Tito Jackson, a founding member of the Jackson 5 who became teen heartthrobs in the 1970s with his brothers Jackie, Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Michael and sang hits such as “ABC” and “I'll Be There,” has died, his family said. He was 70.
On Monday morning, his three sons — Taj, Taryll and TJ — announced his death in a statement on the Instagram account dedicated to his music group, 3T. The statement did not say when, where or how he died.
“Some of you may know him as Tito Jackson of the legendary Jackson 5, some may know him as 'Coach Tito,' or some may know him as 'Poppa T,'” the statement said. “Regardless, he will be greatly missed.”
The Jackson 5, which for a short time was one of the most popular boy bands in the United States, was responsible for launching the solo career of Michael Jackson, who earned the title of “King of Pop” and became one of the most acclaimed musicians of all time. The singer, songwriter and dancer died in 2009 at age 50.
From their humble beginnings in Gary, Indiana, to their varying levels of success, the story of the Jackson 5 has been well documented and was even the subject of a five-hour miniseries in 1992 called “The Jacksons: An American Dream.”
Born in Gary to Joe and Katherine Jackson, Toriano Edrill Jackson is primarily remembered as the group’s guitarist, a skill he learned by watching his father. The elder Mr. Jackson died in 2018.
In a 2019 interview with Vlad TV, Tito Jackson said that as a child, he would regularly play his father's guitar behind his back.
“One day my string broke and I didn't know what to do about it,” he said. “He came home and saw that the string was broken and he was very upset about that.”
Mr. Jackson said that after punishing him, his father told him to show what he knew. His father gave him a guitar and instructed him to learn every song that came on the radio.
The family soon formed the Jackson Brothers, including young Michael, who was given a spot in the band after impressing the family with a performance of “Climb Every Mountain” at a talent show. The band was later renamed the Jackson 5 after someone suggested it after a performance at a wedding.
The Jackson 5 were household names in the 1970s, appearing regularly on television, sometimes alongside Cher or Diana Ross. Their music – across more than a dozen albums – provided the soundtrack for a generation of young people and inspired a level of fan following now perhaps reserved only for elite pop stars such as Taylor Swift and Beyoncé.
“I remember when we first went to the UK, there were about 10,000 screaming fans at the airport to welcome us,” Mr Jackson told Sister Circle TV in 2019. “I got lost in the airport and there were 1,000 fans chasing me, dragging me everywhere. It was crazy.”
Three of the Jackson 5's biggest songs, “ABC”, “I Want You Back” and “I'll Be There”, were inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The group was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 along with The Bee Gees.
Mr. Jackson continued to work in the music business over the years, releasing a solo album, “Tito Time,” in 2016, and touring with some of his brothers. The group, now called The Jacksons, was scheduled to perform in Atlantic City, N.J., in October and Cincinnati in November.
“We've always said the fans make the artists,” Mr Jackson told Sister Circle TV. “We go to work, we make music and we do all these other things, but it's actually the fans who love it and buy it.”