Considered the first among any African Americans to gather a huge fan following, The Jackson 5 was one of the most successful bands in America’s history. Founded in the 60s, the group originated from Gary, Indiana but managed to create music good enough to spread all across the world.
Composed entirely of the Jackson family, the Jackson 5 originally included Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Michael, and Marlon Jackson. The band was mostly just teenagers and children, but despite their young age, they ended up creating songs that topped Billboard charts almost every time.
With countless awards to their name, The Jackson 5 remains the best-known family pop band that reigned in the ’60s. The brothers later each had their own singles and solo albums, but the most successful out of all the brothers was Michael Jackson.
Now that it’s been years since Michael Jackson passed away, the Jackson 5 no longer exists but the remaining brothers do hold concerts once in a while in various states in the US and other countries.
Jackson 5 Members: Who Are They?
The original Jackson 5 had different members, with the brothers later leaving the group altogether. Initially, the members of the Jackson 5 were Michael, Marlon, Jermaine, Jackie and Tito. These 5 children would show up at schools, events, concerts, and similar places to showcase their performances.
After a few years of their debut, the Jackson brothers realized that they were receiving only 2.8% of the royalties from their hit songs, so it was time for them to change their record labels. They decided to change it from Motown to Epic Records, which had a much better royalty rate of 20% for every record.
Motown didn’t like this and demanded that they change their name if they wished to change their record label. The group became The Jacksons instead of Jackson 5 and Jermaine decided to leave the group along with the old name.
Jermaine was replaced by Randy Jackson, the youngest of all Jackson brothers. While the group was still performing great songs, their popularity started to decline after the name change and eventually, they had to go separate ways.
The Jacksons and the widespread “Jacksonmania”:
Back in 1964, the Jackson family was blessed with children who all had great singing voices. Managed by their father Joe, the kids formed a group and began performing in local schools like Theodore Roosevelt High School.
After winning their first-ever talent show in 1966, the Jacksons named their group the “Jackson 5” and started showing up in every single talent show in Gary and Chicago. It was not until they performed at the Apollo Theatre that the group was discovered by Gladys Knight, who sent a recording of their Apollo performance to Motown Records.
While her intentions were genuine, Motown Records ended up rejecting the video and The Jackson 5 remained without any record label for almost a year. In 1967, the Jacksons’ father signed a deal with Steeltown Records and started releasing songs under their label.
The first of the songs was called “Big Boy”, which ended up selling 10,000 copies soon after its release. The Jackson 5 was later signed under Motown records in 1968, despite the chief’s reluctance to sign any more kid acts.
Soon enough the Jackson 5 started releasing multiple hits and started the phenomenon called “Jacksonmania“. In a way, The Jackson brothers defined Black American music and gave it a new, interesting style. Every concert of the Jackson 5 had thousands of fans waiting for them.
Keep in mind, the Jacksons were still kids, with an average age of 12, so attaining such a huge feat at a young age was nothing less than remarkable. Crowds at the concerts would start piling up on each other, causing a need for police to be present at every concert.
Everything was going well for the Jackson family until they decided to change their record label for their own sake. Right after doing that, the initial group didn’t exist anymore, and the public started losing interest in their music.
The Jacksonmania was declining, but it was the start of Michael Jackson’s iconic career as a solo singer. After his death, the brothers reunited and started performing tours to celebrate his legacy. The Jackson 5 was back together again, but without Michael, the star of the pop band.
At present, Marlon, Jermaine, Tito, and Jackie can be found performing tours in the USA, UK, and Canada. While the Jacksons are no longer as active, they will always be remembered for the way they changed the world of African-American music and created a whole new powerful phenomenon all over the world.
