The Jacksons were born in Gary, Indiana, but they were stage-tested in Chicago.
Formed in 1964, the iconic group, which included the king of pop — who is the subject of a new biopic, “Michael” — also saw Chicago as an extension of their hometown.
Marlon Jackson, one of the group’s members and an executive producer of the film, pointed out how Chicago was pivotal to the family’s success.
“We started in Gary, played here in Gary, we’re from Gary and we belong to Gary, but we also played the High Chaparral, The Regal Theater, the Peppermint Lounge and Guys and Gals. All that is in Chicago,” Marlon said at the recent world premiere screening of “Michael” in Gary, Indiana.
The film highlights The Regal Theater at 4719 S. South Parkway, now known as Martin Luther King Jr. Drive. Gladys Knight & the Pips perform “I heard It Through the Grapevine” and introduce the Jackson 5, who perform “Stand.”
“The Regal was like the Apollo of Chicago,” said George Daniels, proprietor of the legendary independent record store George’s Music Room. Located at 3915 W. Roosevelt Road in the North Lawndale neighborhood, George’s Music Room was a must-stop for artists looking to appeal to the Black audience. It officially closed in 2010, but Daniels said the Sterns Foundation is restoring his Roosevelt Road store as a museum and historical location paying tribute to all those artists that came through.
Pat Edwards, who eventually became regional promotions director for Motown Records in the Midwest, recalls: “Everybody fell in love with the Jackson 5, and you wanted to see all of them. Jermaine, of course, was the cutest. So everybody wanted to see Jermaine, so you would go when you had an opportunity to buy that $2.50 ticket. Anybody who was anybody performed at the Regal.”
One of the first songs featured in the film is “Big Boy” with the Jackson 5 shown performing in Chicago and other Illinois locations. “Big Boy” was released on Steeltown Records, a small label in Gary owned “by Gordon Keith, who worked at U.S. Steel in Gary with Joe Jackson,” Daniels said. The record was a regional hit, selling over 10,000 copies in the Chicago/Gary area, according to Rolling Stone.
The modest success of that song helped set the stage for the group’s audition at Chess Records. Daniels happened to be working that day at the seminal record label, which was home to artists such as Muddy Waters, Willie Dixon and Chuck Berry.
“They were good, but Chess was the wrong lady [not a good fit]. Chess was blues and R&B and jazz. They didn’t know nothing about no kids’ group,” Daniels said.
Most of the venues Marlon mentioned during the premiere in Gary are long gone, but a few of them are still standing, including the Central Park Theater at 3535 W. Roosevelt Road, where the Jackson 5 performed supporting headliner Jerry Butler in 1968.
Immediately following those performances, the Jackson 5 were top-billed at Guys and Gals Cocktail Lounge on 69th Street. All of this was before their debut album “Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5” — and before they became household names.
Their debut single “I Want You Back” was released by Motown on Oct. 7, 1969. It became the band’s first No. 1 hit on Oct. 18, 1970, and the Jacksons etched their name in history.
“‘I Want You Back’ was one that I promoted, as well as ‘ABC’. Those weren’t difficult records to work because they were the Jackson 5, so they were pretty much rather easy to get on the radio,” Edwards said.
An aerial view of the International Amphitheatre, one of the venues The Jackson 5 performed. The venue hosted the Black Expo performance, which is remembered for the iconic lineup that included Marvin Gaye, the Temptations and the Jackson 5.
Gary Settle for Chicago Sun-Times/ST-13002163-0054, Chicago Sun-Times collection, Chicago History Museum
Despite the fast rise to stardom, the group didn’t forget about the Windy City. In 1972, the Jackson 5 were part of the “Save the Children” benefit at Chicago’s International Amphitheatre. This Black Expo performance is remembered for the iconic lineup, which included Marvin Gaye and the Temptations. The frenzy that followed “Soul Train” host Don Cornelius’ introduction of the quintet was a sight that only those who were there could even attempt to quantify.
Fresh out of high school and well before Edwards became part of the Motown family, she was just another fan.
“When the Jackson 5 hit the stage at the Black Expo, we couldn’t get close to the stage, and the screaming was crazy loud. … It was history-making — they were right in front of us young Black kids, like on TV! I’ll never forget it, just the Jackson 5 singing to me! One price for admission into the expo and we saw the Jackson 5! Wow!”
The Jacksons are as much Chicago royalty as they are Gary’s favorite sons.
“We used to leave Gary, Indiana, and go straight to Chicago, the High Chaparral on the South Side of Chicago, and perform all the time. And they were so, so supportive — the people in Chicago. It just gave us our starting point. It really, really did. So Chicago’s our family too as well. I want you to know that,” Jackie Jackson said at the Gary premiere.
“Michael” hits theaters Friday. In addition to reliving the timeless music, Chicagoans will be reminded how this city was the Jacksons 5’s proving ground.