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For anyone who saw last week’s episode of Saturday Night Live, which celebrated the 40th anniversary of the iconic music act the Jackson 5, you probably thought of some familiar name.
For just about any musical number, there was always one member of the group who would step to the forefront and put the “I Like It” or “I Want You” or “ABC” or the other, more personal song in the spotlight. Here are five Jackson Five songbooks that had multiple songs performed by one of the members.
1. “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg”
The Jackson 5’s version of the song was not meant to be performed on this album, but there was a version that reached #2 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968. The song is most known for its lyrics, which were penned by brothers Steve and Michael Jackson, who also provided the song’s lyrics for this album.
Ain’t too proud to beg, I ain’t too proud to beg, Ain’t too proud to beg (Ain’t too proud to beg, I ain’t too proud to beg)
2. “Rockin’ Robin”
In 1971, another Jackson Five songbook became available on a compilation called Rockin’ Robin. It was an instrumental cover of “Rockin’ Robin,” which was written by Jackie Jackson, Randy Yarborough, and Ron Miller. The Jackson brothers themselves provided the words to the song as well, with the original chorus being “Rocking Robin, rockin’ Robin” and the “Creeeee-ah” part being changed to “Creeeeedeee-ah.” The song was recorded by a group of guys that included George Fox of the Supremes, Donny Hathaway of the Temptations, and David Ruffin of the Crystals.
3. “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough”
Another song that became a hit for the Jackson Five was “Ain’t No Mountain High Enough,” which reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart on April 17, 1971. The song was written
