Tito Jackson’s death on Sunday Sept. 15 at age 70 has put a spotlight on the Jackson 5 (later the Jacksons), which had a string of classic hits in the 1970s and ’80s.
You may be surprised to learn that the J5 never won a Grammy. Michael Jackson won 13 Grammys, but all were for his solo career.
Three J5 classics – “I Want You Back,” “ABC” and “I’ll Be There” – have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, which functions as a second chance for the Recording Academy to honor great recordings.
The J5 have yet to receive a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy, though Michael received a posthumous lifetime achievement award in 2010.
The J5 were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 by their old pal Diana Ross, who was credited with having discovered them. (Whether or not she actually discovered them, she did lend her name to their 1970 debut studio album, which was titled Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5.) Michael was inducted into the Rock Hall as a solo artist in 2001.
Here are the three Jackson 5 records that were nominated for, but did not win, Grammys.
“ABC” (1970)
Nominated for: Best contemporary vocal performance by a duo, group or chorus
Lost to: Carpenters, “Close to You”
Notes: Both family acts were red-hot at the time. “Close to You” topped the Billboard Hot 100 for four weeks and was Billboard’s No. 1 song of the summer for 1970. “ABC,” which topped the Hot 100 for two weeks, was the J5’s second No. 1 hit of 1970 (out of a career-launching volley of four consecutive No. 1 hits). “Close to You” was also nominated for record of the year (unlike “ABC”), which showed its strength with Grammy voters. “ABC” and “Close to You” have both been voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame, a sign that both are now regarded as top-tier classics.
Fun fact: Michael was known to be a fan of the Carpenters.
“Dancing Machine” (1974)
Nominated for: Best R&B vocal performance by a duo, group or chorus
Lost to: Rufus’ “Tell Me Something Good”
Notes: “Dancing Machine” was an important record in the J5’s career. It not only became their biggest Hot 100 hit in three years, but it showed them to be all grown up, with little trace of the bubblegum of such early hits as “ABC.” The record peaked at No. 2 on the Hot 100 behind Ray Stevens’ inane novelty hit “The Streak,” a look at the then-hot fad of streaking (see also: the streaker who raced across the stage behind David Niven on the 1974 Oscars). Stevie Wonder wrote the beyond-funky “Tell Me Something Good,” which was Rufus’ first Hot 100 hit. It reached No. 3.
Fun fact: The J5 performed “Dancing Machine” on The Carol Burnett Show in 1974 and on Cher’s solo TV show the following year. Cher, who did not lack for nerve, joined the group in a medley of five of their hits, capped by “Dancing Machine.”
Triumph (1980)
Nominated for: Best R&B performance by a duo or group with vocal
Lost to: The Manhattans’ “Shining Star”
Notes: How were Grammy voters expected to compare performances on full albums like Triumph with performances on singles like “Shining Star”? Good question. (The Recording Academy no longer pits albums and singles against each other in performance categories.)
Triumph reached No. 10 on the Billboard 200, becoming the group’s first top 10 album since the J5 (which had four top 10 albums) evolved into the Jacksons in 1976. Triumph spawned four Hot 100 hits on the Hot 100: “Lovely One” (No. 12), “Heartbreak Hotel” (No. 22). “Can You Feel It” (No. 77) and “Walk Right Now” (No. 73). None of them were as big as “Shining Star,” which reached No. 5, becoming the second-biggest group by the old-school R&B vocal group, whose “Kiss and Say Goodbye” reached No. 1 in the summer of 1976.
Fun fact: The Manhattans were signed to Columbia, sister label to The Jacksons’ Epic. That may have made CBS Records’ post-Grammys party a little awkward that year.