Throwing back to the week of July 20, 1974, we find soul singer George McCrae with ‘Rock Your Baby.’ This disco track, McCrae’s first single, became a worldwide hit, reaching #1 in ten countries.
There’s really not much to this song, other than a silky groove and the falsetto repetition of the title phrase. I guess that’s all you need sometimes.
I’ve seen many mentions of ‘I’ll Be There’ since Michael Jackson’s death and every time I read the title I thought of an entirely different song (see tomorrow’s Song of the Day for that one). I didn’t remember Michael and the rest of the 5 singing that track, but I assumed they must have.
And then I YouTubed “Jackson 5 I’ll Be There” the other day, found this clip, and suddenly it all came back to me. Such a sweet and touching love song, even when performed by a pre-pubescent kid. Maybe especially when performed by a pre-pubescent kid. This one, anyway.
While the news of Michael Jackson’s death was certainly surprising, it didn’t have a very strong emotional impact on me. That’s not to diminish his contribution to both music and pop culture (or his equally significant bridging of the racial divide in both). On the contrary, I hold his talent in the highest regard and my childhood is wrapped up in memories of ‘Thriller,’ ‘Beat It’ and ‘Billy Jean.’
I even saw him in concert on the Victory tour in 1984, sitting in the nosebleed seats at the Orange Bowl, my view obstructed by a metal pole. I don’t remember the show but I remember the experience.
Seeing the old Diana Ross makes me regret the caricature she became, but she’s got nothing on her pal Michael Jackson in that regard. Jackson has lived as a circus freak for so long now that it’s hard to remember the days when he was the biggest star in the world. And it’s even harder to see an early Jackson 5 clip like this one without feeling sad about what would happen to this adorable, mega-talented little boy.
Meet Me In Montauk 