Atlanta figures reflect on Tito Jackson’s legacy following his death at 70

Jodi Gomes’ last conversation with Tito Jackson this past weekend was about logistics.

Tito Jackson had just returned to America from Europe and was due to arrive in Atlanta on Tuesday to speak at a Boys & Girls Club event with his younger brother Marlon Jackson.

“It was just a reminder,” said Gomes, an Emmy Award-winning documentary producer who also worked as Tito Jackson’s business manager. “Making sure he knew when the pickup was. Making sure he had the script. Reminding him of the birthday party we were going to afterward.”

Gomes trailed off.

“Now, I am utterly devastated and in shock,” she said.

Credit: Darron Cummings, AP

On Monday, his three sons announced that Tito Jackson, a founding member the Jackson 5, the groundbreaking quintet of the 1970s, had died. A spokesman for his youngest sister, Janet Jackson, said Tito Jackson died Sunday at 70 of a heart attack while driving to Oklahoma from New Mexico. Marlon Jackson, who lives in Atlanta, declined to comment so soon after his brother’s passing.

Along with his brothers, Jackie, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael, Tito Jackson was a foundational pillar of The Jackson 5. He served as a stern form of muscle, protecting his brothers as they navigated teen adulation.

He remained protective of his siblings through adulthood, particularly Michael and Janet.

“He always said, ‘If you ever want to see me mad, mess with one of us,’” Gomes recounted. “He was strong and protective of all his brothers, including Michael. Sometimes he wanted to punch the world, but he chose diplomacy.”

For children of the 1970s who worshipped the Jackson 5, Tito Jackson’s death — 15 years after the passing of Michael Jackson — has also suddenly forced them to face aging.

“Wow,” said Veronica Hayes, the daughter of soul and R&B legend Isaac Hayes and an Atlanta resident. “That makes us all feel old.”

Veronica Hayes first met the Jackson 5 in 1976 when the group came through Memphis, where the Hayes family lived.

Credit: Courtesy Veronica Hayes

Isaac Hayes took his family to the show and warned his children not to embarrass him. They took lots of photos, Veronica Hayes remembered.

“They were very ingratiating, but course, we were all trying to get to Michael,” said Veronica Hayes, who was 12 years old at the time. “Being an industry kid, we met a lot of celebrities, but we really connected with the Jacksons. They were kind of like family to our family and I felt a closeness to Tito.”

Gomes officially met Tito Jackson in 2007, when she served as executive producer for “The Jacksons: A Family Dynasty,” a reality show that chronicled the lives of the brothers as they prepared for a Jackson 5 reunion.

But her history with the family stretched back more than a decade before that.

In 1992, she was a development executive for the five-hour miniseries, “The Jacksons: An American Dream,” and struck up friendships with Marlon and Jermaine. After finally meeting Tito, she began managing his business interests.

Credit: Courtesy Jodi Gomes

“Tito was the most loving, patient, supportive person I ever met,” said Gomes, who traveled all over the world with Tito Jackson and his brothers. “One of the most loyal people you could ever meet.”

While Michael grabbed the headlines and Jermaine got all the women, Gomes said Tito’s role in the Jackson 5 was always understated and underappreciated.

According to family lore, when Tito, born Toriano Adaryll Jackson, was a boy in Gary, Indiana, he taught himself how to play guitar by watching his father Joe and sneaking behind his back to play his instrument.

Joe returned home one night to find one of the guitar strings broken. Holding a belt, he demanded to know who did it. Tito confessed.

Joe beat him, but ordered Tito to play the guitar and was stunned by Tito’s performance.

Soon, Tito was learning to play songs off the radio, and Joe took the opportunity to start forming a band around his sons. The Jackson Brothers, soon to be renamed the Jackson 5, was born.

Credit: AP

Coming out of Motown, the group dominated the 1970s. They sold out arenas, were regulars on television variety shows, had their own Saturday morning cartoon and, most importantly, sold a lot of records with songs like, “ABC,” “I’ll Be There,” and “I Want You Back.”

The group was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1997.

Tito Jackson released two solo albums and continued to tour alongside his brothers. Less than a week ago, the brothers returned home after a series of shows in Europe. On Sept. 11, Tito Jackson posted a photo on Instagram of himself and his brothers visiting a Michael Jackson memorial in Munich.

“We’re deeply grateful for this special place that honors not only his memory but also our shared legacy,” he wrote.

Credit: Hyosub Shin hshin@ajc.com

“These guys are my heroes. I am an Emmy-winning television producer because the Jackson 5 gave this little girl from Boston a license to dream,” Gomes said. “When I turned on the television, it was the Jackson 5 that I was watching.”

In 2021, Gomes produced “Malfunction: The Dressing Down of Janet Jackson,” an Emmy Award-winning documentary about Janet Jackson’s 2004 Super Bowl halftime performance, which birthed the term, “wardrobe malfunction.”

Tito was the first person she called to be in it.

“If it weren’t for Tito Jackson breaking that guitar string, we wouldn’t have a Jackson 5. We wouldn’t have Michael Jackson and we wouldn’t have Janet Jackson,” Gomes said. “We wouldn’t have New Edition, New Kids on the Block, NSYNC or the Backstreet Boys. None of those groups would be here without his blueprint. I am thankful he broke that guitar string. It changed my life and it changed the world.”

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