The Jackson 5
The Jackson 5, later renamed the Jacksons, have sold more than 150 million records worldwide, which places them among the best-selling artists of all time. The group began in 1964 in Gary, Indiana. The original lineup was Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, and their father, Joe Jackson, managed them.
Their story runs through rejected demo tapes, a record label that turned them into a brand, and a royalty rate that sent them looking for a new home. How did a family act from Indiana become so famous? Why did the brothers leave the label that made them stars? And what happened to the group when its most famous member outgrew it?
In 1964, Joe Jackson found Tito playing a guitar with a broken string. He was impressed enough to buy the boy a guitar of his own. Tito, Jermaine and Jackie soon formed a group. Michael, then 5, played congas, and friends Reynaud Jones and Milford Hite joined on keyboards and drums in 1965.
Marlon joined on tambourine in August 1965, when Evelyn LaHaie suggested that the boys call themselves the Jackson Five. The first talent show victory came in 1966 at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Gary. Jermaine sang the Temptations' "My Girl", and Michael performed Robert Parker's "Barefootin'". Johnny Jackson and Ronnie Rancifer later replaced Hite and Jones.
Gladys Knight was, according to Jermaine Jackson, the first established artist to back the group. She sent a demo tape to Motown, but the label rejected it and returned the tape. In July 1967, the boys recorded an early version of "Big Boy" for One-derful Records, which also turned them down.
In August 1967, the brothers were booked into Chicago's Regal Theater and Harlem's Apollo Theater. They won the talent competition at both that year. The Apollo victory came on the 13th of August.
Steeltown Records, a label founded and owned by the producer Gordon Keith, signed the group in November 1967. They recorded "Big Boy" again that month, and it was released as a single in January 1968. By March, Keith had arranged a distribution deal with Atlantic Records. It covered "Big Boy" and a second single, "We Don't Have to Be Over 21 (To Fall in Love)". "Big Boy" sold 10,000 copies. That March, Keith also booked the group's first paying gig, opening for Etta James at the Apollo. While he worked on an Atlantic contract, he learned that Joe Jackson had been trying to reach Motown through the attorney Richard Arons.
In July 1968, the group opened for Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers at the Regal Theater. Taylor was blown away by Michael's performance and sent the boys to Detroit. There he arranged a recorded audition at Motown's headquarters on Woodward Avenue, which took place on the 23rd of July 1968.
Berry Gordy had already rejected their tape, refusing to sign any more "kid acts" after Stevie Wonder. He changed his mind after watching Taylor's tape. On the 26th of July, Gordy returned to Detroit, and Joe Jackson and the boys signed a first contract that ran for one year.
The dispute with Gordon Keith delayed work on the first album. While talks about leaving Steeltown dragged on, the group played strip clubs to earn extra money.
On the 11th of March 1969, a day before Marlon's 12th birthday, the group signed an exclusive seven-year contract with Motown. Early sessions at Hitsville U.S.A. in Detroit failed to impress Gordy, so he sent the brothers to Hollywood.
In August 1969, Motown's publicity team, led by Suzanne de Passe, began telling people that Diana Ross had discovered the group. Ross was the lead singer of the Supremes. At the Daisy, a Los Angeles club, Michael was billed as an "eight-year-old sensation", although he was several days short of his 11th birthday. Soon after, the brothers performed "It's Your Thing" at the Miss Black America Pageant in New York.
By September 1969, Gordy had set up a writing and production team called The Corporation to work only on songs for the group. The brothers recorded "I Want You Back" that month, and it was released in early October. They promoted it on the Hollywood Palace and the Ed Sullivan Show. Their debut album, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, followed in December 1969, carrying the singer's name in its title.
In 1970, nearly 19,000 fans packed The Forum in Inglewood, California, to see the Jackson 5. Thousands more were turned away because of the building's capacity limits. The show grossed more than $105,000, a record at that time, and it appears on the album Live at the Forum. Jerry Butler and Rare Earth, one of Motown's most popular white groups, opened.
The five brothers averaged 12 years old when they turned professional, which makes them arguably the original boy band. Fans waited for them wherever they went, and police had to escort them. Early footage shows girls climbing over seats toward the stage while officers try to keep order. Sold-out tours took them across the United States and to Africa, Asia and Europe.
The J5 heart logo appeared on Johnny Jackson's drum set, on album covers, and on stickers, posters and coloring books. Motown also licensed a board game, making the group its main marketing focus. The magazine Right On!, launched in 1971, leaned heavily on the brothers, and they filled its covers from January 1972 to April 1974. Rolling Stone, which seldom put child acts on its cover, featured them. They also appeared on Life and Ebony.
Diana Ross's 1971 special, Diana!, featured the group. Goin' Back to Indiana aired in September, the first of two Motown television specials. The second, The Jackson 5 Show, debuted in November of the following year. The brothers also often joined Bob Hope on USO-benefit shows supporting troops during the Vietnam War.
In January 1970, "I Want You Back" reached the top of the Billboard Hot 100. "ABC" and "The Love You Save" also went to number one. "I'll Be There", co-written and produced by Hal Davis, made it four, and the Jackson 5 became the first recording act whose first four singles all topped the chart. All four were nearly as popular abroad.
The group released four albums in a single year and replaced the Supremes as Motown's best-selling group. "Mama's Pearl", "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Sugar Daddy" brought them seven top-ten singles within two years. Across five years they collected seventeen Top 40 singles, including six number-one R&B hits.
In October 1971, Motown launched Michael's solo career with "Got to Be There", hoping to keep sales rising. "Rockin' Robin" and "I Wanna Be Where You Are" followed from his solo debut album. His 1972 song "Ben" became his first to top the charts. Jermaine released a solo project next, and his biggest hit of the period was a cover of the doo-wop song "Daddy's Home".
By 1973, the group's records were sliding down the charts, even though Michael and Jermaine were thriving as soloists. The Corporation, which had produced most of the hit singles, split up that year. The brothers turned to the disco craze and recorded "Get It Together". In 1974, "Dancing Machine" became a hit, their first top-ten entry since "Sugar Daddy" nearly three years earlier. Most follow-ups sold less.
Joe Jackson grew tired of Motown's reluctance to keep producing hits for his sons. He began producing a nightclub act around his sons and daughters, starting in Las Vegas and spreading to other states.
By 1975, the Jackson 5 had sold over 60 million records. Then the brothers learned that they earned only 2.8% of royalties from Motown. Most of the group chose to stop recording for the label, wanting creative control and a fairer share. They announced the decision at a press conference at the Rainbow Grill in Manhattan.
Epic Records offered a royalty rate of 20% per record, and Joe Jackson signed with the company in June 1975. Jermaine did not join the deal. He stayed with Motown after marrying Hazel Gordy, and his youngest brother, Randy, took his place.
The group remained under contract to Motown until March 1976. Motown sued for breach of contract but allowed the brothers to record for Epic on one condition. They had to change their name, because Motown owned the name Jackson 5. The brothers became the Jacksons.
In November 1976, following the debut of the family's weekly variety series, the Jacksons released their self-titled CBS debut. It came out under the Philadelphia International subsidiary and was produced by Gamble & Huff. The album included "Enjoy Yourself" and "Show You the Way to Go". It went gold but fell short of the sales the brothers had enjoyed at Motown. The follow-up, Goin' Places, fizzled.
With their Epic contract renewed, the Jacksons won full creative control for Destiny, released in December 1978. Michael and Randy wrote "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)", the group's best-selling Epic single to date. The album sold over a million copies. By 1979, the group had sold 90 million records.
Triumph, released in 1980, also sold a million copies. It produced "Lovely One", "This Place Hotel" and "Can You Feel It". In 1981 came a live album drawn from the Triumph Tour, which eventually sold half a million copies.
Between Destiny and Triumph, Michael released Off the Wall, his first solo album for Epic. Its success fed rumors that he would split from his brothers. His next solo album, Thriller, arrived in November 1982. It later became the best-selling album of all time and won eight Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year.
Thriller produced two number-one singles, "Billie Jean" and "Beat It". It also produced three breakthrough MTV videos, including the 14-minute zombie-themed "Thriller". In March 1983, the Jacksons, joined by Jermaine, performed on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever. On that same show, Michael debuted the moonwalk during a solo performance of "Billie Jean".
The 1984 album Victory became the Jacksons' biggest seller, and it held their final top-ten single, "State of Shock". The song was a duet between Michael and Mick Jagger. Only Marlon and Jackie appeared, credited as background vocalists. Most of the album was made this way, with each brother essentially recording solo songs. Another hit, the top 20 single "Torture", paired Michael with Jermaine, with Jackie singing several parts.
That year, the brothers filmed a Pepsi commercial in which Michael suffered burns to his scalp because of a pyrotechnic fault. In July 1984, the Jacksons launched the Victory Tour. Jackie's leg injury, ticket problems and friction between the brothers overshadowed it. The promotion and marketing team was shaken up, and Don King, who had headed it at first, was later fired.
Michael announced that he would leave the group after the final show at Dodger Stadium that December, to continue his solo career. The following January, Marlon also announced that he was leaving to pursue a solo career. At the time of the breakup, the Jackson 5 had sold more than 100 million records worldwide.
In 1987, the Jacksons released "Time Out for the Burglar", included on the soundtrack of the Whoopi Goldberg comedy Burglar. In 1989, the remaining quartet of Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Randy released 2300 Jackson Street. The album was poorly received, and Epic dropped them. After a brief promotional tour, the group went into hiatus and never recorded another album together.
Marlon quit the music business in 1989, after one solo album, and invested in real estate. Randy has not been active in the industry since he disbanded his group Randy & the Gypsys in 1991.
In September 2001, nearly 17 years after their last performance together, all six brothers reunited for two shows at Madison Square Garden. The shows marked the 30th anniversary of Michael's solo career and aired in November. In early 2009, the four elder brothers began filming a reality show about reuniting the band. It debuted in December 2009 as The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty. During the project, Michael announced a London concert comeback for the 13th of July 2009. He died on the 25th of June that year, and the efforts stopped.
Later in 2009, the surviving Jacksons recorded background vocals for Michael's 1980 demo of "This Is It". It became the theme song of the concert film Michael Jackson's This Is It. The radio-only single came out in October and reached number nineteen on the Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks chart. It did not appear on the Hot 100. Talks about a 2010 tribute tour and a first new studio album in more than 20 years went nowhere.
In September 2010, Jermaine held his own tribute concert to Michael in Las Vegas. In 2011, Jackie released a solo single on iTunes. Jermaine put out I Wish U Love, his first solo album in 21 years.
August 2011 brought a rift over a tribute concert for Michael. Jackie, Tito and Marlon attended a press conference at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium with their mother Katherine and sister La Toya. A couple of days later, Randy and Jermaine issued a statement denouncing the tribute. Its date fell around the manslaughter trial of Conrad Murray, which related to Michael's death. The show went ahead with Jackie, Tito and Marlon, without Jermaine.
In October 2011, the Jacksons were featured on "Letter in the Sky", a single by the Japanese-American singer Ai. It was a tribute to Michael and the group's first single in 22 years. The song served as the theme for Michael Jackson Tribute: Live in Tokyo, held on the 13th and the 14th of December 2011 at Yoyogi National Stadium. It reached number 14 on the Japan Oricon Singles Chart and number 36 on the Billboard Japan Hot 100.
In April 2012, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon announced the Unity Tour. Thirty-eight dates were announced, but the eleven shows planned for the United States were canceled. The tour opened at Casino Rama in Orillia, Ontario, on the 20th of June 2012. Thirty-two more dates were added, and it ended in Atlantic City on the 27th of July 2013.
On the 7th of January 2016, the Jacksons performed at Planet Hollywood Las Vegas in a concert event called "Heal the World: A Tribute to Michael Jackson". On the 15th of June 2018, Tito, Jackie, Marlon and Jermaine received plaques bearing the keys to Detroit. The private party launched the second Detroit Music Weekend festival. Police chief James Craig presented the honors and called the group "truly Detroiters". The brothers headlined the festival on the 16th. A 90-minute tribute concert ended with Michael's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough", performed with Greg Phillinganes, a Detroit native who had worked with the group as a session player and tour musical director.
In January 2020, the brothers returned to Gary for the groundbreaking of a Hard Rock Casino. It was planned to hold Jacksons memorabilia and bring 2,000 jobs. They visited their old school and donated their appearance fee to provide 170 bicycles to the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. Walmart, Hard Rock and Spectacle added $61,000 for the club. Those backers plan a Jackson family museum and restaurant at the casino.
Tito died on the 15th of September 2024. Jackie and Marlon are now listed as the group's current members.
In 1969, one year after the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., the Black power and civil rights movements were disintegrating. The Moynihan Report, issued under the Lyndon B. Johnson administration, had declared the Black family broken. Into that moment came the Jackson family, offering America an idealized image of domestic bliss and a new positive image of Black families. The brothers changed how the African-American male was perceived worldwide. They appealed equally to Black and white audiences and broke racial barriers.
In September 1971, the cartoon Jackson 5ive joined ABC's Saturday morning lineup. Animation director Bob Balser insisted that the series would not include violence. It was one of the first cartoon portrayals of a Black family that avoided cheap gags and stereotyping. The cartoon brothers solved their problems with music and intellect.
The Osmonds, white Mormon brothers from Utah, rose at the same time and were thought to be an imitation of the Jackson 5. Michael and Donny, the lead singers of the two groups, developed a friendship. The Jackson 5 themselves drew on the Temptations, the Supremes, James Brown, Jackie Wilson, Sammy Davis Jr., the Teenagers and Sly and the Family Stone. In turn, they inspired generations of boy bands, including New Edition, Boyz II Men, Menudo, New Kids on the Block, NSYNC, the Jonas Brothers, Backstreet Boys, One Direction, Silk Sonic and BTS.
In 1977, the group was among a small set of artists eligible for the new Madison Square Garden Gold Ticket Award, given for selling over 100,000 tickets there. They received it in 1981, when they played the Garden as the Jacksons. On the 3rd of September 1980, the brothers received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame as the Jacksons.
In 1997, the original members of the Jackson 5 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame by Diana Ross and Berry Gordy. Randy was the one brother not inducted alongside the rest. The Vocal Group Hall of Fame followed in 1999. "ABC" and "I Want You Back" are among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll. "I'll Be There" and "I Want You Back" entered the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999, and "ABC" followed in 2017.
The group won four NAACP Image Awards and was nominated for three Grammy Awards. In 1972, the United States Congress gave the Jackson 5 a Special Commendation for positive role models. In 1975, the Congressional Black Caucus inducted them as honorary members. In 2008, the Jacksons were honored as BMI Icons.
The Jacksons: An American Dream, a five-hour miniseries on ABC, aired in 1992. Suzanne de Passe, Jermaine Jackson and Stan Margulies produced it with Motown. It told the story of a hard-working Black family and its path to the American Dream. In 2017, the 50th anniversary year, the Jacksons released The Jacksons: Legacy, a book with new interviews and unseen photographs.
On the 13th of May 2021, guide signs reading "Home of the World-Famous Jackson 5" were installed on the Borman Expressway and local roads. They point drivers to the family home at 2300 Jackson Street in Gary. Marlon and Tito Jackson attended a gathering there, joined by Indiana Lieutenant Governor Suzanne Crouch and state Senator Eddie Melton.
In August 2025, Marlon and Jackie returned to Gary for a two-day block party organized by the city. It began on the 67th anniversary of Michael's birth and included a moment of silence for Tito. Gary native Deniece Williams performed. Months earlier, the city had unveiled a Jackson Five mural painted by Felix Maldonado.
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Common questions
Who were the original members of the Jackson 5?
The original members of the Jackson 5 were the brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael Jackson. They formed the group in Gary, Indiana, in 1964, and their father Joe Jackson managed them.
How many records has the Jackson 5 sold?
The Jackson 5 have sold more than 150 million records worldwide, making them one of the best-selling artists of all time. They had already sold over 60 million records by 1975.
Which Jackson 5 songs reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100?
"I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save" and "I'll Be There" all reached number one. This made the Jackson 5 the first recording act whose first four singles topped the Hot 100.
Why did the Jackson 5 leave Motown?
The brothers left Motown in 1975 because they wanted creative control and royalties, after learning they earned only 2.8% of royalties. Epic Records offered a royalty rate of 20% per record, and Joe Jackson signed with the company in June 1975.
Why did the Jackson 5 change their name to the Jacksons?
The Jackson 5 became the Jacksons because Motown owned the name Jackson 5. Motown sued for breach of contract but allowed the group to record for Epic if they changed it.
Who replaced Jermaine Jackson when the Jackson 5 moved to Epic Records?
Randy Jackson, the youngest brother, replaced Jermaine. Jermaine stayed with Motown after his marriage to Hazel Gordy.
When was the Jackson 5 inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame?
The Jackson 5 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, with Diana Ross and Berry Gordy inducting them. Randy Jackson was the one brother not inducted alongside the original members.
All sources
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