Battle of the boogie

In 1977 Mick (real name: Michael) Jackson recorded “Blame It On The Boogie” hoping he could sell the song to Stevie Wonder. That never happened. Eventually his publisher offered the song to Peter Kerstin (manager of The Jacksons) without his knowledge. Mick Jackson decided to release the song himself not knowing The Jackson quickly recorded the song for them as well.

The song was going to be released as a single for both of them with only one day delay inbetween. By then "The Battle of the Boogie" has started. The press enjoyed the similarity in names of the artists singing the song and the release date coincidence. 2 different Michael Jacksons. Melody Maker wrongly stated that the Jacksons written the song themselves due to the name of composer coincidence.

The Jacksons - Blame It On The Boogie (single cover)

The winner of the battle was without a doubt The Jacksons who finally reached stardom under that name instead of Jackson 5 under which name they already had many big hits. Mick reached #15 and the The Jacksons #8 in the UK.

Mick Jackson - Blame It On The Boogie (single cover)

With the follow-up single for both artists Mick was the winner with his “Weekend” reaching #38. The Jacksons reached #39 with their “Destiny” only one point behind. To promote their follow-ups both Michael Jacksons appeared on Top Of The Pops in the same edition of the TV show. At least Mick Jackson didn't turn out to be a one-hit-wonder.

follow up singles: Mick Jackson - Weekend / The Jacksons - Destiny

Mick Jackson worked with artists like David Knopfler and Lisa Stansfield later in his career. The success of the Jacksons is known all over the world especially the one of Michael Jackson. They continued to have more hits as well as Michael and Jermaine solely.