I Want You Back is the Jackson 5’s debut single, released by Motown on October 7, 1969, from the album Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5. It’s a pop-soul song featuring an 11-year-old Michael Jackson on lead vocals, telling the story of a man who realizes he was too hasty to drop his lover and begs for another chance. The track, written and produced by The Corporation, became the group’s first US chart-topper, staying at number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending January 31, 1970, and selling over 6 million copies worldwide. The single’s B-side is a Smokey Robinson & the Miracles remake, Who’s Lovin’ You. I Want You Back helped launch four consecutive Jackson 5 number-one hits and was the first Jackson 5 song recorded in Los Angeles. It’s been highly regarded over the years, ranking 104 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and being inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999. Other notable versions include Cleopatra in 1998, the Victorious cast in 2011, Twice in 2018, and many more.
