One of the most successful family musical acts in American history seemed to have gone its separate ways by the mid-80s, with one member on his way to becoming one of the biggest stars in the entire world. Surely his busy schedule didn’t leave much time for his brothers and former bandmates.
So it was a big deal when the Jackson family reconvened for a comeback album AND tour in 1984 with their most popular brother on board.
The Jackson 5 had burst onto the scene with a bang in 1969, reeling off four straight #1 hits – “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save,” and “I’ll Be There” – to open their career. An unheard of feat at the time. And undoubtedly, the group’s big star was 11-year-old front man Michael.
And even after that opening salvo of chart-toppers, they continued to be a force in popular culture, both in making hit records and becoming TV stars with a variety show and a Saturday morning cartoon.
But with both Michael and oldest brother Jermaine putting out solo records, the writing was on the wall that the group’s fortunes may be waning. Jermaine would eventually leave the group over a record label dispute, opting to stay with Berry Gordy and Motown when the Jacksons’ father moved the rest of the boys to CBS/Epic.
Even after dropping the hit solo album Off The Wall, Michael kept coming back to lead the family group, now simply called The Jacksons. But all bets were off after his next LP.
Michael’s 1982 album Thriller became the biggest album the world had ever seen, making him a truly international star touring the world and becoming the man everyone wanted a piece of. He would have been forgiven if that was the end of his musical partnership with his brothers. But it wasn’t.
In fact, not only did Michael stay with the group but Jermaine returned for their 1984 album Victory and the hugely successful tour that followed. The brothers did finally call it quits as a group afterward but with the lasting image of one final hurrah in front of screaming fans. And two final top 40 hits to their name.
While first single “State Of Shock” got more attention, featuring essentially a duet between Michael and Mick Jagger and climbing to #3 on the pop chart, it’s the album’s second single that I’ve always loved.
The very first song you hear on the album, it features lead vocals by both Michael and Jermaine as they sing what at the time was a deeply misunderstood lyric that landed the group surprisingly in the crosshairs of Tipper Gore and the PMRC, decrying the tune as an S&M anthem when, in actuality, the lyrics deal with how an impending breakup can even made the good feelings feel bad.
The final top 40 hit for The Jacksons is anything but “Torture” at #32.