What Happened to Jermaine Jackson?

By CelebPaid Editorial Team · 8 min read

Jermaine Jackson.Image via Wikimedia Commons

The Rise to Fame

Jermaine La Juane Jacksun (né Jackson, later Muhammad Abdul-Aziz Sharif; born December 11, 1954) is an American singer. A member of the Jackson family, he was second vocalist after his brother Michael of the Jackson 5 from 1964 to 1975, and played bass guitar. In 1983, he rejoined the group, which had been renamed the Jacksons; he then consistently played in the group's performances and recordings until he left the group again in 2020.

While Jermaine did not usually sing the lead vocal on the Jackson 5's biggest hits, he is featured on "I'll Be There" and "I Want You Back", among others. When four of the brothers left Motown Records for Epic Records in 1976 (having to rename the family act "the Jacksons" in the process), Jackson, who had just married Motown founder Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, stayed at Motown. He was replaced in the Jacksons by his youngest brother, Randy. Jermaine had a solo career concurrent with his brother Michael's, including some top-30 hits, until the 1980s. He produced and recorded duets with Whitney Houston on her debut album in 1985, and was a producer for the band Switch.

Early life

The Peak Years

Jermaine LaJuane Jackson was born December 11, 1954, at St Mary's Mercy Hospital in Gary, Indiana, the fourth child of Joseph and Katherine Jackson. His siblings are Rebbie, Jackie, Tito, La Toya, Marlon, Brandon (Marlon's twin, who died shortly after birth in 1957), Michael, Randy, and Janet. Jackson's father, Joe, had musical ambitions and played guitar with his brother Luther in an R&B group, the Falcons, while his mother, Katherine, a devout Jehovah's Witness, was an enthusiastic pianist and singer. Their large family and limited means led Katherine to become a housewife and Joe to work at the Inland Steel Company in East Chicago, Indiana, before the family moved to Gary in 1950.

While Joe worked long hours as a crane operator, Jackson and his brothers Tito and Jackie practiced secretly using Joe's guitar and sang harmonies with their mother. Jackson was the original lead singer and bassist of the Jackson Brothers, an early version of the Jackson 5, until 1966, when his younger brother Michael began singing lead. Joe began rehearsing his sons under a strict routine after recognizing their potential, viewing their talent as a path out of Gary. Jackson continued to sing occasional lead vocals over the years. He graduated from Birmingham High School in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California, in 1973.

Jackson and his brothers first signed as the Jackson 5 with Gordon Keith of Steeltown Records in November 1967, and their first single "Big Boy", was released on January 31, 1968. After the group recorded three more songs with the Steeltown label (on two records) they were signed with Berry Gordy of Motown Records in 1969. As the second lead singer of the Jackson 5 with his brothers Jackie and Michael, Jackson sang notable parts of "I Want You Back", "ABC", "I'll Be There", "The Love You Save", "Dancing Machine" and many other Jackson 5 songs. Jackson performed as part of the group for six years. Not feeling that they were being paid fair royalties by Motown Records for their success as well as their desire for creative control, the Jackson 5 decided to leave the label and sign with Epic Records in 1975. However, Jackson decided to stay with Motown Records, citing loyalty to the company as the reason. Others argue that Jackson's marriage to Motown founder Berry Gordy's daughter Hazel, whom he married in 1973, was a deciding factor.

What Changed

Jackson split from the Jackson 5 to start a solo career at Motown, and was replaced by his brother Randy. Unbeknownst to the group, Gordy had trademarked the name Jackson 5 and did not allow the group to continue using the name when they left the label. Once signed with Epic, the group became known simply as the Jacksons. In 1983, Gordy asked the group to perform at the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special. After the success of the broadcast, Jackson finally rejoined the band to record the album Victory which featured all six brothers on the album cover. Jackson also participated in the band's Victory Tour. He stayed with the group for their final album, 2300 Jackson Street, in 1989. Jackson performed the song "If You'd Only Believe" on March 15, 1993, with his brothers Jackie, Tito and Randy, on the stage of the Grand Théâtre de Genève for the Evening of the Nations. He also performed this song alone on January 14, 1990, in Atlanta, in tribute to Martin Luther King Jr., during King Week 90'. In 1997, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame with the Jackson 5. In 2001, he reunited with his brothers to perform for the Michael Jackson: 30th Anniversary Celebration. He was voiced by Joel Cooper on the 1971-1972 animated series Jackson 5ive and played by Colin Steele and his son Jermaine Jr. in the 1992 miniseries The Jacksons: An American Dream and by Jamal R. Henderson and Jayden Harville in the 2026 film Michael.

Solo career

Like Michael, Jackson began a solo career while still a member of the Jackson 5, and had a hit with the 1972 Shep and the Limelites cover "Daddy's Home" on his debut album Jermaine. It sold over one million copies by March 1973 and was awarded a gold disc. When the Jackson 5 left Motown in 1975, Jackson left the group and stayed at the label until 1983; Jermaine then signed with Clive Davis' label, Arista Records, that same year. He finally rejoined his brothers for the Motown 25 television special, and their album Victory the following year. Jermaine was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance for his 1980 single "Let's Get Serious" at the 23rd Annual Grammy Awards. He had a number of Billboard Hot 100 hits throughout the 1970s and 1980s, including "That's How Love Goes" and "Daddy's Home" (No. 9) from Jermaine in 1972, "You're in Good Hands" from Come into My Life in 1973, "Let's Be Young Tonight" from My Name Is Jermaine in 1976, "Let's Get Serious" (No. 9, also one of his only two UK singles chart hits, peaking at No. 8) and "You're Supposed to Keep Your Love for Me" from Let's Get Serious in 1980, "Let Me Tickle Your Fancy" (featuring Devo on backing vocals) (No. 18) from the album of the same name in 1982, "Dynamite" (No. 15) and "Do What You Do" (No. 13) from his self-titled album in 1984 and "I Think It's Love" (No. 16) from Precious Moments in 1986. A duet with his brother Michael, "Tell Me I'm Not Dreamin' (Too Good to Be True)" from his self-titled album, hit number one on the dance chart in 1984. Michael and he also collaborated with Rockwell, both providing guest vocals on his 1984 hit single, "Somebody's Watching Me" from the album of the same name.

Where Jermaine Jackson Is Now

In 1985, Jackson's duet with Pia Zadora, "When the Rain Begins to Fall", topped several singles charts in Europe, including Germany and France; in the United States, the duet only reached number 54 on the Billboard Hot 100. Later that same year, he contributed "(Closest Thing To) Perfect" to the motion picture Perfect, which reached number 67 in the U.S. In a promotional music video made during the film's production, Jackson was featured along with the film's stars John Travolta and Jamie Lee Curtis. His final chart success, 1989's "Don't Take It Personal" from the album of the same name, hit number one on the R&B singles chart. Other notable Jackson songs include the Earth Wind & Fire-inspired "You Need to Be Loved" from the 1977 album Feel the Fire and the soulful "Castles of Sand" from the 1978 album Frontiers. Jackson was the executive producer of The Jackson Family Honors concert televised from the MGM Grand on February 22, 1994. On May 19, 2003, he performed "Let's Start Right Now" live on the talk show The View.

Jackson is proficient on the electric guitar and is a talented bass guitar player. At an early age, he performed the parts of legendary bass player James Jamerson and others when the Jackson 5 performed live. His main instrument was a Gibson EB-3. Jackson also composed and produced for other artists, such as Switch and he produced and sang duets on Whitney Houston's debut album for Arista Records. Jackson is featured on the Switch track "Tahiti Hut" released in 2019, recorded during the 1980 Reaching for Tomorrow sessions.

Reality television

Legacy

Jackson was the first housemate to enter the Celebrity Big Brother 5 house in 2007, which he placed 2nd. After leaving Big Brother, Jackson did several interviews on British television explaining why and how he took his peaceful and mediating stance in the Big Brother house. He also spoke about the Jackson 5 reuniting for a performance. Jackson was part of the second season of the CMT reality show Gone Country. On the premiere episode of season three of the ABC reality show Celebrity Wife Swap on April 15, 2014, Jackson and his wife Halima swapped places with Daniel Baldwin and his on-again, off-again girlfriend Isabella Hofmann.

Later work

In April 2007, Jackson returned to the UK to take part in a one-off special of ITV's Challenge Anneka. On the same trip, he appeared in Glasgow with British prime minister Gordon Brown, speaking in support of Searchlight magazine's anti racism campaign, the Daily Mirror "Hope Not Hate Bus".

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