Jermaine Jackson

Although he was overshadowed by his kid brother Michael, singer, guitarist, and bassist Jermaine Jackson would have arguably the most interesting and independent career of all the members of The Jackson 5. Born December 11, 1954 in Gary, Indiana, Jermaine first rose to fame with his siblings providing back-up vocals and playing bass on such signature Motown tracks as “I Want You Back” and “I’ll Be There”. Jackson enjoyed a solo top 10 hit with “Daddy’s Home” in 1972 from his debut album Jermaine, a top 10 R&B album. He married Motown founder Barry Gordy’s daughter one-year later, and that may have played a part in his decision to stay at the label after his brothers left over money disputes in 1975. Jackson scored two more top 40 R&B hits in the aftermath of his leaving the group, 1976’s “Let’s Be Young Tonight” and 1978’s “Castles in the Sand”. Stevie Wonder gave him “Let’s Get Serious”, a song that became the title track to his 1980 album. The song became a number 1 R&B hit and cracked the top 10 on the pop chart, while the album did the same. He reunited with his brothers for the Victory album and tour in 1984, and he sang with Michael on the Rockwell hit “Somebody’s Watching Me”. He would also score another number 1 R&B album that year with a self-titled LP that spun off a pair of top 20 pop hits, “Dynamite” and “Do What You Do”. He scored his second solo R&B number 1 in 1989 with the title track to his album “Don’t Take It Personal”. He would occasionally reunite with his brothers, and though his recording career dwindled in the 21st century, he began appearing on reality shows like Big Brother and Celebrity Wife Swap.

Please enable Javascript to view this page competely.