FILE PHOTO: Singer Tito Jackson arrives at the launch party for “The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty” reality show in Hollywood, California December 9, 2009.
Jason Redmond | Reuters
Tito Jackson, an original member of the hit-making pop group the Jackson 5, has died, his family confirmed Monday. He was 70.
NBC Los Angeles spoke to a family member who confirmed the death. His sons also posted the news to Instagram.
“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,” his sons TJ, Taj and Taryll said in the post. They added that “he will be missed tremendously. It will forever be “Tito Time” for us.”
Jackson was a founding member of the group of five brothers, along with Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, who shot to fame in the late 1960s and 1970s with a string of hits.
Tito Jackson was nominated for three Grammys and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 as a member of the Jackson 5.
The Jackson 5 are known for hits including “ABC” and “I Want You Back,” sung by a young Michael Jackson, that were released after they signed with the Motown label in 1969.
The Jackson family was raised in Gary, Indiana, with the group managed by their domineering father, Joe Jackson.
The Jackson 5 achieved huge chart success but their career was overshadowed by the solo career of Michael Jackson, who went on to become one of the most successful and recognizable musical stars of the century, before he died aged 50 in 2009.
Tito Jackson, who was prevented from playing guitar on Jackson 5 records in favor of session musicians, later launched his own career as a solo blues musician in 2003.