Tito Jackson, pictured here celebrating the diamond birthday of his late brother Michael Jackson on August 29, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

David Becker/Getty Images

Hide caption

Show/hide label

David Becker/Getty Images

Tito Jackson, who founded the popular and extremely popular band Jackson 5 together with four of his brothers, has died at the age of 70.

His sons — Taj, Taryll and TJ — announced his death early Monday on the Instagram page of their R&B band 3T. They did not specify how, where or when Jackson died.

“Our father was an incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” they wrote. “Some of you may know him as Tito Jackson of the legendary Jackson 5, others may know him as ‘Coach Tito’ or still others as ‘Poppa T.’ However, he will be terribly missed.”

Toriano Adaryll Jackson was born on October 15, 1953, in Gary, Indiana, the third of nine siblings, all of whom eventually pursued careers in music or other entertainment industries.

The Jackson Five, photographed here in the UK in 1972, included the Jackson brothers (left to right) Jermaine, Tito, Jackie, Michael and Marlon (Randy, who joined the group later in the decade when it became the Jacksons, is at the back).

Evening Standard/Getty Images

Hide caption

Show/hide label

Evening Standard/Getty Images

At the age of nine, Jackson began singing with his brothers Michael, Jackie, Jermaine and Marlon in a band called The Jackson Brothers and taking part in talent shows, including at the Apollo Theater. The quintet was managed by their father Joe Jackson and signed to Motown Records in 1968. The Jackson 5’s first hit on the label, “I Want You Back,” was released in 1969 and reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in January 1970. Their next three singles were equally successful: “ABC,” “I’ll Be There,” and “The Love You Save” reached the top of the pop charts that same year.

In a 2018 interview, Tito Jackson recalled that, despite being signed to Motown, the group’s young members were unable to write or produce their music. And although Jackson was a guitarist in the band and had been playing the instrument since he was 10, he did not play on their albums under Motown.

“I knew the guys in the studio were better than me. I was just a teenager. We copied what they did on stage pretty well. We didn’t have any tracks or samples back then,” he said.

That changed when they signed to Epic Records in 1976 under a new name, The Jacksons; Tito co-wrote the hits “Everybody” and “We Can Change The World” on albums such as triumph And Victory.

Tito and his siblings also had success outside of the group. In particular, the group served as a launching pad for Michael Jackson’s legendary solo career. Other siblings, including Janet, also built their own musical legacies.

In 1997, Tito was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Jackson 5. He also received three Grammy nominations during his career.

In a 2021 interview, Jackson said he was inspired to make music as a child after watching his father and uncle play the blues every weekend.

He was the last of the Jackson siblings to start a solo career. In 2016 he released Tito era, which included a single, “Get It Baby”, which featured Big Daddy Kane and reached number 20 on the Billboard Adult R&B Airplay Charts. His second album, Under your magic, will be released in 2021, showed his blues influences. The single “Love One Another” was a collaboration with his brother Marlon as well as Stevie Wonder, Bobby Rush and Kenny Neal.

“Now I’m older, my kids are out of the house and grown up,” he said at the time. “I don’t have to raise kids, you know? I got married a week after high school and basically wanted to be around forever. Be a husband and a father. And I had the Jackson 5, who kept me incredibly busy. I didn’t see the point in pursuing a solo career on top of that, but now my time has come.”

In their obituary, Tito’s sons called on their fans to remember “what our father always preached, and that is: ‘Love one another.'”

“For us it will always be ‘Tito time,’” they wrote.