Long before Michael Jackson became the King of Pop and dangled babies over balconies, he was a child star. Growing up in a family of nine kids, he may have ended up being the most well-known, by far. But, there was a lot of talent and drive in this family.
Under the guidance and management of their father, Joe Jackson, the brothers in the family formed a band called the Jackson Brothers, which later became the Jackson 5 and then just The Jacksons.
The five members were Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael. Although, youngest brother Randy replaced Jermaine in 1976. From 1967 to 1984, they released 15 albums and were a huge success. So, what are the top 10 Jackson 5 songs of all time? Let’s find out!
Top 55 Jackson 5 Songs of All Time
1 I Want You Back (1969)
The Jackson 5 started as a hard-working band of brothers from Gary, Indiana. In 1966, they won a talent competition which brought them some attention, and by 1969, they had signed a deal with the famed Motown Records label. By the end of that year, their first album, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, was released.
This was mostly an album of covers, but a few new songs were included. One was “I Want You Back,” written by The Corporation, a group of songwriters created to write songs for the band. This song ended up being the band’s first #1 hit. Eleven-year-old Michael sings the lead on this song, and his bright, high-pitched voice comes across beautifully.
This song is an upbeat combination of Soul and Doo-Wop sounds. It’s fun, powerful, and presented a new sound that turned the Jackson 5 into huge stars. Consequently, it’s one of the most popular Jackson 5 songs.
2 ABC (1970)
“ABC” is arguably one of the most loved and most recognizable Jackson 5 songs ever and their second #1 hit. This is a fun and bright, bubblegum Soul track that comes from the group’s second album, ABC, released in 1970. Once again, this song features Michael on the lead vocals while the other brothers sing backup and alternate in the verses.
The music here is a mix of Funk and Soul, and the breakdown is especially funky with the iconic line with Michael singing, “I think I love you!” And, while this is another love song, this one is a lot more appropriate to the age of the band members. It’s cute and innocent, as the boys sing about how easy love could be. “A B C – Easy as 1 2 3 – As simple as do-re-mi – A B C 1 2 3 – Baby you and me, girl.”
3 The Love You Save (1970)
Another great track that comes from the ABC album is “The Love You Save.” This song is once again bright and funky, with a fast beat that you can get up and dance to. It’s got a great bass line and sweeping strings that really fill out the song beautifully.
In this song, Michael is still in the lead, although Jermaine trades off some parts with him. Along with the other brothers’ parts, this creates an interesting texture and may have created the blueprint for the boy band sound that would grow into the 80s and 90s.
This is a song that fits well with the groups’ ages, giving a warning to a childhood sweetheart to “Stop, the love you save may be your own! – Darling, take it slow – Or someday you’ll be all alone.”
4 I’ll Be There (1970)
The next track in our list of the top 10 Jackson 5 songs is “I’ll Be There” from their third album, very creatively called Third Album. Also released in 1970, the band was already huge at this point, having appeared on the legendary Ed Sullivan Show and having three #1 hits under their belts. Well, this song was their fourth, shooting up to #1 in October of that year.
Michael was still only 11 when he recorded this song. But he sings as though he has a lifetime of experience behind him. Jermaine shares the lead duties with his deeper voice here, so that it sounds almost like a male-female duet. As a departure from their bubblegum sound, “I’ll Be There” has a deep Soul sound and showed that the band had a much broader range.
This is a serious, mature, and heartfelt love song with brilliant harmonizing as smooth as butter. It’s the track that showed the world that the Jackson 5 had staying power and was a force to be reckoned with. In turn, it became one of the most successful Jackson 5 songs.
5 Sugar Daddy (1971)
The band’s next big song, “Sugar Daddy,” was released as a single in 1971 and became a big hit in 1972. It didn’t quite make it to #1 in the charts, peaking at #3, but it’s still one of Jackson 5’s best songs ever. This track has a mid-tempo groove led by piano over a strong beat, with strings providing background.
As usual, the Jacksons sing together perfectly on this track. Michael and Jermaine share the lead vocal duties here, though Michael is still the focus. This song has a more mature theme, with the boys singing about doing anything and everything for a love interest’s attention.
But they also incorporate their trademark spelling into the song. Like in the lines, “S-U-G, listen to me, listen to me – A-R, what it is, what it is now – D-A-D-D, Y spells I’m your good thing.”
6 Dancing Machine (1973)
We all remember Michael Jackson as a dance genius, a machine even. But, with 1973’s “Dancing Machine,” he cemented this reputation. Actually, the song is about a woman who is the dancing machine. The boys sing the now iconic lines, “She’s a dance, dance, dance, dance, dancing machine – Watch her get down, watch her get down – As she do, do, do her thing – Right on the scene.”
At the same time, this was the first song that Michael Jackson danced the robot to, on the show “Soul Train,” bringing this now popular dance to the world’s attention.
The track is a great dance song, to begin with. It has a funky guitar and a solid beat to get down to. Funky horns and strings fill the song out and make it memorable. So memorable, in fact, that it was later sampled by MC Hammer, Vanilla Ice, Paula Abdul, Q-Tip, and many others.
7 Enjoy Yourself (1976)
The Jackson 5 left Motown Records in 1975 after a dispute over (what else?) money. They moved to Epic Records and started recording there, though they never achieved the level of success they had enjoyed at Motown. Still, they put out some great songs that live on in music history. One of these, “Enjoy Yourself,” is one of the group’s finest.
This song was released as a single in 1973 and later on the album The Jacksons (now also the band’s new name). This song is a slower jam, but it’s ultra-funky and excellent to dance to. The beat is solid and reinforced by horn blasts to add energy. Michael is on the lead here. Now 18 years old, his voice has changed and is the adult MJ voice we’re all familiar with.
This song is light and fun but gives some pretty darned good advice. “You shouldn’t worry – About things that you can’t control – Come on, girl, while the night is young – Why don’t you let yourself, let yourself go?”
8 Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground) (1978)
Our next track, “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground),” came out on the Jacksons’ thirteenth studio album, Destiny, in 1978. By this time, Disco was huge in America, and this album and song focused on this trend. It was more focused on the beat and the music than the vocals and harmonies of earlier tracks. At the same time, this song was a great track to dance to, and Michael’s lead vocals really come through.
He leads the group and, in fact, totally dominates this song – you don’t hear a lot from the other brothers. Still, this song was written by the brothers, which is different from nearly all their past work. This is Disco, so the music is simple and repetitive, as are the lyrics. Focused on dancing, they sing, “Let’s dance, let’s shout – Shake your body down to the ground.”
9 Blame It On the Boogie (1978)
“Blame It On The Boogie” also comes from the Destiny album and was the only song not written by the band. However, it was still written by a Jackson – British songwriter Mick Jackson! This song, although Disco-inspired, is something of a throwback to the Jackson 5 original sound. It has a lot of harmonized backing vocals, and Michael’s lead is bright and powerful.
This song is also truly infectious and has really fun lyrics. If you just can’t control your feet, the chorus tells you, “Don’t blame it on the sunshine – Don’t blame it on the moonlight – Don’t blame it on the good times – Blame it on the boogie.” This song hit #3 in the R&B charts and became a staple of dance floors everywhere. As well as one of the most famous Jackson 5 songs.
10 Can You Feel It (1980)
The last song on my list is “Can You Feel It,” one of the high-charting songs for the Jacksons’. This track was released in 1980 as part of the Triumph album, the band’s fourteenth studio record. This song was written by Michael and Jackie, although the lead was sung by Michael and Randy. This is still a disco-beat-inspired dance track, even though Disco was starting to decline by this time.
This track has a lot of energy, with a strong beat and funky guitar chords. But it’s the backing vocals sung in powerful harmonies that really give this track its body. Altogether, this track shines as a truly fun and inspiring song – can you feel it?
11One More Chance (1971)
12Mama’s Pearl (1971)
13Goin’ Back to Indiana (1971)
14Maybe Tomorrow (1971)
15Skywriter (1973)
16Corner of the Sky (1972)
17Get It Together (1973)
18Doctor My Eyes (1973)
19I Am Love (1975)
20Time Waits For No One (1975)
21Living Together (1976)
22Show You The Way To Go (1977)
23Dreamer (1977)
24Push Me Away (1978)
25This Place Hotel (1980)
26Lovely One (1980)
27Can’t Let Her Get Away (1987)
28I Want You Back (’88 Remix) (1988)
29Joyful Jukebox Music (1976)
30I’ll Be There (DJ Jazzy Jeff & The Fresh Prince Remix) (1992)
31Can You Remember (1970)
32Big Boy (1968)
33Christmas Won’t Be the Same This Year (1970)
34I Found That Girl (1970)
35Little Bitty Pretty One (1972)
36All I Do Is Think of You (1975)
37Going Places (1975)
38Different Kind of Lady (1976)
39Love is the Thing You Need (1977)
40Time Explosion (1979)
41Heartbreak Hotel (1980)
42Walk Right Now (1980)
43Body (1984)
44Be Not Always (1984)
45We’re Here to Entertain You (1973)
46In Our Small Way (1972)
47I Ain’t Gonna Eat Out My Heart Anymore (1972)
48Happy (1973)
49Just A Little Misunderstanding (1971)
50The Life of the Party (1976)
51Give It Up (1978)
52Man of War (1987)
53She (1975)
54To Know (1971)
55We Can Have Fun (1977)
Want More Music You can Get Down To?
Well, check out our thoughts on the Best Happy Songs, the Best 2000s Dance Songs, the Best Hip Hop Songs Of All Time, the Best Pop Songs of the 2000s, the Best Earth Wind and Fire Songs of All Time, and the Top 10 Michael Jackson Songs for more fantastic song selections.
The 55 Best Jackson 5 Songs of All Time
From their beginnings as a family band to their later career as teen idols and then superstars, the Jackson 5 is a legendary group. They made music that crossed boundaries, mixing Soul, Pop, Funk, Rock, and Disco sounds into something all their own. They also crossed race boundaries, becoming one of the first groups ever with a fan base of people of all colors.
It’s also a pleasure to watch these ultra-talented performers grow up, from kids to adults, over the course of their careers. Although it must have been a tough road, they made it and attained success, and later super-stardom, in Michael’s case. And so many of their songs live on in music history.
Until next time, happy listening.
