Ar礬t Development. – e礦ue e coaching (for the ladies), media training,
choreography and styling. • Songwri瓏g and Development. – Holland/Dozier/
Holland.
MUS15: Michael Jackson The Jackson 5: Motown Success, Reluctant Teen Idols and the Move to Epic Records
Music Biz Recap • 1940s-‐1950s: recording technology becomes more affordable and available • Rise of independent record labels and studios • “Niche market” music starts receiving more airplay, thereby bringing it to wider audiences (geographically and socio-‐economically) – Blues and Country
Music Biz Recap • Country and Blues arQsts begin to experiment with different combinaQons of genres • Rock and Roll
– Rhythm and Blues: Gospel-‐style singing with blues structures and an up-‐tempo backbeat. Started in the south but spread north as southerners leU to seek work in the Rust Belt – Rockabilly: CombinaQon of country singing style with blues structures and an up-‐tempo backbeat. Exclusively white market in Memphis, TN – Doo Wop: Voice-‐based version of R&B that featured minimal instrumental accompaniment, uQlizing nonsense syllables to fill in the more rhythmic parts. Developed in urban environments (Harlem, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago) and not exclusive to a single race.
Music Biz Recap • “Crossover” is a blanket term that is used in the music industry to describe genres/styles that appeal to various groups of people. • Television helped move genres from the communiQes in which they were created to audiences that would normally never have seen or heard it before. • It also meant that music wri^en by black arQsts but performed by white arQsts was immensely popular.
Motown Recap • Berry Gordy – Successful songwriter and producer for “Mr. Excitement,” Jackie Wilson • Lonely Teardrops and To Be Loved
– Took earnings from these two hits and founded Tamla Records in 1959, first signing R&B singer-‐songwriter, Smokey Robinson and the Miracles – 1960: founds Motown based on the “Fordism” methodology used by the auto industry in which all parts of the producQon were done in-‐house by a team of specialized workers.
Motown Modus Operandi Recap • • •
Family-‐style business, open 22 hours a day Operated out of a home purchased on Grand Ave. near downtown Detroit ArQst Development – eQque^e coaching (for the ladies), media training, choreography and styling
•
SongwriQng and Development
– Holland/Dozier/Holland – K.I.S.S. Principle: if a song formula works, then replicate it unQl it stops selling records
•
Recording Studio
– The Snake Pit – The Funk Brothers
•
Quality Control/DistribuQon/Management – Friday EvaluaQon MeeQngs – Billie Jean Brown
Jackson Beginning Recap • Joe and Katherine and their 9 children lived in a 2 bedroom home on Jackson St, in Gary, Indiana • Joe was a steel worker and amateur R&B musician • AUer Joe discovered the boys had talent, he decided to manage the group himself • The boys toured extensively on the Chitlin’ Circuit, playing amateur talent night contests
Jackson Beginnings Recap • Eventually, they won the major contests at The Apollo Theater in Harlem and the Regal Theater in Chicago • The began opening for acts such as Gladys Knight and the Pips, who menQoned the boys to Gordy • Recorded a demo at Steeltown Records in Gary, Indiana, produced by Gordon Keith “Mr. Keith”. – Big Boy and We Don’t Have to Be 21 (to Fall In Love)
The Jackson 5 and Motown • Gordy insisted that he wasn’t interested in managing a kids act • Eventually, Gordy relented upon the insistence of B-‐level Motown songwriter, Bobby Taylor • July 1968: The boys were invited to audiQon via video tape – They sang a string of R&B hits, ending with James Brown’s “I Got the Feelin” – According to Michael, the audiQon was brief and cold, with no immediate response from the audiQon panel
• Gordy loved them: They were signed to a development deal and invited to record more tracks at the Detroit Studios under the guidance of Bobby Taylor.
Bobby Taylor, Producer • "The leap from raw live performance to studio professionalism can be a big one, and Taylor, as much as anyone, provided Michael and his brothers with that iniQal educaQon." – Nelson George, 31 • Joe could hustle the boys around the club circuit and put together an energeQc stage show, but they lacked the finesse needed to record a professional record. • Live performances can be a li^le loose, musically, but records have to be Qght in order to receive “The Nod” from Billie Jean Brown and Berry Gordy at the Friday EvaluaQon MeeQngs
Bobby Taylor’s Sound • Taylor paid for the boys and their father to relocate temporarily to Detroit to record a few tracks in the Snake Pit at Motown • In these sessions, they recorded covers of R&B, Soul and Funk hits – – – – –
Isley Brothers “It’s Your Thing” Sly and the Family Stone “Stand!” The Four Tops “Reach Out (I’ll be There)” Ray Charles “Fool for You” Smokey Robinson “Who’s Lovin’ You”
A Fool For You I know you told me Such a long Qme ago That you didn't want me You didn't love me no more
Did you ever wake up in the morning Or just about the break of day Reach over and feel the pillow Where your baby used to lay?
I want to know Oh, what makes me be Do you believe me child? I'm a fool for you Oh, I'm a fool for you
Then you put on your crying Like you never cried before, oh Lord Yeah, you'll even cry so loud You give the blues to your neighbor next door
I know you told me You didn't want me 'round And I know You got a man way 'cross town
Ever since you were five-‐years old, baby I been a fool for you, li^le girl Way down in my soul I'm a li^le fool for ya
So I know it's something Oh, what makes me be Do you believe me child? I'm a fool for you Oh, I'm a fool for you
So I know it's something Oh Lord, yeah I'm a fool for you Oh, I'm a fool for you
1955: Ray Charles TradiQonal Blues • Lyric Structure: closely Qed to speech vernacular instead of using complicated poeQc device. – AAB Rhyme Scheme
• PlainQve melody, structured around the call and response format of church music
– Vocal style similar to wailing, moaning, while remaining in a very minimal pitch range (doesn’t go too high or too low)
• Simple rhythmic structure, acQng as a support for the melody/voice, relying on repeQQon of short musical ideas to allow for improvisaQon in the melodic part • InstrumentaQon: – – – –
Verse 1: piano, drums, bass Verse 2: add horns playing long, held notes RepeQQon of the A SecQons: Instruments and Voice in call and response Final B SecQon: Only secQon in which Ray does any vocal improvisaQon
1967/68: OQs Redding Soul/R&B • Singing is more rooted in Gospel music, in a form of ‘secular tesQfying’ • Blues Song, adding more intricate rhythm secQon, and looser singing style • InstrumentaQon:
– Intro: piano, guitar, horns in call and response – Verses 1 and 2: Guitar, drums, bass, piano, horns add tags to end of verse – RepeQQon of A SecQons: call and response similar to the introducQon, leaving plenty of space for OQs to improvise by extending syllables and adding more wailing – Final B SecQon: Add Organ, builds to a climax with OQs and the guitar exchanging improvisaQonal phrases
1969: The Jackson 5 Bobby Taylor and The Motown Sound • Motown InstrumentaQon: guitar, bass, organ, drums, piano, horns, strings, harp, backing vocals • Michael’s Vocal Style
– Almost every single phrase has some sort of improvised tag, flourish, turn – The final repeQQon of the A secQons goes on for nearly two minutes – Adds a few tongue in cheek references to his own youth: “Ever since you were 1-‐2-‐3-‐4-‐5 years old…I’ve been a…I been a fool for you baaaaaby, yeah…” – Performance of emoQonal maturity: “Way down in my SOOOOUUUUL yeah, yeah”
• This producQon of the song is significantly more dense than the other two versions…a long way from a simple blues song
Motown and Detroit • The Taylor sessions of 1969 were done without the supervision of Berry Gordy at Motown’s studio A, and were intended to be included on their debut record • Berry Gordy wasn't too thrilled that the group was recording oldies, and felt that they should be recording original material • Gordy was spending more and more Qme in Los Angeles, where he had recently purchased a home and was interested in going in a different musical direcQon – The Jackson 5 were going to be his first a^empt at a new style and sound
Farewell, Detroit • Gordy gave no noQce that he would be moving his company to the Hollywood • Many of the musicians were stuck: either go with Gordy and try to keep the career alive, or stay in Motown and fade into obscurity • The Funk Brothers, for the most part, remained in Detroit • The highly producQve songwriQng team, Holland-‐Dozier-‐ Holland, were in the middle of legally terminaQng their contract with Motown over royalty disputes • In a city sQll trying to rebuild from the devastaQng 1967 riots and the declining finances of the auto industry, Detroit needed Motown more than Motown needed Detroit
Hello, Los Angeles • Gordy purchased a palaQal estate in the Hollywood Hills…he also rented a home for Diana Ross just down the street • Changes in producQon model: – Hal Davis and The CorporaQon replaced Holland-‐ Dozier-‐Holland as the primary songwriQng and producQon team – Gordy loosened his grip on arQsts, allowing most of them the opportunity to write and produce their own material
The CorporaQon • Team of songwriters and producers assembled by Berry Gordy for the new Hollywood studios – Mostly, they were put together expressly for The Jackson 5
• Berry Gordy: execuQve producer, arranger, songwriter • Hal Davis: producer – Acted as lead producer for much of The CorporaQon’s output, causing contenQon among the members
• Alphonzo Mizell: producer • Freddie Perren: pianist and songwriter • Deke Richards: vocal coach and arranger
Three Number Ones "I'm gonna make you the biggest thing in the world, and you're gonna be wri^en about in history books...Your first record will be a number one, your second record will be a number one, and so will your third record. Three number one records in a row. You'll hit the charts just as Diana Ross and the Supremes did.” – Michael Jackson Moonwalker, 67-‐68
Music Changeover in the 1960s • The music industry had shiUed in the 1960s in favor of rock groups – ‘Teen' pop music was widely panned as formulaic and 'bubblegum'. – It was considered a passing fancy for young people who aren't wise enough to know that what their listening to has no arQsQc merit.
• If Motown was going to produce a kids’ act, they were determined to make it less about novelty and more about depth. • These would be boys whose personaliQes and smarts beyond their years could appeal to a broader audience (which was Motown's M.O.). • Gordy was interested in making music that both a youthful and mature audience could get behind.
Diana Ross Presents: The Jackson 5 (1969) • The Jackson 5 were the only group Gordy funded to move to Los Angeles – Joe and the three eldest sons (Jackie, Jermaine and Tito) lived in Berry Gordy’s home – Marlon and Michael lived with Diana Ross
• Displeased with Bobby Taylor’s work, Hal Davis was asked to step in as execuQve producer and songwriter – “Who’s Lovin’ You” would be the only Taylor-‐produced track to make it onto an official Jackson 5 record
Suzanne De Passe • Suzanne De Passe: an execuQve in the ArQst Development Department – Stepped in as manager – Sold the group by making them 2 years younger than they were – Styled them in Qghtly groomed afros and coordinaQng psychedelic clothing – Most importantly, it was decided that their story would be changed to indicate Diana Ross had actually discovered them
A New Image for a New Decade From: Grownups in Training of the 1960s To: Hip Kids of the 1970s
Gordy’s PerfecQonism • Hal Davis and The CorporaQon recorded a rough mix of several songs, modeling them aUer the deep soul sound of previous Motown hits • Gordy hated them for the same reasons he hated the Bobby Taylor mixes. – He personally oversaw the re-‐recording of the each song unQl he had achieved a more meQculous Pop sound.
• The biggest change would come in the way Michael was allowed to deliver the vocal…
Cleaned Up: From THIS to THIS Pop Vocals • Michael’s solo line is stripped of the excessive vibrato he used in his Steeltown releases, allowing it to sneak in at the ends of held notes • The boys’ arrangement is slick, coordinaQng a very Qght call and response between Jackie, Jermaine and Michael • Inclusion of Doo Wop elements, such as non-‐sense syllables meant to imitate rhythmic instruments • EmphaQc improvisaQon is a No-‐No, eliminaQng it enQrely
Their First #1 Hit I Want You Back • Wri^en by Freddie Perren, a pianist from Chicago
– Originally Qtled "I want to be Free" and was intended for Gladys Knight
• Produced by Gordy and The CorporaQon • Jermaine and Tito, the group's bassist and guitarist, respecQvely, were worried they wouldn’t be able to play the song.
– They were informed that the rhythm track would be recorded by studio musicians first and that the boys were only to be responsible for recording the vocals. – This meant that the boys would be responsible for playing them live, and the pressure was on to keep up their skills
Bubblegum Soul Formula • Smooth out Michael’s insQncQvely flamboyant vocal • Tight background vocals, drawing from doo wop tradiQons, and call and response formats • Add interjecQons by Jermaine, the group’s original lead singer and feature Jackie singing in his false^o • Funky bass and guitar parts that Jermaine and Tito would play only on live performances • Extended choruses that would feature both a catchy hook and their Qght choreography • Innocuous lyrics about aspiraQonal relaQonships, not necessarily about anything that might be experienced – Plays up their youthful naïveté
ABC (1970) and Third Album (1970) • In typical Motown form, The Jackson 5’s next 3 hits would follow the songwriQng formula that was so successful with “I Want You Back” • ABC was released immediately following Diana Ross Presents… and Third Album followed in the same year • Three more #1 hits! – “ABC” – Spring, 1970 – “The Love You Save” – Summer, 1970 – “I’ll Be There” – Fall, 1970 (from Third Album)
Copycats "My brothers and I – our whole family – were very proud. We had created a new sound for a new decade...AUer "ABC" hit the charts in such a big way, we started seeing other groups that record companies were grooming to ride the bandwagon we built." – Michael Jackson, Moonwalker, 79 • The rise of family acts took off aUer Jackson 5 – The Osmonds and The DeFranco Family – The Partridge Family: a family music act created for TV – The Brady Bunch: a family sitcom that started to include more musical elements
• Though The Osmonds had already existed as a pop-‐ crooning group, they immediately changed their tune (ha) and started incorporaQng more soul into their sound.
Media Blitz and Idoldom
1971: OversaturaQon
Growth and Insecurity • Puberty: As soon as they were successful, Michael hit a major growth spurt and his voice began changing • They released extensive merchandise to appeal to their younger fan base • Saturday Morning Cartoon debuted and aired for 2 seasons, further cemenQng them as a Bubblegum Act (which the boys didn’t really want to be) • The more fans demanded of Michael, the more he became withdrawn
Closeness and Joe’s QuesQonable ParenQng • They boys toured extensively in the early 70s, which meant they spent every waking hour together.
– Jermaine and Michael ended up becoming the closest out of the 5, as they were the most prone to mischief and pranks
• Joe would make Michael and Jermaine room together, gezng the room next to theirs through connecQng doors.
– The boys resented this arrangement – Joe could supervise them more closely, but he also exploited them – There is an infamous story where Joe used to bring in groups of girls into their hotel room while they were sleeping. The boys would wake up to giggling girls staring at them.
Michael’s IdenQty Crisis "Michael was a cute li^le kid; I was a gangly adolescent heading toward five feet ten inches. I was not the person they expected or even wanted to see. Adolescence is hard enough, but imagine having your own natural insecuriQes about the changes your body is undergoing heightened by the negaQve reacQons of others. They seemed so surprised that I could change, that my body was undergoing the same natural change everyone else's does.” -‐ Michael Jackson, Moonwalker, 96
The Formula Goes Stale • Frustrated by the way Motown was trying to keep their product within certain boundaries, the boys began to suggest any number of things to try out in the studios, all of which would be wri^en off due to their age. • MJ remarks that if Motown could have it their way, the boys would never have aged. – Keeping Jackie the studly 17 year old and Michael the adorable 10 year old.
• Reluctantly, Gordy and The CorporaQon agreed to let them begin using more disco and funk elements – (more on that next week)
Soul Train and the Power of TV • Between 1971 and 1974, they released 6 records, none of which achieved the same sales as the iniQal 3. – They were in danger of becoming an oldies act before Michael had turned 18.
• 1974: they appeared on Soul Train performing a new dance hit, showcasing Michael’s interest in trendy dance moves he’d seen on the show
– If the boys had no input on their songs, they could at least control the live performance element – Michael decided to incorporate a dance move that would be a sort of visual signature for the song: The Robot – AUer this performance, the record became their next mega hit with kids everywhere dancing The Robot
The Motown Divorce • 1974: the boys wanted to update their sound and start wriQng their own material
– So long as the group was sQll mostly underage, and with Jermaine being married to Berry's daughter, the group was sQll fiercely under the thumb of Motown Inc. – Only a couple of Motown acts had fought and earned the right to produce their own material: Stevie Wonder and Marvin Gaye
• The youngest brother, Randy had begun playing with the group as a back-‐up vocalist and bongo player (though they were sQll called The Jackson 5) • They were given their own Variety Show aUer a string of successful appearances on others’ shows – The show put a major strain on their relaQonship to Gordy, though it introduced the world to this li^le lady.
"Eventually my brothers and I reached a point with Motown where we were miserable but no one was saying anything. My brothers didn't say anything. My father didn't say anything. So it was up to me to arrange a meeQng with Berry Gordy and talk to him. I was the one who had to say that we – the Jackson 5 – were going to leave Motown." – Michael Jackson, Moonwalker, 115
Move to Epic Records • They secured and incredible record deal with Epic in which their takeaway was 20% per record royalty (Motown's 2.8%) • Motown owned the trademark to "The Jackson 5" so they changed it to “ The Jacksons” – Motown tried to sue for breach of contract, but eventually conceded and let them go
• Jermaine didn't make the switch with the group, since he had just married Gordy's daughter, Hazel, and he was interested in starQng his solo career
Philadelphia Soul • Epic was a major compeQtor for Motown and was healmed by Kenneth Gamble and Leon Huff, execuQve producers • By the early 1970s, their “Philadelphia Soul” sound had eclipsed the Motown Sound, uQlizing an arrangement style popularized by Disco • Their own in-‐house band named MFSB (mother father sister brother) – Wrote TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia) – later known as the theme song to Soul Train
• The group maintained a rigorous touring schedule and released 6 records from 1976 – 84 • Michael began wriQng more and more songs, eventually becoming the designated lead songwriter
The Jacksons (1976) Enjoy Yourself • Less ambiguous lyrical content, though sQll quite clean – A song about dancing with a wallflower and showing her a “good Qme”
• The dancing becomes a li^le more suggesQve and much more loose, giving Michael freedom to either join the choreography or not • Michael Jackson, now 18, is free to include more soulful vocal interjecQons • The song ends with an extended repeat of the chorus, with Michael improvising over it
DesDny (1978)
Back on Top • With DesDny, the group had re-‐affirmed their status as a major music commodity – “Blame It On The Boogie” and “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)” were both Top 10 singles
• The group wrote all but “Blame It On The Boogie” for the record, and self-‐produced the enQre thing • They delved head-‐first into the big music and dance craze of the late 1970s: DISCO!!!
Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) • Visually, the group is fully invested in this futurisQc jumpsuit thing. – In all footage from this Qme period, they’re wearing some version of this ou}it
• Musically, they’re blending funk, disco and soul
– Disco: soaring string parts providing interesQng counter-‐ melodies – Funk: a more melodic bass line and dense horn parts – Soul: that voice
• Michael is starQng to incorporate vocal sounds that would eventually become his trademarks – He’s beginning to explore the differences between his false^o and the regular singing voice. – He’s also starQng to include more of the punctuaQon sounds: the hiccups and WOOH
ALL of this is laying the groundwork for his upcoming solo projects….
UnQl Next Time…
