JACKOBIT: Johnny Jackson

Former Jackson Five drummer Johnny Jackson has been murdered, it was announced today.

There's some dispute over Jackson's relationship to the five boys in the band - police believe he was a cousin; others suggest the name was just a coincidence. What isn't in dispute was that Jackson joined the band in 1967, replacing orignal drummer Milford Hite; and that he stayed with them until their acrimonious split from Motown. It seems that the confusion over his familial status may have crept in here: Motown promoted him as a cousin, presumably to keep the family industry image intact.

Recently, Jackson had been playing with a small band in Gary, White Dove.

Police had been called to his house after residents reported a disturbance. They are currently trying to trace a woman he was believed to have been arguing with shortly before his death.

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