Moving Violation

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Moving Violation
Moving Violation cover
Studio album by The Jackson 5
Released May 1975
Recorded 1974 - 1975
Genre Soul/disco
Length -
Label Motown
MS-M6-829S1
Producer(s) Hal Davis
Professional reviews
The Jackson 5 chronology
Dancing Machine
(1974)
Moving Violation
(1975)
The Jacksons
(1976)


Moving Violation, released in 1975, was the final regular studio album released by the family quintet The Jackson 5 on Motown Records.

By the end of their six-year run in Motown, all five Jackson brothers had matured dramatically in both age and vocals: youngest member Michael was, at 17, the only non-adult in the group. With the boys now becoming men, it was difficult for the group to deal with Motown's policies against writing and producing their own material.

Like Dancing Machine before it, Moving Violation was an early-disco album. The group's funk-based version of Diana Ross & the Supremes' 1968 single "Forever Came Today" was a club hit, while the single's b-side, the R&B ballad "All I Do Is Think Of You", became a popular and frequently covered song in its own right.

After this album, the Jackson 5, at the behest of father Joseph, left the Motown label after securing a new deal with CBS Records. Motown sued the Jackson 5 for breach of contract, and refused to allow them to leave. After some litigation, Motown allowed the group to leave for CBS, but withheld ownership of the "Jackson 5" name and trademark. Joseph continued the legal battle, until Michael suggested that they simply change the name of the act to "The Jacksons" and end the litigation.

Besides their name, the Jackson 5 left behind secondary lead singer Jermaine Jackson at Motown. Jermaine was married to Motown head Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, and ultimately chose Motown and the Gordys over his brothers. This move incensed Joseph, who intoned that "my blood runs through Jermaine's veins, not Berry Gordy's." Jermaine would go on to have a semi-successful eight-year solo career at Motown. Jackie, Tito, Marlon, and Michael Jackson moved on, hired youngest Jackson brother Randy and began recording for CBS Records in 1976. Motown would issue two compilation albums, Joyful Jukebox Music in 1976, and Boogie in 1979, made up of archived recordings the group had made during their tenure at the label.

[edit] Track listing

  1. "Forever Came Today" (originally by Diana Ross & the Supremes)
  2. "Moving Violation"
  3. "(You Were Made) Especially For Me"
  4. "Honey Love"
  5. "Body Language (Do the Love Dance)"
  6. "All I Do Is Think Of You"
  7. "Breezy"
  8. "Call of the Wild"
  9. "Time Explosion"
  10. "Through Thick and Thin"

[edit] Miscellanea

  • "All I Do Is Think Of You" became one of the most covered tunes in R&B history. Since its release, it has been recorded by groups like Troop and B5, and teen singer Corey.

[edit] Reference

  • Posner, Gerald (2002). Motown : Music, Money, Sex, and Power. New York: Random House. ISBN 0-375-50062-6.
The Jackson 5/The Jacksons
Discography | Albums | Singles | Members