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"I'll Be There" is a recording by American vocal Quintet The Jackson 5 and a 1992 live version by American R&B singers Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz . The Jackson 5 original was recorded for the Motown label, and released as the first single from their '' Third Album '' in 1970 (see 1970 In Music ). Produced by the songwriters, "I'll Be There" was The Jackson 5's fourth number one hit in a row, following " I Want You Back ", " ABC ", and " The Love You Save ". "I'll Be There" is also notable as the most successful single ever released by Motown during its "classic Detroit era" (1959–1972). The Mariah Carey/Trey Lorenz cover was recorded during Carey's appearance on '' MTV Unplugged '' in 1992, and released as the first single from her third album '' MTV Unplugged '' in the second quarter of 1992 (see 1992 In Music ). Co-produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff , "I'll Be There" became Carey's sixth number-one single in the U.S., and her biggest hit elsewhere. JACKSON 5 VERSION About the record After three upbeat " Bubblegum Soul " number one singles from the Jackson 5 (" I Want You Back ", " ABC ", and " The Love You Save "), Motown head Berry Gordy decided to take a risk and craft a Ballad for the group. For this song, he brought in writer/producers Hal Davis, Willie Hutch, and Bob West, as opposed to working with the rest of The Corporation™ , who had crafted the first three hits. The resulting song was a gentle ballad, in which the narrator asks his ex-lover to give their love another chance. He promises that, this time, he'll always be there "to comfort you", and that even if she "should ever find someone new", he'll still be there for her if her new love treats her wrong. Jackson 5 lead singers Michael Jackson and his older brother Jermaine share the lead vocals on this song. Michael's ad-libbed "just look over your shoulders, honey" is an allusion to " Reach Out I'll Be There ", a 1966 number one hit single recorded by The Four Tops . He was instructed by Gordy to say "just look over your shoulder" (exactly as Levi Stubbs had said it in "Reach Out I'll Be There"), but the slightly flubbed line was allowed to remain in the final mix. Release and reaction In his '' Moon Walk '' Autobiography , Michael Jackson noted that "I'll Be There" was the song that solidified The Jackson 5's careers and showed audiences that the group had potential beyound bubblegum pop. The most successful single ever released by the Jackson 5, "I'll Be There" sold 4.2 million copies in the United States, and 6.1 million copies worldwide. It replaced Marvin Gaye 's " I Heard It Through The Grapevine " (1968) as the most successful single released on Motown in the U.S., a record it held until the release of Lionel Richie -penned duet with Diana Ross " Endless Love " (1981). Outside the U.S., "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" remained Motown's biggest selling record with worldwide sales of over seven million copies. The song held the number one position on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart for five weeks from October 10 to November 14 , replacing "Cracklin' Rosie" by Neil Diamond , and replaced by "I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family . "I'll Be There" was also a number-one hit on the Billboard Billboard Black Singles Chart for six weeks, and a number-four hit in the United Kingdom . The single's B-side was "One More Chance". "I'll Be There" proved to be the Jackson 5's final number-one hit as a group. For the rest of their twenty-year-career as a major-label act, Jackson 5 singles would get no higher than number-two. Michael would score several number-one hits as a solo artist, beginning with " Ben " in 1972. He still performs "I'll Be There" on his world tours to this day. "I'll Be There" remains one of the most popular of the Jackson 5's hits, and has been covered by a number of artists, including Josie And The Pussycats and Mariah Carey (see below), whose cover brought the song back into the public's consciousness two decades after its original release. The song was also covered by the Punk band Me First And The Gimme Gimmes on their album '' Take A Break ''. MARIAH CAREY VERSION
About the record Mariah Carey had included "I'll Be There" as a last-minute addition to her ''MTV Unplugged'' setlist, as she had been informed that most acts on the show commonly perform at least one Cover . "I'll Be There" was the sixth track on Carey's ''MTV Unplugged'' special, taped on March 16 1992 . It was performed as a romantic duet, with Carey singing Michael Jackson's lines and R&B singer Trey Lorenz singing Jermaine Jackson's lines. The program and resulting ''MTV Unplugged'' album were produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, who also played the Piano for the performance. The ''MTV Unplugged'' special aired on May 20 1992 , and was a notable success. Carey's record label, Columbia Records , received many requests to release "I'll Be There" as a single, which had not been planned. A radio edit of the song was created which removed dialogue portions of the performance, and "I'll Be There" was released as a single. In the U.S., the song was issued with "So Blessed" as a b-side; in the United Kingdom, the "I'll Be There" single included the live ''Unplugged'' version of " Vision Of Love " (1990), and the album versions of " If It's Over " and "All in Your Mind". The single was a success, and became a number-one success for the second time. "I'll Be There" was nominated for the 1993 , directed by Larry Jordan , was compiled from footage of Carey's ''MTV Unplugged'' appearance. Chart performance After the underperformance of " and allayed any concerns her record label had about her career in decline. "I'll Be There" was the number-one song on the Hot 100 for two weeks, from June 13 1992 to June 27 . It replaced " Jump " by Kris Kross , and was itself replaced by " Baby Got Back " by Sir Mix-a-Lot . It also became a number-one success on the U.S. Adult Contemporary chart. "I'll Be There" was Carey's breakthrough international hit, becoming her most successful single in numerous markets. It topped the Canadian charts for two weeks, and became her biggest hit yet in both the United Kingdom (where it hit the top five) and Australia (where it reached number nine). It managed to peak within at least the top twenty in most markets across Continental Europe , where Carey's success had previously been limited. CREDITS Jackson 5 version
Mariah Carey version
CHARTS Jackson 5 version Mariah Carey version ''.]] SEE ALSO EXTERNAL LINKS |
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