So this is how the Jacksons would have been without Michael Jackson ??

http://www.youtube.com/wa...Eg00aKZy5w

Jermaine as the lead singer and bass player
Randy on keys
Tito on guitar
And Marlon and Jakie as backing singers...

If Rebbie was added in the group as a co-lead singer, that would have made a decent r'n'b group.

well, for one, they wouldn't bitch about this thread!



supersoak that hoe!

krayzie said:

They would have been at:

paisleypark4 said:

Yea I agree. I think they would have been a decent r&b group with modest success.
[Edited 9/23/07 17:23pm]

The magic is missing somehow. They´d be just another group out there.

thats like queen without freddy or the beatles without john lennon . it wouldnt be the same. what would the dreamteam" would be like without michael jordan?
it wouldnt be the same and a far cry from what we know as the jacksons

Mike wasn't really part of the group when they first started anyway, and when Joe finally let him join, he wasn't even lead singer. He was the bongo player in the back.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

True. The person that actually founded the group was Tito, because he had a thing for his Dad old guitar. The original makeup of the group was Tito, Jermaine and Jackson, with a couple of local boys.

whatsgoingon said:

Tito, Jermaine and Jackson boy (Jackie) plus Milford on lead guitar and another drummer (forgot his name, but was before Johnny Jackson)

Najee said:

Naaa

Not in the early 80's, they would be too old, Reebie was born in 1950... She would be over 30...

I think much more the mid 70's...

Rebbie and Jermaine as the co leaders of the group would be perfect since they are the best singers and the best looking members of the family (Rebbie is very hot, she's like a prettier version of Janet)

But I really don't know what kind of music they would make : straight soulful stuff or Disco up beat stuff... I really don't know...

I think Jermaine sounds great only on slow jam and mid tempo songs...

Shiiiiit, Joe still wouldn't have put Marlon in the group.

krayzie said:

I don't see how Rebbie's age would be a negative if they were discovered in 1980; Bunny DeBarge was 30 when DeBarge got its recording deal and she was the oldest of that singing family. If anything, the biggest issue may be Rebbie's marriage since 1968 and having two daughters by 1977 playing a bigger hinderance in being a group trying to get a record deal in the mid-1970s.

I'm thinking more of the early 1980s or late 1970s (circa 1978), when the other siblings had developed their own musical songwriting and production skills -- and thus their own sound. I would say their sound would have been the same pop/soul formula they crafted individually and collectively.

I also can see them learning their chops under Nile Rodgers and Bernard Thompson, who opt to produce them rather than form their own band, Chic. Better yet, we can compromise -- The Jacksons get signed to Atlantic Records in late 1976/early 1977, are paired with Rodgers and Thompson, and their first three albums essentially replace Chic's before they move on to their own developed talents.
[Edited 9/24/07 19:10pm]

Najee said:

Bunny wasn't the lead singer of DeBarge... El Debarge was. And he was around 20 when they started...
In the music industry, being over 30 is TOO OLD... Even though she looks younger...

Najee said:

To be honest I don't know if the Jacksons had enough talent to create their own sound. The only one beside MJ who had some musical songwriting and production skills is Randy Jackson. Jermaine and Janet have always needed producers behind them. Mike was the only one that could write and compose some good music alone, and he is not even known for that in the first place...

Najee said:

Yeah I can see something like that...
If they had the right producers behind them, that could have worked...
[Edited 9/24/07 19:27pm]

Najee said:

HOLD...

Bobby, Jr. (b. 1956)
Bunny (b. 1957) - don't you mean 23?
[Edited 9/24/07 19:32pm]

krayzie said:

I actually can picture that lineup of The Jacksons singing those Chic songs. Songs like "Good Times" and like "Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)" were basically ensemble songs. I particularly can hear Rebbie singing "I Want Your Love."

Circa 1977, Rebbie would have 27, Jackie 26, Tito 24, Jermaine 23, Marlon 20 and Randy 16.

I have to disagree with you a bit on these Jacksons' ability to write and produce songs. That was part of the reason they left Motown in the first place, and the "Destiny" and "Triumph" albums showed they do have that ability and in a hypothetical world learning under Rodgers and Thompson also would let them explore those avenues. I could see a mid- to late 1980s sound developing into a more mature version of what Five Star did.
[Edited 9/24/07 20:26pm]

Timmy84 said:

bunny was born in like the early 50's
[Edited 9/24/07 19:45pm]

Timmy84 said:

Bunny DeBarge is 52, according to the Mama DeBarge Web site. But you're still right, because that would mean she was born in 1955.

I meant to say Bunny was nearly 30 when the group's breakthrough came (1983's "All This Love" album).

EDIT: According to a couple of sources, Bunny's birthdate is March 15, 1955.
[Edited 9/24/07 19:46pm]

Najee said:

Actually didn't both DeBarge and Switch get signed to Motown in 1978 though DeBarge had to take three years to craft their image and sound before they came out and during the time when Switch was out of releases? If I'm not mistaken, Bunny, El and 'em contributed not only lyrics and musical composition but background vocals to Switch's work? I could've swore El was singing behind Bobby on "There'll Never Be" and "I Call Your Name" but that's because their voices were so similar. So if DeBarge was signed to Motown in '78 then technically that'll make her 23 when they got signed. She was 26 when DeBarge came out with their first album and 27 when their "All This Love" album came out.

But to make the point about Rebbie, you can't be too old to join a musical family group.

To clear this up: so let's see Bunny's the oldest followed by Bobby, Tommy, Randy, Marcus, El, James, Chico, Peaches and Young?

Timmy84 said:

I think Switch was signed to Motown in 75 as they were discoverd by Jermaine Jackson. Well it was actually another group he saw performing and they eventually morphed into Switch.

LittleBLUECorvette said:

Switch's original name was First Choice if I'm not mistaken. And Bobby and Tommy weren't original members of the group (most of the members were from Ohio while the DeBarge brothers were from Michigan). I think they were brought in around '76 or '77 and Jermaine happened to see them and probably gave them the name Switch, I don't know, lol.

Najee said:

I know that, I meant I thought El was singing WITH Bobby. So how old is El then? His birthdate says 1961...

Timmy84 said:

El DeBarge's birth date is June 4, 1961, which means he is roughly six years younger than Bunny DeBarge.

Najee said:

Oh ok, I thought you were suggesting that I thought El was a little older than what he was. In truth though, the DeBarges started out VERY, VERY YOUNG when they first came out with the exceptions of Bobby, Bunny, Tommy and Randy.