I'll Be There (The Jackson 5 song)

Composition

After three upbeat "bubblegum soul" number one 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 lover to make a very special vow ("a pact"), one capable of bringing – as he put it – "salvation back," summarized in the phrase "where there is love, I'll be there," in an allusion to a passage from Matthew 18:20, where it is said (by Jesus): "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them." He promises that 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 number one 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 autobiography Moon Walk, 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. Said Allmusic about the song, "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 seven million copies.

The song held the number one 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 number one hit on the Billboard Black Singles Chart for six weeks, and a number 4 hit in the United Kingdom. The single's B-side was "One More Chance", a song from their second album.

"I'll Be There" was the Jackson 5's final number one Hot 100 hit as a group. For the rest of their career as a major-label act, Jackson 5 singles would climb no higher than number 2. Michael Jackson scored numerous number one hits as a solo artist, beginning with "Ben" in 1972.

Performances

"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.

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

Andy Williams released a version in 1971 on his album, You've Got a Friend.

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 The Penguins' "Earth Angel", "I'll Be There", and Ben E. King's "Stand by Me", then back into "Shout".

The song was performed in the "Jackson 5 medley" during all of Michael's tours: The Bad, Dangerous and HIStory tours.

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.

"I'll Be There" was used for a Pepsi commercial during the Dangerous World Tour in 1992. The commercial featured Michael playing the song on his home piano, remembering the Jackson 5 days until his younger self arrives to sing the song with him. Kids Incorporated covered "I'll Be There" in 1992 in the season 8 episode "Lay Off".

In 2000, the song was recorded by Irish boy band Westlife on the Deluxe Edition of their album Coast to Coast.

Mariah Carey version

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. Boyz II Men's Wanya Morris sang the song with Carey in the concert 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.

Regularly, "I'll Be There" has been featured on Carey's catalog albums included on #1's (1998), Greatest Hits (2001), The Ballads (2008), The Essential Mariah Carey (2011), and #1 to Infinity (2015).

Critical reception

Allmusic editor Shawn M. Haney highlighted it and wrote the power and esteem of "these tales lift to new heights and remain at a peak with the breathtaking, moment-making performance of "I'll Be There." Entertainment Weekly editor wrote that Mariah turned this song into a "killer duet."

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 number one 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 number one 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 number one on the U.S. Hot Adult Contemporary Tracks. In fact, it is the only single released from the MTV Unplugged series that hit number one.

"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 number 2) and Australia (where it reached number 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.

Arthur Hanlon version

In 2013, American pianist Arthur Hanlon covered the song in bachata with Dominican guest singer Karlos Rosé as the lead vocalist. Their cover was recorded in Spanglish and will be included on Hanlon's Encanto del Caribe tour. The song was produced by Hanlon and David Cabera.