About The Song
“I Want You Back” is a song by the Jackson 5, released by Motown in October 1969. It was the band’s first national single and became their first number-one hit on January 31, 1970. The song was performed on the band’s first television appearances on October 18, 1969, on Diana Ross’s The Hollywood Palace and on their milestone performance on The Ed Sullivan Show on December 14, 1969. The song was written and produced by The Corporation, a team comprising Motown chief Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonso Mizell, and Deke Richards. The song explores the theme of a lover who decides that he was too hasty in dropping his partner. The lead vocal was performed by Michael Jackson, who was 11 years old at the time. The song was ranked 104 on Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.