Joe Jackson, Family Patriarch, Dies at 89

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The Jackson 5 make their first appearance on The Ed Sullivan Show in NYC, December 14 1969. (Photo via Motown Records Archives via EMI Archive Trust and Universal Music Group. Used with permission)

One day after we posted a story about his grave condition, TMZ was first to report that Joe Jackson – father of the singing family of stars the Jackson 5 and Janet Jackson – died today (June 27) at 89.

Jackson is said to have had stage four pancreatic cancer. The patriarch had reportedly been hospitalized in Las Vegas, Nev., where he lived.

On June 22, Jermaine Jackson told DailyMail.com: “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 Jackson and his wife, Katherine, raised the family in Gary, Indiana, and under his tutelage, their sons Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and Michael began performing as the Jackson 5. The quintet, with Joe serving as their manager, signed their first recording contract in 1967. In 1969, they signed with Motown and earned four consecutive #1 pop hits in ’69 and 1970: “I Want You Back,” “ABC,” “The Love You Save” and “I’ll Be There.”

Joe Jackson, who who would have turned 90 on July 26, had a series of health issues in recent years. In 2015, he suffered a stroke and heart arrhythmia while in Brazil on his 87th birthday.

The Daily Mail report was followed two days later by a tweet from Jackson’s verified Twitter account which stated: “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.”

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. pic.twitter.com/PGcmbulzyC

— Joseph Jackson (@Joe5Jackson) June 24, 2018

That earned a response from Jackson’s granddaughter, Paris, on the same day when she wrote: “this is a beautiful tweet [but] my grandfather did not tweet this.”

this is a beautiful tweet. though it upsets me to see whoever is in charge of this account taking advantage of it. my grandfather did not tweet this. i’m not sure if he’s ever used this account. https://t.co/KU6jikCD7G

— Paris-Michael K. J. (@ParisJackson) June 25, 2018

On the same day as the DailyMail.com report, Janet Jackson publicly acknowledged her parents’ encouragement while accepting a Radio Disney music award: “My mother nourished me with the most extravagant love imaginable. My father, my incredible father, drove me to be the best I can. My siblings set an incredibly high standard, a high bar for artistic excellence.”

Janet Jackson first attained national prominence as a 10-year-old in 1976, as a member of the family’s TV series, The Jacksons. In 1982, with her father as her manager, she signed her first recording contract.

Joe Jackson was born July 26, 1928 in Fountain Hill, Ark. Best Classic Bands will continue to update this breaking news.