Jermaine Jackson handed his bandmate brothers diamond rings to mark 50 years in the music business during a live TV chat earlier this month.
The brothers formed their group in 1964 but only found success after changing their name to The Jackson 5 the following year.
Following massive success with Berry Gordy Jr’s Motown Records, Jermaine’s brothers left the label for Sony label Epic in the mid-1970s, leaving Jermaine to carve out a solo career while showing loyalty to Gordy, whose daughter Hazel had become his wife.
Gordy owned the rights to the Jackson 5 name, forcing the rebels, who were by now a 5-piece again with the addition of youngest brother Randy, to re-brand themselves The Jacksons.
Always somewhat in the massive shadow cast by Michael’s unparalleled talent, the other brothers basked in the success his fame bestowed until they became his limiting factor.
Carrying on as a group without Michael seemed implausible, but carry on they did . . . intermittently and with limited success while Michael went stratospheric with his collaborative albums with Quincy Jones and former Heatwave keyboardist Rod Templeton.
Having performed alongside his older siblings a few times since Michael’s untimely death in 2009, Randy has reverted to performing solo. However, the remaining Jacksons, including Jermaine (he and Hazel Gordy divorced in 1987), appeared for an interview on Good Morning Britain ahead of a prestigious concert in London’s Hyde Park last week, and Jermaine, 60, surprised his brothers with a special gift live on air.
He handed out custom made diamond rings to his fellow singers and even made sure there was a personalized gem for late brother Michael, which he hopes to hand down to the King of Pop’s son Prince.
Handing out the rings, Jermaine said, “This is our 50th anniversary and there is a surprise I have for the brothers which I wanted to present to them. This is 50 years of being in the business… There is one for Michael… I will probably give it to my mother to make sure that Prince has it.”
