Family, Fame, And A Father’s Quest For Fortune: Behind The Curtain Of The Jackson 5

Michael Jackson Goes Solo As The Jackson 5 Begins To Fall Apart With Motown

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To bring in more sales, Motown and Joe decided that Michael should start a solo career as well. In November of 1971, “Got to Be There” was released, followed by “Ben” which reached #1 on the charts.

Meanwhile, record sales and popularity of the Jackson 5 began to decline. They tried to change their sound to match the growing popularity of disco music, releasing “Get It Together,” and “Dancing Machine.” At this point, the eldest sons began to lose interest in working with Motown. Although they were the record label’s most successful group of all time, Motown required too much creative control and took plenty of money away from the group in royalties. In fact, the group was only receiving 2.8% of royalties.