I'll Be There (The Jackson 5 song)

"I'll Be There"
Single by The Jackson 5
from the album Third Album
B-side	"One More Chance"
Released	August 28, 1970 (1970-08-28)
Format	7" 45 RPM
Recorded	Hitsville West, Los Angeles, June 1970
Genre	Rhythm and blues
Length	3:57
Label	Motown M 1171
Writer(s)	Berry Gordy, Bob West, Willie Hutch, Hal Davis
Producer	Hal Davis
The Jackson 5 singles chronology
"The Love You Save" (1970) "I'll Be There" (1970) "Santa Claus Is Coming to Town" (1970)

"I'll Be There" is a soul song written by Berry Gordy, Bob West, Hal Davis, and Willie Hutch, which resulted in two U.S. #1 hit singles: the original 1970 recording by American vocal quintet The Jackson 5 and a 1992 live version by American R&B singers Mariah Carey and Trey Lorenz.

The Jackson 5 interpretation was recorded for Motown Records, and released as the first single from their Third Album in 1969. Produced by the songwriters, "I'll Be There" was The Jackson 5's fourth #1 hit in a row ("I Want You Back", "ABC", and "The Love You Save"), making them the first black male group to achieve four consecutive #1 pop hits. "I'll Be There" is also notable as the most successful single released by Motown during its "Detroit era" (1959–1972).

The Mariah Carey/Trey Lorenz cover was recorded during Carey's appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1992, and released as the first single from her EP MTV Unplugged in the second quarter of 1992. Co-produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, "I'll Be There" became Carey's sixth #1 single in the U.S., and her biggest hit elsewhere at the time.

The Jackson 5 version

About the record

After three upbeat "bubblegum soul" #1 singles from the Jackson 5 ("I Want You Back", "ABC", and "The Love You Save"), Motown head Berry Gordy decided to take a risk and craft a ballad for the group. For this song, he brought in songwriters Hal Davis, Willie Hutch, and Bob West, as opposed to working with the rest of The Corporation, who had crafted the first three hits.

The resulting song was a gentle ballad, in which the narrator asks his ex-lover to give their love another chance. He promises that, this time, he'll always be there "to comfort you," and that even if she "should ever find someone new," he'll still be there for her if her new love treats her wrong. Jackson 5 lead singers Michael Jackson and his older brother Jermaine share the lead vocals on this song. Michael's ad-libbed "just look over your shoulders, honey" is an allusion to "Reach Out I'll Be There", a 1966 #1 hit single recorded by the Four Tops. He was instructed by Gordy to say "just look over your shoulder" (exactly as Levi Stubbs had said it in "Reach Out I'll Be There"), but the slightly flubbed line was allowed to remain in the final mix.

Release and reaction

In his Moon Walk autobiography, Michael Jackson noted that "I'll Be There" was the song that solidified The Jackson 5's careers and showed audiences that the group had potential beyond bubblegum pop. Allmusic commented that "rarely, if ever, had one so young sung with so much authority and grace, investing this achingly tender ballad with wisdom and understanding far beyond his years".

The most successful single ever released by the Jackson 5, "I'll Be There" sold 4.2 million copies in the United States, and 6.1 million copies worldwide. It replaced Marvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" as the most successful single released on Motown in the U.S., a record it held until the release of Lionel Richie's duet with Diana Ross, "Endless Love" (1981). Outside the U.S., "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" remained Motown's biggest selling record with worldwide sales of over 7 million copies.

The song held the #1 position on the Billboard Pop Singles Chart for five weeks from October 17 to November 14, replacing "Cracklin' Rosie" by Neil Diamond; it was succeeded by "I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family. "I'll Be There" was also a #1 hit on the Billboard Black Singles Chart for six weeks, and a #4 hit in the United Kingdom. The single's B-side was "One More Chance".

"I'll Be There" was the Jackson 5's final #1 Hot 100 hit as a group. For the rest of their career as a major-label act, Jackson 5 singles would get no higher than #2. Michael Jackson scored numerous number 1 hits as a solo artist, beginning with "Ben" in 1972. He performed "I'll Be There" on all his world tours. "I'll Be There" remains one of the most popular of the Jackson 5's hits, and has been covered by a number of artists, including Josie and the Pussycats and Mariah Carey, whose cover brought the song back into the public's consciousness two decades after its original release. The song was also covered by the punk band Me First and the Gimme Gimmes on their album Take a Break.

"I'll Be There" was one of the songs used in the showcase for Grease: You're the One that I Want!.

In this song was also by the 2008 music simulation game, Wii Music.

Punk rock band Green Day has frequently performed a live medley beginning with their original song "King For A Day", morphing into The Isley Brothers' "Shout" and breaks into a smaller medley including, but not limited to, The Penguins' "Earth Angel", "I'll Be There", and Ben E. King's "Stand by Me", then back into "Shout".

The song was performed by Michael Jackson in the 2009 film Michael Jackson's This Is It. However, the song was performed by Jackson and backup singers as if they were the Jackson 5. During the song, clips of the Jackson 5 are shown. At the end of the song, Michael dedicates the song to all of his brothers and his parents.

Charts

Chart (1970)	Peak position
Dutch Singles Chart	18
Australian Singles Chart	34
UK Singles Chart	4
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Black Singles	1
U.S. Billboard Easy Listening	24
Chart (2009)	Peak position
UK Singles Chart	65

Preceded by "Cracklin' Rosie" by Neil Diamond	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Jackson 5 version) October 17 - November 21, 1970 (five weeks)	Succeeded by "I Think I Love You" by The Partridge Family
Preceded by "Ain't No Mountain High Enough" by Diana Ross	Billboard's Best Selling Soul number one single (Jackson 5 version) October 10, 1970 - November 14, 1970	Succeeded by "Super Bad (Part 1)" by James Brown

Mariah Carey version

"I'll Be There"
Single by Mariah Carey featuring Trey Lorenz
from the album MTV Unplugged
Released	May 26, 1992 (1992-05-26)
Format	CD single, cassette single, 7" single
Recorded	Kaufman Astoria Studios on March 16, 1992
Genre	R&B, soul
Length	4:25/4:42
Label	Columbia
Producer	Mariah Carey, Walter Afanasieff
Certification	Gold (New Zealand)
Mariah Carey singles chronology
"Make It Happen" (1992) "I'll Be There" (1992) "If It's Over" (1992)
Trey Lorenz singles chronology "Someone to Hold" (1992) "I'll Be There" (1992) "Photograph of Mary" (1993)

Mariah Carey had included "I'll Be There" as a last-minute addition to her MTV Unplugged setlist, after she had been informed that most acts on the show commonly perform at least one cover. "I'll Be There" was the sixth track on Carey's MTV Unplugged special, taped on March 16, 1992. It was performed as a romantic duet, with Carey singing Michael Jackson's lines and R&B singer Trey Lorenz singing Jermaine Jackson's lines. The program and resulting MTV Unplugged album were produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, who played the piano for the performance. The Mariah Carey version appeared with Boyz II Men's Wanya Morris was featured on Carey's home video, Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden.

The MTV Unplugged special aired on May 20, 1992, and was a notable success. Carey's label, Columbia Records, received many requests to release "I'll Be There" as a single, which had not been planned. A radio edit of the song was created which removed dialogue portions of the performance, and "I'll Be There" was released as a single. In the U.S., the song was issued with "So Blessed" as a B-side; in the United Kingdom, the "I'll Be There" single included the live version of "Vision of Love", and the album versions of "If It's Over" and "All in Your Mind".

"I'll Be There" was nominated for the 1993 Grammy Award for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals and Best R&B Song, losing both categories to Boyz II Men's "End of the Road". The "I'll Be There" music video, directed by Larry Jordan, was compiled from footage of Carey's MTV Unplugged appearance.

During Michael Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Carey and Lorenz sang their rendition of the song in tribute to Jackson.

Track listing

Worldwide CD single

1. "I'll Be There"
2. "So Blessed"

European CD maxi-single

1. "I'll Be There"
2. "So Blessed"
3. "Vanishing"

UK CD maxi-single

1. "I'll Be There"
2. "Vision of Love" (live)
3. "If It's Over
4. "All in Your Mind"

Chart performance

After the underperformance of "Make It Happen" compared to her previous singles, "I'll Be There" was a return to form for Carey: it became her sixth #1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and allayed any concerns her record label had about her career in decline. "I'll Be There" was the #1 song on the Hot 100 for two weeks, from June 13, 1992 to June 27. It replaced "Jump" by Kris Kross, and was itself replaced by "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot. It became #1 on the U.S. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. In fact, it is the only single released from the MTV Unplugged series that hit #1.

"I'll Be There" was Carey's breakthrough hit outside North America, becoming her most successful single in numerous markets. It topped the Canadian Singles Chart for two weeks, and became her biggest hit at the time in the United Kingdom (where it hit #2) and Australia (where it reached #9). It peaked inside the top 20 in most markets across Europe, where Carey's success had previously been limited.

The song has sold a total of 345,000 copies in the UK.

Charts

Peak positions

Chart (1992)	Peak position
Australian Singles Chart	9
Canadian Singles Chart	1
Dutch Singles Chart	1
French Singles Chart	16
German Singles Chart	33
Irish Singles Chart	3
New Zealand Singles Chart	1
Norwegian Singles Chart	10
Swedish Singles Chart	26
Swiss Singles Chart	20
UK Singles Chart	2
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	1
U.S. Billboard Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks	1
U.S. Billboard Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs	11

End of year charts

End of year chart (1992)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	16

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100	96

Sales and certifications

Country (Provider)	Certification
New Zealand (RIANZ)	Gold

Preceded by "Jump" by Kris Kross	Billboard Hot 100 number-one single (Mariah Carey version) June 20–27, 1992 (two weeks)	Succeeded by "Baby Got Back" by Sir Mix-a-Lot
Preceded by "If You Asked Me To" by Celine Dion	Billboard Adult Contemporary number-one single (Mariah Carey version) July 11–18, 1992	Succeeded by "The One" by Elton John

Other cover versions

• Song co-writer Willie Hutch covered the song on his 1973 Motown album, Fully Exposed.
• The band's sister La Toya Jackson covered the song on her 1995 Motown cover album, Stop In The Name of Love featuring a guest performance by Kim Knudsen.
• The brazilian duo Sandy & Junior made a portuguese version of this song, named Com Você, and they recorded it twice: in 1994 (in the album Pra Dançar Com Você) and 2000 (in the album As Quatro Estações Ao Vivo), both made singles.
• In 2000, the band Westlife did a cover version of "I'll Be There" for the Coast to Coast album.
• In 2002, American Idol fifth place finalist RJ Helton belted out this song on Wild Card night and advanced to the finals in season 1.
• The Temptations did a cover version of this song for their album Reflections (2006).
• In 2009, American Idol finalist Jasmine Murray got eliminated in a double elimination with Jorge Núñez on top 13 week after singing "I'll Be There" in season 8.
• Jamie Foxx and Ne-Yo concluded the 2009 BET Awards show with this song.
• New Kids on the Block covered the song live on the day of Michael Jackson's death in June 2009.
• American punk trio Green Day covered this song while playing "King for a day/Shout" on their 21st Century Breakdown World Tour, which kicked off in July 2009, just after Michael Jackson's death. Jason Freese, one of the band's touring members who plays saxophone on the song, dressed up as Jackson during the performance.
• In 2010, Thomas Ring the finalists of the third season of X Factor in Denmark, did a cover version in order to raise money for Haiti.
• In 2010, German singer Menowin Fröhlich did a cover version in the 7th season of Deutschland sucht den Superstar (German version of American Idol).
• Sun Kil Moon, a project of songwriter Mark Kozelek, released a sparse, haunting cover as a bonus track to his 2010 album Admiral Fell Promises.
• The introduction of the song has been sampled by the band Hanson in the title "Lonely Boy" from their first album Boomerang.

See also

• Hot 100 number-one hits of 1970 (United States)
• List of Hot 100 number-one singles of 1992 (U.S.)