''Got to Be There'' is the debut solo

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

by the American singer

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Michael Jackson, one of the most culturally significan ...

, released by

Motown Motown is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. Founded by Berry Gordy, Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on January 12, 1959, it was incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau ...

on January 24, 1972,Don't Forget the Motor City
/ref> four weeks after

the Jackson 5 The Jackson 5, later known as the Jacksons, are an American pop band composed of members of the Jackson family. The group was formed in Gary, Indiana in 1964, and originally consisted of brothers Jackie, Ti ...

's ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' (1971). It includes the song of the same name, which was released on October 7, 1971, as Jackson's debut solo single. On August 2, 2013, the album was certified

Gold Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies. The album was later remastered and reissued in 2009 as part of the 3-disc compilation '' Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection''.

Background

The album was arranged by The Corporation, Eddy Manson, James Anthony Carmichael, Gene Page, and Dave Blumberg.

Berry Gordy Berry Gordy III (born November 28, 1929), also known as Berry Gordy Jr., is an American retired record executive, record producer, songwriter, film producer and television producer. He is best known as the founder of the Motown record label and i ...

served as ''Got to Be There''s

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the production of media. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights or royalties). In film ...

, while Jim Britt was credited for photography. The album included remakes of

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer and songwriter. He is known for having several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including "Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), "Grandma's Hands" (1971), "Use Me ( ...

' " Ain't No Sunshine",

Carole King Carole King Klein (born Carol Joan Klein; February 9, 1942) is an American singer-songwriter and musician renowned for her extensive contributions to popular music. She wrote or co-wrote 118 songs that charted on the Billboard Hot 100, ''Billbo ...

's "

You've Got a Friend "You've Got a Friend" is a 1971 song and single by American singer-songwriter Carole King. It was first recorded by King and included on her second studio album, '' Tapestry'' (1971). Another well-known version by James Taylor appears on his ...

" and

The Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group formed in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959 as the Primettes. A premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successful Amer ...

' " Love Is Here and Now You're Gone". The album's songs have a tempo ranging from 74 beats per minute on "Ain't No Sunshine", to 170 on "Rockin' Robin."

Promotion

The

title track A title track is a song that has the same name as the album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-t ...

and " Rockin' Robin," a Bobby Day cover, were released as ''Got to Be There''s first two singles and became back-to-back hits on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 at number four and number two, respectively. Third single " I Wanna Be Where You Are" peaked at number 29 on the same chart on June 24, 1972. In the United Kingdom, Jackson's version of Withers's "Ain't No Sunshine" was issued as the album's third single. It reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.

Critical reception

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

'' (12/7/1972, p. 68) - "...slick, artful and every bit as good as the regular Jackson 5 product...a sweetly touching voice...innocence and utter professionalism...fascinating and finally irresistible..." In a retrospective review, Rob Theakston from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

rated the album two and a half out of five stars. He found that "as a cohesive album, ''Got to Be There'' is wildly erratic, and his covers of "You've Got a Friend" and "Ain't No Sunshine" show Jackson's versatility as a singer." Leah Greenblatt from ''

Entertainment Weekly ''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...

'' gave the album a B+ rating. She found that "highlights include a jaunty cover of "Rockin' Robin," the wistful title track, and the soaring '"I Wanna Be Where You Are"."

Commercial performance

''Got to Be There'' peaked at number 14 on the US ''

Billboard 200 The ''Billboard'' 200 is a record chart ranking the 200 most popular music albums and EPs in the United States. It is published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists. Sometimes, a rec ...

'' and number three on the

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip-hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Luminate. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated January 30, ...

chart when it was released. On August 2, 2013, over forty years after its original release, it was certified

by the

(RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies. In 2009, The album was later remastered and reissued as part of the 3-disc compilation '' Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection''. ''Got to Be There'' sold over 750,000 copies within the first 3 weeks of release. ''Got to Be There'' sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.

Track listing

Tracks 1, 2, 3, 7, 10 recorded November 1971. Tracks 4, 9 recorded December 1971. Track 5 recorded June – July 1971. Track 6 recorded October 1971. Track 8 recorded July – September 1971.

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1972 debut albums Michael Jackson albums Motown albums Albums arranged by Gene Page Albums produced by Hal Davis Albums produced by the Corporation (record production team)