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The Jackson 5 are riding higher than high in the music business. having penetrated the marketplace in spectacular fashion with 4 straight number 1 smashes in 1970. they ran the gamut. I want you back was intended for gladys knight and the pips but once the corporation (fonce mizell, Freddie perren and deke Richards) retro fitted it for the Jackson 5 it was off to the races. the Jackson 5 hit again with the grade school anthem A-B-C. Next up was the elementary regret-me-not song The Love You Save. Finally the loyalty was hammered home for all J5 fans with their biggest hit, and the most covered track of the four..."I'll be there".
Now that Motown has witnessed the commercial potential of the Jackson 5 berry gordy put the strength of the Motown marketing department behind them. The Jackson 5 cartoon came about from a licensing agreement with Rankin Bass animation and the Hallis and Bachelor production group. The same team that animated the Beatles "Yellow Submarine" 5 years before.
The Jackson 5 were trailblazers but record companies had been taking note of their massive success. Soon the Osmond brothers were called into action by MGM records. The Osmond's were a barbershop quintet. They were talented enough and came complete with their very own baby brother co-lead singer. The song "One Bad Apple" was so reminiscent of "I Want You Back" that people thought it was the Jackson 5. This was cause for a lot of brand confusion back in the days. After all, in 1971 there was no Mtv. Sometimes a record label didn't mind if its "product" was confused for a stronger brand. The Jackson 5 were absolutely the stronger brand. Rock magazines were doing entire profiles on the J5.