Tito Jackson (born Toriano Adaryll Jackson on October 15, 1953 in Gary, Indiana) is an African-American singer and guitarist, formerly a member of The Jackson 5. Born the third-eldest child and second-eldest brother, many have credited him for the start of the Jackson musical dynasty after his father caught him playing his guitar as a child.

Tito inherited his talent from his father, Joseph, who was the leader of a blues band called "the Falcons". The Falcons never got off the ground and Joseph continued with his full-time job as a steel-mill crane operator. While he was gone, Tito and his brothers Jackie and Jermaine played with Joseph's guitar with their mother, Katherine's blessing until Joseph returned home from work.

The boys were careful until Tito broke a guitar string. When Joseph went to investigate and found out that his eight-year-old son had been playing with the guitar, he threatened to "whup" him, then changed his mind and got Tito to play for him. Joseph was impressed by Tito's talents and equally impressed with eleven-year-old Jackie and seven-year-old Jermaine's vocal talents. It was at this point that Joseph began to envision a singing group for his sons and, with the help of two neighborhood friends who played instruments, formed The Jackson Brothers.

By 1967, the lineup included two younger brothers: ten-year-old Marlon and nine-year-old Michael; they were now known as The Jackson Five. By the time Tito was fifteen, he had moved from rhythm guitar to lead guitar while Jermaine played bass and sung lead with Michael. Tito and his brothers found success after signing with Motown in 1969 and went on to score hits such as "I Want You Back", "ABC", "I'll Be There" and "Never Can Say Goodbye".

Around the same time, Tito had fallen for a Dominican beauty named Delores "Dee-Dee" Martez, even though his father Joseph did not want his sons dating at the time. The two married in the summer of 1972. Dee-Dee was seventeen; Tito was barely eighteen and was one of the first Jacksons to marry at a young age. The couple went on to have three sons. Tito was often known as "the quiet member" of the Jackson family and also "the most serious" of the group. Tito was arrested in 1973, along with the J5's drummer Johnny Jackson, for buying stolen stereos and televisions. Charges were dropped a few months later.

Tito remained with the group when they signed with Epic in 1976 and left the Jackson 5 moniker to be simply known as "The Jacksons". By the end of their careers together in 1990, Tito settled into his private life but not without divorcing Martez that year after eighteen years of marriage.

On August 27, 1994, Dee-Dee was drunkened, beaten, and drowned by her boyfriend Donald Bohana (later sentenced to 15 years imprisonment) in his swimming pool.

In 1997, Tito and his brothers were inducted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Around the same time, Tito was managing his three sons' own music career as they had formed as 3T.

While Tito was the first to make a move in building the Jackson family empire, he was the last of the Jacksons to go solo. In 2003, Tito released his first album and reinvented himself as a blues musician. The solo album, titled "I Gotta Play" , only consisted of five songs: "Call My Job", "Caledonia", "I Gotta Play", "Stormy Monday", and "Big Legged Woman", yet they were all featured in his tour around California. None was released as a single. He was also seen on the BET Awards in 2005 thanking a national audience for support in his younger brother Michael's trial after Michael was acquitted. Tito, along with sister Janet, hosted the acquittal party for brother Michael at the Chumash Indian Casino near Santa Maria in June 2005.

Though known as "the most serious" of the Jacksons, his public perception is often associated with clumsiness, foolishness, and being hot-headed. He is often the subject of jokes when compared to Michael on late night shows such as The Late Show with David Letterman and in the Chris Tucker-Jackie Chan movie, Rush Hour: "I'm Michael Jackson and you're Tito". He is, however, a huge supporter of his brother Michael and is often featured on current event shows such as Larry King Live with brother Jermaine proclaiming Michael's innocence.

Source: Wikipedia.org