Happy Birthday, La Toya Jackson!
Everyone is understandably keeping an eye out for Janet Jackson's new project, which is slated for a 2015 release. However, today (May 29) we recognize another member of the Jackson family. La Toya Jackson turns 59 years old.
La Toya is the third-most recognized member of the Jackson family in terms of solo recognition. Her fame mostly comes from her string of hit singles through out the '80s and early '90s. The first of which was the catchy number "Heart Don't Lie," a Caribbean-influenced number that featured her immediately unforgettable high-pitched vocals. It was also her highest charging single at No. 56 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Heart Don't Lie" was also popular enough for her to become one of the dozens of musicians featured on the famous 1985 "We Are the World" charity single.
Not too long after Janet split from her father Joe's career supervision, La Toya also made a notable departure with the Jackson family. However, she parted ways because of her increasingly sexual image. La Toya was constantly seen in cleavage-bearing tops, and, in 1989, was featured in a topless photo shoot for Playboy. The decision was for La Toya to "show my parents they couldn't dictate to me any more -- that I control my life."
The next decade was filled with despair for La Toya. During her exile from the Jacksons, she was repeatedly and violently abused by her husband Jack Gordon, who co-managed her career. The details of their altercations were graphic; one story claims Gordon hit her with a brass living room chair until she was lying in a pool of her own blood.
La Toya eventually escaped the abusive relationship, reconciled with the Jacksons and returned to music. Although 1995's Stop in the Name of Love is her last full-length album, La Toya still came back in 2004 "Just Wanna Dance," which peaked at No. 13 on the Billboard Dance Charts, and she released an EP, aptly titled Starting Over, in 2011.
Watch La Toya Jackson's "Feels Like Love" Video
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