Note: If viewing Michael Jackson Ultimate Archive on archive.org (Wayback Machine), please view the latest snapshot of this page for the most up-to-date information and media.
“Soul Train”
Date of October 13, 1973 filming confirmed on Soul Train’s official website (archived) (“October 13, 1973 taping”) / Air date of October 27, 1973 confirmed on Soul Train’s official website (archived) (“aired October 27, 1973”)
Michael Jackson, Moonwalk
I loved “Dancing Machine,” loved the groove and the feel of that song. When it came out in 1974, I was determined to find a dance move that would enhance the song and make it more exciting to perform—and, I hoped, more exciting to watch.
So when we sang “Dancing Machine” on “Soul Train,” I did a street-style dance move called the Robot. That performance was a lesson to me in the power of television. Overnight, “Dancing Machine” rose to the top of the charts, and within a few days it seemed that every kid in the United States was doing the Robot. I had never seen anything like it.
Jermaine Jackson, You Are Not Alone
For our 1974 single “Dancing Machine”—which went to No. 2 in the charts—[Michael] wanted to try something “different” and perfect a dance he’d seen in street theater: “The Robot.” He used every spare minute to practice in front of the mirror at Hayvenhurst or in the studio, and probably before he went to bed. When I saw his first attempt, it seemed scratchy and disjointed, but when he finally showed us the polished version, it was incredible. He glided like he had wheels on the balls of his feet and electric wires running through each joint. He became remote-controlled. “The Robot” was his first real signature move long before the Moonwalk moment, but none of us knew how it would go down when he first performed it during “Dancing Machine” on the Soul Train show. All I can say is, go You-Tube it, because you’ll see how electric it was when Michael first threw his hat into the ring to announce that one of the most poetic dancers of our generation had arrived. Kids all over Los Angeles were busting “The Robot,” and the song put us back in the Top 10. That was the power of dance and television, we said. Noted for the future.
“Soul Train” official website (June 18, 2012) (archived)
The Jackson 5 made their second Soul Train appearance on the October 13, 1973 taping of the show. This appearance was primarily a promotion of the group’s new album Get It Together, a funky disco-styled album released a month earlier. The group’s record sales were low in 1973, both as a group and individually, due to overexposure the year before and lack of promotion during that year when Motown’s chairman, Berry Gordy, was mainly focused on the film division of Motown, leaving the promotion of the label’s artists in the hands of Ewart Abner. It was said that some at the label felt that the group had run its course, but their reconnection with Hal Davis, who produced Get It Together, proved otherwise.
During this episode’s opening credits, announcer Sid McCoy introduced the group as “special guest stars the world famous Jackson 5!” This episode, which aired October 27, 1973, was special for another reason: It was the first episode taped on Soul Train’s newly revamped set featuring a flashing neon Soul Train sign against a backdrop of neon train tracks and a newly designed tunnel (this set would be used until the fall of 1976).
This was also the episode which debuted the program’s new theme song “TSOP (The Sound of Philadelphia)” by the studio group MFSB, featuring vocals by The Three Degrees.
Cornelius was beaming with pride after he was introduced and then applauded by the Soul Train Gang. He stood on his new podium and stated, “We’re gonna jump on off with the world famous and most mighty Jackson 5!”
To capitalize on the Jackson 5’s popularity, many members of the Soul Train Gang wore T-shirts with the J5 logo on the front and the words “We love ya!” on the back.
After an Ultra Sheen commercial, The Jackson 5 opened with “Dancing Machine,” the last track off Get It Together. This percolating tune, with its relentless throbbing beat anchored by Michael’s soulful tenor and the brothers’ “ooo-bop-diddy-bop” background vocals, had the Soul Train Gang dancing up a storm. During the song’s instrumental break, Michael spun around and did the Robot, a dance that was among the popular fad dances done by the Soul Train Gang since Soul Train’s inception. Although this was not Michael’s first time doing the Robot in public (his first time doing it in concert was in March 1973 during the group’s performance of “Papa Was A Rolling Stone,” and his first time doing it on TV was on a Bob Hope special that aired September 26, 1973). But Michael’s performance of the robot on the most popular show of the time with black kids, teens and young adults caught on and exposed the dance move to people in various parts of the country who may not have been familiar with the mechanical dance steps Michael so perfectly executed. Michael stated in his book Moonwalk that after this episode aired, “It seemed like every kid in the United States was doing the Robot.”
Michael learned the Robot obviously from watching Soul Train and was taught various ways to do the step by Soul Train regulars and new friends Patricia Davis and Gary Keys.
“Dancing Machine” got the Soul Train Gang highly excited, particularly when Michael sang the line “shake it babe,” causing many of the dancers in the studio to scream and causing popular regular Little Joe Chism to repeatedly blow his whistle (a sign of approval of a song being a hit with the Soul Train Gang). Michael even did some slip sliding type of move which looked like an abridged version of a dance that would later become his signature step, the Moonwalk (originally known as the Backslide). The Soul Train Gang’s screams and excitement during this number were at an all time high, and when the group finished performing they received a thunderous ovation.
It would be several months before “Dancing Machine” would be released as a single; however, it was a popular album track and was played on some radio stations before it was finally released in February 1974. It went to number one on the soul charts in May 1974 and number two for two weeks the same month, kept out of the top spot by Ray Stevens’ “The Streak” (which more than likely went number one due to the popularity of the “streaking” craze of that time). “Dancing Machine” eventually became a worldwide platinum seller and would be the Jackson 5’s last popular hit at Motown.
Joseph Jackson, the father of the Jackson 5, was interviewed and reminisced about the humble beginnings of the group and how they struggled before becoming famous. This led to a film shown of the Jackson family’s second annual “Thank You” party, held on September 9, 1973, and showcased members of the Jackson family and various guests, including Junior Walker and Eddie Kendricks (both of whom taped Soul Train appearances the same weekend of this party). Don Cornelius also attended the party, but due to the two tapings of Soul Train that Sunday, he got to the Jacksons home too late to appear in the film. After this interview, the Soul Train Gang danced to “It’s Too Late to Change the Time,” a mid-tempo tune from Get It Together with a sort of reggae beat that had a lot of the dancers doing a conga line.
After a commercial break, Cornelius had Randy introduce the two other musicians in the group, their “cousins” Johnny Jackson and Ronnie Rancifer (they weren’t really the group’s cousins, but friends of the group from back in Gary). Cornelius joked about Ronnie’s hat being cocked to the side looking like something out of the Superfly movie. Cornelius then noted Michael’s new style of dancing, joking that he wanted Michael to thank him for teaching him the dance steps, which caused Michael, his brothers and the Soul Train Gang to laugh. Although this episode was a promotion of the group’s current album, it also spotlighted solo material as Jermaine performed his new single “You’re In Good Hands,” backed by his brothers, a deeply romantic ballad similar to “Daddy’s Home” from his second solo LP Come Into My Life, which reached number 35 on the soul charts but only 79 on the pop charts. Nevertheless, this performance boosted the single’s chart showing on the soul charts, which probably would have gotten higher if it received more radio airplay (news of Jermaine’s recent engagement to Hazel Gordy, who was also in the studio for this taping, probably didn’t help sales, either). The performance also featured recent photos of Jermaine as he sang.
Right before a station break, the Soul Train Gang danced to another track off of Get It Together entitled “Hum Along & Dance.” This highly energetic cut was an eight minute funk jam which had the Soul Train Gang locking, roboting and doing all kinds of dance routines.
During the show’s Q&A session, Soul Train regular Tyrone “The Bone” Proctor gave Tito Jackson a birthday card signed by all of the Soul Train Gang (Tito would turn 20 that Monday, October 15th). When another regular, Karl Grigsby, asked Michael how old he was when he did the first special with Diana Ross, Michael replied “9” (he was actually 12). Grigsby’s reply to Michael was mostly inaudible, but it had the Jackson 5, Don Cornelius and the entire Soul Train Gang breaking out in uproarious laughter (did Grigsby perhaps correct Michael about his age?) When a dancer asked the group if they had ever met the Osmonds and if they wanted to work with them, Jackie responded by saying that they had met the Osmonds in Canada but, rather than work with them, said, “I think it’s better if we stick to our own thing.” Afterwards, the group performed their current single, the ultra-funky “Get It Together,” another tune that caused the Soul Train Gang to lock, robot, scream, shout and blow whistles. This is one of the most underrated cuts by The Jackson 5; it was played heavily on black radio stations, peaking at number two on the soul charts for two weeks in October 1973 (kept out of the top spot by Gladys Knight & The Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia”) and number 28 on the pop charts the same month. It was also featured several times for the Soul Train line and during the show’s national dance contest taped two months earlier.
After a solo interview, Michael performed of one of his most beautiful numbers, “With A Child’s Heart,” an underrated track which reached number 14 and 50 on the soul and pop charts in June 1973. The group closed with a track from Get It Together entitled “Don’t Say Goodbye Again,” a perky, up-tempo tune which featured a standout vocal by Michael and great choreography by the group. The closing credits on this episode included Jackson 5 fan club information.
The second Soul Train appearance by The Jackson 5 propelled Get It Together all the way up to number four on the soul album charts in December 1973. The album didn’t get above 100 on the pop album charts due to poor promotion of the album in the mainstream market. Nevertheless, this album showcased the group’s growth in their music, helping them break away from their so-called “bubblegum soul” sound to a more mature sound adapting the funk and disco styles of music that were making headway at that time.