ABC (The Jackson 5 song)
"ABC" | ||||
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Single by The Jackson 5 | ||||
from the album ABC | ||||
B-side | "The Young Folks" | |||
Released | February 24, 1970 | |||
Format | Vinyl record (7" 45 RPM) | |||
Recorded | 1969 | |||
Genre | Soul, R&B, bubblegum pop | |||
Length | 2:55 | |||
Label | Motown M 1163 |
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Songwriter(s) | The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell and Deke Richards)[1] | |||
Producer(s) | The Corporation | |||
The Jackson 5 singles chronology | ||||
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"ABC" is a 1970 number-one hit by The Jackson 5. It was released on February 24. "ABC" knocked The Beatles' Let It Be off the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, and was number one on the soul singles chart for four weeks.
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.[2] The upbeat lyrics compare learning to love to learning the alphabet.
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."[3] On 27 November 2016, the Grammy Hall of Fame announced its induction, along with that of another 24 songs.[4]
Charts[edit]
Chart (19701971, 2009) | Peak position |
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Belgian Singles Chart (Flanders)[5] | 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 |
References[edit]
- ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-05-30. Retrieved 2011-05-28.
- ^ Bronson, Fred (2003). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits. Billboard Books. p. 272.
- ^ Haynes, Gavin (October 1, 2015). "Soundtrack of my life". NME: 48.
- ^ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/nirvana-bowie-rem-songs-added-to-grammy-hall-of-fame-w452651
- ^ [1] Archived August 29, 2011, at the Wayback Machine.
External links[edit]
- Overview of ABC All the picture sleeves, Song and remixes to listen
- "ABC" song review from Allmusic website
- "ABC" as listed on the Rock Band song library.
Preceded by "Let It Be" by The Beatles |
Billboard Hot 100 number-one single April 25, 1970 (two weeks) |
Succeeded by "American Woman" / "No Sugar Tonight" by The Guess Who |
Preceded by "Call Me" by Aretha Franklin |
Billboard's Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs number-one single April 4, 1970 (four weeks) |
Succeeded by "Turn Back the Hands of Time" by Tyrone Davis |