La Toya Jackson

La Toya Jackson is the fifth child born in the Jackson family and was the first female sibling to pursue a solo musical career. She started her career singing background vocals for her siblings’ famous group The Jackson 5. In 1979, La Toya left her place with The Jackson 5 to pursue a solo career with help from her manager father, Joseph Jackson. Her first solo album was titled, La Toya Jackson, and the first single off that album, “If You Feel the Funk,” garnered critical acclaim and reached the charts throughout Europe. La Toya Jackson released her second album, My Special Love, in 1981, which had contributions by her siblings Janet, Tito, Jackie and Marlon Jackson. In 1983, La Toya released her third, and most successful, album Heart Don’t Lie. The first single off this album, “Heart Don’t Lie,” was her best selling song, reaching No. 56 on the Billboard R&B charts. In 1987, she left her father’s management group before releasing her fifth album, La Toya, in 1988. In 1989, La Toya Jackson posed on the cover of Playboy magazine, which brought added attention and controversy into her life. La Toya Jackson wrote and released a book in 1991, entitled La Toya: Growing up in the Jackson family. In the book, Jackson famously alleged that her father physically and mentally abused his children. Since the release, she has changed her story several times.