Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (October 15, 1953 – September 15, 2024) was an American musician. He was a founding member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons), a group who rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with the Motown label and had continued success on the Epic label in the late 1970s and 1980s. Jackson began a solo career in 2003 performing as a blues musician. He was nominated for a Grammy Award three times,[1] and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Jackson 5.[2]
Early life
Jackson was born at St. Mary's Mercy Hospital in Gary, Indiana, on October 15, 1953.[3][4] He was the third of ten children of the Jackson family: Rebbie, Jackie, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Brandon, Michael, Randy, and Janet who lived in a two-bedroom house in Gary. His father, Joseph (July 26, 1928 – June 27, 2018), was a steel mill worker, and played R&B in a band, the Falcons, with his brother Luther. His mother, Katherine (May 4, 1930), is a Jehovah's Witness. She played the piano and the clarinet. At ten years of age, Tito was caught playing his father's guitar after he broke a string.[5] After fixing the string, Joe demanded that he play for him. Once he was finished, Joe bought him his own guitar, and convinced Tito, Jackie, and Jermaine to form a singing group. He was impressed with the vocals of Jackie and Jermaine.[6]
By 1964, Marlon and Michael both joined the group the Jackson 5 after Katherine discovered that they could sing. Katherine is a country-and-western fan, and she sang harmonies with her sons. Before Motown signed them, the brothers spent years rehearsing at home. After school they rehearsed for hours, played a gig, did homework, and went to bed.[7][8][9]
After first performing in school functions and supermarkets, the brothers began participating in local talent shows when Jackson was twelve. By then, his younger brother Michael, then seven, had become the official lead singer of the group. In 1965, they changed their name from the Jackson Brothers to the Jackson Five, and won several talent shows around the Gary area. After winning the Amateur Night competition for the Apollo Theater in August 1967, Joe Jackson began to work part-time at the steel mill to help his sons secure a recording contract. The group signed with Steeltown Records in Gary in November of that year. In January 1968, the Jackson Five's first single, "Big Boy", was released on the Steeltown label.[10]
In 1969, The Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records in Detroit, and scored several hit songs, including their number-one singles "I Want You Back", "ABC", "The Love You Save", and "I'll Be There", but despite his talent as a guitar player, Motown refused to allow Jackson to perform guitar on any of the Jackson 5 recording sessions, instead forcing all their guitar parts to be performed by session musicians.[11] As a direct result, his guitar work did not make its debut until he and the Jacksons left Motown for CBS Records in 1976.[12]
He began writing songs with his brothers during this time. Tito and Jackie Jackson were the most consistently present members of the Jacksons, with Jermaine, Marlon, Michael, and Randy leaving at different times.[11][13] After the end of the Victory Tour, Jackson performed session work and as a record producer. After releasing 2300 Jackson Street, the Jacksons ceased recording work. Jackson was inducted with his brothers into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.[14]
Jackson performing at the Motown 50th anniversary in Detroit in 2009
Jackson began a solo career in 2003 performing as a blues musician in various clubs with his band, which included producer and guitarist Angelo Earl, and a management team that included Ed Tate.[11] In 2007, in the United Kingdom, Jackson appeared as a judge on the BBC celebrity singing competition Just the Two of Us for series two of the show. He replaced singer Lulu, who was a judge on series one. His co-judges were vocal coach CeCe Sammy, musician Stewart Copeland, and radio DJ Trevor Nelson.[16] In 2009, he was the executive producer of The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty, together with his brothers after Michael died.[17]
In 2016, he had his first commercially successful solo single on the Billboard charts with the single, "Get It Baby", featuring Big Daddy Kane from his album Tito Time[18][19] becoming the ninth and final Jackson family sibling to place a solo single on the charts.[20] The album was released in Japan late in 2016, and in the U.S on iTunes in April 2017. Subsequent to its launch, three singles were released to radio in the United States. The first single, "When the Magic Happens", featuring Jocelyn Brown, was released on April 1, 2017. Jackson launched the album for the UK market in September 2017.[21][22][23]
Jackson performed at the 2019 Living Legends foundation's (LLF) Annual Awards Dinner and Gala, performing his single "One Way Street" off his album Tito Time.[24] "One Way Street" features a remix from producer Gregg Pagani, who has worked with Charlie Wilson and Johnny Gill.[25]
On July 9, 2021, Jackson released the first single "Love One Another" from his second solo album "Under Your Spell", released August 6.[26] The single features his brother Marlon Jackson, Kenny Neal, Bobby Rush, and Stevie Wonder. On this album he turned to blues compared to his debut album, Tito Time, which explored more pop and R&B sounds. The album "Under Your Spell" also features collaborations with George Benson, rock guitarist Joe Bonamassa, Grady Champion, Claudette King, The O'Jay's Eddie Levert, and Steven Powell.[27][28]
On March 17, 2023, Jackson teamed up with Brazilian artist Natalia Damini bringing the Motown and the early Jacksons feel back with a new song "Attitude", and a music video. This collaboration came to be because Jackson's long time friend Charve the Don is also Damini's manager.[32][33]
Personal life and death
Jackson in 2019
In June 1972, Jackson married Delores "Dee Dee" Martes at the age of 18, and the couple divorced in 1988.[34][35][36] In 1994, Martes was found dead floating in a swimming pool. The death was originally ruled accidental. Later, Los Angeles businessman Donald Bohana was charged with and, in 1998, found guilty of second-degree murder.[37] The couple had three sons—Taj (b. 1973), Taryll (b. 1975), and TJ (b. 1978)—who comprise the R&B/pop group 3T. Jackson had nine grandchildren.[38][39][40]
Michael Jackson's memorial service was held at the Staples Center on July 7, 2009, in Los Angeles. To honor him, Tito and his brothers Marlon, Jackie, Jermaine, and Randy Jackson served as pallbearers, each wearing a single spangled white glove and sunglasses.[41] On the 12th anniversary of Michael's death, Jackson told Manchester Evening News that he turned to Michael's music in remembrance of his brother. In the 2021 interview, Jackson said that because of his brother's death, the month of June is difficult to deal with. He also defended his brother from allegations levied against him.[42]
On September 15, 2024, Jackson suffered a heart attack and died at the age of 70 in Gallup, New Mexico. Jackson was on a road trip with his business partner Terry Harvey to transport Jackson's antique cars from California to his new residence in Claremore, Oklahoma when he began sweating and complaining of chest pains.[43][44][45] Gallup police stated they were alerted to Jackson being in need of medical attention near a mall before he was taken by ambulance to a local hospital, where he was pronounced dead.[46]
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