So I am going to play every 45 in my collection.......(Part 3!!)

I do know Centipede but that's about it where she's concerned.

 

Yeah she didn't really light up the charts. Better songs than one might expect though.

 

Rebbie Jackson-R U Tuff Enuff/Instrumental
The title track from the LP, this was a minor R&B hit in 1988. Similar in feel to Chaka Khan's "I Feel For You", complete with a Melle Mel intro rap! A solid groove and once again, Rebbie shows she can hang with her siblings pretty well.

 

Stonewall Jackson- Not My Kind of People/Give It Back to the Indians
This singles only showing was as a minor country hit in 1964. Any company is good company when your woman has left you...or so the story goes on this fine country tune.

 

Well that very brief respite from the Jackson family is over!
The Jackson 5- I'll Be There/One More Chance
This track, written by Willie Hutch and Hal Davis among others, hit #1 in the USA and #4 in the UK in 1970. The group's last #1 hit, it really showcased that the group were more than just the infectious bubblegum pop they had been charting with. Although Michael's lead vocal is heartfelt and the main draw, there are a few other details that push this track over the top. Jermaine's excellent vocal on the bridge and the harpsichord and bass parts subtly intricate and keeping it all together. I always dig little odes to other songs within a song and here we get the "just look over your shoulder honey"...Berry Gordy kind of honoring himself! No surprise there. The Mariah Carey version is pretty great too. She nails it. My wife and I saw her perform it with Trey Lorenz in Vegas and it was a showstopper.

 

The Jackson 5-Get It Together/Touch
Five people including Berry Gordy and Hal Davis wrote this tune which peaked at #28 in the USA in 1973. It has some funk to it but it is more of a workout than a fully realized track. A bit lackluster considering it was the title track of the LP.

 

The Jacksons- Enjoy Yourself/Style of Life
This first single from "The Jacksons" era, it hit #6 in the USA and #42 in the UK in 1977. This saw a shift from Motown to Epic Records and with Jermaine remaining at Motown, brother Randy was now in the group. This Gamble/Huff composition sounds like an invitation to a pretty mundane party. Don't go crazy, don't live it up.....just enjoy yourself. Sounds like sound advice from Mrs. Cleaner.

 

The Jacksons- Show You the Way to Go/Blues Away
Another Gamble/Huff composition, this did a bit of a flip flop chart wise, only reaching #28 in the USA but hitting #1 in the UK in 1977. This would be their only UK #1! This single is also notable for the fact that B-Side "Blues Away" was the first track composed entirely by Michael. The A Side has a sweeping disco feel to it with its lush strings and prominent hi-hat. Some nice understated lead guitar lines as well. Although I do like this track, a #1 track it is not. It is cool in hindsight to see Michael really finding his voice here.

 

I've mentioned this in other threads here, and perhaps even in this particular thread - there's so many Jacksons! - but one of my memories of winter 1984 was working in a mall clothing store as holiday help. They often played the local Cleveland R&B station in the store, and that station regularly ran ads for that Rebbie album where the announcer stated "Michael Jackson's oldest and favorite sister, Rebbie Jackson!" This of course was in the middle of Michael-mania, where any connection to Michael had to be exploited to the extreme!

 

I heard that Michael Jackson's dog groomer's second cousin got a three-album deal from Columbia that year.

 

"And favorite" made me laugh out loud! He must have liked LaToya too because "Night Time Lover" is a great song too!

 

Dog groomer? I think you meant Llama groomer

 

Show You The Way To Go is stellar. Gamble/Huff suited them and it showed further maturation that began with their later Motown stuff. It was a #1 hit on my personal Top 40 which I did for nearly 20 years from '68-'88 when music in general took a sharp downward turn in quality.

 

Wow! I wish I liked it as much as you do! Maybe It needs a few more spins to grow on me.

 

We like what we like right? These Epic years ,when Michael was still part of the group, are underappreciated IMO. Besides SYTWTG, they also hit #1 for me with Goin' Places, Blame It On The Boogie and Shake Your Body. And then everything changed!

 

I always thought it was a dumb label design to put the artist sideways on the label. Columbia kept this up until 1971.

 

No one in my family bought it, but we loved it. My sister and I probably got our fill of it from the corner hang-out that had pool tables and a jukebox.

 

This was one of the rare times in history where two record labels teamed up and had both their logos on the label. The reason that happened is because when Epic signed the brothers (minus Jermaine, plus Randy), the label promised them artistic freedom, but still didn't trust them to cut loose on their own, so they got Gamble & Huff to do the honors for their first two album. The brothers were not happy.

 

But, he was technically still part of the group. Don't forget "Triumph". By the time of "Victory" it just seemed like he left the group. Well, they did have to coax him to record with them for that.

 

I HATE that the artists name gets cut off by the sleeve. Why would they do that?

 

Thanks for pointing that out! Totally missed that! Blinded by the Epic sleeve I guess.

 

Juggs, just finished MHW's In The 21st Century, it contains a nice album edit.

 

I really need to pull out that cd for a play this week! That edit was nice, the original was rather lengthy right? They always came up with such great melodies.

 

It was actually. I think the edit works great for this tune.
I've been looking for the promo/interview disc cd for this tune and a couple other versions for over a decade with no luck, so I finally grabbed the 7 for dirt cheap

 

The Jacksons- Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)/That's What You Get
This dance floor filler got to #7 USA and #4 UK in 1979. The track was written by Randy and Michael and features future Michael sideman Greg Phillinganes on keyboards. The song sounds great....well produced by the brothers themselves. A fun listen on headphones with plenty of right-left differentiation of instruments.