| "I'll Be There" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
Solid centre variant of the UK single | ||||
| Single bythe Jackson 5 | ||||
| from the albumThird Album | ||||
| B-side | "One More Chance" | |||
| Released | August 28, 1970 (1970-08-28) | |||
| Recorded | June 1970 | |||
| Studio | Hitsville West (Los Angeles) | |||
| Genre | Soul | |||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label | Motown | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producer | Hal Davis | |||
| The Jackson 5 singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Lyric video | ||||
| "I'll Be There" by Jackson 5 onYouTube | ||||
"I'll Be There" is the first single released fromThird Album byThe Jackson 5. It was written byBerry Gordy,Hal Davis, Bob West, andWillie Hutch.
The song was recorded by The Jackson 5 and released byMotown Records on August 28, 1970, as the first single from theirThird Album on the same date. Produced by the songwriters, "I'll Be There" was The Jackson 5's fourth number-one hit in a row (after "I Want You Back" in 1969, "ABC" and "The Love You Save" earlier in 1970), making them the first group to have their first four singles reach number one and the first black male group with four consecutive number-one pop hits in the same year. "I'll Be There" is also notable as the most successful single released by Motown during its "Detroit era" (1959–72). In 2011, the song was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[1]
The duet version byMariah Carey andTrey Lorenz was recorded during Carey's appearance onMTV Unplugged in 1992, and released as the first single from her EPMTV Unplugged in the second quarter of 1992. Co-produced by Carey andWalter Afanasieff, "I'll Be There" became Carey's sixth number-one single in the US, and her biggest hit elsewhere at the time.
In his 1988 autobiographyMoonwalk,Michael Jackson noted that "I'll Be There" was the song that solidified The Jackson 5's careers and showed audiences that the group had potential beyond bubblegum pop. SaidAllmusic about the song, "Rarely, if ever, had one so young sung with so much authority and grace, investing this achingly tender ballad with wisdom and understanding far beyond his years".[2] Michael turned 12 one day after the song was released.
Record World said that the "change of pace [in using a slower tempo song than usual] showcases the group's versatility."[3]
The most successful single ever released by the Jackson 5, "I'll Be There" sold 4.2 million copies in the United States, and 6.1 million copies worldwide.[4][5] It replacedMarvin Gaye's "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" as the most successful single released on Motown in the US, a record it held until the release ofLionel Richie's duet withDiana Ross, "Endless Love" (1981). Outside the US, "I Heard It Through the Grapevine" remained Motown's biggest-selling record with worldwide sales of over seven million copies.
The song held the number-one position on theBillboard Pop Singles Chart for five weeks from October 17 to November 14, replacing "Cracklin' Rosie" byNeil Diamond; it was succeeded by "I Think I Love You" byThe Partridge Family. "I'll Be There" was also a number-one hit on theBillboard Best Selling Soul Singles Chart for six weeks,[6] and a number 4 hit in the United Kingdom. The single's B-side was "One More Chance", a song from theirsecond album.
"I'll Be There" was the Jackson 5's final number-one Hot 100 hit as a group. For the rest of their career as a major-label act, Jackson 5 singles would climb no higher than number 2. Michael Jackson scored numerous number-one hits as a solo artist, beginning with "Ben" in 1972. In 2020,Busta Rhymes released a song titled “Look Over Your Shoulders” featuring vocals fromKendrick Lamar, sampling “I’ll Be There”.
The song was remixed byWayne Wilkins for the 2009 releaseThe Remix Suite.
In 2011, this version of the song byThe Jackson 5 onMotown Records was inducted into theGrammy Hall of Fame.[7]
Weekly singles[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
All-time charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom (BPI)[24] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[26] | Gold | 4,200,000[25] |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
| "I'll Be There" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
![]() | ||||
| Single byMariah Carey featuringTrey Lorenz | ||||
| from the albumMTV Unplugged | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | May 26, 1992 (1992-05-26) | |||
| Recorded | March 16, 1992 | |||
| Venue | Kaufman Astoria Studios | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length |
| |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producers |
| |||
| Mariah Carey singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Trey Lorenz singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Live video | ||||
| "Mariah Carey - I'll Be There (MTV Unplugged - HD Video)" onYouTube | ||||
American singer-songwriterMariah Carey had included "I'll Be There" as a last-minute addition to herMTV Unplugged setlist,[citation needed] after she had been informed that most acts on the show commonly perform at least one cover. "I'll Be There" was the sixth track on Carey'sMTV Unplugged special, taped on March 16, 1992. It was performed as a romantic duet, with Carey singingMichael Jackson's lines and R&B singerTrey Lorenz singingJermaine Jackson's lines. The program and resultingMTV Unplugged album were produced by Carey and Walter Afanasieff, who played the piano for the performance.Boyz II Men'sWanya Morris sang the song with Carey in the concert home video,Fantasy: Mariah Carey at Madison Square Garden. The song is composed incommon time and has a moderatetempo of 84 beats per minute. Carey'svocal range spans twooctaves and threesemitones from the low note of D3 to the high note of F5.[28]
TheMTV Unplugged special aired on May 20, 1992, and was a notable success. Carey's label, Columbia Records, received many requests to release "I'll Be There" as a single, which had not been planned. A radio edit of the song was created which removed dialogue portions of the performance, and "I'll Be There" was released as a single. In the US, the song was issued with "So Blessed" as a B-side; in the United Kingdom, the "I'll Be There" single included the live version of "Vision of Love", and the album versions of "If It's Over" and "All in Your Mind".
"I'll Be There" was nominated for the 1993Grammy Award forBest R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals andBest R&B Song, losing both categories toBoyz II Men's "End of the Road". The "I'll Be There" music video, directed byLarry Jordan, was compiled from footage of Carey'sMTV Unplugged appearance.
DuringMichael Jackson's memorial service on July 7, 2009, Carey and Lorenz sang their rendition of the song in tribute to Jackson 17 years after their first performance together.
Regularly, "I'll Be There" has been featured on Carey'scatalog albums included on#1's (1998),Greatest Hits (2001),The Ballads (2008),The Essential Mariah Carey (2011), and#1 to Infinity (2015).
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Accrington Observer | |
| Entertainment Weekly | B+[30] |
| Stereogum | 6/10[31] |
AllMusic editor Shawn M. Haney highlighted it and wrote, "...the power and esteem of these tales lift to new heights and remain at a peak with the breathtaking, moment-making performance of "I'll Be There"."[32]Larry Flick fromBillboard magazine stated that Carey "delivers an astonishingly restrained and soulful rendition". He added, "She is complemented by rich vocal support from Epic newcomerTrey Lorenz."[33] An editor fromEntertainment Weekly wrote that Mariah turned this song into a "killer duet."[34] In 2018, the magazine called it a "revelation", noting that she "made it utterly her own."[35]
After the underperformance of "Make It Happen" compared to her previous singles, "I'll Be There" was a return to form for Carey: it became her sixth number-one on the USBillboard Hot 100 and allayed any concerns her record label had about her career in decline. "I'll Be There" was the number-one song on the Hot 100 for two weeks, from June 13, 1992, to June 27. It replaced "Jump" byKris Kross, and was itself replaced by "Baby Got Back" bySir Mix-a-Lot. It became number-one on the USHot Adult Contemporary Tracks. In fact, it is the only single released from theMTV Unplugged series that hit number-one. As of 2026, it remains as Carey's only single from her nineteen US chart-toppers not to be written by herself.
"I'll Be There" was Carey's breakthrough hit outside North America, becoming her most successful single in numerous markets. It topped theCanadian Singles Chart for two weeks, and became her first number-one single in theNetherlands for three weeks, and her second inNew Zealand for five weeks. It also became her biggest hit at the time in the United Kingdom (where it hit number 2) and Australia (where it reached number 9). It peaked inside the top 20 in most markets across Europe, where Carey's success had previously been limited.
The song has sold a total of 345,000 copies in the UK.[36]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
Decade-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Australia (ARIA)[94] | Platinum | 70,000‡ |
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[95] | Gold | 5,000* |
| United Kingdom | — | 345,000[36] |
| United States (RIAA)[96] | Gold | 500,000‡ |
* Sales figures based on certification alone. | ||
| Region | Date | Format(s) | Label(s) | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United States | May 26, 1992 | Columbia | ||
| Japan | May 28, 1992 | Mini CD | Sony Music Japan | |
| United Kingdom | June 15, 1992 |
| Columbia |
| "I'll Be There (Allí Estaré)" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single byArthur Hanlon featuringKarlos Rosé | ||||
| Released | May 28, 2013 (2013-05-28) | |||
| Genre | Bachata | |||
| Length | 3:32 | |||
| Label | Universal Latin | |||
| Songwriters |
| |||
| Producers |
| |||
| Karlos Rosé singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
In 2013, American pianistArthur Hanlon covered the song inbachata with Dominican guest singerKarlos Rosé as the lead vocalist. Their cover was recorded inSpanglish and will be included on Hanlon'sEncanto del Caribe tour.[99] The song was produced by Hanlon and David Cabera.[100]
| Chart (2013) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| USHot Latin Songs (Billboard)[101] | 41 |
| USTropical Airplay (Billboard)[102] | 4 |
I'LL BE THERE Motown [USA]. This was taken from The Jackson 5's third album and was an ever bigger success than their previous 1970 releases, selling over 3,500,000 in the U.S.A. by November, after being at No 1 for five weeks.