Rebbie Jackson remained largely removed from public view, much like her siblings Janet, LaToya, and Randy, while her brothers rose to prominence with the Jackson 5. Although she performed regularly and received instruction on clarinet and piano from her mother, Rebbie did not launch a professional singing career until 1976, once the Jackson 5 had departed Motown for CBS. At that point she began working as a cabaret performer and session vocalist, earning credits on albums by the Emotions, Betty Wright, and additional artists throughout the 1970s and 1980s while also appearing on the Jacksons’ short-lived variety series that same year.
Nearly a decade afterward, Michael Jackson received his initial opportunity to write and produce for another artist, selecting Rebbie’s debut single, “Centipede,” which reached number four on Billboard’s R&B chart during fall 1984. The accompanying Centipede album, issued that October, incorporated contributions from Crusaders member Wayne Henderson along with her brothers Tito and Randy. Two years later she delivered the follow-up Reaction, which contained several tracks overseen by David “Pic” Conley and David Townsend of the group Surface. Its title track climbed to number 16 on the R&B chart in summer 1986, and the subsequent single, the duet “You Send the Rain Away” featuring Cheap Trick lead singer Robin Zander, peaked at number 50 R&B by year’s end. Another duet, “Tonight I’m Yours” with Isaac Hayes, garnered considerable radio play as an album cut yet never appeared as a commercial single.
Columbia released her third album, R U Tuff Enuff, in February 1988; one of its singles, “Plaything,” entered the R&B Top Ten. After stepping away from the industry and relocating to Virginia, Rebbie later joined her brother’s MJJ imprint and issued Yours Faithfully in March 1998.
