Joe Jackson

**Joseph Walter "Joe" Jackson** (born July 26, 1928) was an American talent manager and the patriarch of The Jackson Family of entertainers.

## Early Life

Jackson was born in Fountain Hill, Arkansas to Samuel Joseph Jackson (April 4, 1893-October 31, 1993), a schoolteacher and Crystal Lee King (May 1907-November 4, 1992). However, according to the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame and Katherine Jackson's book My Family, The Jacksons, his year of birth was 1929. He was the eldest of five children and was of African and Native American Ancestry.

Jackson recalled from his early childhood that his father was domineering and strict, and he described himself in his memoir The Jacksons as a "lonely child that had only few friends". After his parents separated when he was twelve, his mother, two brothers and sister moved to East Chicago, Indiana, a suburb outside Chicago in Northwest Indiana, while he moved with his father to Oakland, California. When he was 18, his father remarried and he moved to East Chicago to live with his mother and siblings. He soon got a job in East Chicago at Inland Steel Company, but did not finish high school.

## Career

While in East Chicago, he began to pursue his dreams of becoming a boxer and found success with the Golden Gloves program. Still employed at Inland Steel, Jackson left his hopes of becoming a professional boxer in order to support his family, and began working there as a full-time crane operator.

During the early 1950s, Jackson 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 after one of their members, Thornton "Pookie" Hudson, founded his own band in 1952. That band would go on to become a successful doo-wop group named The Spaniels.

### The Jackson 5

Jackson began working with his sons' musical group in the early 1960s, first working with his three eldest sons Jackie, Tito and Jermaine. Younger sons Marlon and Michael eventually joined the backing band. Joseph began enforcing long and intense rehearsals for his sons. At first, the group went under The Jackson Brothers. Following the inclusions of Marlon and Michael in the group and Michael's increased vocal presence within the group, their name was changed to The Jackson 5. After a couple of years performing in talent contests and high school functions, Joseph booked them in more and more respectable venues until they landed a spot at the renowned Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York City. On November 21, 1967, The Jackson 5 were signed by Jackson to their first professional contract with Gordon Keith, owner and first president of Steeltown Records in Gary, Indiana. The group's first single "Big Boy," with Michael as the lead singer, was released by Keith on January 31, 1968 on the Steeltown label. "Big Boy" became a local hit and the brothers became local celebrities after it was played on radio stations in the Chicago-Gary area. Within the year, Jackson helped to land his sons an audition for Motown Records in Detroit. The Jackson 5 were signed with Motown in March 1969.

Jackson later moved his family to California and supervised every recording session the group made for Motown. The group began to receive nationwide fame after their first single for Motown, "I Want You Back", hit #1 following its release on October 7, 1969, followed by their first album, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5 in December 1969. After the Jackson 5's first four singles, "I Want You Back" (The Jackson 5, 1969), "ABC" (The Jackson 5, 1970), "The Love You Save" (The Jackson 5, 1970) and "I'll Be There" (The Jackson 5, 1970) sold 10 million copies in 10 months, setting a world record for sales, it became clear to Jackson that his dream to make his sons the first African-American teenagers to become internationally known recording stars had come true. In 1973, wanting to reassert his control, Jackson had his family, including youngest son Randy and daughters Rebbie, La Toya and Janet, performed at casinos and resorts in Las Vegas, inspired by the success of fellow family act The Osmonds.

Joseph had also formed his own record label 'Ivory Tower International Records' and signed artists under his management in which they toured internationally with The Jackson 5 as opening acts in 1974. In 1975, the Jackson 5, with the exception of Jermaine, left Motown and signed a lucrative deal with Epic Records. Michael had brokered a deal where they could eventually produce their own songs, leading to Motown retaining the Jackson 5 name, so they renamed themselves The Jacksons in 1976. In 1978, Joseph's youngest son Randy released his solo single "How Can I Be Sure" on Joseph's record label. In 1982, Joseph established Janet Jackson's career at age 16 as a recording artist while managing her. He financed the recording of his daughter's first demo then, arranged her a recording contract with A&M Records and began recording her debut album, overseen by him.

### Later Years

In 2011, Jackson was inducted into the Arkansas Black Hall of Fame. In 2014, Jackson accepted the award on behalf of his son Michael, when he was inducted into the Rhythm & Blues Music Hall of Fame with a Lifetime Achievement Award. The following year he was awarded The Rhythm & Blues 2015 Humanitarian Award. In June 2015, Jackson appeared at the BET Awards 2015 with his daughter Janet as she accepted the Ultimate Icon Award.

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 later. Upon his arrival to Los Angeles on August 11, he was treated at the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center to correct his blurred vision following the stroke. In January 2017, Jackson's brother Lawrence died.

## Personal Life

While he was preparing for a professional boxing career, he met 17-year-old Katherine Scruse, who also lived in East Chicago and attended Washington High School. Joe was married to another woman, but was divorced in less than a year before he started dating Katherine.

He and Katherine were married on November 5, 1949, and in January 1950, they purchased a small two-bedroom home on 2300 Jackson Street near East Chicago in Gary, Indiana. Joseph and Katherine went on to have ten children, as their son Brandon Jackson died just after he was born.

Joseph was alleged to have a lasting extramarital affair. Katherine filed for divorce on March 9, 1973 with a Los Angeles County clerk, but she decided to drop the divorce papers. The following year, Joseph fathered a child with Cheryl Terrell. Their daughter Joh'Vonnie Jackson was born on August 30, 1974. This led Joseph and Cheryl to a 23-year-long affair while raising Joh'Vonnie. Katherine attempted once again to divorce her husband in 1982, but again was persuaded to drop the action. Joseph then moved to Las Vegas, with Katherine remaining at the Jackson family home Hayvenhurst in Encino, California. Despite living separately, Katherine and Joe remained legally married until his death in 2018. Katherine denied rumours that she and Joseph were estranged.

## Public Image

In the late 1980s, Joseph's image as a father became 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 was physically and emotionally abused by his father, enduring incessant rehearsals, whippings and name-calling, but also admitting that his father's strict discipline played a large part in his success. Michael first spoke openly about his childhood abuse in a 1993 interview with Oprah Winfrey. He said that during his childhood, he often cried from loneliness. Michael recalled that Joseph sat in a chair with a belt in his hand as Michael and his siblings rehearsed and that "if you didn't do it the right way, he would tear you up, really get you." 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 honoured his father with an annual "Joseph Jackson Day" at Neverland Ranch and ultimately forgave him, noting that Joseph's deep-South upbringing during the Great Depression and the Jim Crow years, and Joseph having endured the same physical discipline himself as a child, and his working-class adulthood hardened Joseph emotionally and made him push his children to succeed as entertainers.

Both Joe and Katherine have denied the characterisation of abuse. Katherine said that the whippings and physical punishments were common back then when Michael and his siblings grew up. Other siblings, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Marlon, have denied that their father was abusive. Joe was played by Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs in the mini-series The Jacksons: An American Dream and by Frederic Tucker in the 2004 VH1 biopic Man in the Mirror: The Michael Jackson Story.

## Death

On June 22, 2018, TMZ reported that Jackson was hospitalised in Las Vegas in the final stages of terminal pancreatic cancer. He died at a hospice in Las Vegas on June 27, two days after the ninth anniversary of his son Michael's death and less than a month before his 90th birthday. He was surrounded by his wife and surviving children.

## Family

### Wives and Partners

* Unknown First Wife
* Katherine Jackson (1949 until Death)
* Cheryl Terrell (Affair; unknown dates)

### Children

* Mauren Reillette "Rebbie Jackson (born May 29, 1950)
* Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951)
* Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (born October 15, 1953)
* Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954)
* LaToya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956)
* Marlon David Jackson (born March 12, 1957)
* Brandon Jackson (born and died March 12, 1957)
* Michael Joseph Jackson (born August 29, 1958; died June 25, 2009)
* Steven Randall "Randy" Jackson (born October 29, 1961)
* Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966)
* Joh'Vonnie Jackson (born August 30, 1974)

### Grandchildren

* Stacee Brown (born August 4, 1973) - from Rebbie
* Toriano Adaryll "Taj" Jackson Jr. (born August 4, 1973) - from Tito
* Taryll Adren Jackson (born August 8, 1975) - from Tito
* Valencia Caroline Jackson (born December 18, 1976) - from Marlon
* Jermaine La Jaune "Jay" Jackson Jr. (born January 27, 1977) - from Jermaine
* Sigmund Esco "Siggy" Jackson Jr. (born June 29, 1977) - from Jackie
* Yashi Kareen Brown (born October 5, 1977) - from Rebbie
* Autumn Joi Jackson (born July 10, 1978) - from Jermaine
* Tito Joe "T.J." Jackson (born July 16, 1978) - from Tito
* Brittny Shauntee Jackson (born September 4, 1978) - from Marlon
* Marlon David Jackson Jr. (born September 23, 1981) - from Marlon
* Brandi Jackson (born February 6, 1982) - from Jackie
* Dawn Jackson (born March 6, 1984) - from Jermaine
* Nathaniel Austin Brown (born November 22, 1985) - from Rebbie
* Jeremy Maldonado Jackson (born December 26, 1986) - from Jermaine
* Jaimy Jermaine Jackson (born March 17, 1987) - from Jermaine
* Jourdynn Michael Jackson (born January 5, 1989) - from Jermaine
* Genevieve Katherine Jackson (born December 3, 1989) - from Randy
* Stevanna Jackson (born October 2, 1990) - from Randy
* Donte Randall Jackson (born June 13, 1992) - from Randy
* Steven Randall "Randy" Jackson Jr. (born June 17, 1992) - from Randy
* Jaafar Jeremiah Jackson (born July 25, 1996) - from Jermaine
* Michael Joseph "Prince" Jackson Jr. (born February 13, 1997) - from Michael
* Paris-Michael Katherine Jackson (born April 3, 1998) - from Michael
* Jermajesty Jermaine Jackson (born October 3, 2000) - from Jermaine
* Prince Michael "Bigi" Jackson II (born February 21, 2002) - from Michael
* Jaylen Milan Jackson (born December 31, 2013) - from Jackie
* River T Jackson (born December 31, 2013) - from Jackie
* Eissa Al Mana (born January 3, 2017) - from Janet

### Great-grandchildren

* Royal Tito Joseph Jackson (born October 23, 1999) - from T.J.
* London Blue Salas (born July 25, 2005) - from Stacee
* Noah Laniak (born August 18, 2006) - from Valencia
* Sophia Laniak (born November 12, 2007) - from Valencia
* Bryce Connor Jackson (born February 20, 2008) - from Taryll
* Delores Dior "Dee Dee" Jackson (born March 20, 2008) - from T.J.
* Phoenix Sanchez (born July 27, 2010) - from Brittny
* Dallas Jordan Michael "Jo Jo" Jackson (born November 30, 2010) - from T.J.
* Adren Michael Jackson (born February 17, 2011) - from Taryll
* Jared Esco Jackson (born July 21, 2011) - from Siggy
* Savanna Bella Sanchez (born September 2, 2011) - from Brittny
* Kai-Ari Jackson (born February 22, 2014) - from Siggy
* Summer Blue Sanchez (born August 27, 2014) - from Brittny
* Rio Tito Joe Jackson (born March 10, 2015) - from T.J.
* Soltan Soul Jackson (born January 20, 2017) - from Jay
* Bobbi Jackson (born November 19, 2017) - from Jourdynn
* Scout Brittny Sanchez (born August 2, 2018) - from Brittny
* Skyy Okhi Enid Jackson (born August 25, 2018) - from Siggy
* Taylor Aurora Sco Jackson (born November 21, 2018) - from Taj
* Anai Icon Jackson (born March 11, 2020) - from Siggy