Got to Be There
Got to Be There is the debut solo studio album by American singer Michael Jackson, released by Motown on January 24, 1972,[4] four weeks after the Jackson 5's Greatest Hits (1971). It includes the song of the same name, which was released on October 7, 1971, as Jackson's debut solo single.
For the song of the same name, see Got to Be There (song).Got to Be There
On August 2, 2013, the album was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies. The album was later remastered and reissued in 2009 as part of the 3-disc compilation Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.
Background[edit]
The album was arranged by The Corporation, Eddy Manson, James Anthony Carmichael, Gene Page, and Dave Blumberg. Berry Gordy served as Got to Be There's executive producer, while Jim Britt was credited for photography. The album included remakes of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", Carole King's "You've Got a Friend" and The Supremes' "Love Is Here and Now You're Gone". The album's songs have a tempo ranging from 74 beats per minute on "Ain't No Sunshine", to 170 on "Rockin' Robin."[5]
Promotion[edit]
The title track and "Rockin' Robin," a Bobby Day cover, were released as Got to Be There's first two singles and became back-to-back hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number four and number two, respectively. Third single "I Wanna Be Where You Are" peaked at number 29 on the same chart on June 24, 1972. In the United Kingdom, Jackson's version of Withers's "Ain't No Sunshine" was issued as the album's third single. It reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.[6]
Commercial performance[edit]
Got to Be There peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart when it was released.[9][10] On August 2, 2013, nearly forty years after its original release, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies.[11] In 2009, The album was later remastered and reissued as part of the 3-disc compilation Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.[12] Got to Be There sold over 750,000 copies within the first 3 weeks of release,[13] and to date has sold more than 3.2 million copies worldwide. [14]