{"id":661645,"date":"2026-05-11T05:50:13","date_gmt":"2026-05-11T05:50:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/661645\/"},"modified":"2026-05-11T05:50:13","modified_gmt":"2026-05-11T05:50:13","slug":"remember-when-michael-jackson-released-his-first-solo-single-in-1972","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/661645\/","title":{"rendered":"Remember When Michael Jackson Released His First Solo Single in 1972?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Michael Jackson<\/a> was just ten years old when he and his four brothers, who together made up The Jackson 5<\/a>, released their debut album, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5. Already performing with his family for years, it was evident to everyone, including Jackson, that he had a truly unique talent.<\/p>\n

In 1971, The Jackson 5 released their fifth studio album, Maybe Tomorrow. That same year, Jackson launched his own solo career with the release of \u201cGot To Be There\u201d. The song is the title track of Jackson\u2019s freshman solo album, the beginning of a career that would last for decades, until he tragically passed away in 2009.<\/p>\n

Jackson was 13 years old when he released \u201cGot To Be There\u201d. Written by Elliot Willensky, the song became a Top 5 hit for Jackson. The following single, \u201cRockin\u2019 Robin\u201d also became a Top 5 hit. With his sophomore Ben album, out one year later, Jackson scored his first No. 1 single with that record\u2019s title track.<\/p>\n

Jackson juggled both working with The Jackson 5 (later billed as The Jacksons) and his solo career until 1984.<\/p>\n

What Happened to Michael Jackson\u2019s Career After \u201cGot To Be There\u201d<\/p>\n

The message in \u201cGot To Be There\u201d doesn\u2019t seem fitting for someone as young as Jackson, although it is still a fan favorite. The song says, \u201cOh, what a feeling there\u2019ll be \/ The moment I know she loves me \/ \u2018Cause when I look in her eyes, I realize \/ I need her sharing her world beside me.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jackson might have been years away from being an adult, but his age did little to hinder his career, even as a young teen. In 1979, Jackson had his first massive hit, with \u201cDon\u2019t Stop \u2018Til You Get Enough\u201d. From Off The Wall, Jackson\u2019s fifth studio album, the song became a six-week No. 1 hit for Jackson.<\/p>\n

In 1982, Jackson released Thriller, his sixth record and the one that changed literally everything for him. Thriller includes \u201cBillie Jean\u201d, \u201cBeat It\u201d, and the title track. It remains among the best-selling albums of all time, even if Jackson initially hated it.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mixes sucked,\u201d he recalls<\/a>. \u201cWhen we listened to the whole album, there were tears\u2026 I just cried like a baby. I stormed out of the room and said, \u2018We\u2019re not releasing this.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Frustrated, the singer rode a borrowed bicycle to a playground, where he watched children playing. It changed everything for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I came back I was ready to rule the world,\u201d Jackson says. \u201cI went into the studio and I turned them songs out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Photo by Michael Ochs Archives\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Michael Jackson was just ten years old when he and his four brothers, who together made up The…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":661646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[49,48,75,17235,341,5474],"class_list":["post-661645","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-entertainment","tag-michael-jackson","tag-music","tag-pop-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=661645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/661645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/661646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=661645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=661645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=661645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}