"
The Love You Save" is a 1970 number-one hit single recorded by
The Jackson 5The Jackson 5 , later known as The Jacksons, were an American popular music family group from Gary, Indiana...
for the
MotownMotown is a record label originally founded by Berry Gordy, Jr. and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation in Detroit, Michigan, United States, on April 14, 1960. The name, a portmanteau of motor and town, is also a nickname for Detroit...
label. It held the number-one spot on the soul singles chart for six weeks. It held the number-one position on the
Billboard Hot 100The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
singles chart for two weeks, from June 27 to July 4, 1970. It is the third of four Jackson 5 number ones released in a row (the others being "
I Want You Back"I Want You Back" was released in 1969 and in early 1970s became a number-one hit single recorded by The Jackson 5 for the Motown label. The song, along with a b-side cover of Smokey Robinson & the Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", was the only single from the first Jackson 5 album, Diana Ross Presents...
", "
ABC"ABC" is a 1970 number-one hit song by The Jackson 5. "ABC" was written with the same design as "I Want You Back", and was first heard on American Bandstand in February 1970. "ABC" knocked The Beatles song "Let It Be" out of the number one spot on the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970...
", and "I'll Be There"). "The Love You Save" also features side vocals of
Jermaine JacksonJermaine La Jaune Jackson is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director...
singing alongside
MichaelMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
in the final "Stop! The love you save may be your own" besides
MarlonMarlon David Jackson is an American entertainer singer, dancer, former member of The Jackson 5, and elder brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.-Personal life:...
and
Tito JacksonToriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson is an American singer and lead guitarist and original member of The Jackson 5. He is the older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.-Early life and rise to stardom:...
.
"The Love You Save" has one of the most distinctive melodies and is the most musically complex of the four number-one singles by The Jackson 5. The song's lyrics feature Michael and Jermaine Jackson warning a "fast" girl to slow down and "stop!" because "the love you save may be your own!"
The opening exclamation of "stop" and the footstomps that complement the rhythm during the latter part of the song are allusions to the 1965 number-one Motown single by
The SupremesThe Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
, "
Stop! In the Name of Love"Stop! In the Name of Love" is a 1965 song recorded by The Supremes for the Motown label.Written and produced by Motown's main production team Holland–Dozier–Holland, "Stop! In the Name of Love" held the number-one position on the Billboard pop singles chart in the United States from March 21, 1965...
". The Jackson 5 essentially replaced The Supremes as Motown's main focus in the early 1970s, although
Diana RossDiana Ernestine Earle Ross is an American singer, record producer, and actress. Ross was lead singer of the Motown group The Supremes during the 1960s. After leaving the group in 1970, Ross began a solo career that included successful ventures into film and Broadway...
, who left the group for a solo career not long before the release of this single, was publicized as having discovered the Jackson 5.
Like most of the other early Jackson 5 hits, "The Love You Save" was written and
producedA record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by The Corporation, a team composed of Motown chief
Berry GordyBerry Gordy, Jr. is an American record producer, and the founder of the Motown record label, as well as its many subsidiaries.-Early years:...
,
Freddie PerrenFrederick "Freddie" Perren was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor best known for as a co-songwriter and co-producer of such mega-hits as "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, and "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches &...
, Alphonzo Mizell, and
Deke RichardsDeke Richards, also known as Dennis Lussier and Deke Lussier, is a songwriter and record producer, one of many white musicians/songwriters who were affiliated with Motown...
and recorded in
Los Angeles, CaliforniaLos Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
, away from the old Motown studio at Hitsville USA in
Detroit, MichiganDetroit is the major city among the primary cultural, financial, and transportation centers in the Metro Detroit area, a region of 5.2 million people. As the seat of Wayne County, the city of Detroit is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan and serves as a major port on the Detroit River...
.
"The Love You Save" was the second single from the second Jackson 5 album and significantly it was second single in a row to top The Beatles after the song ABC.,
ABC-Recording Sessions:August 1969 - March 1970Other tracks from ABC recording sessionsI Was Made To Love HerI Hear A SymphonyYou Ain't Giving Me What I Want We Can Have FunHoney Chile...
.
Cover versions
- Madder Rose
Madder Rose was a New York City-based alternative rock band who recorded in the 1990s. The band was fronted by Mary Lorson, who shared songwriting duties with guitarist Billy Coté. The two singer/songwriters continued their collaboration, Cote as guest producer on Lorson's three discs with Saint...
covered the song on their 1995 "The Love You Save EP"
- R&B girl group Voices
Voices is a 2006 translation of a 2003 crime novel by Icelandic author Arnaldur Indriðason, another entry in the multi award-winning Detective Erlendur series. It was first published in English in August, 2006. The Swedish translation of the novel won Sweden's Martin Beck Award for the best crime...
covered the song on their "Just the Beginning..." in 1992.
- Hanson
Hanson are an American pop rock band formed in Tulsa, Oklahoma, by brothers Isaac , Taylor , and Zac Hanson . They are best known for the 1997 hit song "MMMBop" from their major label debut album Middle of Nowhere, which earned three Grammy nominations...
recorded a version included on their first independent album, Boomerang, in 1994.
Personnel
- Written and produced by The Corporation: Berry Gordy, Jr., Freddie Perren
Frederick "Freddie" Perren was an American songwriter, record producer, arranger, and orchestra conductor best known for as a co-songwriter and co-producer of such mega-hits as "Boogie Fever" by the Sylvers, "I Will Survive" by Gloria Gaynor, and "Shake Your Groove Thing" by Peaches &...
, Alphonzo Mizell, and Deke RichardsDeke Richards, also known as Dennis Lussier and Deke Lussier, is a songwriter and record producer, one of many white musicians/songwriters who were affiliated with Motown...
- Lead vocals by Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, Jermaine JacksonJermaine La Jaune Jackson is an American singer, bassist, composer, a member of The Jackson 5, older brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson and occasional film director...
- Background vocals by Michael Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jackie Jackson
Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson is an American singer and musician, a member of The Jackson 5, and the second child in the Jackson family.-Life and career:...
, and Marlon JacksonMarlon David Jackson is an American entertainer singer, dancer, former member of The Jackson 5, and elder brother of American pop stars Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson.-Personal life:...
- Co-lead by Jermaine Jackson, Tito Jackson, and Marlon Jackson
- Keyboards by Freddie Perren
- Guitar by David T. Walker, Louis Shelton and Don Peake
- Bass guitar by Wilton Felder
Wilton Lewis Felder is both a saxophone and bass player, and is best known as a founding member of The Crusaders, initially called the Jazz Crusaders. Felder, Wayne Henderson, Joe Sample, and Stix Hooper founded the group while in high school in Houston...
- Drums by Gene Pello
- Side vocals by Marlon Jackson, Tito Jackson, and Jackie Jackson.