Tito Jackson Passed Away!

Tito Jackson and 3T. The group and Jackson family announced Tito's passing.

The Jackson family announce the passing of Tito Jackson. Jackson suffered a heart attack and died while driving to Oklahoma from New Mexico. He was 70.

"It’s with heavy hearts that we announce that our beloved father, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson is no longer with us. We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken," his sons TJ, Taj and Taryll said in the post. They added that "he will be missed tremendously. It will forever be “Tito Time” for us."

He passed away 30 days before his 71st birthday in October. He was an original member of the Jackson 5 (later known as the Jacksons), who rose to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with the Motown label and later had continued success with the group on the Epic label in the late 1970s and 1980s. Tito began a solo career in 2003 performing as a blues musician. Throughout his career, he was nominated for three Grammy Awards, and was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Jackson 5.

Born Toriano Adaryll Jackson at St. Mary's Mercy Hospital in Gary, Indiana, on October 15, 1953. 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, was a steel mill worker, and played R&B in a band, the Falcons, with his brother Luther. His mother, Katherine, 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. 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.

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 got to bed.

The Jackson 5 are known for hits including "ABC" and "I Want You Back," sung by a young Michael Jackson, that were released after they signed with the Motown label in 1969.

The Jacksons (5).

The Jackson family was raised in Gary, Indiana, with the group managed by their domineering father, Joe Jackson.

The Jackson 5 achieved huge chart success but their career was overshadowed by the solo career of Michael Jackson, who went on to become one of the most successful and recognizable musical stars of the century, before he died aged 50 in 2009.

Tito Jackson, who was prevented from playing guitar on Jackson 5 records in favor of session musicians, later launched his own career as a solo blues musician in 2003.

In June 1972, Jackson married Delores "Dee Dee" Martes at the age of 18, and the couple divorced in 1988. In 1994, Martes was found deceased 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.

The couple have three sons — Taj (born 1973), Taryll (born 1975),, and TJ (born 1978)—who comprise the R&B / pop group 3T. Jackson has nine grandchildren.