Tito Jackson's siblings: All about his brothers and sisters
The Jackson family is mourning the death of Tito Jackson, one of the founding members of The Jackson 5.
The singer’s sons, Tariano (Taj), Taryll and Tito Joe (TJ), announced the news of their father’s death on social media.
“It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that our beloved father, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson is no longer with us. We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken,” read their post, which was also shared on Tito Jackson’s official Instagram page.
Tito Jackson was a member of The Jackson 5, the group that launched the career of Michael Jackson and three of their brothers, Marlon Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Jackie Jackson. Another sibling, Randy Jackson, later joined the group, replacing Jermaine.
The Jackson 5 included just some of the siblings of the Jackson family, raised by parents Joe and Katherine Jackson.
There are now seven living Jackson siblings: Rebbie Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, La Toya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, Randy Jackson and Janet Jackson.
Tito Jackson died in 2024 and Michael Jackson died in 2009.
Read on to learn more about each of the Jackson siblings.
Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson, born Aug. 29, 1958, rose to fame as a member of The Jackson 5, making his debut in the group and soon emerged as the lead singer.
He released his debut solo album in 1972, “Got to Be There,” when he was just 13, and released his second studio album, “Ben,” the same year.
Jackson went on to become one of the most influential artists of the past century. Nicknamed the King of Pop, Jackson released some of the most memorable singles of the 1980s, including “Beat It,” “Billie Jean” and “Bad.”
His 1982 album, “Thriller,” holds a Guinness World Record for the world’s best-selling album.
He was also induced twice into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame — first in 1997 as part of The Jackson 5, and again in 2001 as a solo artist.
Jackson faced allegations of sexual abuse over the years, some of which were outlined in the 2019 documentary, “Leaving Neverland.”
The singer died on June 25, 2009, at age 50. His cause of death was “acute propofol intoxication,” the Los Angeles County coroner’s office said at the time, per The Associated Press.
Jackson’s physician, Dr. Conrad Murray, was later found guilty of involuntary manslaughter for providing Jackson with propofol, according to NBC News.
Tito Jackson
Tito Jackson, born October 15, 1953, per IMDb, was the third child in the Jackson family.
His musical talents emerged at an early age, according to a family anecdote shared by the official Jacksons website.
When Tito Jackson was 8, his dad, Joe Jackson, noticed his son had been playing his guitar every day. Joe Jackson knew two of his other sons, Jackie and Jermaine, were talented singers, and he apparently began to envision forming a musical group with his children.
Tito Jackson co-wrote multiple songs for The Jacksons, according to his website, including 1978’s “Everybody,” “Destiny” and “Push Away.”
He released his debut solo album, “Tito Time,” in 2016, and a second solo album, “Under Your Spell,” in 2021.
Jackson also collaborated with his sons, Taj, Taryll and TJ, who formed a group called 3T.
In 2021, he released a new song, “Love One Another,” featuring 3T and Stevie Wonder. Several of his siblings appeared in the song’s music video, including Janet Jackson, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson, La Toya Jackson, Marlon Jackson, and Randy Jackson, as well as their mother, Katherine Jackson.
On Sept. 16, 2024, his family announced that he had died
Jermaine Jackson
Jermaine Jackson was born Dec. 11, 1954, and was a founding member of The Jackson 5, singing and playing bass guitar in the group.
When The Jackson 5 moved to CBS and rebranded as The Jacksons, Jermaine stayed behind at the band’s previous Motown label, a decision that “shocked his brothers,” according to the official The Jacksons website.
Like many of his siblings, Jermaine Jackson, now 69, pursued a solo career during his time as a member of The Jackson 5. He released his debut solo album, “Jermaine,” in 1972, and went on to release several more albums over the coming decades, including “Precious Moments” (1986), “Don’t Take It Personal” (1989) and “I Wish You L.O.V.E” (2012), per Spotify.
One of Jermaine’s sons, Jaafar Jackson, 28, is set to play Michael Jackson in an upcoming biopic about the late singer, “Michael.”
Sigmund 'Jackie' Jackson
Jackie Jackson, born May 4, 1951, is the oldest Jackson brother and the second oldest Jackson sibling.
He was a founding member of The Jackson 5, and remained with the group when it was rebranded as The Jacksons in 1976. Along with the other members of The Jackson 5, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.
Jackson, now 73, released his first solo album, “Jackie Jackson,” in 1973, and a second studio album, “Be the One,” in 1989.
In the ‘80s, he co-wrote songs for two of his sisters, Rebbie and LaToya, according to the official website of The Jacksons, and he produced various movie soundtracks, including the theme for 1987’s “Burglar.”
He also founded the music label Critically Amused, which represents “genres ranging from electronic dance music to island influenced reggae and everything in between,” according to the label’s website.
Between 2012 and 2013, he and brothers Jermaine Jackson, Tito Jackson and Marlon Jackson went on a unity tour, performing some of The Jackson 5’s most beloved hits.
“When we do the Michael songs, we have the backdrop, people start crying and sometimes we tear up on stage when we’re singing the songs,” he told the Asbury Park Press in 2013, per USA Today. “Then we break out an up-tempo tune which makes people laugh and dance in their seats, so it’s like a bittersweet moment.”
Marlon Jackson
Marlon Jackson, born March 12, 1957, was a founding member of the Jackson 5.
He released one solo album in 1987 titled “Baby Tonight.”
Marlon Jackson, now 67, has been involved in various non-musical ventures throughout his career. In 1999, he co-founded the Major Broadcasting Cable Network, which was the only African American-owned and operate cable TV network in the U.S., according to Black Enterprise. The network changed its name to Black Family Channel in 2004, per Black Enterprise.
In a 2017 interview with The Guardian, Marlon Jackson reflected on his younger days in The Jackson 5, and recalled the hijinks he would get up to with his younger brother, Michael.
“Michael and I were such pranksters,” he said. “We’d put itching powder on men’s bald spots, or put a bucket of water over a door so that when someone walked in they’d get a soaking. We never threw televisions out of windows. Our first album was called Diana Ross Presents the Jackson 5, but she wasn’t that much older than us and had a lot of kid in her. We were always having pillow fights.”
Randy Jackson
Randy Jackson, born Oct. 29, 1961, is the youngest Jackson brother.
He made his first appearance with The Jackson 5 in 1971, according to Randy Jackson's official website, but he didn’t become an official member of the group until five years later, when he replaced his brother, Jermaine Jackson, who departed from the group.
Randy Jackson, now 62, has played the bongos, keyboard, drums, bass and guitar, according to the official website of The Jacksons.
He later formed a band called Randy & the Gypsys, which released one eponymous album in 1989, per The Jacksons' website
La Toya Jackson
La Toya Jackson was born May 29, 1956, per IMDb.
While she was not a member of The Jackson 5, she appeared alongside seven of her siblings, including Michael Jackson, in the family’s CBS variety show, The Jacksons, from 1976 to 1977.
She launched her solo career in 1980 with her debut studio album, “La Toya Jackson.”
In a 1985 interview with the Spokane Chronicle, she opened up about her desire to forge her own musical path, saying she “begged” for her first album to just be called “La Toya.”
“But my father said, ‘It’s your last name. You got to use it,’” she recalled. “But I wanted to see what I could do as an individual.”
Jackson, now 68, released several studio albums in the 1980s and ‘90s, including “Heart Don’t Lie” (1984) and “Stop in the Name of Love” (1995).
She has also appeared on TV over the years. From 2013 to 2014, she starred in “Life with La Toya,” a reality series about her life that aired on the Oprah Winfrey Network.
She has also appeared on “Celebrity Big Brother,” “The Celebrity Apprentice” and “The Masked Singer.”
Janet Jackson
Janet Jackson, born May 16, 1966, is the youngest Jackson sibling.
She appeared alongside her siblings in their variety show, "The Jacksons," and she went on to launch her solo career in 1982 with her debut album, “Janet Jackson.”
Janet Jackson, now 58, has opened up about the influence her father, Joe Jackson, had on her early career.
“My father was in charge of my life, my career, and he was my manager,” she said in a 2022 A&E documentary about her life.
She also said she lacked creative input in her first two studio albums.
“It was really about their albums. The kind of music that they wanted me to make. I didn’t write any of the material,” she said. “It was just a matter of going to the studio, doing what they wanted you to do, and then you leave.”
Janet Jackson also worked as a child actor, appearing on 1980s shows including “Diff’rent Strokes” and “Fame.”
In her 2022 documentary, Janet Jackson opened up about feeling a lack of agency when it came to one of her earlier acting roles.
“I didn’t want to be on ‘Fame.’ I didn’t want to do the show,” she said. “The kids were great, but I just didn’t want to do that. I did it for my father.”
Janet Jackson broke through as a pop icon in her own right with her third studio album, “Control” (1986) which she created independently of her dad.
“I’m not saying I don’t want to be a part of the Jackson family, because that’s my name. But I wanted this record to be my own,” she told People in 1986.
Jackson went on to release several more studio albums, and has sold more than 100 million records, according to BBC News.
Rebbie Jackson
Rebbie Jackson, born May 29, 1950, per IMDb, is the oldest Jackson sibling. She appeared alongside her brothers and sisters, apart from Jermaine, in “The Jacksons” in the mid 1970s.
Like many of her siblings, she transitioned to a solo career. She released her debut studio album, “Centipede,” in 1984, and went on two release three more albums: “Reaction” (1986), “R U Tuff Enuff” (1988) and “Yours Faithfully” (1998), per Spotify.
She also performed on the soundtrack of “Free Willy 2: The Adventure Home,” according to her IMDb profile.
This article was originally published on TODAY.com
