The Jackson 5

The Jackson 5 or Jackson Five; later known as The Jacksons is an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana. Formed in 1964 under the name the Jackson Brothers, the founding members were Jackie, Tito and Jermaine. Marlon and Michael would later join, and the band's name would be changed to The Jackson 5. After participating in talent shows and the chitlin' circuit, they entered the professional music scene in 1967 as The Jackson Five, signing with Steeltown Records and releasing two singles. In 1969, they left Steeltown Records in order to sign with Motown.

The Jackson 5 is one of the first groups of black American performers to attain a crossover following, preceded by the Supremes, the Four Tops and the Temptations. Scoring 17 top forty singles on the Hot 100, after continuing with further hits such as "Never Can Say Goodbye" and "Dancing Machine", most of the group with the exception of Jermaine, left Motown for Epic Records in 1975, where, with brother Randy taking Jermaine's place, they released five albums between 1976 and 1981, including the hit albums, Destiny (1978) and Triumph (1980) and the hit singles, "Enjoy Yourself", "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" and "Can You Feel It." In 1983, Jermaine reunited with the band to perform on Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever and subsequently released the Victory album the following year. After the end of their tour to promote the album, Michael Jackson and Marlon Jackson promptly left the group. The remaining four released the poorly received 2300 Jackson Street album in 1989 before being dropped from their label.

The Jacksons (album)

The Jacksons is the thirteenth studio album by The Jacksons, the band's first album for CBS and under the name "The Jacksons," following their seven-year tenure at Motown as "The Jackson 5". Jackson 5 member Jermaine Jackson stayed with Motown when his brothers broke their contracts and left for CBS; he was replaced by youngest Jackson brother Randy. The album was released in 1976 for Epic Records and Philadelphia International Records as a joint venture.

History

Philadelphia International heads Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff produced and executive produced the album, including their first top ten hit in two years "Enjoy Yourself", but had a difficult time focusing on a sound for the now-grown-up boy band. However, the group was able for the first time to write their own material, something that had been denied to them at Motown. The Jacksons composed "Style of Life" and "Blues Away" on their own. "Blues Away" was the first published song written by lead singer Michael Jackson, who began to take a more percussive vocal approach beginning with this album. This album also spawned a second successful R&B single, "Show You the Way to Go" (UK #1). Though never released as a single, "Good Times" became a popular album cut from regular quiet storm airplay. The album itself placed #36 and #6 on the pop and R&B album charts respectively.

The Jacksons (TV series)

The Jacksons is an American variety show featuring the Jackson siblings (except for Jermaine, who was signed to Motown while the Jackson group was signed to the Epic/CBS record label). It was the first variety show where the entire cast were siblings. As with the Jackson 5 regular performances, Michael Jackson was the lead performer in musical and dance performances.

The thirty-minute Wednesday evening show began airing on CBS as a summer 1976 show and it continued into the 1976–1977 season, finishing on March 9, 1977 after running for 12 episodes.

Cast

Episodes

External links

Brandon Jackson March 12, 1957 - March 13, 1957

The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty

The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty is an American reality television program that stars members of the musical Jackson family and airs on A&E Network. Prior to the debut of the series, the show had initially been filmed as a one-off hour-long special about The Jacksons (minus lead singer Michael and younger brother Randy), and their intention to release an album and begin a tour in celebration of the band's fortieth year in music. Following Michael's death in June 2009, more footage of the family was shot and it was commissioned as series.

The show debuted on December 13, 2009, with the episode "The Jackson Family". After one season and six episodes, the series ended on January 27, 2010, with the episode "Now, What?". In February 2010, it was reported that the four brothers are reportedly in negotiations to film episodes for a second season to the reality series.

Production

The original intention behind the creation of the series—initially titled The Jackson Family—was that it would be a one-off hour-long special aired by the cable network A&E. The show was to center around The Jacksons (previously known as The Jackson 5) and their planning of a new album and tour in celebration of the band's fortieth year in the music industry. The initial filming of the brothers began in January 2009, but did not involve lead singer Michael Jackson. It was finished days before the entertainer's death in June 2009, which subsequently influenced the show's production company, Point 7 Entertainment, to shoot more footage and air it as a television series. Robert Sharenow, a senior worker for A&E, stated in July 2009 that the original show was commissioned as a special but that the company thought of all of their specials as "backdoor pilots".