The title track and "Rockin' Robin," a Bobby Day cover, were released as Got to Be There's first two singles and became back-to-back hits on the US Billboard Hot 100 at number four and number two, respectively. Third single "I Wanna Be Where You Are" peaked at number 29 on the same chart on June 24, 1972. In the United Kingdom, Jackson's version of Withers's "Ain't No Sunshine" was issued as the album's third single. It reached number 8 on the UK Singles Chart.[6]
Rolling Stone (12/7/1972, p. 68) - "...slick, artful and every bit as good as the regular Jackson 5 product...a sweetly touching voice...innocence and utter professionalism...fascinating and finally irresistible..." In a retrospective review, Rob Theakston from AllMusic rated the album two and a half out of five stars. He found that "as a cohesive album, Got to Be There is wildly erratic, and his covers of "You've Got a Friend" and "Ain't No Sunshine" show Jackson's versatility as a singer."[7] Leah Greenblatt from Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+ rating. She found that "highlights include a jaunty cover of "Rockin' Robin," the wistful title track, and the soaring '"I Wanna Be Where You Are"."[8]
Commercial performance
Got to Be There peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard 200 and number three on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart when it was released.[9][10] On August 2, 2013, over forty years after its original release, it was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over 500,000 copies.[11] In 2009, The album was later remastered and reissued as part of the 3-disc compilation Hello World: The Motown Solo Collection.[12]Got to Be There sold over 750,000 copies within the first 3 weeks of release.[13]Got to Be There sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.[14]
^Lecocq, Richard; Allard, François (2018). "Bad". Michael Jackson All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track. London, England: Cassell. ISBN9781788400572.
^Bernadette McNulty (26 June 2009). "Michael Jackson's music: the solo albums". The Telegraph. Retrieved 14 November 2019. Motown chief Berry Gordy pushed Jackson's first solo album firmly into the mould of his label's sound: lush, harmonious, optimistic, innocent pop
^Chery, Carl: XXL: Michael Jackson Special Collectors Edition, page 100. American Press.
^ abGreenblatt, Leah (July 3, 2009). "Michael Jackson's Albums". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on September 11, 2010. Retrieved April 6, 2010.
^Abreu, Ruy Miguel. "Michael Jackson: a estrela sem cor". Blitz (in Portuguese). Impresa. Archived from the original on October 14, 2021. Retrieved October 13, 2021. "Got to Be There" was the first release integrated into this strategy, Michael's official solo debut that sold well in excess of a million and a half copies and immediately made it clear that the Top 5 was within reach of a child.
