I Want You Back

What distinguishes "I Want You Back" is not exotic chords but the sheer momentum The Corporation builds from diatonic A-flat major harmony: an athletic bassline, tumbling keyboard runs and syncopated guitar interlock so that every chord change feels like a release of energy. It is a masterclass in making I, IV, V and vi sound thrillingly busy.

The song was written by The Corporation, a Motown songwriting and production team comprising label chief Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Fonce Mizell and Deke Richards. It was originally considered for Gladys Knight & the Pips and later for Diana Ross under the working title "I Wanna Be Free" before being reworked for the Jackson 5. The lyric explores the theme of a lover who realizes he was too hasty in dropping his partner.

"I Want You Back" was the first single the Jackson 5 released on Motown and the first song written and produced by The Corporation, the label's new in-house team. Driven by a virtuosic bassline, cascading piano runs and Michael Jackson's astonishing pre-teen lead vocal, it became the group's first number-one hit in January 1970. It launched a historic run of four consecutive chart-toppers and remains one of the most celebrated pop singles of its era, ranked 104 on Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.