The audio from Michael Jackson’s first ever studio session is set to be released as a limited-edition package.
The recording was made 56 years ago, when Michael Jackson was aged just nine and entered the One-derful studios in Chicago for the very first time with his brothers.
In the session – which took place on July 13, 1967 – The Jackson Five produced a song titled ‘Big Boy’, and it has been confirmed that this was the first time that the iconic singer’s voice was put on tape.
Now, the song is getting shared in a digital format for the first time, and will be available as part of a limited-edition release. Available tomorrow (December 7), the packages are shared in collaboration with the song’s owner, Recordpool, and Swedish blockchain-based music and royalty marketplace anotherblock.
It comes in two formats – the “open edition” and the more expensive “limited edition”. The former is available for $25 (£19.85) and includes the track, named ‘Big Boy (One-derful Version)’. It is accessible through anotherblock’s player, and also comes with images of master tape and agreements, downloadable song stems, and a digital vinyl B-side including ‘Michael the Lover’ and ‘My Girl’ along with their stems.
Its more expensive counterpart, the ‘limited edition’ variant, includes all of the features mentioned above, as well as newly-designed artwork and nine additional songs and stems from the Steeltown sessions in 1967. These include ‘Big Boy (Steeltown Version)’, ‘We Don’t Have to Be Over 21 (To Fall in Love)’, ‘You’ve Changed’, ‘Tracks of My Tears’, ‘Lonely Heart’, ‘Saturday Night at the Movies’, ‘Stormy Monday’ and ‘Under the Boardwalk’. It is available for $100 (£79.41).
Visit here for more information and to purchase the track. A portion of the sale revenue will go to the non-profit Legacy Foundation – find out more about the charity here.
“As a passionate MJ fan myself, I was instantly thrilled about introducing this significant piece of music history to the world and expanding the narrative of Jackson 5’s early days” anotherblock CEO and co-founder Michel D Traore said (via Billboard). “We engaged in numerous lengthy discussions about the recording, its meaning, history, and the optimal way to tell the story. In total, it took us about six months to piece everything together.”
Michael Jackson performs at the 12th Annual MTV Video Music Awards at Radio City Music Hall in New York City on September 7, 1995. CREDIT: Kevin Mazur/WireImage/Getty Images
It was also reported that the original recording for ‘Big Boy’ was discovered by journalist Jake Austen in 2009. The version shared as the first single by The Jackson Five was not the take recorded at One-derful Studios, but rather a second version recorded later at Steeltown Records six months later.
“For certain songs, and this one in particular, it’s evident that they deserve a special home where they won’t get lost in the mass of hundreds of thousands of songs released on the same day,” Traore added. “It presents a deep dive into the early days of The Jackson 5, complete with original photos.”
In other Michael Jackson news, last month it was reported that a leather jacket worn by the singer in the ‘80s sold for £250,000 ($306,000) at an auction.
The black and white jacket – which was worn by the late pop icon in a 1984 Pepsi advert – was expected to fetch between £200,000 and £400,000 at the Propstore London auction in November.
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