Probably less than two years separate the Jackson 5's first sides for Steeltown Records of Gary, Indiana, and their 1969 debut on Motown Records, "I Want You Back." In terms of the groove, they are light-years apart.

The sons of Joe and Katherine Jackson were a squeaky ensemble in the hands of the Steeltown producers, who may have seen them as a local response to Chicago's teen soulsters the Five Stairsteps. "We Don't Have to Be 21 (to Fall in Love)" is an uptempo affair: the vocal and instrumental tracks sound out of sync with one another, and the group's harmonies are wafer thin. "Big Boy," a ballad, is marginally better.

"I Want You Back," of course, kick-starts like a hot new model from the Motown assembly line: Freddie Perren and Fonce Mizell tool up a piano glissando; David T. Walker fuel-injects his guitar licks; Wilton Felder pumps out some fluid bass; and the Jacksons trade high-octane vocal lines with authority and electricity.

Berry Gordy unveiled his priority act for the Seventies the same year that his Sixties superstars Diana Ross and the Supremes fractured in two. But he harnessed Diana's name power to market the youngsters, advancing them as her discovery and titling their first album Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5. But according to Tom Noonan, a former Motown executive, true credit for finding the brothers belongs to a Motown musician named Bobby Taylor.

The Jackson 5 were signed in 1968, says Noonan, who watched them perform at a special poolside showcase at one of Berry Gordy's mansions in Detroit. Then they relocated to Los Angeles for Motown's full artist-development treatment.

The recording of "I Want You Back" began in the summer of '69, when neophyte songwriters Freddie Perren and Fonce Mizell connected with Motown staff producer Deke Richards in California. "He liked our stuff and said he'd like to work with us," Perren says. "He said one way to get the spotlight on you right away is to find someone who's cold and write a hit on them."

Gladys Knight fell into that category at the time, claims Perren, so he and Mizell composed a song, "I Want to Be Free," with her in mind. They cut the track, then felt the result might even be good enough for Diana Ross.

Gordy had a different idea, Perren recalls: "He said, 'We just signed these five brothers out of Gary, Indiana, and this sounds like a lively young track. Why don't you rewrite the song for them?' "

It was the first of many changes suggested by the Motown chief. "There were certain things he would adjust." Perren says. "He would say, 'Yeah, it's good, but it still needs to have this.' and 'I don't get the feeling that it's really sincere in this part,' and 'Can you do something with that part?' "