And then they were three… Tito Jackson’s death, at the age of 70, leaves the Jackson 5 down to a trio of Jermaine, Jackie and Marlon.

In my mind they were an all-singing all-dancing outfit. In fact they were a band (or at least half a band), with Tito the lead guitarist and Jermaine on bass, leaving Michael to sing with harmonies by the other two brothers.

Michael was only eight or nine when he sang Big Boy, their first single, released not on Motown – they were initially rejected after sending demos to the label – but by their hometown of Gary, Indiana’s local label Steeltown Records.

By then the group had already won a local talent show, performing a cover of The Temptations’ My Girl, earning enough of a following for the novelty group, with their child singer, to make the song a local hit in the area.

They went on to win amateur night show at Harlem’s legendary Apollo Theatre. Championed by both Gladys Knight and Diana Ross, they earned themselves an audition for Motown

They impressed Berry Gordy enough to sign them up and fly them out to the label’s new HQ in Los Angeles, where he hooked them up with his new songwriting team The Corporation – replacements for Holland-Dozier-Holland.

Their first Motown single, I Want You Back (originally written for Gladys Knight) was an instant hit and the rest needs no further explanation. Except to say that I’ve never heard this before – and I doubt you have either.

RIP Toriano ‘Tito’ Jackson (1953-2024)