I Want You Back: Jackson 5's First No. 1, Michael at 11
I Want You Back is the record that turned a family act from Gary, Indiana into a national obsession.
Motown's team wrote it in 1969, and an 11-year-old Michael Jackson sang it.
It reached number one on the Hot 100 in January 1970, the first of four chart-toppers for the group that year.
Critics still argue about whether it is the best pop single ever made.
Below are the songwriting, the recording, the chart run, the awards and the covers that followed.
The Jackson 5 in a CBS Television publicity photo, 1972.
Image credit: Photo by CBS Television, public domain in the United States, via Wikimedia Commons.
I Want You Back: Written by The Corporation
A Team Built for One Group
Berry Gordy set up a songwriting team in September 1969 to write exclusively for the Jackson 5.
Wikipedia names its members as Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell and Deke Richards.
They became known as The Corporation.
I Want You Back was their first song for the group.
A Song That Was Meant for Other Singers
The working title was I Wanna Be Free.
Wikipedia says it was first considered for Gladys Knight and the Pips, and then for Diana Ross.
Neither recorded it.
The Jackson 5 cut it in Los Angeles between July and September 1969, at The Sound Factory.
It was the first Jackson 5 song recorded in LA.
| Detail | Fact |
|---|---|
| Writers and producers | The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards) |
| Performer | The Jackson 5 |
| Lead vocal | Michael Jackson, age 11 |
| Recorded | July to September 1969, The Sound Factory, Los Angeles |
| Released | October 1969 on Motown (Wikipedia gives October 6 and October 7) |
| B-side | Who's Lovin' You |
| Parent album | Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 |
| Key | A-flat major |
Source: Wikipedia article on the song, checked October 18, 2026.
How the Group Reached Motown
The story of who found the brothers is told two ways.
Wikipedia says Gladys Knight first mentioned the group to Gordy, and that Bobby Taylor brought them to Motown.
Motown's own publicity credited Diana Ross with the discovery.
The page notes that credit also helped ease her move into a solo career.
Her name was on the album sleeve either way.
The Jackson 5 in a 1974 publicity portrait.
Image credit: Photo by The Jackson 5, public domain in the United States, via Wikimedia Commons.
Hear I Want You Back
Press play on the original single, then listen for the piano riff that opens it and the way the chorus lands.
You can also drop it into the jukebox: I Want You Back on Listen Now.
The Sound: Michael at 11 and a Famous Chorus
The Players Behind the Kids
The brothers sang, but the backing track was cut by Los Angeles session players.
Wikipedia credits these musicians for the recording, without mapping each to a specific part:
- Wilton Felder of The Jazz Crusaders on bass guitar.
- Louis Shelton and Don Peake on guitar, with David T. Walker on rhythm guitar.
- Gene Pello on drums.
- Fonce Mizell, Freddie Perren and Joe Sample on piano, with Clarence McDonald on keyboards.
A Lyric About Regret, Sung by a Child
The lyric is about a man who decides he was too hasty in dropping his partner.
Michael Jackson was 11 when he sang it.
That gap between grown-up regret and a boy's voice is a big part of why the record sticks.
The chorus is the other part.
What Critics Said About the Chorus
- Pitchfork (2006) named it the second-best song of the 1960s, saying the chorus has possibly the best chord progression in pop music history.
- The Daily Telegraph (2009) called it arguably the greatest pop record of all time.
- Record World predicted in 1969 that the group would quickly charm Top 40 and R&B lovers.
First TV Spots
The group performed it on The Hollywood Palace on October 18, 1969.
They followed with The Ed Sullivan Show on December 14, 1969.
Both were before the song reached the top of the Hot 100.
I Want You Back on the Charts
Number One in January 1970
I Want You Back reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated January 31, 1970.
This site's weekly chart data shows it as the number one song for that one week.
The same data lists Venus by Shocking Blue as its successor.
On the Billboard soul singles chart it held number one for four weeks, according to Wikipedia.
Around the World
| Chart | Peak |
|---|---|
| US Billboard Hot 100 | No. 1 |
| US Billboard soul singles | No. 1 (4 weeks) |
| US Cash Box | No. 1 |
| UK Singles | No. 2 |
| Canada (RPM) | No. 2 |
| Ireland | No. 6 |
| New Zealand | No. 12 |
| Australia | No. 77 |
Source: Wikipedia article on the song, checked October 18, 2026.
Year-End Ranks and Certifications
The song was still strong enough in 1970 to land on the year-end lists.
- Billboard Year-End Hot 100, 1970: number 28 (this site's data).
- Cash Box year-end, 1970: number 31.
- UK year-end, 1970: number 32.
- Canada year-end, 1970: number 30.
Wikipedia also lists these certifications, which combine sales and streaming:
| Country | Award | Units |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | 4x Platinum | 2,400,000 |
| United States | Platinum | 3,000,000 |
| New Zealand | 4x Platinum | 120,000 |
| Denmark | Platinum | 90,000 |
| Spain | Platinum | 60,000 |
| Germany | Gold | 250,000 |
| Japan | Gold | 100,000 |
| Italy | Gold | 25,000 |
Source: Wikipedia article on the song, checked October 18, 2026.
Wikipedia puts worldwide sales at 6 million, citing Classic Pop magazine.
See where it landed in our top songs of 1970.
The rest of the group's run is in our list of Jackson 5 songs.
Legacy: Awards, Samples and Covers
Rankings and Honors
- Grammy Hall of Fame, inducted 1999.
- Rolling Stone: number 104 on its 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
- Rolling Stone: number 9 on its 100 Greatest Pop Songs since 1963.
- Rolling Stone: number 2 on its 100 Greatest Debut Singles of All Time (2020).
Sampled Over 90 Times
Wikipedia says the song has been sampled over 90 times, by artists including Jay-Z and The Notorious B.I.G.
A 2009 remix by Dimitri from Paris and Kenny Hayes appeared on The Remix Suite.
Later Versions
Three covers made the charts, according to Wikipedia.
| Version | Year | Chart note |
|---|---|---|
| Cleopatra | 1998 | No. 4 on the UK Singles Chart |
| Victoria Justice and the Victorious cast | 2011 | No. 8 on Billboard Bubbling Under Hot 100 |
| Twice | 2018 | No. 12 on the Japan Hot 100 |
Source: Wikipedia article on the song, checked October 18, 2026.
Cleopatra's version was the third single from their album Comin' Atcha!.
The Twice recording was the theme for the Japanese film Sensei Kunshu.
To hear what else was on the radio in 1970, try the Random 70s Song Generator.
For more upbeat songs from the same era, the Mood Song Matcher can pull happy 70s artists.
More of the decade is at Music of the 70s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who wrote I Want You Back?
The Corporation wrote I Want You Back for the Jackson 5, according to Wikipedia.
That songwriting and production team was Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell and Deke Richards.
Gordy set it up to write exclusively for the group, and Michael Jackson, then 11, sang the lead vocal.
When did I Want You Back reach number one?
I Want You Back reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 on the chart dated January 31, 1970.
It was the first number one for the Jackson 5, and this site's weekly data shows one week at the top.
On the Billboard soul singles chart it stayed at number one for four weeks, according to Wikipedia.
Was I Want You Back written for someone else?
Wikipedia says I Want You Back was first considered for Gladys Knight and the Pips, and then for Diana Ross.
Its working title was I Wanna Be Free.
Neither singer recorded it, and the Jackson 5 took it into the studio in the summer of 1969.
How many copies did I Want You Back sell?
Wikipedia cites worldwide sales of 6 million copies for I Want You Back.
It is certified Platinum in the United States and 4x Platinum in the United Kingdom, where certifications now combine sales and streaming.
It was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1999.
What is I Want You Back about?
I Want You Back is about a man who decides he was too hasty in ending a relationship and wants his partner back.
That is how Wikipedia describes the lyric.
Michael Jackson was 11 when he sang it, and the contrast between a grown-up regret and a child's voice is part of its appeal.
Sources
- I Want You Back, Wikipedia, for the songwriting team, the working title, the recording dates, release details, the discovery story, chart peaks, year-end ranks, certifications, rankings, samples and covers.
- Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, Wikipedia, for the album the song appears on.
- The Jackson 5, Wikipedia, for background on the artist.
- This site's Billboard year-end Hot 100 data, for the number 28 year-end rank, and its weekly Hot 100 data, for the single week at number one and the chart date.
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