The Jacksons Live!
1981 live album by the Jacksons
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The Jacksons Live! (also known as simply Live) is a live album by the Jacksons. It was released on November 11, 1981, by Epic Records. The album was recorded during the band's North American concert tour in fall 1981, known as the Triumph Tour. The live double album was culled from recordings made on the tour's stops in Buffalo, Providence, Atlanta, and New York City. The live album sold over two million copies worldwide.[3]
- July 8, 1981 at Mid-South Coliseum
- July 22, 1981 at Omni Coliseum (Atlanta)
- August 13, 1981 at Civic Arena (Pittsburgh)
- August 16, 1981 at Providence Civic Center (Providence)
- August 18, 1981 at Madison Square Garden (New York City)
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| Released | November 11, 1981 | |||
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| Length | 66:33 | |||
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| Producer | The Jacksons | |||
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| Singles from The Jacksons Live! | ||||
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The 1981 live show setlist featured songs from the group's 1980 album Triumph, two songs from Destiny (1978), a medley of their Motown hits, and five songs from lead singer Michael's 1979 solo album Off the Wall.
The Triumph Tour would be the group's last tour together for three years, while Michael recorded and released the phenomenally successful Thriller (1982) album and its singles in 1982 and 1983. The group would reunite for their final tour (sans an injured Jackie Jackson, who only participated in the second and final last leg of the tour after recovering from a knee injury)—Victory Tour—in 1984. In 1988, Rolling Stone magazine described the Triumph Tour as one of the best 25 tours between 1967 and 1987.
Reception
Bruce Eder, of AllMusic, wrote that the album "is a reminder of how great an act they [the Jacksons] were, and captures what was just about the end of Michael Jackson's work with the family group, all of it very much on a high-note. The album is worth tracking down as an artifact of a simpler, more unabashedly joyous time in music, as well as the family's history."[4]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Opening/Can You Feel It" | Michael Jackson, Jackie Jackson | 6:04 |
| 2. | "Things I Do for You" | Michael Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Randy Jackson, Tito Jackson | 3:38 |
| 3. | "Off the Wall" | Rod Temperton | 4:00 |
| 4. | "Ben" | Walter Scharf, Don Black | 3:52 |
| 5. | "Heartbreak Hotel" | Michael Jackson | 4:40 |
| 6. | "She's Out of My Life" | Tom Bahler | 4:48 |
| 7. | "Movie and Rap, Including Excerpts of: I Want You Back/Never Can Say Goodbye/Got to Be There" | Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards, Clifton Davis, Elliot Willensky | 3:04 |
| 8. | "Medley: I Want You Back/ABC/The Love You Save" | Berry Gordy, Freddie Perren, Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards | 2:55 |
| 9. | "I'll Be There" | Berry Gordy, Bob West, Willie Hutch, Hal Davis | 3:12 |
| 10. | "Rock with You" | Rod Temperton | 3:59 |
| 11. | "Lovely One" | Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson | 6:28 |
| 12. | "Workin' Day and Night" | Michael Jackson | 6:53 |
| 13. | "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough" | Michael Jackson | 4:22 |
| 14. | "Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)" | Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson | 8:34 |
Personnel
The Jacksons
- Michael Jackson – vocals
- Jackie Jackson – vocals, percussion
- Tito Jackson – guitar, vocals
- Marlon Jackson – vocals, percussion
- Randy Jackson – vocals, congas, percussions, piano, keyboards
Additional musicians
- David Williams – guitar
- Bill Wolfer[7] – keyboards
- Mike McKinney – bass
- Jonathan Moffett – drums
- East Coast Horns: Alan "Funt" Prater, Broderick "Mac" McMorris, Cloris Grimes, Wesley Phillips – horns
Technical
- Bill Schnee – recording, mixing
- Lynn Goldsmith, Todd Gray – photography
Charts
| Chart (1981–1982) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australian Albums (Kent Music Report)[8] | 2 |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] | 43 |
| US Billboard Top LPs & Tape[10] | 30 |
| US Billboard Top Black Albums[11] | 10 |
Certifications
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[12] | Gold | 1,000,000[13] |