Photo: Mike Ball · CC BY 2.0
The family · the eldest brother
Jackie Jackson
The high tenor who anchored the group from the Jackson 5 to The Jacksons — a near-professional athlete who became a songwriter behind some of the family's biggest anthems.
Early life
A ballplayer first
Sigmund Esco "Jackie" Jackson was born May 4, 1951, at St. Mary's Mercy Hospital in Gary, Indiana — on his mother Katherine's 21st birthday (she was also born May 4). The nickname "Jackie" came from his grandfather. The oldest of the Jackson brothers, he was a standout youth athlete who dreamed of a career in professional baseball before his father redirected the brothers' energy into music.
The group
A constant presence
Jackie was a founding member and, alongside Tito, one of the two members present for the group's entire run — Jackson 5 through The Jacksons. He sang in a high, light tenor and added backing and occasional lead vocals on early Motown hits like "I Want You Back" and "ABC." After the 1976 move to Epic, his role grew: he shared lead with Michael on "Enjoy Yourself," co-wrote the international anthem "Can You Feel It" (1981), and on the 1984 Victory album sang lead on "Wait" and co-wrote "Torture" (with Kathleen Wakefield). He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 with the original five. (A knee injury during Victory Tour rehearsals briefly sidelined him, but he recovered to perform.)
Solo career
Stepping out front
Jackie released a self-titled solo debut, Jackie Jackson, on Motown in 1973. Sixteen years later he returned with Be the One (1989, Polydor), his first album in over a decade; it charted on the Billboard R&B albums chart (sources differ on the exact peak — #89 in most listings, #84 in others), and its lead single "Stay" became a Top-40 R&B hit.
Beyond music
Labels & business
Around 2002, while living in Las Vegas, Jackie founded Jesco Records and Futurist Entertainment (his son Sigmund Jr. released a mixtape on Jesco in 2007). He later launched the Critically Amused label and co-founded a sustainable-furniture brand. He also helped reunite the surviving brothers for touring beginning in 2012 — their first concerts together since the 1984 Victory Tour — and appeared as an executive producer and cast member in the 2009–10 A&E reality series The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty.
Personal life
Marriages & children
Jackie has married three times and has four children. With first wife Enid Spann (m. 1974, div. 1987) he had Sigmund "Siggy" Jackson Jr. (b. 1977) and Brandi Jackson (b. 1982). His second marriage, to Victoria Triggs, ran from 2001 to 2007. He married Emily Besselink in 2012, and the couple had twin sons, River and Jaylen, in 2013.
In brief
Notable facts
- He and Tito were the two members present for the group's entire existence, Jackson 5 through The Jacksons.
- He co-wrote "Can You Feel It" and co-wrote "Torture" (the 1984 hit dueted by Michael and Jermaine).
- He was a serious baseball prospect before music.
- He was born on his mother Katherine's 21st birthday.
Sources