A Fork in the RoadRebbie Jackson

Rebbie Jackson

Rebbie Jackson is an American singer. Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, she is the eldest child of the Jackson family of musicians. She first performed on stage with her siblings during shows in Las Vegas, Nevada, at the MGM Grand Hotel and Casino in 1974, before subsequently appearing in the television series The Jacksons. Her sister La Toya was born on her sixth birthday. At age 34, Jackson released her debut album Centipede. The album featured songs written by Smokey Robinson, Prince, and Jackson’s younger brother Michael, whose contribution (the title track “Centipede”) became Rebbie’s most successful single release. By the end of the 1980s, the singer had released two more albums in quick Reaction and R U Tuff Enuff.

Following a 10-year hiatus in her musical career, Jackson returned with the 1998 album Yours Faithfully. The production of the album, her last to date, was a collaboration with artists and producers such as Men of Vizion’s Spanky Williams, Keith Thomas, and Eliot Kennedy. It also featured contributions from her children. In 2011, Rebbie embarked on the Pick Up the Phone Tour, which is dedicated to teens from all over the U.S. who have committed suicide.

Maureen Reillette “Rebbie” Jackson was born in Gary, Indiana to a working-class family on May 29, 1950. The daughter of Joseph Walter “Joe”), and Katherine Esther, she is the eldest of their 10 children. Her siblings are Jackie, Tito, Jermaine, La Toya, Marlon, Brandon (d. March 12, 1957), Michael, Randy, and Janet. Joseph was a steel mill employee who often performed in a rhythm and blues (R&B) band called the Falcons with his brother, Luther. His wife, Katherine, is a Jehovah’s Witness and raised her children to follow the religion. Rebbie, La Toya, and Michael became the most devout of the children as time progressed. Reflecting on her early life, Rebbie acknowledged in a 1980s magazine interview that her role within the family had been that of a “second mother” to her younger siblings, whom she would often babysit, along with her eldest brother Jackie. She graduated from Theodore Roosevelt High school in Gary in 1968.