The Begining Of

In winter 1968, they finally reached what they were so hard working for. Motown Records took them under contract. Berry Gordy, owner of Motown Records, promised: "Your first record will be number one, your second record will be a number one, and so will your third record. Three number one records in a row. You'll hit the charts just as Diana Ross and the Supremes did." All the big Motown stars had emigrated to California along with Berry Gordy after he moved from Detroit - and so did the Jackson family. Suzanne de Passe was having a great effect on their lives. She worked for Motown, and it was she who trained them religiously once they moved to Los Angeles. She also became a manager for the Jackson 5.

Freddy Perrin, Bobby Taylor and Deke Richards, who, along with Hal Davis and "Fonce" Mizell, were part of the team that wrote and produced their first singles. Together these guys were called "The Corporation".When "I Want You Back" was released in November 1969, it sold 2 million copies in 6 weeks and went to number one. Their next single, "ABC", came out in March 1970 and sold 2 million records in 3 weeks. When their third single, "The Love You Save", went to number one in June of 1970, Berry's promise came true.

The Jackson 5's first major TV show was "The Hollywood Palace", a big Saturday night show, hosted by Diana Ross. They performed "I Want You Back" live. However, the Jackson 5 made their very first TV appearance on the "1969 Miss Black America Pageant" show, performing "It's Your Thing" in August of 1969.

"I'll Be There" was their real breakthrough song. Michael: "It was the one that said, 'We're here to stay.' " It was number one for 5 weeks! The Jackson 5 became the first group ever to have 4 number one hits in a row!

The crazy days of the big Jackson 5 tours started with a big arena tour in the fall of 1970. When "Never Can Say Goodbye" was a big hit in 1971, they played 45 cities that summer, followed by 50 more cities later that year. They traveled with a tutor called Rose Fine who made sure they did their lessons.

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