With his signature high voice, Jackie Jackson was known as the co-lead singer of the both the Jackson 5 and the Jacksons. As the oldest member of the Jackson 5, Jackie can be easily recognized in any Jackson 5 photograph as the tallest of the brothers with his charismatic smile.
Jackie was born in East-Chicago on his mothers 21st birthday. At age 4, Jackie and his 5 year-old sister Rebbie, were taking dance, jazz-ballet and tap lessons. By the time Jackie was 9, his parents had already noticed the exceptional musical interests of their young flock, and father Joseph began coaching their boys on his spare time. Neighborhood children could be found peeking through the windows of their family home in Gary Indiana, watching the boys rehearse diligently every day. Jackie also enjoyed playing basketball, football and had a passion for baseball. With his brothers, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, he created the Jackson 5 in 1965. The group grew to be the biggest and most famous child musical group in history with an estimated 250 million records sold worldwide.
In 1969, the Jackson Five signed with the legendary Motown Records and released their first record, “I Want You Back”. The song quickly went # 1 followed by hit after hit, “ABC”, “The Love You Save”,“I’ll Be There” that all went # 1. The Jackson 5 became the first group ever to have 4 number one hits in a row! Having sold an estimated 250 million records, they have won countless gold and platinum records from albums sold internationally.
In 1973 at the age of 22, Jackie released his first record, self titled Jackie Jackson. Fans worldwide appreciate the elegance of Jackie’s voice on songs such as, “Love Don’t Want to Leave”, “Do I Owe”, and “You’re The Only One”.
Once the brothers signed with Epic Records, Jackie was responsible for writing and co-writing some of their biggest hits such as, “Can You Feel It”, “Wondering Who”, “Walk Right Now” and “Torture”. In addition, he produced tracks for his sisters La Toya, Rebbie and Janet, and worked on several moviescores and soundtracks. Jackie sings the lead on songs such as “Wondering Who and “Wait”, while adding his signature high tenor sound to most other tracks he and his brothers produced.
In 1989 Jackie released his second solo record with Polygram, titled Be The One. Two of his releases entered the charts and remained there for 18 weeks.
In 1997 Jackie and his brothers were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for their achievements as the Jackson 5. For the past decade Jackie has always been actively involved with music, mostly behind the scenes, developing other talent, including his son Dealz.
Jackie is most proud of his work with many different charities that have raised tens of millions of dollars helping to research cures for such diseases as Aids, Cancer and Diabetes and help to end homelessness with children in Africa. Jackie is presently on the Board and gives his time to a non-profit organization called “Its Time For Kids”, where he teaches inner-city children about the recording industry, singing along with them in his studio, and through tremendous cooperation from the LA Lakers, attends home games with 30 children, where they are personally introduced to the players.
More recently, Jackie has completed the first season as an Executive Producer of the reality show, The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty on the AE Network. Still devastated by the loss of his beloved brother and music icon Michael Jackson, Jackie spends as much time as he can at the family compound in Encino, to visit with his mother and Michael’s three children. Jackie has become an active consultant for the Estate, keeping his brother’s musical and humanitarian legacies alive through various endeavors, including the upcoming posthumous Michael Jackson album and the highly-anticipated Michael Jackson/Cirque du Soleil collaboration.
With a love and passion for music, Jackie currently finds himself in the studio working on new projects under his label, Siggy Music.