The Courage, Excellence And Leadership Of Tito Jackson

Source: David Becker / Getty

The greatest Black American musical family dynasty–the Jacksons– was born out of one child’s brave defiance. Tito was his name–or the name we all called Toriano Adaryll Jackson, the second son born to his parents,  Katherine and Joe. The Jackson’s were a working-class, Midwestern family who lived on the income generated by Papa Joe’s steelworker job.

The money he made on the side playing guitar with the local Blues band, The Falcons, wasn’t much, but it helped make ends meet in a home where the rules Joe set were uncompromising–as were the punishments that came swiftly if you broke them. Joe was known for being a brutal disciplinarian. And one of those rules was that you never touched Joe’s electric guitar.

But Tito, who died on Saturday at age 70,  reportedly of a heart attack he suffered while driving from Oklahoma to New Mexico, risked his father’s harsh and painful response and touched Joe’s guitar anyway. Still just an adolescent of maybe 10 or 11 at the time, Tito’s desire to play outweighed any fear his father’s belt engendered. And that was the beginning. That was how the act that set the Jacksons on the road to musical history, the likes of which have never been seen before or since, got started.

Note by Note

Tito would sneak and play the guitar and little by little, his ability grew. Joe’s wrath be damned! And then one day, Tito broke a string and Joe made good on his promise of consequence. But then he decided to see what his young son had learned. What was the gain in the disobedience? Tito showed his father what he’d learned, which is what laid the foundation for the Jackson 5’s formation. 

Just as the Jackson 5 was–and of Michael and later Janet would become–Tito was an icon right out of the door.

During the 1970s, when white rock and rollers held tightly onto the electric guitar prowess monopoly they’d stolen from now legendary Black Bluesmen and women, Tito showed up as a reclamation.

He represented the professionalism and musicianship of a group that many attempted to relegate as a mere bubble kids act. It failed. Miserably. And the image of him–and later guitarists like Ernie Isley and later Prince– gave Black children a signal that they could be guitar heroes too.

His Blues wasn’t like their Blues

What the Jackson 5 accomplished was more than just breaking statistical records–like their yet-to-be-matched record of four consecutive debut singles peaking at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The Jackson 5, without ever disregarding the roots from which they sprung, showed the world that Black Americans had the right and ability to show up as themselves and be embraced for their Blackness. They didn’t have to be militant or cowardly. They just had to get on stage and demonstrate their excellence–and authenticity. And Tito, the young self-taught guitarist who looked up to Bluesmen like B.B. King, was the  backbone.

Surprisingly, Tito’s guitar skills were never featured on the 10 studio albums the Jackson 5 recorded during their seven-year tenure with Motown. But his live performances on The Ed Sullivan Show, The Flip Wilson Show, Hollywood Palace, The Tonight Show among others, easily proved that Tito indeed had a powerful style and sound of his own. 

But just listen to The Jackson 5’s live albums, like 1971’s Goin’ Back to Indiana or 1981’s The Jacksons Live. His soloing, like on the live version of “Goin’ Back to Indiana” hit notes in those hard-to-reach places only the most expert of artists can get to. He was the cleanliness is next to Godliness believers in our families, who armed an old wicker broomstick can sweep away any morsel of dirt from the pesky little corner, and the whole floor–the whole home–sparkle like new.

The Solo Journeyman

We saw that exemplified ever more so on his 1981 live solo on “Heartbreak Hotel,” and his funky, spacey solo on the title track of 1978’s Destiny. And like the greats before and after him, you knew who was playing when you heard Tito make that guitar talk.

Following the devastating 2009 death of his little brother, Michael Jackson, Tito soldiered on with his remaining brothers, doing tours as planned and releasing solo albums. And he was in his 60s–not an age that many choose, at great risk, to launch a solo career. But Tito had already proved his fearlessness when he dared to take Joe’s guitar out of that closet in Gary decades before, and his albums like 2016’s Tito Time and 2021’s Under Your Spell showcased his love for the Blues. They continued his family’s edict to spread love and peace with music throughout the world. 

At the time of his death, Tito showed no signs of slowing down his dedication to engaging the world with that message. Just days before, he and The Jacksons performed a concert in Germany and announced, at an August press conference, plans for an eight-part documentary series about their group. More, the same discipline Tito had in teaching himself guitar, was passed to his three sons, 3T,  an international singing group themselves. 

With Love and Gratitude

The loss of Tito Jackson is a heavy one for the legacy of Black American music, maybe made heaviest as it came in the wake of losing Frankie Beverly just days earlier. But like Beverly, Tito Jackson bequeathed us a bounty–in showmanship, professionalism, dedication, discipline and class. Those virtues will continue to inspire generations of artists and fans. 

Which is why, as I wrote to Frankie Beverly, I write here too, simply, Thank you, Tito. Thank you for having the courage to disobey your father. Thank you for the demonstration of discipline and vision and faith that allowed you to teach yourself that guitar. Thank you for reminded the world that the guitar is not and never will be owned by others. It’s our instrument. Thank you for reminded the world of that for six decades.

And yes, thank you Toriano Adaryll Jackson, our Tito, 

SEE MORE:

Tito Jackson Steps Out With His First Solo Project, ‘Tito Time’

Michael Jackson: 15 Years After His June 25, 2009 Death, Black Artists Are Still Paying Homage

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