By JOHN DALY
Joe Jackson, the father of Michael Jackson and creator of the Jackson 5, has passed away from cancer at 89 years old, it was announced Wednesday.
Jackson entered hospice care last week in the final days of suffering terminal cancer. During the last several years, he has suffered from various ailments including strokes, a heart attack and dementia. He had been receiving treatment for pancreatic cancer.
Randy Jackson Jr. tweeted in honor of his grandfather:
Upbringing, Family and Controversy
Jackson has been a controversial figure, with allegations leveled at him over abusive parenting. But one thing no one can argue is he was the head of one of the most famous musical families of all time.
Jackson grew up in Arkansas to a schoolteacher father, Samuel, and mother Crystal Lee King. He moved to Oakland with his father when his parents divorced when he was 12. He later went to live with his mother in East Chicago, Indiana. Jackson married Katherine Scruse in 1949 and the two married and lived in Gary, Indiana, where they raised their family.
In 1968, Berry Gordy signed the Jackson 5 to a record deal, the group scored four No. 1 hits by 1970 and the family relocated to Encino. Joe changed the name of the band to The Jacksons in the 1970s, Michael left the band for a solo career in the 1980s and Joe’s daughters Janet, LaToya, and Rebbie developed their own careers.
Joe gave Twitter followers the news that he would soon pass away with a poignant post:
