Jermaine Jackson

Jermaine La Jaune Jackson (born December 11, 1954; Gary, Indiana) is an American singer, songwriter, bass guitarist, and member of the Jackson family, best known as a founding member of the Jackson 5.

Early Life

Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana, the fourth of ten children of Joseph and Katherine Jackson. His mother was an aspiring pianist and singer, and his father briefly played guitar in his own band, The Falcons, giving the household a strong musical grounding from the outset.

Jermaine joined his brothers in performing from a young age, initially singing lead and playing rhythm guitar before switching to bass guitar and backing vocals as the group's sound developed. The Jackson 5 signed with Gary-based Steeltown Records in November 1967, releasing their first single, "Big Boy," in January 1968, before signing with Motown Records later that year.
 

Career

As co-lead vocalist alongside his brother Michael, Jackson sang notable parts on Jackson 5 hits including "I Want You Back," "ABC," "I'll Be There," "The Love You Save," and "Dancing Machine." He began a parallel solo career in 1972 while still a member of the group, scoring a hit with his cover of "Daddy's Home," which sold over a million copies and earned a gold disc by March 1973.

When the Jackson 5 left Motown for CBS/Epic Records in 1975, Jackson remained loyal to Motown, having married label founder Berry Gordy's daughter, Hazel, in 1973. He released a run of solo albums through the late 1970s, including My Name Is Jermaine, Feel the Fire, and Frontiers, before scoring his most successful record, Let's Get Serious, in 1980. Produced largely by Stevie Wonder, the album reached number six on the Billboard 200 and spent five weeks at number one on the Top R&B Albums chart, achieving RIAA Gold certification and worldwide sales of around two million copies; its title single became his first number-one R&B hit and earned him a Grammy Award nomination for Best Male R&B Vocal Performance.

During this period, Jackson also stepped into production, having discovered and helped sign the R&B/funk band Switch to Motown's Gordy subsidiary after hearing their demo; he went on to write and produce material across the group's first three albums, including their 1978 self-titled debut and 1979's Switch II, the latter featuring the often-sampled hit "I Call Your Name."

Further solo albums followed, including Jermaine (1980) and I Like Your Style (1981), and his 1982 record Let Me Tickle Your Fancy featured a collaboration with Devo on its title track. In 1983, he reunited with his brothers for the Motown 25: Yesterday, Today, Forever television special, and rejoined The Jacksons for their 1984 album Victory and its accompanying tour.

He moved to Arista Records for his 1984 self-titled album, released internationally as Dynamite, which also achieved RIAA Gold certification and included the hits "Dynamite" and "Do What You Do." That same album featured a then-unknown Whitney Houston, with whom Jackson recorded the duet "Take Good Care of My Heart," a song he also wrote, produced, and arranged; when Houston signed with Arista for her own 1985 self-titled debut album, Jackson produced three of its tracks, "Someone for Me," "Take Good Care of My Heart," and a second duet, "Nobody Loves Me Like You Do," helping introduce Houston to record buyers ahead of her breakout success.

He continued recording into the 1990s, releasing Don't Take It Personal (1989) and You Said (1991), and released his most recent studio album, I Wish You L.O.V.E, in 2012.

Personal Life

Jackson has been married three times: to Hazel Gordy from 1973 to 1988, with whom he has three children; to Alejandra Oaziaza from 1995 to 2004, with whom he has two children, including actor and singer Jaafar Jackson, who portrays Michael Jackson in the 2026 biographical film Michael; and to Halima Rashid from 2004 to 2016. He also had a long-term relationship with Margaret Maldonado, with whom he has two further children.

He is now in a relationship with Maday Velazquez, whom he became engaged to in 2018 and who has since been publicly referred to as his wife, though no formal marriage has been officially confirmed; the couple's youngest child, Abu Bakr Khalifa Jackson, was born in Bahrain in December 2022.

Jackson converted to Islam in 1989. He spoke at his brother Michael's memorial service in 2009 following a reconciliation between the two, and has remained a visible member of the Jackson family in the years since, including in connection with tributes to his late brother's legacy.

His decades-long career as both a founding member of the Jackson 5 and a successful solo artist and producer in his own right has secured his place as a significant figure in the history of American soul and R&B.

Current Activities

Jackson remains a visible member of the Jackson family amid the 2026 release of the Michael Jackson biopic Michael, which features his son Jaafar in the lead role.