Tito Jackson, member of beloved pop group the Jackson 5, dies at 70

Tito Jackson, one of the brothers who made up the beloved pop group the Jackson 5, has died. He was 70.

Jackson was the third of nine children, including global superstars Michael and Janet, and was part of a music-making family whose songs have sold hundreds of millions of copies.

“It’s 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 incredible man who cared about everyone and their well-being,” his sons TJ, Taj and Taryll Jackson said in a statement posted on Instagram late Sunday.

The Jackson 5, among the last of the major groups launched through Berry Gordy's Motown empire, included teenage and pre-teen brothers Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, Marlon and lead singer Michael. Gordy signed them up in the late 1960s, when Motown's power was slipping and tastes were shifting from the slick pop-soul of Motown's prime to the funkier sounds of Sly and the Family Stone.

“I Want You Back,” the group's breakthrough hit, was openly modeled on Sly and the Family Stone and topped the charts in 1969. The Jacksons followed with three more No. 1 songs, "ABC," “The Love You Save" and “I’ll Be There," and also hit the top 5 with “Mama's Pearl” and “Never Can Say Goodbye."

Some called their music “bubblegum soul.”

By mid-decade, the Jackson 5's appeal was fading and the group, except Jermaine, moved to Epic and renamed themselves the Jacksons. Their latter hits included “Enjoy Yourself,” “Lovely One” and “Shake Your Body (Down to the Ground)." Michael Jackson became a multi-platinum solo artist in the 1980s and his collaborations with his brothers became rare after the 1984 album “Victory."

The Jackson 5 was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997, introduced at the ceremony by longtime friend Diana Ross.

“His talent as a musician was undeniable, ensuring that their live performances met the expectation of their fans who loved their records. He was low-key and at the same time commanded respect…the same respect he showed to others,” Motown founder Berry Gordy said in a statement. “You could say Tito was the glue that held the Jackson 5 together on their journey to superstardom.”

Raised in Gary, Indiana, the Jackson 5 had been formed under the guidance of their father, Joe Jackson, a steelworker and guitar player. Michael and sibling La Toya would accuse him of abusive behavior. Toriano Adaryll “Tito” Jackson was the least-heard member of the group, working as a background singer who played guitar.

Michael Jackson died at age 50 on June 25, 2009. Speaking to The Associated Press in December 2009, Tito Jackson said that his younger brother's death pulled the family closer together.

“I would say definitely it brought us a step closer to each other. To recognize that the love we have for each other when one of us is not here, what a great loss,” he said, adding he would personally never “be at peace with it.”

“There’s still moments when I just can’t believe it. So I think that’s never going to go away,” he said.

In 2014, Jackson said that he and his brothers still felt Michael Jackson's absence in their shows, which continued with international tours.

“I don’t think we will ever get used to performing without him. He’s dearly missed," Jackson said, noting that his brother's spirit "is with us when we are performing. It gives us a lot of positive energy and puts a lot of smiles on our faces."

Days before his death, Jackson posted a message on his Facebook page from Germany on Sept. 11, where he visited a memorial to Michael Jackson with his brothers.

“Before our show in Munich, my brothers Jackie, Marlon, and I, visited the beautiful memorial dedicated to our beloved brother, Michael Jackson. We’re deeply grateful for this special place that honors not only his memory but also our shared legacy. Thank you for keeping his spirit alive," Jackson wrote.

Jackson was the last of the nine siblings to release a solo project with his 2016 debut, “Tito Time.” He released a song in 2017, “One Way Street,” and told the AP in 2019 that he was working on a sophomore album.

Jackson said he purposely held back from pursuing a solo career because he wanted to focus on raising his three sons, who formed their own music group, 3T. Jackson's website offers a link to a single featuring 3T and Stevie Wonder titled, “Love One Another.”

Earlier this year, Jackson settled in a house in Claremore, Oklahoma near Tulsa, Tulsa World reported. “I always wanted to get away from the West Coast and experience living somewhere with new people and new culture,” the paper quoted Jackson as saying. “California is ... different.”

Jackson had ties to the area: His uncle, Samuel Jackson, had opened Jackson Undertaking Co. in Tulsa in 1917, and when it burned down during the Tulsa Race Massacr e in 1921, Samuel Jackson was hired by a white-owned funeral home to embalm the bodies of Black residents who were killed, the paper reported. He later rebuilt his own company.

Jackson also is survived by his brothers Jermaine, Randy, Marlon and Jackie, his sisters Janet, Rebbie and La Toya, and their mother, Katherine. Their father died in 2018.

Jackson's death was first reported by Entertainment Tonight.

FILE - Pop star Michael Jackson, center, his mother Katherine Jackson, right, and brother Tito Jackson, left, leave Santa Barbara County Superior Court in Santa Maria, Calif., April 7, 2005, after another day of testimony in Michael Jackson's child molestation trial. (AP Photo/Kevork Djansezian, File)

FILE - From left, brothers Jackie Jackson, Tito Jackson, Jermaine Jackson and Marlon Jackson pose for a portrait together in Beverly Hills, Calif., Dec. 9, 2009. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello, File)

FILE - Singer Tito Jackson arrives at the opening night of, "Michael Jackson: The Immortal World Tour," in Los Angeles, Jan. 27, 2012. (AP Photo/Dan Steinberg, File)

FILE - The Jackson 5, Michael Jackson, front right; Marlon Jackson, front left; Tito Jackson, back left; Jackie Jackson, back center; and Jermaine Jackson, back right; pose for this undated photo together in Los Angeles. (AP Photo, File)

FILE - Tito Jackson, a member of the famed Jackson 5, poses for a portrait in Los Angeles, July 24, 2019, to promote his solo project, a new version of his 2017 song "One Way Street." (Photo by Mark Von Holden/Invision/AP, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Democratic incumbents are facing spirited challenges Tuesday in at least two of New York's congressional primaries, the latest proving ground in the high-stakes fight between the progressive left and the party establishment over the Democratic Party's future.

U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman and U.S. Rep. Adriano Espaillat are both seeking to stave off candidates backed by Mayor Zohran Mamdani, the 34-year-old democratic socialist who's testing the limits of his growing political muscle in the state's first batch of elections since he took office in January.

Mamdani and his slate are promising to push the Democratic Party further left on key issues, the war in Gaza chief among them, even as establishment Democrats in Washington worry that their policies could alienate swing voters in midterm elections across the country this fall.

Goldman faces former city Comptroller Brad Lander while Espaillat, who chairs the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, faces another Mamdani pick, Darializa Avila Chevalier, a democratic socialist who once helped organize pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University. Mamdani is also backing his democratic socialist ally, state Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who along with the rest of the mayor's candidates has vowed to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

“It’s not just a question of electing more Democrats. It’s a question of electing better Democrats, ” Mamdani said Tuesday. “When I look at these candidacies, I see in them a willingness to also put working people back at the heart of our politics.”

In Washington, House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries downplayed the influence of the Mamdani-backed candidates should they prevail Tuesday, which would make them the overwhelming favorites to win congressional seats in November given New York City's strong Democratic makeup.

“We have agreed to strongly disagree,” Jeffries said of Mamdani on Capitol Hill. “There are 215 members of the House Democratic caucus. A handful of primaries that go in one direction or the other, in a given state or two, aren’t going to reshape who we are as House Democrats.”

Meanwhile, Democrat Jack Schlossberg, the 33-year-old grandson of former President John F. Kennedy, is hoping to write his own chapter in Camelot lore as he competes in a crowded field for a seat being vacated by retiring U.S. Rep. Jerry Nadler. Mamdani has made no endorsement in that race.

The Kennedy scion is running in one of the country's wealthiest congressional districts — covering much of the center of Manhattan — but faces questions about his lack of work experience against more seasoned opponents.

The field includes state Assembly members Micah Lasher, a longtime government hand backed by Democratic leaders, and Alex Bores, whose proposals to regulate artificial intelligence have triggered tech industry blowback. Also running is George Conway, who helped start the anti-Trump group, The Lincoln Project, and has centered his candidacy on impeaching the president.

Mamdani, whose first six months in office have drawn praise from establishment Democrats and even President Donald Trump, has made a big push to promote three congressional candidates who are challenging Democrats supported by the party's leadership.

Two of Mamdani's congressional slate identify as democratic socialists, while Lander has often aligned himself with the movement. All three have repeatedly promised to “abolish ICE,” condemned the “genocide” in Israel and vowed to “tax the rich” if elected.

Mamdani's most polarizing pick is Avila Chevalier, 32, in her race against Espaillat, 71, who was the first Dominican American elected to Congress and represents a district in upper Manhattan and the Bronx.

Avila Chevalier has not held political office and casts herself as an outsider. Around an hour before polls closed, she was standing on a street corner in Harlem with controversial streamer Hasan Piker, chatting with voters in a final Election Day push.

On the next corner, a small truck displayed an ad attacking Avila Chevalier, highlighting a disparaging remark she made on social media about former Vice President Kamala Harris. Avila Chevalier had previously apologized for the post.

Espaillat’s allies have called Avila Chevalier unfit for office, pointing out a history of inflammatory and profane social media posts when she was in her 20s.

In East Harlem, 47-year-old voter Sara Hyler said she flip-flopped several times between Avila Chevalier and Espaillat in the lead up to Election Day, but eventually cast her ballot for Avila Chevalier after learning about AIPAC’s heavy support for the incumbent.

“It was the breaking point, my last straw,” she said of AIPAC’s donations to Espaillat.

Hyler said it was important to elect a new crop of progressive democrats who aren’t beholden to AIPAC and the Israeli government. “As much as I support Israel, I don’t think we should be paying for them,” Hyler said.

Lander, a fixture of the city's progressive Democrats, got the mayor's endorsement in a race against Goldman, a progressive former federal prosecutor who served as lead counsel for Trump’s first impeachment.

The war in Gaza has been a dividing line between the two candidates, both of whom are Jewish. Lander assailed Goldman for not being tough enough on Israel over its military action against Palestinians. Goldman has consistently criticized Israel's government and condemned settler violence but has stopped short of describing the conflict as a genocide, which Lander has done.

Still, Goldman has amped up his criticism of Israel's war posture in response to Landers' barbs and shifting voter sentiments, all while seeking to keep his campaign focused on the high cost of living and such issues as opposing Trump's agenda.

Mamdani has also backed Valdez over Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso, in the race to succeed retiring U.S. Rep. Nydia Velazquez in a district covering parts of Brooklyn and Queens. Reynoso was Velazquez's handpicked successor, but failed to earn the mayor's backing.

Yvette Sanchez, a 30-year-old preschool teacher who voted for Espaillat, said she was put off by Mamdani's attempts to unseat the incumbent in her district and stifle Velazquez’s preferred successor, arguing that the established candidates are supported by Black and Latino communities.

“Do you just think you can insert anyone you want or do you actually want to listen to us?” Sanchez, who supported Mamdani last year, said of the mayor.

In northern New York state, a Trump acolyte with no previous political experience is facing a conservative state lawmaker in the Republican primary for a seat soon to be vacated by U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik.

Anthony Constantino, head of the custom sticker company Sticker Mule, showcased his enthusiasm for the president by putting a massive “Vote For Trump” sign atop one of his company buildings. He also released a hip-hop album titled “Thank You President Trump," and commissioned a statue of Trump and gave it to the president in Florida. Trump has endorsed him.

Constantino's opponent, conservative state Assembly Member Robert Smullen, has strong support from local Republicans and has argued that Constantino's antics, which include regular bashing of the state GOP, make him unfit to serve in the House.

Associated Press writers Jake Offenhartz and Larry Neumeister in New York contributed.

A voter casts a ballot during New York’s primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

A person campaigns for Democratic Congressional Candidate Jack Schlossberg during New York's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

A voter casts a ballot during New York’s primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

Rep. Adriano Espaillat, D-N.Y., takes part in the National Puerto Rican Day Parade, Sunday, June 14, 2026 in New York. (AP Photo/Adam Gray)

Democratic congressional candidates, Claire Valdez, Brad Lander, and Darializa Avila Chevalier gesture on stage with Mayor Zohran Mamdani during a Get Out The Vote rally ahead of New York's primary election, Thursday, June 18, 2026, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. (AP Photo/Ryan Murphy)

FILE - A voter completes their ballot at a voting site, in New York, Nov. 4, 2025. (AP Photo/Richard Drew, File)