In November of 1967, The Jackson 5 recorded their first song ever and the world would never be the same. The recording, “Big Boy,” features nine-year-old Michael Jackson flaunting his already flawless vocals while his brothers play all the instruments and sing backup vocals. Steeltown Records, a small independent label in Gary Indiana, released the group’s debut single, and it was a regional hit, selling over 10,000 copies. A mere one year later, The Jackson 5 went on to sign with Motown Records and become the international superstars we know them as, changing the landscape of music forever.
Serving as a relic of musical history, the master recordings of “Big Boy” were thought to be lost for over 25 years. In 1995, the Jackson’s family friend and Steeltown’s former co-owner, Ben Brown, discovered the tapes in his kitchen pantry and reissued the single via Inverted Records. However, until 2014, the only way this recording could be heard was via CD, 45 or cassette tape — none of which were easy to come by. Now, thanks to our partnership with Secret Stash Records, “Big Boy” has found a home at Marmoset and is available for listening and licensing. We are incredibly humbled to represent this rare and iconic song, and can’t wait to see the creative ways it’s used with picture. Listen to the original 1967 recording below.
