Member of legendary family musical group dead at 70

Tito Jackson, an original member of the Jackson 5 and brother to Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, has died at the age of 70.

The news was announced in a social media post by Tito Jackson’s children Sunday night. Steve Manning, a longtime Jackson family friend and former Jackson family manager, told Entertainment Tonight he believed Jackson suffered a heart attack. An official cause of death has not been announced.

“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. Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” Tito’s sons TJ, Taj and Taryll wrote in the Instagram post.

Tito was born October 15, 1953, the third of Joe and Catherine Jackson’s ten children. He was one of the original members of the beloved band The Jackson 5, a group that originally included Tito, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael before Randy replaced Jermaine in 1975.

The famed family group, led by the young superstar Michael, released ‘70s hits “ABC,” “I Want You Back,” “I’ll Be There,” “Never Can Say Goodbye” and many more. The Jackson 5 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Tito went on to release solo albums “Tito Time” in 2016 and “Under Your Spell” in 2021.

The musician performed with his brothers Jackie and Marlon throughout the summer, playing shows in California, Scotland and England. Their most recent performance came in Surrey, England on Sept. 8. More performances, including an Oct. 25 date in Atlantic City, were scheduled for the fall.

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Christopher Burch can be reached at cburch@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter: @SwishBurch. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips/.