Gordon Keith (producer)

Gordon Keith (1939-), was the first person to sign a recording contract with the Jackson 5 and release their records.In 1966, he and four friends founded Steeltown Records in Gary, Indiana, with each able to manage, record, and sign local talent themselves in and around Gary. The quality of the music and dance scene was high in and near Gary. Vivian Carter, founder of VeeJay Records, and The Spaniels, a prominent Doo-wop group, are examples of Gary's musical culture. Keith states that each Steeltown partner individually discovered, signed, and took the responsibility and any profit for each signed individual or group, using Steeltown Records (Steeltown label) as an umbrella to promote name recognition. Keith points out that he had himself went solo as a vocalist in the 1960s because he wearied of the lack of discipline and commitment of so many of the young singers he sang doo-wop songs with. Therefore, he was looking not only for talent, but talent with a disciplined professional attitude and commitment.

Keith produced four Jackson 5 tracks on the Steeltown label. Most notable, was the Jackson 5's first single "Big Boy", sung by Michael Jackson. Keith, who was president of Steeltown Records in 1967, signed "The Jackson Five" to a six-month management and recording contract with him on November 21 that year, at a time when, oddly, not one of the numerous labels in the region would take them on. After "Big Boy" was released by Keith on January 31, 1968, it played on the radio and sold regionally in the Chicago-Gary area. The Jackson 5 recorded "Big Boy" at Sunny Sawyer's recording studio on West 69th Street, on the South Side of Chicago, which was the home of the vibrant Chicago Soul sound of the time, and had many fine session musicians, songwriters, and production studios. The quality and potential heard in the "Big Boy" recording were such that Jerry Wexler of Atlantic Records sought out Keith and made a contract with him on March 5, 1968, to have ATCO, a division of Atlantic Records, distribute "Big Boy" nationally. Atlantic Records/Atco in New York City pressed and distributed several thousand copies of "Big Boy" with the Steeltown label and many are still in existence, as are the preceding versions distributed by Keith in Gary. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum owns a copy of one of the original "Big Boy"/"You Changed" records (Steeltown #681), and this was on display there in 2010.

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