Tito, a founding member of the legendary family band the Jacksons 5 — comprised of Michael, Jemaine, Jackie, and Marlon — died on Sunday.

“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,” a statement shared by his children TJ, Taj and Taryll on Instagram reads.
Entertainment Tonight, reported that Tito, who was the third of nine Jackson children, died after suffering an apparent heart attack.

But as of the time of this report, the Jackosn family has yet to announce the official cause of death.

Born Toriano Adaryll Jackson on October 15, 1953, in Gary, Indiana, Tito was a key part of the Jackson family’s musical dynasty, formed in the 1960s.

The pop group released hit songs like ‘I Want You Back,’ ‘ABC’ and ‘I’ll Be There’ in the ’70s.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1997 and was also honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
Beyond his work with The Jackson 5, Tito pursued a solo career. He delivered his debut album ‘Tito Time’ in 2016.

He is survived by  Taj, Taryll, and TJ, who formed their musical group, 3T, and by his grandchildren. His ex-wife Delores Martes died in 1994.

Michael, Tito’s brother who left an indelible mark in music history, died in 2009 from acute propofol intoxication, while their father Joe Jackson, passed away in 2018 at the age of 89.

James Earl Jones, a versatile and award-winning American stage and screen actor who used his booming deep voice to bring the iconic “Star Wars” villain Darth Vader to life, has died, his representatives said Monday. He was 93 years old.

From the works of Shakespeare and August Wilson, to his indelible voiceovers in the blockbuster space saga and as Mufasa in the Disney classic “The Lion King,” Jones earned fans with his ability to play both the everyman and the other He won three Tony awards including a lifetime award, two Emmys and a Grammy, as well as an honorary Oscar, also for lifetime achievement.

In 1971, he became only the second Black man nominated for an Academy Award for best actor, after Sidney Poitier.
All of these accolades were hard-won, as Jones, who was born in segregated Mississippi on January 17, 1931, had to overcome a childhood stutter that often led him to barely speak at all.

“Stuttering is painful. In Sunday school, I’d try to read my lessons and the children behind me were falling on the floor with laughter,” Jones told the Daily Mail in 2010.

Reciting his own poetry, at the prodding of an English teacher, helped him to gain control of his voice, which would later be used to strike fear among millions in “Star Wars” as Darth Vader.

Jones did not physically portray the character — David Prowse wore Vader’s black cape and imposing face mask, while Jones offered the voice, oozing the evil power of the Dark Side.

“I am your father,” Vader tells Luke Skywalker, portrayed by Mark Hamill, in a pivotal fight scene in “The Empire Strikes Back” — a twist etched in cinema history.

“He created, with very little dialogue, one of the greatest villains that ever lived,” “Star Wars” creator George Lucas said in 2015 at a ceremony honoring Jones in New York.

▪︎AFP

Governor Peter Mbah of Enugu State on Monday renamed the popular Obinagu Road in Abakpa Nike, Enugu East Council Area, after highlife music legend, Chief Mike Ejeagha.

The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the rechristening took place during the inauguration of four newly constructed and reconstructed roads in Abakpa Nike, near Enugu.

Other roads inaugurated included Mike Ejeagha Crescent, where the music maestro lives, Texaco Bus Stop-Ifo Road, and Nkpor Street. Mbah announced the news when he visited Ejeagha at his residence.

He told Ejeagha that the State Government would henceforth take full responsibility for his upkeep.

He described Ejeagha as “a living legend”.

In response,  Ejeagha, who spoke through his children, Emma and Elizabeth, said that the honour done to him by the governor would be remembered beyond his lifetime.