Tito Jackson’s three sons remember their father after his death at age 70.
Paying an emotional tribute to their dad, who was a member of the famous family band The Jackson 5 and the brother of Michael Jackson and Janet Jackson, Taj, TJ and Taryll shared that they were “shocked, saddened and heartbroken”.
Siggy Jackson, Tito’s nephew, previously confirmed Tito’s death to PEOPLE. According to Party tonight (who first broke the news), Tito died on Sunday September 15 after suffering an apparent heart attack.
In a joint post with their band 3T’s Instagram account, Taj, TJ and Taryll wrote: “It is with heavy hearts that we announce that our beloved father, Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Tito Jackson is no longer with us. We are shocked, saddened and heartbroken.”
“Our father was an amazing man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” they continued. “Some of you may know him as Tito Jackson of the legendary Jackson 5, some of you may know him as ‘Coach Tito’ or some of you may know him as ‘Poppa T.’ He will be greatly missed though. It will always be ‘Tito time’. Please remember to do what our father always preached, which is ‘Love each other.’
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The brothers signed the message “Your boys” and added the hashtags “#titojackson #titotime #loveoneanother.”
Tito fronted his sons’ band 3T and all three appeared in the reality series in 2015. The Jacksons: The Next Generation. The Lifetime show followed the brothers as they tried to balance their music careers with family life and the pressure of Jackson.
The words in the Instagram post were accompanied by a carousel of pictures, including throwback photos of Tito with Taj, TJ and Taryll when they were kids and the early days of 3T.
Other photos show Tito as part of The Jackson 5 — which consisted of Michael, Jackie Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Marlon Jackson (and, later, Randy Jackson) — and Taj, TJ and Taryll performing on stage with their father, together with the final image of a typical Tito ball and eye shadow.
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Toriano Jackson, Taj Jackson and Taryll Jackson.
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The first image from the carousel was also shared on the 3T account’s Instagram Stories with the caption, “We love you @poppat ❤️.”
Tito shared his sons with his late ex-wife Dee-Dee Martes-Jackson.
In the months leading up to his death, Tito performed with brothers Jackie and Marlon as The Jacksons. The group most recently performed on September 8th in Surrey, England at the Boogietown Festival, and were scheduled to perform on October 25th in Atlantic City, New Jersey and November 1st in Cincinnati, Ohio.
As a trio, the band performed a number of The Jackson 5’s hit songs including “I Want You Back”, along with brother Michael’s songs such as “Rock with You”.
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Source: HIS Education