Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson was on October 15, 1953 in Gary Indiana. In 1963 at age ten, his father caught him playing his guitar and the string broke. After he played for his father, Joe decided to form a band called "The Jackson Brothers" featuring Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine. Later, younger brothers Marlon and Michael joined in and they became "The Jackson 5".
Early Life[]
He is the third of ten children in a black working-class family who lived in a two-room house in Gary, Indiana. His father, Joseph, was a steel mill worker. His mother, Katherine, is a devout Jehovah's Witness. At ten years of age, he was caught playing his father's guitar after he broke a string. After fixing the string, Joe demanded that his son play for him. Once he was finished, Jackson's father bought him his own guitar. Shortly thereafter, Joseph convinced Tito, Jackie, and Jermaine to form a singing group, having been impressed with the vocals of Jackie and Jermaine.
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, Indiana, in November of that year. In January 1968, the Jackson Five's first single, "Big Boy," was released on the Steeltown label.
In 1969, the Jackson 5 signed with Motown Records in Detroit, and scored several hit songs, including the 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 Tito to perform guitar on any of the Jackson 5 recording sessions, instead forcing all their guitar parts to be performed by session musicians. As a direct result, Tito's guitar work did not make its debut until he and the Jacksons left Motown for CBS Records in 1976.
He also began writing songs with his brothers during this time. Throughout his tenure as a Jackson 5 and Jacksons member, Tito can be heard on many album recordings, such as "Zippee Doo Da" and "Man Of War." Tito, along with Jackie, were the most consistently present members of the Jacksons, with Jermaine, Marlon, Michael, and Randy leaving at different times. After the end of the Victory Tour, Tito performed session work and as a record producer. After releasing 2300 Jackson Street, the Jacksons ceased recording work.
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. 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. During the tenure of his brothers' reality series, The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty (2009), which was produced, released, and transmitted after his brother Michael had died, he served as one of the executive producers alongside his other brothers.
On December 21, 2016, Tito Jackson released his first solo album titled ‘Tito Time’ under Epic Records. The album became a hit and spawned the hit single "Get It Baby” which featured Big Daddy Kane. Some of the other songs of the album are "When the Magic Happens", "Put it on Me", "We Made it" and "One Way Street".
Trivia[]
- At the age of 18, he married Delores "Dee Dee" Martes. The couple had three sons had three sons, Toriano Adaryll Jackson, Jr., Taryll Adren Jackson and Tito Joe Jackson, all of whom are musicians and comprise the group 3T. They divorced in 1987.