101 # 1 Song of the Day 1-24-13

The 101 number one song of the day ushered in the new era for Motown.  And it all started with a “whoopin’.”

Four weeks after Diana Ross and the Supremes had their twelfth and final number one single which closed out the sixties, a new decade and a new group opened the new decade with their first of many charttoppers.  They were sons of a Gary, Indiana steelworker who always dreamed of a career in music.  In his spare time the father played in a band called the Falcons.  He came home one night to find his second oldest son fooling around with his guitar.  After giving him a whipping, he wanted to know how well his son could play.  Rather well, as it turned out and that led to the formation of a group.  Their first professiona gig was a a Gary nightclub for which they were paid $8.  But one thing led to another and soon they came to the attention of Barry Gordy, Jr.  During this week in 1970 they landed their first number one song: the Jackson Five (I Want You Back)  (Tito was the one that got that whoopin’)