ABC (The Jackson 5 song)
"ABC" is a 1970 #1 hit by The Jackson 5. It was released on February 24. "ABC" knocked The Beatles' "Let It Be" off the top of the Billboard Hot 100 in 1970, and was #1 on the soul singles chart for four weeks.
Written with a similar structure and feel as the Jacksons' first hit of 1970, "I Want You Back". ABC was performed on television on American Bandstand, The Ed Sullivan Show, and The Flip Wilson Show, among many other broadcasts. "ABC" is considered one of the band's signature songs. It is one of the shortest titles to hit #1, and is the first alphabetically in a list of #1 hits on the Billboard Hot 100. The upbeat lyrics compare learning to love to learning the alphabet. This makes it similar to Len Barry's 1965 hit "1-2-3." The song is considered by some to be one of the first disco songs.
50 Cent told NME that the song was the first he remembered hearing: "I've always loved MJ, so I guess it was probably a good place to start music: right here, with the ABCs." On November 7, 2016, the Grammy Hall of Fame announced its induction, along with that of another 24 songs.
The song was parodied by Stay Human and Stephen Colbert bandleader Jon Batiste in a funny and witty sketch for his Late Show, called Jon Batiste Sings Classic Valentine's Day Black History Month Love Songs, that parodied 60', 70' and 80' hit songs and turns their original text as tributes to great black celebs and activists, in this case the legendary civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. and the president at the time of his work, Lyndon B. Johnson, that united together for fight the Ku Ku Klan, that Batiste gleefully tells to “suck it” in the end of the parody song.
Charts
| Chart | Peak position |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 43 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 38 |
| UK Singles Chart | 50 |