ABC (The Jackson 5 song)
"ABC" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by The Jackson 5 | ||||
from the album ABC | ||||
B-side | "The Young Folks" | |||
Released | February 24, 1970 | |||
Recorded | December 1969[1] | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 2:55 | |||
Label | Motown M 1163 | |||
Songwriter(s) | The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell and Deke Richards)[3] | |||
Producer(s) | The Corporation | |||
The Jackson 5 singles chronology | ||||
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"ABC" is a song by the Jackson 5. It was released as a single on February 24, 1970. The song knocked the Beatles' "Let It Be" off the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, and was No. 1 on the soul singles chart for four weeks. It is the title track to the group's second album.
Written with a similar structure and feel as the Jacksons' first hit of 1970, "I Want You Back". ABC was performed on television on American Bandstand (February 21, 1970), The Ed Sullivan Show (May 10, 1970), and The Flip Wilson Show (November 4, 1971), among many other broadcasts. "ABC" is considered one of the band's signature songs. It is one of the shortest titles to hit #1, and is the first alphabetically in a list of #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100.[4] The upbeat lyrics compare learning to love to learning the alphabet. This makes it similar to Len Barry's 1965 hit "1-2-3."
It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals in 1971. 50 Cent told NME that the song was the first he remembered hearing: "I've always loved MJ, so I guess it was probably a good place to start music: right here, with the ABCs."[5] On November 7, 2016, the Grammy Hall of Fame announced its induction, along with that of another 24 songs.[6]
Personnel[]
Musicians on the song's session were uncredited, per Motown policy. Motown did not list session musician credits on their releases until 1971. The musicians who performed on "ABC" are believed to be as follows.[7]
- Guitars by David T. Walker, Louis Shelton and Don Peake
- Bass by Wilton Felder
- Drums by Gene Pello
- Keyboards by Freddie Perren
- Percussion by Sandra Crouch
Charts[]
Chart (1970–71) | Peak position |
---|---|
Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[8] | 24 |
UK Singles Chart | 8 |
US Billboard Hot 100 | 1 |
Chart (2009) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 43 |
Irish Singles Chart | 38 |
UK Singles Chart | 50 |
Certifications[]
Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
---|---|---|
Japan (RIAJ)[9] | Gold | 100,000* |
United Kingdom (BPI)[10] | Platinum | 600,000 |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. |
References[]
- ^ Allard, François; Lecocq, Richard (2018-10-04). Michael Jackson: All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. ISBN 9781788401234. Retrieved 2019-11-02.
- ^ "The Jackson 5 | Biography & History". AllMusic.
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2011-05-28.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
- ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books. p. 272.
- ^ Haynes, Gavin (October 1, 2015). "Soundtrack of my life". NME. p. 48.
- ^ "Nirvana, Bowie, R.E.M. Songs Among Grammy Hall of Fame's 2017 Inductees". rollingstone.com. 29 November 2016.
- ^ Lecocq, Richard; Allard, Francois (2018). Michael Jackson All The Songs. London: Cassell. ISBN 9781788400572.
- ^ "ultratop.be - ULTRATOP BELGIAN CHARTS". ultratop.be. Archived from the original on August 29, 2011.
- ^ "Japanese single digital certifications – Jackson 5 – ABC" (in Japanese). Recording Industry Association of Japan. Retrieved January 25, 2020. Select 2016年1月 on the drop-down menu
- ^ "British single certifications – Jackson 5 – ABC". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved March 29, 2021.
External links[]
- Overview of The Jackson 5 - "ABC" single. All the picture sleeves, song and remixes to listen at www.jackson5abc.com
- The Jackson 5 - "ABC" song review by Bill Janovitz at AllMusic
- The Jackson 5 - "ABC" (1970) song as listed on the Rock Band song library.
- LBJ and MLK
- Jon Batiste Sings Classic Valentine's Day Black History Month Love Songs
- 1970 singles
- The Jackson 5 songs
- Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles
- Cashbox number-one singles
- Songs written by Berry Gordy
- Songs written by Freddie Perren
- Songs written by Deke Richards
- Motown singles
- Songs written by Alphonzo Mizell
- 1969 songs
- Songs about school
- Songs about language
- Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients
- Bubblegum pop songs