Song of the Day 10/27: The Jackson 5, “I Want You Back”
So I was at a wedding a couple of weekends ago and – old fogey alert! – when the music started it was like a rave had broken out. The DJ segued one record into another ad infinitum, all with the same monotonous robo-beat while the bridal party – were nine bridesmaids really necessary? – bounced up and down, not exactly with each other. He never took a break, either, and as the second hour elapsed the father of the bride said, “I wish they’d play just one Motown song we could dance to!” That started a spirited discussion at the old fogey table: Which one?
If you could coax the DJ into playing just one Motown song so the Boomers could dance, which one would it be? “September,” someone suggested, but while it’s a fine dance number, Earth, Wind & Fire didn’t record for Motown. “Heat Wave” was invoked, but it seemed wrong for an October occasion. Trying to think of something so infectious it would make people dance, I proposed “I Want You Back.”
My nominee was rejected by the table because the song’s premise – the singer is wooing a girl he once rejected – was inappropriate for a wedding. My response: Harumph! You want something you can dance to? Just look at the video! All five Jacksons are dancing! And though only a few of us at the wedding were old old enough to experience it, this was the song that set off Jacksonmania back in 1969, the first of a string of four No. 1 hits.
The table discussion petered out under the DJ’s onslaught, but I’m open to suggestions: If you could pick just one Motown song for such an occasion, which one would it be?
Not Motown, but one of my favorite photos of my late father is from my own wedding. He was in a line of bridesmaids doing the Electric Slide, and the bridesmaids were all leaning one way, while my father was leaning the other way.
‘Do You Love Me’- Contours
‘Mickey’s Monkey’-Miracles
‘Ain’t Too Proud To Beg-Temptations’
for starters
Good ones, especially “Mickey’s Monkey,” though I fear it would be too obscure for most modern DJs. It gets bonus points for being named for a dance (yes, kids, people used to do a dance called the Monkey).
My out-of-left-field selection: The Four Tops, “Bernadette.”
This one by the 4 Tops should pack the dance floor. I wish it went on for at least twice as long:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFrTXGEmU2Q
BTW, Al: This was the flip side of ‘Bernadette’.