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 ON THIS DATE (52 YEARS AGO)

May 13, 1970 – The Jackson 5: “The Love You Save” b/w “I Found That Girl” (Motown M-1166) 45 single is released in the US.

"The Love You Save" is a song written by The Corporation (Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, and Deke Richards) and performed by The Jackson 5. It reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and R&B Singles chart. The song is the third of four Jackson 5 number ones released in a row (the others being "I Want You Back", "ABC", and "I'll Be There"). "The Love You Save" also features side vocals of Jermaine Jackson singing alongside Michael in the final "Stop! The love you save may be your own" besides Marlon and Tito Jackson.

The opening exclamation of "stop" and the footstomps that complement the rhythm during the latter part of the song are allusions to the 1965 number-one Motown single by The Supremes, "Stop! In the Name of Love". The Jackson 5 essentially replaced The Supremes as Motown's main focus in the early 1970s, although Diana Ross, who left the group for a solo career not long before the release of this single, was publicized as having discovered the Jackson 5.

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SONGFACTS

This was the third of four consecutive #1 hits for the Jackson 5, following their Motown debut "I Want You Back" and its follow-up, "ABC." After "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There" went to the top, giving the group a total of 10 weeks at the top in 1970.

The first three were written and produced by a Motown collective known as "The Corporation": Freddie Perren, Deke Richards, Fonce Mizell, and Berry Gordy Jr. Gordy was head of the label and assigned them that name, which kept the focus on the team instead of the individuals within it - if one member deigned to leave, he could replace him.

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The song is about a girl who is moving through guys a little too fast. The singer wants her to slow down before she ruins her reputation. It's a theme that's been explored in pop songs before, but this time it's framed in a schoolyard because it's sung by Michael Jackson, who was 11 years old at the time.

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The soul singer Joe Tex had a minor hit in 1966 with a ballad called "The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)," where he asks his girl to stop and get it right, because "the love you save may be your own." That phrase and sentiment were borrowed for the Jackson 5's "The Love You Save."

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When this went to #1 on June 27, 1970, the Jackson 5 became the first act ever to have their first three chart singles top the Hot 100.

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The song's writers kicked around many different ideas before settling on the lyrical theme. Early on, the lyrics concerned traffic safety. After some revisions, only the title and the line, "Darling, look both ways before you cross me" survived.

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Michael Jackson calls out the girl for carousing with four different guys, all of whom he names:

Isaac (said he kissed you)

Benjy (held your hand)

Alexander (called you)

Christopher (discovered you're way ahead of your time)

The last two names are nods to historical figures children learn about in school. Alexander Graham Bell invented the telephone, and Christopher Columbus was often credited with "discovering" America.

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By this time, the Jackson 5 had a formula of Michael Jackson carrying the lead vocal with a bit of interplay from his brothers. In "The Love You Save," Jermaine gets a few lines in ("You better stop, girl"), and Tito does some bassy "bom bom bom" vocalizations.

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The Jackson 5 performed this, along with their previous two hits - "I Want You Back" and "ABC" - on The Ed Sullivan Show May 10, 1970.