The Jackson family name is most commonly associated with the King of Pop and the late singer Michael Jackson, who has touched the lives of many with his work. Michael was succeeded by four brothers and three sisters, but is Randy one of them?
Randy Jackson is Michael Jackson’s younger brother who was born in 1961. Randy is a former member of The Jackson 5.
You can read more about Randy Jackson, including what he has been up to in the years following his separation from The Jacksons below.
Who is Randy Jackson?
Steven Randall Jackson, who goes by the name Randy is a singer-songwriter, dancer, and musician.
As the youngest out of eight, Randy didn’t appear in Jackson 5’s original lineup as he was too young at the time.
He made his first appearance in the group in 1971 when he was 10, though he didn’t officially join the group until four years later when Jackson 5 swapped from Motown to CBS Records. Randy replaced his brother and former Jackson 5 bandmate, Jermaine after he chose to stay with Motown.
As a very musical person, Randy can play multiple instruments varying from the piano to the congas.
In the early years of his career in The Jacksons, Randy made headlines as he was involved in a fatal car accident that caused Randy to sustain multiple injuries as a result. Nonetheless, it attracted much public attention at the time.
Life after The Jackson 5
Although The Jackson 5 disbanded and went their separate ways in the 90s, this didn’t stop Randy from creating his own band named Randy & the Gypsys. Not much came out of this though, as the group only released one album before their split.
Despite having little success with his own band, Randy didn’t stop there. Instead, in the years that followed the band’s split, Randy went on to become the founder of his own record label named Modern Records – the label went on to sell records produced by the likes of Sandy Stewarts and Rick Vito.
Later on, Randy became a co-founder at his older sister’s independent record label Rhythm Nation Records. Janet, Randy’s older sister, released her song “Made For Now” in 2018 and this was written by her younger brother, Randy.
In relation to his personal life, Randy has three children, a son and two daughters. His first child, Genevieve was born in 1989 and was shortly followed by Stevanna, Randy’s second child in 1990; in 1998, Randy finally became the father to a son named who he named Jordan Jackson.
Randy shares Genevieve and Randy Jr. with Alejandra Genevieve Oaziaza, his ex-girlfriend. Meanwhile, he shares Stevanna with Eliza Shaffe.
The American Idol star hasn’t had much success with relationships and has faced a few divorces. In the past, he has been married to Erika Riker and Elizabeth Jackson.
It was reported that Randy received a diagnosis of type 2 diabetes in 2003. The CDC reports that around 34 million Americans have either type one or type two diabetes, with 90-95% of them battling with type two diabetes. While type two diabetes is more common in people over 45, children and teens under 45 can still get it.
By 2018, he had shed 100 pounds after having a gastric bypass and changing his life around to benefit his health.
PEOPLE reported that Randy had to change his whole mentality towards food after his surgery. “You have to change the way you think about food. You have to almost have a complete divorce break up … and really pay attention to how you feel.”
Since his split from The Jacksons, Randy has found success for himself and 35+ years into his career, he’s bagged himself a multimillion-dollar fortune.