Tito Jackson, member of the Jackson 5, dies at 70 : NPR

Tito Jackson, who alongside four of his brothers formed the beloved and hugely popular band the Jackson 5, has died at age 70.

His sons — Taj, Taryll and TJ — announced his death early Monday on the Instagram page belonging to their R&B band, 3T. They did not specify how, where or when Jackson died.

“Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” they wrote. “Some of you may know him as Tito Jackson from the legendary Jackson 5, some may know him as ‘Coach Tito’ or some know him as ‘Poppa T.’ Nevertheless, he will be missed tremendously.”

Born in Gary, Ind. on October 15, 1953, Toriano Adaryll Jackson grew up the third of nine siblings, all of whom eventually started careers in music or other entertainment.

The Jackson Five, photographed here in the U.K. in 1972, included the Jackson brothers (from left to right) Jermaine, Tito, Jackie, Michael and Marlon (Randy, who would join the group when it became the Jacksons later in the decade, is at the back).

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At nine years old, Jackson began singing and competing in talent shows, including at the Apollo Theatre, with his brothers — Michael, Jackie, Jermaine and Marlon — in a band known as The Jackson Brothers. Managed by their father Joe Jackson, the quintet was signed to Motown Records in 1968. The Jackson 5’s first hit with the label, “I Want You Back,” was released in 1969 and went to No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January of 1970. Their next three singles were just as big: “ABC”, “I’ll Be There” and “The Love You Save,” all topped the pop chart before the end of that same year.

In a 2018 interview, Tito Jackson recalled that while they were signed with Motown, the young members of the group were not able to write or produce their music. And though Jackson was a guitarist in the band and had been playing the instrument since he was 10, he did not play on their albums under Motown. 

“I understood the guys in the studio were better than me. I was only a teenager. We replicated what they did on stage pretty well. We didn’t have any tracks or samples back then,” he said.

That changed when they were signed to Epic Records in 1976 under a new name, the Jacksons; Tito co-wrote hit songs “Everybody” and “We Can Change The World” on albums like Triumph and Victory.

Tito and his siblings would find success outside of the group. In particular, it served as a launching pad for Michael Jackson’s iconic solo career. Other siblings, including Janet, would also build their own music legacies.

In 1997, Tito was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Jackson 5. Across his career, he also received three Grammy nominations.

During an interview in 2021, Jackson said was inspired to play music when he was a child after watching his father and uncle play the blues every weekend.

He was the last of all of the Jackson siblings to embark on a solo career. In 2016, he put out Tito Time, which featured a single, “Get It Baby,” that featured Big Daddy Kane and reached No. 20 on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay chart. His second album, Under Your Spell, released in 2021, showed off his blues influences. The single “Love One Another” was a collaboration with his brother Marlon, as well as Stevie Wonder, Bobby Rush and Kenny Neal.

“Now I’m older, my kids are gone and grown,” he said at the time. “I don’t have to raise kids, you know? I got married a week out of high school and I basically wanted to be there. Be a husband and be a father. And I had The Jackson 5 that kept me tremendously busy. I didn’t see any sense in chasing a solo career on top of that, but now it’s my time.”

In their announcement of his death, Tito’s sons called for fans to remember “what our father always preached and that is ‘Love One Another.’”

“It will forever be ‘Tito Time’ for us,” they wrote.