'2300 Jackson Street' is about the Jackson family's childhood home on 2300 Jackson Street in Gary, Indiana. The single was only a moderate success, reaching number 76 in the UK singles chart, but failed to chart in the Netherlands.
My collection: 7" single no. 7427
Found: Record fair, Den Bosch, 9 November 2024
Tracks: '2300 Jackson Street' / 'When I look at you'
In 1989, the remaining quartet of Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Randy released the album 2300 Jackson Street. From that album, this single was released. 'Nothin (that compares 2 u)' is a generic dance song, somewhat in line with what other artists were releasing around that time, but its lack of a memorable hook meant that it was the band's chart singles - even if it only reached number 77 in the US Billboard Hot 100 and number 33 in the UK singles chart.
After a brief promotional tour, the group went into hiatus and never recorded another album together. Following the release of one solo album, Marlon quit the music business in 1989 and invested in real estate. Randy has not been active in the industry since he disbanded the group Randy & the Gypsys in 1991. Tito Jackson passed away on 15 September 2024.
My collection: 7" single no. 7378
Found: Record fair, Rotterdam, 5 October 2024
Tracks: 'Nothin (that compares 2 u)' / 'Alright with me'
Jackson turned 12 one day after the song was released. The single sold 4.2 million copies in the USA, and 6.1 million copies worldwide. It was the group's final number 1 hit in the Billboard Hot 100 chart. For the rest of their career as a major-label act, Jackson 5 singles would climb no higher than number 2. The song was famously butchered by Mariah Carey during her MTV Unplugged session in 1992.
My collection: 7" single no. 6941
Found: Vinyl & zo, Rijswijk, 15 April 2023
Tracks: 'I'll be there' / 'One more chance'
The second half of the Eighties was littered with remixes of old tracks. Somehow record companies thought it was a cheap way to make profits without having to pay for studio time - except the time for the remixer of course. But in some cases, even the remixers didn't even spend that much time on it.
You don't hear the word 'boogie' anymore. Back in the Seventies, is was the buzzword for having a good time, dancing around and generally going out of your mind. And the Jacksons, Michael included, had one of their biggest hits with 'Blame it on the boogie' in 1978.
The Arcade label was very successful with compilation albums of old hits. It made their albums chart hits and its boss, who would later go into politics for purely selfish reasons of course, very rich. One of their staples was the 'Dance Classics' series. In fact, it was such a hype that it spawned a few singles as well. The first two, released in 1990, were mixed by Ben Liebrand, and reached the Dutch Top 40.
Released as the first single from the Jacksons' album 'Triumph', 'Lovely one' was the followup to their 1979 hit, 'Shak your body (down to the ground)'. Lead vocals in this song were performed by Michael Jackson, while his brothers Jackie, Tito, Randy and Marlon performed backing vocals.
'Shake your body (down to the ground)' was released as a single from the Jacksons' album 'Destiny' in December 1978. The single version was edited down to almost four minutes from the original eight minute album version. The single reached number 7 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, number 4 in the UK singles chart and number 3 in the Dutch Top 40.
Michael Jackson and his brothers formed the Jacksons, a successful group that made hit singles until the Eighties, after which solo careers took preference over the group effort. 'Can you feel it' is arguably the band's last big hit, released on the 1980 album 'Triumph' and released as a single in early 1981. It reached number 6 in the UK singles chart and number 2 in the Dutch Top 40, while it only reached number 77 in the US Billboard Hot 100 chart.
It's hard to believe now, but 20 years ago, when you wanted to hear a song and not be dependent of radio stations, you actually had to buy records. You could also opt for cd's, but since my money resources were limited, I usually bought singles. And this is how I ended up with this single from the 'Hall of fame' series by Epic Records.
'Show you the way to go' was the second single by the Jacksons (They were named the Jackson 5 before that). It was their first hit in the Netherlands, where it peaked at number 12 in the summer of 1977. In the UK, it did even better: it reached number one.
When people ask me what music I would like to have played on my funeral, I usually cite titles like 'Down down deeper and down' (Status Quo) and this one by the Jacksons. Released as a single in December 1978, this track became a hit for the group in 1979, reaching number 4 in the UK and number 3 in the Netherlands.
'State of shock' was recorded by The Jacksons with Mick Jagger in 1984 for the album 'Victory'. Originally the song was going to be a duet with Freddie Mercury, with whom Michael Jackson wrote it. Unreleased demos have surfaced on bootleg discs to testify to this fact. The Jacksons finally recorded the song with Mick Jagger. Mick Jagger performed the song live with Tina Turner during Live Aid in 1985.
The title track from the album 'Thriller' was released as the fifth single. 'Thriller' is one of Jackson's signature songs, in no small part because of its music video, a 14 minute epic which features extra parts of acting and lots of impressive crowd dance scenes.
'Wanna be startin' somethin'' was the fourth single taken from the album 'Thriller'. It was originally intended for the album 'Off the wall' but was not recorded until the sessions for 'Thriller' in 1982. The song was written by Michael Jackson and produced by Quincy Jones. The song ends with a chorus repeatedly singing 'Ma ma-se, ma ma-sa, ma ma-coo-sa', which is an African chant. This chant was later re-used in Rihanna's 2007 single 'Don't stop the music'.
