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THE KING OF POP ENCYCLOPEDIA
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Victory

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This article is about the album by the Jacksons. You may have been looking for the unreleased song by Michael Jackson.

Victory is the fifteenth studio album by American pop band The Jacksons, released through Epic Records on July 2, 1984. This is the only time all six Jackson brothers were included together as an official group. Victory peaked at number four on the US Billboard 200 albums chart. The most successful single, "State of Shock", peaked at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100 songs chart.

Victory was promptly supported by the Victory Tour, with Michael, who recently released the world's all-time best-selling album, Thriller (1982), being prominently featured on the tour's setlist. None of the songs from Victory were performed on the tour, however. Shortly afterward, Michael and Marlon Jackson quit the group to pursue solo careers.[1] Jermaine, Tito, Randy, and Jackie Jackson continued as The Jacksons and released one more album, 1989's 2300 Jackson Street (whose title track did feature all six Jackson brothers, along with their sisters Janet and Rebbie), before splitting up.

Victory was certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in the United States in October 1984, and sold 7 million copies worldwide.[2][3]

Background[]

Following the performance and reunion on the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special in 1983, Jermaine decided to return to the group, having left Motown after nine years as a full-fledged soloist. His brothers left Motown for Epic in 1975, but despite the reunion, the brothers rarely worked together on the album; it was mainly composed of solo songs the brothers each worked on during that time. Each brother had a solo song on the album: Michael on "Be Not Always", Randy on "One More Chance" (not to be confused with their 1970 song of the same name from their ABC album), and "The Hurt", Tito on "We Can Change the World", Jackie on "Wait" and Marlon on "Body". Jermaine only sings co-lead vocals with Michael on "Torture". He also performs ad-libs on "Wait" and is additionally named as a background vocalist on "One More Chance" and "The Hurt". "Torture" was originally planned to be a duet between Michael and Jackie (the song's writer), but when Jermaine officially re-joined the group, he took over the parts intended for Jackie (who can still be heard during the song's chorus and ad-libs).

The album only had two videos—for the songs "Torture" and "Body"—and neither Jermaine nor Michael appeared in either one. A wax dummy of Michael from Madame Tussauds acted as a stand-in for the "Torture" video.

Michael recorded "State of Shock", a duet originally recorded with Queen lead vocalist Freddie Mercury. The duo were unable to finish the track however, so Michael ended up recording a second version of the track with Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger.

Artwork[]

Tensions reportedly grew between the brothers during the recording sessions and as a result, minimal publicity photography was done. The official album cover art at the request and demand of the label, instead features a very detailed illustrated painting of the band. The album cover art was commissioned from famed science fiction and fantasy book cover illustrator, Michael Whelan. The cover art features the brothers, in a cartoon adventure theme.[4]

Singles[]

Track list[]

Standard edition
No.TitleLength
1."Torture"4:53
2."Wait"5:25
3."One More Chance"5:06
4."Be Not Always"5:36
5."State of Shock" (featuring Mick Jagger)4:30
6."We Can Change the World"4:45
7."The Hurt"5:26
8."Body"5:06
Total length:40:47

Remastered version[]

A remastered version was released in July 2009 in Japan only, with cardboard sleeve (mini LP) packaging. It was part of a six-album Jacksons cardboard sleeve (mini LP) reissue series, featuring the albums The Jacksons (1976), Goin' Places (1977), Destiny (1978), Triumph (1980), and The Jacksons Live! (1981), with a digital expanded reissue being released on April 30, 2021, alongside other Jacksons albums.

Cut songs[]

References[]

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