Joseph Walter Jackson (July 26, 1928 – June 27, 2018) was an American talent manager and patriarch of the Jackson family of entertainers. He was inducted into the Rhythm and Blues Music Hall of Fame in 2014.
Joseph Walter Jackson was born on July 26, 1928, in Fountain Hill, Arkansas, the eldest of five children of Crystal Lee (née King; 1907–1992) and Samuel Joseph Jackson (1893–1993). His father was a teacher. Jackson's great-grandfather, July "Jack" Gale, was a U.S. Army scout. A biography of Jackson also claimed that his great-grandfather was an Indigenous American and a medicine man, although no tribal affiliation was specified.
Jackson recalled that his father was domineering and strict, and described himself in his memoir The Jacksons as a lonely child with few friends. After his parents separated when he was 12, his mother, two brothers, and sister moved to East Chicago, Indiana, while he moved with his father to Oakland, California. When he was 18, his father remarried, and Jackson moved to East Chicago to live with his mother and siblings. He took a job at Inland Steel Company and did not finish high school. While living in East Chicago, he began pursuing a boxing career and found success in the Golden Gloves program.
In the early 1950s, Jackson briefly performed with his younger brother Luther in their blues band the Falcons, playing guitar. Despite their efforts, the Falcons did not secure a recording contract and disbanded after one of their members, Thornton "Pookie" Hudson, founded his own group in 1952. That group became the successful doo-wop ensemble the Spaniels.
While preparing to become a professional boxer, Jackson met 17-year-old Katherine Scruse, who also lived in East Chicago and attended Washington High School. He had already been married and divorced before he began dating Katherine. The couple married on November 5, 1949. In January 1950, they purchased a small two-bedroom home at 2300 Jackson Street near East Chicago in Gary, Indiana. They had 10 children together.
Maureen Reillette "Rebbie" Jackson (born May 29, 1950)
Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson (born May 4, 1951)
Toriano Adaryll "Tito" Jackson (October 15, 1953 – September 15, 2024)
Jermaine LaJuane Jackson (born December 11, 1954)
La Toya Yvonne Jackson (born May 29, 1956)
Marlon David Jackson (born March 12, 1957)
Brandon David Jackson (March 12, 1957 – March 13, 1957)
Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009)
Steven Randall "Randy" Jackson (born October 29, 1961)
Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966)
Jackson was alleged to have had numerous extramarital affairs. Katherine filed for divorce on March 9, 1973, with a Los Angeles County clerk, but later decided to drop the divorce proceedings. The following year, Jackson fathered a daughter with Cheryle Terrell named Joh'Vonnie (born August 1974). Katherine attempted once again to divorce her husband in 1982, but was persuaded to abandon the action. Jackson moved to Las Vegas. Despite living separately, Jackson and Katherine remained legally married until his death in 2018. Katherine denied rumors that she and Jackson were estranged.
In the early 1960s, Jackson began pushing his sons in a musical direction after they began playing around with his musical instruments while he was at work. He then first started working with his three eldest sons Jackie, Tito, and Jermaine. Younger sons Marlon and Michael were eventually put into the band; youngest brother Randy was too young to join at the time. Joseph began enforcing long and intense rehearsals for his sons. At first, the group went under the name The Jackson Brothers. Following the inclusion of Marlon and Michael in the group, their name was changed to The Jackson 5. After a couple of years performing in local talent contests and high school functions, The Jackson 5 got a color TV set after the judges awarded them second place. Joseph booked them in more professional venues, including in Chicago, and they eventually landed a gig at the Apollo Theater in New York City. On November 21, 1967, The Jackson 5 were signed by Jackson to their first record contract with Gordon Keith, owner and first president of Steeltown Records in Gary, Indiana. The group's first single "Big Boy," with Michael as the lead singer, was released by Steeltown on January 31, 1968. "Big Boy" did not become a hit but because the brothers actually had a single released, they became local celebrities in Gary after it received some airplay on local Gary radio stations. Within the year, Jackson helped to land his sons an audition for Motown Records. The Jackson 5 received a record contract with Motown in March 1969.
Shortly after, Jackson moved his family to the Los Angeles area and sat in on every recording session the group made for Motown. The group received nationwide attention after their first single for Motown, "I Want You Back", hit No. 1 following its release on October 7, 1969, and included on their first album, Diana Ross Presents The Jackson 5, in December 1969. The group saw the release of their first three albums and their first four singles, "I Want You Back" (1969), "ABC" (1970), "The Love You Save" (1970), and "I'll Be There" (1970), reach No. 1 in the US within 10 months. In 1974, wanting to reassert his control, Jackson had his family, including daughters Rebbie, La Toya, and Janet, perform at casinos and resorts in the Las Vegas area, inspired by the success of fellow family act The Osmonds.