Joseph Walter Jackson (July 26, 1928-June 27, 2018) was an American talent manager and patriarch of the Jackson family of entertainers. He was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2014. He was the eldest of five children, and was of African and Native American Ancestry.
Biography[]
Early Life[]
Joseph's early life was marked by hardship and poverty. He grew up in a working-class family and developed a passion for music at a young age.
Family Life[]
During the late 1940s, Jackson would moved to East Chicago, Indiana where he briefly performed with his own blues band, The Falcons, playing guitar. Despite their efforts, The Falcons did not get a recording deal and subsequently broke up. Around this time he also met Kattie B. Screws. Jackson would soon leave his previous relationship to be with and eventually marry Kattie.
Recognizing his children's musical talents, Joseph formed a family musical group in the early 1960s, first working with his three eldest sons Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine. Marlon and Michael joined the band later. Joseph began enforcing long and intense rehearsals for his sons. At first, the group went under The Jackson Brothers later changed to The Jackson 5.
He became their manager, dedicating countless hours to rehearsing and refining their performances. Joseph's rigorous training and strict discipline helped mold his children into skilled musicians and performers.
Under Joseph's guidance, the Jackson 5 achieved remarkable success. They signed with Motown Records in 1968 and went on to release several chart-topping hits, including "I Want You Back," "ABC," and "I'll Be There." Joseph's shrewd business sense led to lucrative deals and opportunities for the group, propelling them to international stardom.
After the Jackson 5 disbanded in the late 1970s, Joseph continued to manage and guide his children's individual careers. He also ventured into other business endeavors, including record labels and talent management companies. Despite some successes, his later years were marred by financial difficulties and family disputes.
Discipline []
Despite Joseph's instrumental role in his children's success, his parenting methods were often criticized for being harsh and demanding. He maintained a strict regime of rehearsals and pushed his children to perfection. His tough approach, while controversial, undeniably shaped the Jackson siblings into exceptional performers.
Joseph's relationship with his son Michael was complex and occasionally strained. While Michael acknowledged his father's influence on his career, he also spoke of the physical and emotional abuse he endured during his upbringing. However, Joseph's impact on Michael's musical journey cannot be overlooked, as he played a significant part in shaping the iconic artist Michael would become.
In the late 1980s, Joseph's fatherly image was tarnished as the media reported stories told by his children that he was abusive towards them. When he managed his family, he allegedly ordered each of them to call him "Joseph", which contributed to several siblings having been estranged from him. Michael claimed that from a young age he abused by his father physically and emotionally but also admitting that his father's strict discipline played a large part in his success.
Joseph admitted to whipping his children with switches and belts as punishment, but said he did not do so at random, and claimed never to have used any hard object as he felt was implied by the word "beating." Despite the abuse allegations, Michael loved his father and ultimately forgave him, stating that it was Joseph's deep-South upbringing during the Great Depression and the Jim Crow years and working-class adulthood hardened him emotionally and made him push his children to succeed as entertainers. Many of the other siblings deny he was very abusive.
Achievements[]
He was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame (2011) and Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award. In 2014, when his late son Michael was posthumously inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award, Jackson accepted the award on his behalf. The following year Jackson himself was awarded the organization's Humanitarian Award. In June 2015, Jackson appeared at the BET Awards 2015 with his daughter Janet as she accepted the Ultimate Icon Award.
Death[]
On July 27, 2015, Jackson was rushed to a hospital after a stroke and heart arrhythmia while celebrating his 87th birthday in Brazil. He was not stable enough to fly out of the country for further treatment until two weeks.
On June 22, 2018, TMZ reported that Jackson was hospitalized in Las Vegas in the final stages of terminal pancreatic cancer. He later died at a hospice in Las Vegas on five days later, only two days after the ninth anniversary of his son's death and less than a month before his 90th birthday.