set. Then we – meaning engineer Kevin Reeves! – had to do some finessing in the final mix to make it sound seamless.


How did Motown decide to record at The Forum vs. Madison Square Garden?
It’s hard to say the reason. Logistics, perhaps? Motown was spending more time in LA – it may have been more difficult to record them in NYC. But why they even recorded them may have been out of a curiosity to hear what the 5ive sounded like live or maybe a decision was made based on the J5 hysteria at the time – you know, “Let’s capture the moment.”

What reason do you believe The Forum shows were not released at the time they were recorded?
Perhaps because, for one example, the 1970 show actually started and ended badly, with technical problems at the head and the frenzy at the end where the group fled for their lives. For the ’72 show, MJ’s voice was changing. We had technology advantages not available back then; we did a lot of work to manage the levels and other problems. At times, where Michael’s voice started to waver, we would fade his lead track slightly to make it appear that he’s falling away from the microphone; that way the listener could focus on the excitement rather than an occasional bad note. Not to say Motown’s engineers couldn’t have nailed it. But separate from those challenges, I think one must also consider where the group was at the time. Why mess with the long string of studio hits? For Motown and the J5, there was no need for a live album to fill a release schedule.


Why haven’t we been able to see any commercially released J5 concerts on DVD?
From a record company perspective, we don’t own the material. It would have to be licensed in and we’d have to get permission from everybody involved. It’s a long
process.



We are coming up on a 40-year anniversary of the Goin’ Back To Indiana TV special (September 19, 1971 air date). Will we ever see the complete concert on CD?




I’d love to do the complete concert along with the TV special. I’d like to have both before we work on one. Again, the video portion is not something we control.





Did you have to consult with any of the Jacksons while putting together the Forum CD?
Once it was out we got copies to them and they loved it!


What is your favorite Jackson 5 record?

“Get It Together,” produced by Hal Davis, and I wish it was longer. Of course, I have great love for “I Want You Back,” but “GIT” always did something for me – that and “I Am Love.”







What do you think happened with the Skywriter LP?
Skywriter was an attempt to mature them and their sound – I mean, they did a tune from a Broadway show. What I found fascinating in reviewing the unreleased material is that there are outtakes from Skywriter that are fantastic! You do stop and think, gee, why didn’t they use these tracks? Those are earmarked for possible future rarities releases. The Skywriter and Get It Together period was very prolific, as was earlier, during their first year of recording with Bobby Taylor.


Will the J5 get a deluxe edition treatment for any LP’s? (For the fans – a deluxe edition is a 2-disc release of the original studio album accompanied by a second disc containing alternate takes/versions of the same songs as well as studio outtakes).
I hate to say we’ll see…but we’ll see. There’s a lot more in the vault – even after Motown seemed to clean it out when MJ was hot with Thriller, and then in 1995 with Soulsation!, there are plenty of quality recordings left. A few titles include a studio version of “Feelin’ Alright”; the Beatles’ “Yesterday,” which was also part of their first live sets and then dropped; a great cover of “Up On The Roof”; some cool funk tracks; Corporation outtakes that I hope to have Deke Richards put back together; and a song called “We’re The Music Makers,” a fun up-tempo song that is similar in subject matter to “We’re Here To Entertain You.” Man, for all that hysteria and the crazy schedule they were on, the boys recorded like crazy. There are also things that aren’t finished and in my opinion are not great, but that’s to be expected from so much volume.


Are there alternate versions of Michael’s solo work at Motown?
Motown in general didn’t save takes; they only kept a master take. So, there wouldn’t be a session reel with several takes of “Got To Be There.” I haven’t seen or heard a lot of unreleased Michael solo stuff, but there are a few cuts.






How has the response been for the Live At The Forum disc?
The response has been pretty good. I believe we sold more overseas than in the U.S. In regards to sales, if I get to do another project you know the numbers were good.

*Now here’s a Scoop bonus, Thanks HW!
It turns out that the May 1970 Philadelphia show was recorded. What the!?!?! As any fan could imagine my jaw dropped to the floor. Your roving reporter was hit with an Ali left hook and a Tyson uppercut! As most fans know, there is footage circulating on the internet of the J5 performing “ABC” and Sly Stone’s “Thank You Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin,” but who knew the entire J5 Philly show was also recorded? HW states that the J5 were really raw, the sequence of the show wasn’t strong and the audio recording is quite distorted. One interesting discovery from the Philly show: the J5 performed a cover of the then-current Lulu single, “Hum A Song (From Your Heart),” which for her was not a hit. After our discussion I went out on the internet highway and found a snippet of the Lulu track. Indeed, it sounds like a tune fit for the J5, during the breakdown. Here’s the link. http://www.amazon.com/gp/recsradio/radio/B0000033EZ/ref=pd_krex_dp_001_013?ie=UTF8&track=013&disc=001

A big Thank You goes out to J5C for making this interview possible. Another big Thank You goes out to Mr. Harry Weinger for taking time out of his busy schedule to speak with me. I learned a lot and I hope I was able to bring the fans the scoop, the only way I know how to bring it…straight up and down! THANK YOU FOR LETTIN’ ME BY MYSELF…
-SCOOP

Adam Worthy (Scoop Newsworthy) has been a Jackson 5 fan since 1981. He first saw the Jacksons on TV at age four during their summer variety show and he has been a collector since 1991. He loves to listen to music, dissect music, make music, and spend time with his wife and children.

Life of the Party

The only way I'd ever pay $300 for this eBay item would be if it came with a time machine that would take me back to the party itself. No one really wants a snapshot of Joe Jackson in a plaid leisure suit posing with a bunch of strangers. The real prize here is the actual invitation to the press party the Jackson family threw back in 1973.



On the J5's 1973 Soul Train appearance, Don Cornelius ran some footage from the party that included Randy hobbling around on crutches and Tito showing off his first-born son. A magic moment came when Don asked Joe the baby's name and Joe couldn't remember his own grandson's name, clumsily covering by saying "We call him... uh, Jackson. Little Jackson, that's what we call him." (For the record, it was Toriano Adaryll Jackson Jr, a.k.a. Taj. I could almost see Joe not remembering IF HE HADN'T NAMED HIS OWN SON THE SAME THING!)

Other fun involved the J5 playing basketball against the Temptations and Marvin Gaye. Here's Jermaine going up the Temptations on defense (good luck with that, Jermaine!).

And here's the whole group posing around the pool. I love looking at the awestruck faces on all of the kids on the left side of the photo, contrasted with the little boy on the right who is more interested in playing ball. But the best is the tiny interloper who sneaked into the group photo, standing right next to Michael like he was a member of the Jackson 5. Maybe he thought since Randy was on the disabled list, they'd be looking for a replacement.

Early Home Movies

While looking for other footage on YouTube the other day, I stumbled across this home movie footage, narrated by Michael, showing the Jackson 5 in their early years. We see Tito, Michael, Jackie and Jermaine playing in the snow in front of their house, beginning at about 2:14.

But more interesting for music lovers is the early performance footage. The home movie shot in the Jacksons' living room was used in the closing credits of The Making of Thriller, but here you can actually hear the music they were playing, something I've always wondered about. It also shows footage of the J5 performing at a party in Gary. I'd love to see more footage like this. Maybe Katherine Jackson will release it some day.

Better Late Than Never

Looks like the BBC finally got around to reviewing ABC. Their reviewer describes it as "...just enough soul, just enough raunch, lashings of pathos, all bound together with an elegant sufficiency of feel-good sentiment." Nice!

I just love how seriously British critics have always taken the Jackson 5, not to mention their descriptive prose. Talk about your elegant sufficiency!

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.