Michael Jackson: The Essential Moments

In our special issue, available now, Rob Sheffield revisits the songs, videos and performances that defined Michael Jackson's career.

"I Want You Back" 1970

Those superfly dance moves! Those drums! Michael's purple pimp hat! At a turning point for the Motown empire, Berry Gordy puts all of Hitsville U.S.A.'s resources (including the then-unthinkable session budget of $10,000) into devising the perfect pop song. Michael's pleading vocal brings it home. Literally nobody has ever walked out of a room while this song was playing.

"I'll Be There" 1970

With this ballad, the Jackson 5 became the first act ever to hit Number One with their first four singles. They could no longer be dismissed as any kind of kiddie novelty — all the brothers float their voices back and forth, pledging a fantasy of eternal devotion. This song has been covered countless times (Mariah Carey took it back to Number One), but nobody has ever topped the way Michael threw himself into the line "Let me fill your heart with joy and laughter."

"Got to Be There" 1970

His first solo single, and a first taste of the mature, introspective Michael to come. The song itself is hardly childhood stuff ("Got to be there in the morning"?), with bittersweet minor-key harmonies that should have been beyond the reach of a young thing. Yet Michael coasts over the jazzy chords and lush orchestration, handling each key change like a born soul man. He'd just turned 13.

For countless 1970s kids, this Saturday-morning cartoon (with "ABC" as the theme song) was the first experience of the J5's timeless soundtrack of playground funk, like a mix of Sly and the Family Stone with Fat Albert's Junkyard Band. It was more psychedelic than Scooby Doo, with a better beat than Hong Kong Phooey. Michael admitted later he watched it all the time, saying to himself, "I'm a cartoon!"

"Dancing Machine" 1974

The brothers were getting too old for teeny-bopper appeal, chafing at the artistic limitations of the Motown hit machine, where not even Michael was allowed to contribute to the songwriting or production. But their last major Motown hit (and early disco experiment) was a taste of beats to come. While MJ was quietly watching the pros work the studio, he was soaking up the tricks ("like a hawk," as he admitted) he'd use to conquer the world.

From our special commemorative Michael Jackson issue, available now

ESSENTIAL MICHAEL JACKSON COVERAGE