Sad news out of the music world today, as Joe Jackson, the father of legendary entertainers Michael and Janet Jackson has passed away at the age of 89.
It was reported last week that Jackson was battling pancreatic cancer and had been given a grim prognosis by doctors.
At the time, the Jackson family confirmed to People magazine that Joe was “not doing well,” and was not expected to recover.
“He’s very, very frail, he doesn’t have long. The family needs to be by his bedside — that’s our only intention in his final days,” Joe’s son Jermaine Jackson told The Daily Mail.
Moments ago, grandsons Randy Jackson Jr. and Taj Jackson confirmed the news with a series of tweets, writing:
“RIP to the king that made everything possible! I love you grandpa” and “Joe was loved by the entire family and our hearts are in pain. Let us grieve.”
Born in Fountain Hill, Arkansas in 1928, Jackson encouraged his sons to form a pop music group while the family was living in Gary, Indiana in the early 1960s.
Eventually, younger sons Marlon and Michael began singing with their brothers, and the group was subsequently known as The Jackson 5.
The rest, as they say, is history.
Serving as the group’s mamnager, Joe guided his sons on a meteroric rise to fame.
Their 1969 debut album produced four consecutive number one hit singles, and the Jackson 5 quickly became one of the first black musical groups to gain a massive crossover following in the US.
But the success didn’t come without sacrifice.
Joe was a notoriously domineering father and manager, who often displayed abusive behavior during the band’s grueling rehearsal sessions.
As adults, Michael and his brothers spoke openly about the mistreatment they suffered at the hands of their father.
The siblings concluded, however, that Joe was genuinely contrite later in life, and they assured the public that they had all come to forgive him.
When Michael Jackson passed away in 2009, insiders claimed that no one took the loss harder than Joe.
Earlier this week, Joe alluded to his own impending demise, tweeting the above photo, along with a caption reading:
“I have seen more sunsets than I have left to see.
“The sun rises when the time comes and whether you like it or not the sun sets when the time comes.”
Jackson is survived by his wife Katherine, as well as his sons Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Randy, and daughters Rebbie, La Toya and Janet.
