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.

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.”

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.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Sergio Mendes, the celebrated Brazilian musician whose 1966 hit “Mas Que Nada” made him a global superstar and helped launched a long, Grammy-winning career, has died after months battling the effects of long COVID. He was 83.

The death Thursday of the Brazilian pianist, songwriter and arranger was confirmed in a statement by his family.

“His wife and musical partner for the past 54 years, Gracinha Leporace Mendes, was by his side, as were his loving children,” the statement Friday said. “Mendes last performed in November 2023 to sold out and wildly enthusiastic houses in Paris, London and Barcelona.”

Mendes was born in Niterói, Rio de Janeiro’s sister city, and studied classical music at a conservatory before joining jazz groups. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he began playing Bossa Nova as the genre was heating up in Rio’s nightclub scene with Antonio Carlos Jobim, João Gilberto and others.

In 1962, they traveled to New York for a Bossa Nova festival at Carnegie Hall. During the trip, Cannonball Adderley invited Mendes to collaborate on the album “Cannonball Adderley and The Bossa Rio Sextet,” leading to his first American record, “The Swinger from Rio,” after signing with Atlantic Records.

Two years later, Mendes moved to California and formed Brazil ’64, which evolved into Brazil ’66 after he added two female vocalists. The group’s debut album, produced by Herb Alpert, featured “Mas Que Nada.” Sung entirely in Portuguese, “Mas Que Nada” was a mid-tempo Samba number originally released in 1963 by composer Jorge Ben Sor, and updated three years later by Mendes, who had been playing the song in clubs and gave it a jazzier, more hard-hitting feel.

“I put a band together called Brasil ’66,” he told The Guardian in 2019. “I’d always had instrumental groups, but when I added the two female singers – Lani Hall and Bibi Vogel – it made a different kind of sound. We recorded the song in Los Angeles, with me, the drums, bass and guitar all performing live.”

Mendes’ version was a worldwide hit that helped perpetuate the Brazilian music boom of the 1960s. In 2006, a modern version of the song topped U.S. charts, as performed by Black Eyed Peas. It was included in his album “Timeless,” produced by will.i.am and also featuring Stevie Wonder, Justin Timberlake and John Legend, among others.

“Sergio Mendes was my brother from another country,” trumpet player Alpert wrote on Facebook, along with a photo from decades ago, sitting next to Mendes at the piano. “He was a true friend and extremely gifted musician who brought Brazilian music in all its iterations to the entire world with elegance.”

Mendes’ other hits were an eclectic blend ranging from covers of the Beatles’ “The Fool on the Hill” and “With a Little Help from My Friends,” to his own Brazilian chant, “Magalenha.” Mendes also composed the soundtrack for the film “Pelé,” featuring saxophonist Gerry Mulligan, and even produced an album recorded by the great Brazilian soccer player.

Mendes won the 1992 Grammy Award for Best World Music Album for “Brasileiro” and two Latin Grammy Awards. He also received an Oscar nomination in 2012 for Best Original Song for “Real in Rio,” from the animated film “Rio.”

“Brazilian soul was there,” pianist, singer, and songwriter Marcos Valle told GloboNews about Mendes’ music. Valle also noted that it was Mendes who helped open doors for other Brazilian artists of his generation, including himself, to reach foreign audiences.

Mendes’ family said they will provide details regarding funeral and memorial services at a later date.

Story by David Biller and Gabriela Sá Pessoa, Associated Press.