Maps of Music

Dancing Machine (1974)

Where the lyrics of Dancing Machine take you, and where it was really made.

The title song had already been released a year earlier on the group's 1973 album Get It Together, and this album carries a remixed version of it.

Place unknown

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Dancing Machine: the eighth studio album by The Jackson 5 (eleventh overall)
Released on Motown on 5 September 1974
Nine tracks, including the title song "Dancing Machine"
The title song first appeared on the 1973 album Get It Together
This album includes a remixed version of "Dancing Machine" released as a single in February 1974

The lead single "Whatever You Got, I Want" was released in June 1974, ahead of the album
Several songwriters contributed to the album, including Leon Ware and Pam Sawyer on "If I Don't Love You This Way"
Writers on the track list include Don Fletcher, Hal Davis, Weldon Dean Parks, Clarence Drayton, Jerry Marcellino and Mel Larson

1	I Am Love	7:27
2	Whatever You Got, I Want	2:56
3	She’s a Rhythm Child	2:37
4	Dancing Machine	2:42
5	The Life of the Party	2:34
6	What You Don’t Know	4:23
7	If I Don’t Love You This Way	3:25
8	It All Begins and Ends With Love	3:05
9	The Mirrors of My Mind	3:06

Formed in Gary, Indiana, in 1964 as the Jackson Brothers, managed by father Joe Jackson.
Original lineup: Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael.
Among the first African American performers to build a following across multiple genres.

Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon, and Michael Jackson; Randy joined in 1975 when the group became the Jacksons.
Michael Jackson's solo career became the most successful of the brothers.

Signed with Motown in 1968 and became the first group to debut with four consecutive Billboard Hot 100 number-one hits: "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There".
Achieved seventeen Top 40 singles on the Hot 100 within five years.
Left Motown for Epic Records in 1975–1976 and renamed themselves the Jacksons, releasing albums including Destiny and Triumph.
Reunited in 1983 for Motown 25 and released Victory in 1984; Michael and Marlon left the group afterward.
Sold over 150 million records worldwide.
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 1999.
Continued to tour as the Jacksons, including the Unity Tour (2012–2013).

Released in September 1974
Reached number 16 on the Billboard 200 after its release
Became the group's first American top-20 album in two years
The lead single "Whatever You Got, I Want" was released in June 1974 ahead of the album
That single reached number 38 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 3 on the R&B chart

Billboard 200: number 16
The group's first U.S. top-20 album in two years
"Whatever You Got, I Want": Billboard Hot 100 number 38, R&B chart number 3
"I Am Love" was issued as a single in December 1974, split across the A-side and B-side
"I Am Love" single: Billboard Hot 100 number 15, R&B chart number 5
The title song's 1974 remix single was released in February 1974 before the album

The title song was first released on the 1973 album Get It Together, and this album contains a remixed version issued as a single in February 1974.
The cover illustration was made by Ron Kriss.
The single "Whatever You Got, I Want" came out in June 1974, several months before the album.
The single "I Am Love" was cut in December 1974 with its material split between the A-side and the B-side.
The album gave the group its first top-20 American album in two years.