The Jacksons

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About The Jacksons

Iconic vocal group The Jacksons released four consecutive No. 1 pop singles at the start of a career that produced 23 Top 40 singles and nine Top 40 albums. • Initially comprising brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael Jackson, the quintet was first known as The Jackson 5. They signed to Motown Records in 1969 and quickly had a chart-topping hit with their first single, “I Want You Back”, which reached No. 1 in 1970. • By 1972, The Jackson 5 had landed four albums atop Billboard’s R&B charts and notched four No. 1 pop singles: “I Want You Back”, “ABC”, “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There”. • Amid the group’s success, Michael began his solo career in 1971 with the single “Got to Be There”, the title track from his 1972 solo debut. Jermaine followed later in 1972 with Jermaine. • The group’s 1972 album Lookin’ Through the Window was The Jackson 5’s last Top 10 album on the Billboard 200 chart. Though their singles were still reaching the Top 40, the group entered a period of commercial decline, even as Michael’s solo career began to blossom. He had his first solo No. 1 pop hit in 1972 with “Ben”. • The Jacksons left Motown in 1975 and signed with Epic Records. Jermaine opted out of the deal and was replaced in the group by another brother, Randy. Because Motown owned the Jackson 5 name, the group became The Jacksons. • Three of The Jacksons’ six Epic LPs made the Top 20: 1978’s Destiny (No. 11), 1980’s Triumph (No. 10) and 1984’s Victory (No. 4). • Victory, the group’s best-selling album, was the first to feature all six brothers together (Jermaine had returned) and the last to feature Michael, who had cemented his solo stardom with 1979’s Off the Wall and released what would become the best-selling album of all time with 1982’s Thriller. • In 1987, the Jacksons—now a quartet, following the departures of Michael and Marlon—contributed the single “Time Out for the Burglar” to the soundtrack of the Whoopi Goldberg film Burglar. The group released their last album together, 2300 Jackson Street, in 1989. • All six brothers reunited in September 2001 as part of a 30th anniversary special commemorating Michael’s solo career. • Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon reunited in 2012 for the Unity Tour, their first US tour without Michael, who died in June 2009 at age 50.

ORIGIN
Gary, IN, United States
FORMED
1966
GENRE
R&B/Soul

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