Musical dynasty: All of Michael Jackson's siblings have gold records to their name
By Merryn Porter|
The Jacksons are without doubt one of the most well-known families in the entertainment world.
While Michael Jackson had the most success and record sales, each achieved gold records either as solo artists or as part of their family bands.
So who are the nine siblings and where are the Jackson family members now?
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Joe and Katherine Jackson
The Jackson family's success came about largely because of family patriarch Joe Jackson.
The elder Jackson grew up in California before moving to the US state of Indiana at 18 to become a professional boxer.
When he was 21, he married 19-year-old Katherine Scruse and the two immediately started a family.
They had seven boys and three girls in quick succession, starting with daughter Rebbie, now 73, in 1950, followed by sons Jackie, now 72, Tito, now 70, and Jermaine, now 69.
Next was daughter La Toya, now 67, then sons Marlon, also 67, Michael, who was born in 1958, and Randy, now 61, and finally, daughter Janet, now 57. Sadly, another son, Brandon, who was Marlon's twin, died shortly after his birth.
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The Jackson Brothers
Having played with a band in the 1950s, Joe Jackson encouraged the musical talent of his eldest children.
In 1964, Tito, Jermaine and Jackie became known as The Jackson Brothers, with Joe at the helm as their manager.
Their mother Katherine, now 93, was a talented singer and pianist who also cultivated her children's talents and, in the early days of their career, sewed their costumes.
The Jackson Brothers started performing at local talent shows. Within two years, Jackson Sr brought in their younger siblings Marlon and Michael, and renamed the group The Jackson 5.
The Jackson 5
In August 1967, they won the amateur night contest at the Apollo Theatre in Harlem, New York.
They were signed to a recording contract that year. Their first song, Big Boy, was released in 1968.
Joe Jackson moved his family to LA. In March 1969, they signed a contract with the Motown record label and became the first group to debut with four consecutive number-one hits with the songs I Want You Back, ABC, The Love You Save and I'll Be There.
The Jacksons quickly became famous thanks to their sound, which blended classic Motown with contemporary soul and R&B.
The Jackson 5's popularity largely stemmed from the wholesome nature of their act.
In 1975, the band left Motown for Epic Records but Jermaine elected to stay behind and forge a solo career, so younger brother Randy replaced him and the band was renamed The Jacksons.
More hit songs and albums followed, including one of their biggest hits, Can You Feel It.
Around this time, Joe Jackson began producing a nightclub act that he took to Las Vegas.
It became the premise of The Jacksons variety TV show, which aired 1976-1977. Only Jermaine did not appear in the show.
Michael Jackson appeared to have a special quality that was recognised early, kickstarting his solo career while still a child with singles Got to Be There and the chart-topping ballad, Ben.
In 1979, Michael released his first solo album, Off the Wall. It contained the hits Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough, Rock with You and She's Out of My Life.
His second solo album Thriller followed in 1982 and was a worldwide smash hit.
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It was such a huge success, many assumed he would leave The Jacksons, but in 1983 Michael joined Jermaine and his other brothers to perform at Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever.
It was during a solo performance of Billie Jean that Michael debuted his famous 'moonwalk' for the first time.
Following the Motown appearance, Jermaine Jackson returned to the group and they recorded a sixth album, Victory. It was released in 1984 and became their biggest-selling album. It included their last ever top 10 single, State of Shock.
The band embarked on their Victory tour in 1984. Their final performance was at LA's Dodger Stadium in December that year, after which Michael left the group to continue his solo career.
Michael's solo career continues
Michael released his next album, Bad, in 1987. It produced five US number-one singles and was followed by the record-breaking Bad World Tour, which ran from September 1987 to January 1989.
During that period, Jackson released his autobiography, Moonwalk, detailing his childhood, the Jackson 5, and abuse suffered at the hands of his father. A film, Moonwalker, followed.
Around this time, Jackson moved into the house he built at a cost of $17 million, Neverland Ranch. It included a Ferris wheel, a carousel, a movie theatre and zoo.
Long known as the "King of Pop", he soon became better known for his strange behaviour, including carrying around a chimpanzee called Bubbles.
In 1991, Michael Jackson signed a new record-breaking record deal with Sony and released his eighth album, Dangerous.
The first single, Black or White, was a huge hit.
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In 1993, Michael was accused of child abuse. He was investigated but never charged, however settled out of court with his accuser.
In 1995, Michael Jackson released a double album, HIStory: Past, Present and Future. It contained the hit, You Are Not Alone.
Then in 2009, Michael announced he would perform a solo concert in London in July that year, but on June 25, he died. He was 50.
Remaining members of The Jackson 5
Jermaine Jackson, who enjoyed success as a solo artist with his first song, and received a Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his 1980 album Let's Get Serious, had a number of Top 30 hits in the '70s and '80s.
Marlon left the Jacksons in 1987 to concentrate on his own solo career and released one album, Baby Tonight in 1987, before stepping away from the music industry.
The remaining members, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine and Randy, worked on a new album, 2300 Jackson Street, which was released in 1989.
Randy left to start his own group, Randy & the Gypsys, but the group disbanded in 1991.
In 1997, The Jackson 5 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Michael had already received the honour in 2001, making him one of the few artists in history to be inducted twice.
In September 2001, almost 17 years after their last performance together, Michael Jackson and his brothers reunited for two performances at Madison Square Garden as part of a 30th anniversary special commemorating Michael's solo career.
In 2009, the four elder brothers started filming a reality show about their attempt to reunite the band. But during the project, Michael died.
The TV show the Jacksons were filming was later released as The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty.
In 2009, the surviving Jacksons recorded background vocals to add to Michael's 1983 demo of This Is It, which became the theme song for the film, Michael Jackson's This Is It. The single was released in October that year.
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In 2012, Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, and Marlon reunited as The Jacksons for a Unity Tour.
In January 2016, The Jacksons performed at the Heal the World: A Tribute to Michael Jackson event in Las Vegas. They have since performed together a number of times, including a 2019 sold-out tour of Australia.
In 2023, Tito Jackson's son Taryll, 48, joined Tito, Jackie and Marlon as a member of The Jacksons.
As at 2023, Randy and Janet Jackson were trying to reunite the family band as part of a documentary.
Rebbie Jackson
Rebbie Jackson, now aged 73, is the eldest child of the Jackson family.
She married her childhood sweetheart in 1968 and stayed behind in Indiana when the rest of the family moved to LA.
However, in 1984, she released an album, Centipede, which included songs written for her by Prince and her brother Michael. She went on to release three more albums up until 1998.
La Toya Jackson
La Toya got her first break at 17 when she appeared in her family's live shows in Las Vegas and then appeared in the variety television series, The Jacksons, from 1976 to 1977.
In the 1980s and 1990s she had success as a solo artist, releasing nine albums over 15 years. Her biggest hit was her 1984 song Heart Don't Lie.
She is the New York Times Best Selling author of La Toya: Growing Up in the Jackson Family.
Janet Jackson
The youngest of the Jackson siblings, Janet, was just seven when she started performing in her family's Las Vegas show, followed by the variety TV show.
In 1977, she won a starring role in the sitcom Good Times, and later starred in A New Kind of Family and Diff'rent Strokes. She also appeared in the fourth season of the TV show Fame.
Her debut album, Janet Jackson, was released in 1982. After a second album, she broke away from her father's management and decided to go in a new direction for her third album, Control.
On its release in 1986, it went straight to No. 1 and spawned five top five singles, including What Have You Done for Me Lately and When I Think of You, which went to number one.
She signed a record-breaking multimillion-dollar contract with Virgin Records, which saw her become one of the highest-paid artists in the industry.
By the end of the 1990s, she was named the second most successful recording artist of the decade in the US after Mariah Carey.
At the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, Jackson performed the song Scream, her duet with Michael, as a tribute to her brother.
She has sold more than 100 million records, won five Grammy Awards, and in 2019, she was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Janet Jackson is the second richest of the Jackson clan, with a net worth of about $270 million. At the time of his death, Michael Jackson's net worth was about $755 million.
Joh'Vonnie Jackson
Joh'Vonnie Jackson is Joe Jackson's youngest child, and was born during an alleged 25-year affair with Cheryl Terrell.
Joe Jackson died in 2018. He was 89.
Jackson family tree
The Jackson family tree now includes dozens of descendants, including Michael's children Prince, 27, Paris, 25, and Bigi, 22.
