This was the third of four consecutive #1 hits for the Jackson 5, following their Motown debut "I Want You Back" and its follow-up, "ABC." After "The Love You Save", "I'll Be There" went to the top, giving the group a total of 10 weeks at the top in 1970. The first three were written and produced by a Motown collective known as "The Corporation": Freddie Perren, Deke Richards, Fonce Mizell, and Berry Gordy Jr. Gordy was head of the label and assigned them that name, which kept the focus on the team instead of the individuals within it - if one member deigned to leave, he could replace him.
The song is about a girl who is moving through guys a little too fast. The singer wants her to slow down before she ruins her reputation. It's a theme that's been explored in pop songs before, but this time it's framed in a schoolyard because it's sung by Michael Jackson, who was 11 years old at the time.
The soul singer Joe Tex had a minor hit in 1966 with a ballad called "The Love You Save (May Be Your Own)," where he asks his girl to stop and get it right, because "the love you save may be your own." That phrase and sentiment were borrowed for the Jackson 5's "The Love You Save."
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