All I Do Is Think of You

In February 1975, the Jackson 5 walked into Motown Recording Studios in Hollywood to cut a track that would become their final charted single before leaving the label. Written by Michael Lovesmith and Brian Holland, the song was first buried as the B-side to "Forever Came Today" before Motown flipped it. It landed on the album Moving Violation, released that same year.

Record World called the result "a moving love ballad incorporating the Jackson 5's distinctive blend and a sitar sound." Michael Jackson took lead vocals, Jermaine handled co-lead and spoken parts, and Jackie, Tito, and Marlon layered the harmonies. The lyrics trace a boy at school who cannot stop thinking about a girl he has fallen for, a sweet, direct premise that gives the song its tender pull.

Three minutes and fifteen seconds long, the original never cracked the Hot 100 in a major way. But its life didn't end in 1975. In 1990, the R&B group Troop took the song to number one on Billboard's R&B chart. Fifteen years after that, the teen group B5 scored their breakout hit with a cover that spun on BET and MTV. Each version reintroduced the melody to a new generation, making the Jackson 5 original a quiet cornerstone of the Motown catalog. [edit]