If Michael didn't exist, do you think the Jackson 5 would have been sucessful with Jermaine as the lead singer?

Krytonite said:

No not as sucessful, however that doesn't mean they would not have had any success. In fact Jermaine is a good singer and Jermaine used to be a favourite for many J5 fans in the early days.

Jermaine was definitely talented....so who knows. I think Jermaine was always better as a solo artist from jump.

Krytonite said:

you just lost me with that line...

MichaelsLight said:

Do you think the Jackson 5 would have been sucussful without Michael as the lead singer?

Could have possibly been successful but I don't think he could have carried them further than teen idol staus. Jermaine's dancing is laughable to say the least, and he doesn't generally have the energy or charisma. Certainly not the stage presence.

I saw Jermaine on Soul Train promoting his first solo album and being marketed as the "new Marvin Gaye". Utter crap that was. He had some good songs though, and I don't know if it was Motown or whatever, but he had ample opportunity to kick things off again with his solo career when he left the group. The Jacksons were even on their way to being dropped from CBS when Goin' Places didn't do too well.

Ellie said:

How about Marlon and Jackie? They were the dancers of the group.

And they don't have the voices. Actually, Marlon is better live than on record, and Jackie doesn't have much range - although I LOVE 'Wait' on the Victory album. Both were good dancers but hardly eye-poppingly brilliant.

Ellie said:

I agree

Ellie said:

I don't agree at all that his sucess would have anything to do with his dancing. Of course Jermaine and Tito were the two in the group that were the worst dancers but hey, at least he's got rythm. Have you heard the way he handles the bass. He really could play some funky stuff and still manage to handle the vocals AND the choreography as well. Are you a musician? If you are you should now that it is generally speaking harder to play the bass and sing simultaneously than play rythm guitar and sing at the same time. At least I think it is and I play both. And there is a reason why, the bass together with the drums are the foundation of a song and in funky music there are a lot of syncopes which makes it trickier to do it tight if you're supposed to sing at the same time. Then also try do move along with the choreography and you'll see what I'm talkning about. And this is especially relevant in black music, like funk, jazz, fusion etc because there is just so much syncopes as oppose to pop.

Jermaine should get more respect from MJ fans...at least if you claim to know anything about music.

I am sure you know that dancing is not a must to be sucessful anyway. But let's just make a comparision with Michael. The more choreography Michael has had the more he has started to lip synch. Why? Because of the same reason as I mentioned above, only in Jermaine's case the dancing can be exchanged with his bassplaying, it is harder to sing in pitch and synched if you're supposed to concentrate on other things that does not have the same rythm figures.
Of course Michael showed on the Bad tour that he can do both like no one else...however this was when he was in his prime and even during this time he often did the most difficult parts when there was no singing and his fills like the sidewalk in Bad ( http://mjvideo.oyvindeid.com/ ) often was when the back up singers handled the vocals...
[Edited 1/25/06 8:01am]

speaking of the Jackson Five,I was just listening to their Greatest Hits yesterday...it took me right back to the early 70s.

"The Love You Save"
"I Want You Back"
"Never Can Say Goodbye"
"I'll Be There"
"Maybe Tomorrow"


some of the greatest songs of ALL TIME!

To me there is only one Jackson sibling besides Michael that has a really good voice: Jermaine. His voice is really soulful. Listen to songs like Don't take it personal, I'll be there and Castles of sand. Beautiful.

Great singer:
Michael (old school)

Very good singer:
Jermaine
Michael post Bad

Decent or good singer:
Janet
Randy on record

Decent singer:
Randy live
Jackie
Rebbie
Marlon

Poor singer:
La Toya
[Edited 1/25/06 6:41am]

Would he be the Lead Singer and Bass Player? J. Lizzy

We should also remember Jermaine wasn't the best looking Kid.


Look at this photo, everybody is sharp, but Jermaine

lilgish said:

haha..from what I've heard Jermaine and especially Jackie were considered best looking by the teens in the early days that is...and Michael by the really young...which isn't very hard to understand of course...however...I mean what kind of argument is this...I'd say he looked at least okay...that suit is ugly though..not the best photo..haha...but I mean do you want me to start name dropping artist that looks a lot worse than Jermaine did?
[Edited 1/25/06 7:04am]

I'm not talking about dancing whilst playing the Bass in the J5. Just look at the Dynamite video. He's laughable.

Oh, and Rebbie is better than Janet vocally, and Marlon is MUCH better than Randy. Marlon handled Jermaine's parts on the Destiny tour wonderfully. You can barely hear Randy at all on the Triumph tour.
[Edited 1/25/06 7:17am]

manthevan said:

Jackie was very attractive.....I always thought he was sorta fly or it could be the older brother thing....

I think basically, the brothers talents were never really accepted by the masses when the brothers were talented. I still think tito gets a bum rap because I think he's a pretty good guitarist.

Ellie said:

[quote:b2a0e693cc]I'm not talking about dancing whilst playing the Bass in the J5. Just look at the Dynamite video. He's laughable.[/quote:b2a0e693cc]

I thought this was about J5 being sucessful without Michael as a singer. That for me would have meant Jermaine doing the bass and leadvocals. What has that to do with Dynamite or Jermaine's dancing? Since Jermaine would play bass he wouldn't do much dancing anyway
[Edited 1/25/06 7:57am]

Ellie said:

I am not sure I agree about Rebbie being a better singer than Janet...I haven't heard her enough so you could be right. When it comes to Randy I agree that you couldn't hear him during the only performance I've heard from the Triumph tour, on the other hand he sounds a lot better than Marlon if you compare Marlon's and Randy's solo records IMO.
[Edited 1/25/06 7:56am]

Krytonite said:

Better

I believe they would have been some what successful. Without the cute little kid in the front with the amazing voice, maybe they could have had The Silvers status.

Man what the fuck kinda suit Jermaine got on? Look like a Batman villain.

TheSmyrk said:

might not have been as big but possibly more respected..

mj has really killed his family's legacy..kinda sad when you think about it.

sosgemini said:

Nonsense. The music he made as a kid stands way above any of his antics as an adult (and some of the J5 music is actually better too)

I think the J5 would have been legends even if their career had ended at Motown. Little Michael shouldn't be confused with who we have now.

sosgemini said:

Latoya was the first controversial Jackson.

It definitely would've worked, although I'm not sure how big they would've been...But I always thought that Jermaine was very underrated as a vocalist...even back in the day, he had a soulful voice...I think back to cuts like "I Found That Girl", "She's Good", and "Oh, How Happy"..who knows, they may have bypassed the whole "Bubble -Gum soul" name altogether...




...

Marrk said:

it shouldnt..but it is..



when peeps hear "jackson" they think freak, its the sad truth.

sosgemini said:

Not in my house.

i doubt it. maybe minorly succesful, but not huge like they were. he just doesnt have an amazing voice like michael. its no where near as unique or as beautiful. all you have to do is listen to 'maria (you were the only one)' to realise how amazing michael was. and besides he was no where near as cute or charismatic.