{"id":2201,"date":"2017-10-17T16:56:40","date_gmt":"2017-10-17T21:56:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/?p=2201"},"modified":"2017-10-17T17:48:32","modified_gmt":"2017-10-17T22:48:32","slug":"motown-and-the-impact-of-the-jackson-5","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.stolaf.edu\/americanmusic\/2017\/10\/17\/motown-and-the-impact-of-the-jackson-5\/","title":{"rendered":"Motown, and the Impact of The Jackson 5"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Jackson 5 were a staple of the Motown era, and brought with them performance and musical styles from black spirituals and popular music to propel them into the spotlight. Time magazine describes the Motown Sound as containing \u201cgreat melodies, lots of tambourines and hand clapping, blaring horns, interplay between the lead singer and his or her backup vocalists, driving bass lines and foot-slapping drum parts\u201d. The parallels between these musical sounds and black spirituals and ring shouts are quite evident. The \u201cinterplay between the lead singer and his or her backup vocalists\u201d is representative of the interaction seen in many ring shouts. \u201cFoot-slapping drum parts\u201dwere played on percussive instruments, but emulate the liveliness and excitement of pattin\u2019 juba.<\/span><\/p>\n

The Jackson 5 experienced incredible success, and one article published in the Chicago Defender<\/i> reports on the group\u2019s wildly popular performance in Chicago in 1971. <\/span>\u201c[T]he teenage idols of the entertainment world took their places on stage beneath roving spotlights while the frantic screams of young girls, waving and stomping their feet at the mere sight of the Jackson 5, spill; lit the air with feignish delight.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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The Jackson 5 in a scene from their TV special “Goin’ Back to Indiana”<\/p><\/div>\n

Performance had certainly come a long way since the singing of songs in slave fields. I also would argue that Motown musicians, and The Jackson 5 in particular, broke past performance practices of viewing black performers as \u201cexotic\u201d or \u201cother\u201d. Indeed, the article in the Chicago Defender<\/i> comments on their performance ability rather than their racial identity.\u00a0<\/span>\u201cThe young entertainers swept through the evening ordeal with tremendous poise and with the assurance of old-timers. Their performance was [characterized] with a crisp sense and refreshing sense of buoyancy.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

One of the songs performed that night in Chicago was their number one hit single \u201cI Want You Back\u201d. This song showcases many of the Motown characteristics. Listen to the \u201cdriving bass line\u201d in the opening of the song, and the \u201cinterplay between the lead singer and his or her backup vocalists\u201d throughout the song.<\/span><\/p>\n