By 1968, The Jackson 5 were a headlining act for the All Star Floor Show at Chicago's The Guys' and Gals' Cocktail Lounge and Restaurant. From August 12–27, 1968, The Jackson 5 opened for Motown acts [Gladys Knight & The Pips and Bobby Taylor & the Vancouvers] at Chicago's Regal Theater. The brothers caught Knight's attention, whereby she tried to get Motown brass to come to Chicago to see the boys. Taylor was also very impressed with the boys, and he decided to make the commitment to bring them to Detroit and Motown. Joseph and The Jackson Five stayed on the floor of Bobby Taylor's Detroit apartment the night of July 22, while Taylor and Motown executive [[Suzanne de Passe] arranged for The Jackson Five to audition for the label.

On July 23, The Jackson Five had their Motown audition, for which they performed James Brown’s then current hit "I Got the Feelin'". Berry Gordy was not in attendance, but the audition was videotaped and sent to him in Los Angeles. Gordy's initial reluctance to sign the group disappeared when he finally saw the boys perform. Gordy decided to sign The Jackson Five to Motown, and hosted a party at his Detroit mansion on November 25, 1968 to introduce them to the Motown staff and stars.

Motown began negotiations to buy out The Jackson Five's Steeltown contract, completing the deal in March 1969. By the summer, Bobby Taylor began producing the group's first recordings at Motown's Hitsville U.S.A. recording studio in Detroit. The early Taylor-produced Jackson Five records were all covers of both contemporary hits and Motown-standards, including Sly & the Family Stone's "Stand!" and their famous rendition of The Miracles' "Who's Lovin' You", written by Smokey Robinson.

Gordy moved The Jackson Five and Joseph to California, and he and Suzanne de Passe began the process of grooming them as the label's next big act, while the rest of the family remained in Gary. While looking for a house in California, Joseph, Jermaine, Tito, and Jackie lived with Berry Gordy, Marlon and Michael lived with Diana Ross in her California home. Before releasing their first single, Motown renamed them slightly from "The Jackson Five" to "The Jackson 5".

Motown's marketing team prepared press kits and other promotional material to begin The Jackson 5's entrance into the mainstream music industry. Motown publicity significantly altered the group's history, publicizing the ages of most of its band mates as younger than they were - Michael's age changed from eleven to eight to make him appear cuter and identifying unrelated band musicians Johnny Jackson and Ronnie Rancifer as cousins of The Jacksons. In a major marketing coup, Gordy and Motown decided to attach the group to an established star to increase public curiosity. Thus, it was decided that Motown star Diana Ross would "discover" the group as was explained in all early press kits.  According to their official Motown biography, referenced in several early interviews and liner notes, Diana Ross (and, in some versions of the story, Berry Gordy alongside her) was introduced to The Jackson 5 by Gary, Indiana's mayor, Richard G. Hatcher, at a benefit concert that The Jackson 5 were described as having played for the mayor in 1969. Impressed, Ross (and Gordy) had the act signed.

The Jackson 5 practiced and rehearsed continuously during the late summer and early fall of 1969. Diana Ross formally introduced The Jackson 5 to the public on August 11, 1968, at a Beverly Hills, California club called "The Daisy." Towards the end of August, The Jackson 5 made their first television appearance, singing The Isley Brothers' "It's Your Thing" at the Miss Black America Pageant in Madison Square Garden, New York City.

The Jackson 5's first single, "I Want You Back", was written and produced by four Motown songwriters and producers — Berry Gordy, Alphonzo Mizell, Deke Richards, and Freddie Perren — who were collectively billed as "The Corporation". "I Want You Back" was released as a single for The Jackson 5, as Motown decided to officially bill the group, on October 7. The group performed "I Want You Back", Sly & the Family Stone's "Sing a Simple Song", The Delfonics' "Can You Remember", and James Brown's "There Was a Time" as part of their appearance on The Hollywood Palace as special guests of Diana Ross & the Supremes. "I Want You Back" was the only single from The Jackson 5's first album, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, which was released in December 1969. The song reached number one in January, 1970.

Source: The Jackson 5 - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia